The integrity principle

In 1964 I was a young reporter at the American Forces Network headquarters news desk in Frankfurt, West Germany. My editor — a crusty, chain smoker who routinely tossed copy back at me and said just two words, “fix it,” – had assigned me to cover the controversial Johnson- Goldwater presidential election campaign. “Fix it,” he said tossing my first story back to me. He’d done a word count and was concerned that I had devoted 10 or 15 extra words to Mr. Goldwater. He saw it as bias. I learned my lesson.

It was a lesson about integrity. Without that quality journalists become irrelevant. They become partisan hacks. They become hit men for personal causes. More important, they erode the confidence the public had in them and in all news reporters. It’s their job to provide the facts; it is the readers’ prerogative to interpret those facts. We don’t need the spin of a biased newsman.

The majority of journalists and their editors still adhere to the rules and most publishers offer swift justice in the form of pink slips for those who stray. But, it seems that these days it has become difficult, at best, to know when a report in a newspaper or on TV is actually news or a personal opinion.

It’s bad enough that anyone with a computer, a basic knowledge of grammar and a vivid imagination can be a reporter these days by posting their so-called news stories on the Internet. These new age town criers have no rules; they are free to twist and turn their so-called coverage of an event or personality to suit their personal agendas. But when mainstream reporters do it, we all lose. We lose confidence in the purpose and accuracy of the stories we read in the morning paper and those we watch on the evening news.

Doctor of Psychology Seth Meyers, writing in the journal Psychology Today, says, “an individual with integrity is the antidote to self-interest.”

The late Dr. Charles Krauthammer was such an individual. In his Washington Post obituary Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest, a publication focused on American interests, is quoted as saying: “Krauthammer wasn’t simply a reflexive, unthinking conservative who was peddling the party line. He had real discernment and independence. At bottom, he was an intellectual, not just a journalist, with real literary flair and style and insight.”

Before he died, Krauthammer, who was a columnist for the Post, wrote what was to be his last column for the newspaper. It was an Opinion article in which he discussed his ill health and impending death. His words are the very essence of what it means to be a journalist with integrity:

“I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.”

News reporters are bound by a code of ethics. They stick to the facts. They do not take advantage of the stories they are covering to promote a personal agenda. The integrity principle is taken seriously and, if they stray, there are editors who strictly enforce the code. Editorials are for the editorial pages.

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The scourge of socialism strikes fear in the hearts of mainstream Democrats

WASHINGTON, DC, Aug 17 – Americans who identify themselves as Democrats are embracing Socialism at an alarming rate, according to a new survey. And, mainstream Democrats are concerned. They fear the scourge of socialism may stymie their efforts to win at least some measure of control in Congress come November.

Gallup just released the results of the poll showing that Democrats have a more positive image of socialism than they do of capitalism. Fifty-seven percent say they view socialism in a more positive light than they view capitalism while just 47% say they favor capitalism.

“The popularity of socialism in the U.S. has never been greater than it is today. Look at what happened in the Bronx. Upstart, 28-year-old socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat veteran, 10-term Congressman Joe Crowley [D-NY] in the New York Democratic primary. Since then closet socialists in the Democratic Party have been outing themselves all across the country, much to the delight of the Democratic Socialists of America, a three-and-a-half decades old organization that has lived in relative obscurity till now,” says Dan Weber, president of the Conservative Association of Mature American Citizens.

The DSA is a club, not a party, but since the upset victory of Ocasio-Cortez on June 26^th it is being called “the most visible and organized force in politics for an ideology”.

However, as Weber points out, the majority of far-left candidates in Democratic primaries across the country lost to their mainstream contenders. “And, that is what concerns the party.”

The vast majority of voters in the country are unlikely to embrace a philosophy that blatantly wants to upend our American way of life. But, the sudden focus on socialism has been disquieting and is particularly alarming for traditional Democrats who are seeking to overturn the Republican Congress in November. The socialist movement is not likely to help them because it is anathema to voters and could have the effect of minimizing Democratic turnout while rallying the Republican base in the midterm elections.

As discredited former Director of the FBI, James Comey, who was a registered Republican until two years ago, put it in a social media post on July 22: “Democrats, please, please don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left.”

Ocasio-Cortez may have stolen the limelight of socialism, but there are plenty of far left candidates running for office this year – probably more than ever before. And, they are making their own headlines.

Three, progressive 30-something women in Pennsylvania, for example, upset candidates with plenty of funding and lots of Democratic clout. Two of the upstarts won in state house primaries against veteran mainstream Democrats. The other, also a first time candidate, beat a state Senate aide, also a first timer, but who had party backing as well as lots of campaign funding. Meanwhile, in Texas – of all places – as many as 20 self-proclaimed socialists are on ballots throughout the state this year. And none of them seem to be bashful about identifying themselves as a socialist.

One of those Texans, Ali Khorasani, who is running for Congress, proudly proclaims his progressive inclinations on his Web site. He also posted an online message that reads: “As a member of both the DSA and the Communist Party of Houston, I am deeply aligned with socialist values and anti-capitalism.”

So, where is this leftist activity coming from? One of their own, socialist New York Times OpEd columnist Michelle Goldberg, reveals, in a New York Times opinion article that it’s the work of “The Millennial Socialists.”

“And, if you haven’t figured it out, many of those millennials were indoctrinated in school,” says Weber who cites a survey conducted by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

The organization was created by a unanimous Act of Congress in 1993. It conducts periodic surveys of attitudes toward socialism and communism and its most recent poll found:

• Millennials would prefer to live in a socialist country (44%) than in a capitalist one (42%).
• Seven percent of those polled said they’d actually prefer to live in a communist country.

In reporting on its survey, the Foundation pointed out that there are more millennials than baby boomers in the U.S. and that they make up what is officially the largest generation in America.

“To a large extent, they received their education in middle school, high school and college from teachers and professors that were liberal, at best,” Weber points out. “They helped shape the lives of their students, as they grew old enough to vote.”

Jake Zhu was the National News Editor of the Cornell Review in 2015 and wrote an article for the publication with the headline: I Am a Survivor of My Public Schools’ Liberal Brainwashing. As he put it, “the greatest threat to my intellectual cultivation throughout my years of attending Boston Public Schools is the prevalence of blatant left-wing indoctrination entrenched in the academic content.”

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Kavanaugh likely to be confirmed as Associate Justice Kennedy’s successor on the Supreme Court

‘He is a thoughtful and honest jurist who has shown that he will protect the Constitution’

WASHINGTON, DC, Aug 10 – Senate Democrats seek to put up a united front against President Trump’s selection of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. But, political analysts – Democrat and Republican – seem to believe it is a losing battle, says Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC].

“Those opposed to Kavanaugh have sought to convince moderate Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine to vote against his confirmation. But, in recent weeks both Collins and Murkowski have indicated they are comfortable with his nomination. Meanwhile, there are a slew of Red State Democrats who are up for re-election who can take their places if either of them or both have last minute reservations,” according to Weber.

Weber says he is confident that Kavanaugh has enough support to pass muster in the Senate. “Democratic leaders are deceptively and disingenuously attempting to persuade their colleagues otherwise. They are seeking to convince the American people that he is not qualified but his credentials and his career show that he is eminently up to the task.”

A simple majority in the Senate is all that it will take to confirm Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court. And, even if Senator John McCain [R-AZ] is unable to travel to Washington for the vote due to ill health, it still leaves Republicans with a 51 to 49 advantage since Vice President Pence would cast the deciding ballot.

It should be noted that not all who call themselves Liberals are opposed to the Kavanaugh selection. Liberal Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar recently published an Opinion Article in the New York Times extolling the virtues of Judge Kavanaugh. It was entitled A Liberal’s Case for Brett Kavanaugh and in it Amar wrote: “The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next Supreme Court justice is President Trump’s finest hour, his classiest move. Last week the president promised to select ‘someone with impeccable credentials, great intellect, unbiased judgment, and deep reverence for the laws and Constitution of the United States.’ In picking Judge Kavanaugh, he has done just that.”

 In addition, there are nine Democrats who are up for reelection in states that voted heavily for President Trump in November 2016 and they risk alienating voters if they go against Kavanaugh. They are Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Doug Jones of Alabama, Bill Nelson of Florida, Jon Tester of Montana, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

“It’s unlikely that all of them will oppose their Democratic Senate colleagues and support Mr. Trump’s pick for the court. It is likely that a few could and would do just that, but I don’t think that enough of them will vote to derail his appointment,” Weber opined.

“The fact is that Kavanaugh is widely considered the best person to succeed Justice Kennedy. Not because he is a conservative, but because he is a thoughtful and honest jurist who has shown that he will protect the Constitution. He is opposed on the left because there are those who would like a more flexible candidate on the Court—someone who would not be bound by the Constitution and who would legislate from the bench. They would like to see a deciding vote on the Supreme Court bench who would enable the progressive elements in America to turn our constitutional republic into a socialist state. That’s not going to happen.”

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OPINION: On the road to Idiocracy

by Dan Weber, president, Association of Mature American Citizens

Forget about the threat of socialism or even communism; the real threat comes from those who want to foist Idiocracy down our throats. Merriam-Webster defines Idiocracy as “a form of government in which a country or territory is run by fools.” And, the madness of anti-government protests that have swept the country since the election of President Donald Trump indicate that the fools are hell bent on taking over.

The opposition certainly has a right to voice opinions, but only idiots would go to the extremes that the Never-Trumper movement has gone since Mr. Trump took office.

A new Rasmussen survey shows that 59% of American voters fear that the opposition has become so intense it is likely to lead to widespread violence. And, almost a third of respondents in that study said they believe the country is headed for a new Civil War.

Broadcaster Denis Prager, host of The Denis Prager Show, put it this way: “This Second Civil War, fortunately, differs in another critically important way: It has thus far been largely nonviolent. But given increasing left-wing violence, such as riots, the taking over of college presidents’ offices and the illegal occupation of state capitols, nonviolence is not guaranteed to be a permanent characteristic of the Second Civil War.”

Meanwhile, strident liberal factions are now calling for the elimination of ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement component of the Department of Homeland Security. Even many mainstream Democrats think that’s an ill-conceived notion; it would leave the country unprotected. It would be a lot like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Hand in hand with the notion of doing away with law enforcers who protect our borders is the novel idea of opening our borders and letting in anyone who might care to come into the country uninvited. Imagine the hardships that would ensue for those of us who already live here. Authoritative estimates put the number of people who would move here from another country at 100 million to 150 million or more. Where would they live? Where would they work? What would they eat? What impact would it have on crime rates?

Opposition from the right against the reign of Barack was admittedly widespread during his tenure, but it was a civil opposition. There were no incidents that even approached the vicious magnitude of the attempt on the life of Rep. Steve Scalise [R-LA] and fellow Republican Congressmen out for a night of baseball last year. A lone shooter, James Hodgkinson, who harbored violent anti-Republican views, was out to kill as many Republican lawmakers as he could on the night of June 14, 2017. He severely wounded Rep. Scalise and 2 Capitol Police officers, a congressional staffer and a lobbyist before he was shot and killed.

During Mr. Obama’s two terms in office, we didn’t have sitting Republican representatives issuing calls such as the one from Rep Maxine Waters [D-CA] last month. You’ll recall that she told her constituents “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them! And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere,”

And, if you don’t think the media is wittingly or unwittingly culpable in distorting the truth in order to promote a new brand of socialist anarchy, you have another think coming.

Instead of reporting the facts of a news story the way a reporter with integrity used to do in day, they prefer to put a spin on their reportage. And, more likely than not, they will spin the facts to suit ideologically liberal notions of how things should be, things such as how the country should be run.

Recently a scholarly report was published that focused on the reason public respect and support has declined for the venerable U.S. Supreme Court. The report was researched and written by two university professors, Matthew Hitt at Colorado State and Kathleen Searles at Louisiana State. Their conclusion was: “To know the Court is to love it, but to watch [TV] coverage of the Court is to dislike it.”

As commentator Michael Dempsey put it recently in a letter to the editor of the Echo Press in Alexandria, MN: “The greater problem is media bias and it’s absolutely palpable. It’s about opinion disguising itself as news, not from rogue websites on the Internet, but from CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Watching a network news program at 5:30 has become laughable. Every night it’s an anti-Trump feeding frenzy with nothing to feed on but speculation regarding the so-called Russian collusion and outright lies, distortions and deliberate omissions, as in this most recent story of children being “ripped from their mothers’ arms” at the border.”

Idiocracy, indeed!

The Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC] [https://www.amac.us] is the nation’s largest conservative senior advocacy organization