So, *that* happened...

Sunday, July 14, 2024

by Joseph D. Klotz

I apologize in advance for this post. I don't like to delve into political topics here. This one, however, is of sufficient magnitude that it can't be ignored. I'll try to be as concise as possible. Then we can get back to the Tempo section-style fluff and memes.

On Saturday, July 13, 2024, A 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania seems to have tried to assassinate former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, PA.

I'm not a big fan of President Trump. I thought he had a good presidency until he handed the country over to Anthony Fauci and company. That's when he stood by as the Democrat and Republican parties around him, at the local, state, and federal levels usurped our civil rights, lied to us about the severity of the pandemic, and allowed major cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, and Seattle, just to name a few, to descend into political violence and mob rule.

But now someone has tried to murder him. Thomas Matthew Crooks, whom the media has pointed out is a "registered Republican" injured President Trump and killed at least one other person in the crowd. I'd like to point out that I believe Mr. Crook's status as a "registered Republican" is canceled out by his financial support for "The Progressive Turnout Project," a "Democratic-aligned political action committee" as reported by the New York Post.

We should expect this. Quite frankly, I'm surprised something of this magnitude hasn't happened sooner. I mean, if you think that Donald Trump is literally Hitler and trying to turn our country into a new Nazi state, isn't this kind of despicable action justified? (Here is a rendering that The New Republic did on Donald Trump for, "What American Fascism Would Look Like. Check it out while it lasts.) And, boy oh boy, have the Democrats ever been getting that message out. President Biden regularly calls President Trump an existential threat to our democracy. What are you supposed to do with an existential threat but remove it by any means? Democrats have been using this kind of insane and hyperbolic rhetoric since the beginning of his first campaign without quarter. I'm reminded of the incident when Kathy Griffin held up a fake severed Trump head on social media, and you were branded an alt-right fascist if you didn't support her right to political speech (here's a link to the photo that all the mainstream media outlets are conveniently not reminding us that the Hollywood Leftists loved). I'm not going to catalog all the instances of this kind of crazy talk; it would be impossible. This post is already too long.

Yes, we all have freedom of speech. The Left does indeed have the right under the Constitution to say the unhinged things they say. Others also have the right to support the political candidate of their choice without being made the targets of violence (including Nazis and Communists). No one, however, has the right to speech that incites violence against other individuals or groups. This situation is quite ironic to me, seeing as the Left in this country are the ones who also try to silence their political opponents by calling speech they don't like (such as "trans women are not women") violence. (Here's another link... and also another.) Political violence should have no place in our constitutional republic. It is sad that it does, and it seems like it is becoming the norm.

And, much as you may not like it, Donald Trump is not an existential threat to the United States. Disregarding the Bill of Rights, and the setting aside the rule of law is. We already have a process for getting rid of politicians who don't respect our constitutional republic. For the love of Pete, participate in it.

But hey, at least we found the one type of shooting incident that the Left doesn't want to use to ram gun control/confiscation down our throats, so there's that...

Return to Scoop's Blog