Archive for the ‘opinion/news’ Category

First Amendment 101 in North Andover

Posted: November 17, 2023 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Apparently there was a big fuss about North Andover flying the Palestinian Flag.

When I first heard about it my first thought was “oh brother here is the woke Democrat left in action.”

Then I actually read the story and it changed the picture for me.

Apparently the town (like Fitchburg) allows various flags to be flown if petitioned to do so. Earlier this month the flag of Israel was flown.

A group of Palestinian supporters petitioned to have their flag flown under the same rules. There was a rather contentions meeting over it and a lot of people were angry but in the end the request was lawful and the flag is flying now.

As a very public supporter of Israel actions in Gaza to destroy Hamas let’s cut to the chase.

This was not only the right decision but the smart decision.

It was the right decision because:

  • 1st Amendment rights are supposed to be allowed equally without playing favorites
  • the proper answer to speech someone opposes is more speech
  • the proper procedures and rules were followed
  • It is right because one should always support lawful methods of public expression
  • It is right because it supports the rule of law applied equally
  • The flag in question was not one of a recognized terrorist group.
  • It’s an important lesson in citizenship and civics, particularly for the young and new arrivals
  • It is just

And it is smart because

  • You should always support peaceful forms of expression of ideas
  • You can’t demand enforcement of laws against violent expression when you don’t apply them for peaceful one
  • People who are able to vent peacefully are less likely to cross a line later
  • You can’t expect people to respect your rights if you don’t respect theirs
  • If you don’t defend those rights when in power you won’t have them when you’re not
  • if you’re opinion is worth anything it should be able to stand up to the other guys opinion being expressed
  • the right thing is always the smart thing

I can certainly understand why some would object, frankly my own 1st instinct was against it but either you’re for the rule of law or you are not and this is lawful application of the 1st Amendment.

Now if the city wants to change their rules on flags (consistent with our constitution of course) that’s up to them but the law need to be respected and enforced and the rights of citizens under that law MUST be respected.

Otherwise what’s the point of being American?

Update: A lot of people who generally agree with me disagree on this one but let me make one important point:

The Biden admin and the FBI not withstanding there actually isn’t a “I think those guys are a******s” exception to either the 1st amendment or the principle of equal application of the law.

National media ignores big Chicago anti-migrant march

Posted: November 12, 2023 by John Ruberry in immigration, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

Sure, there’s a lot of another news to sift through–the Israel-Hamas War is the biggest story right now–but on Friday, there was another protest march against the building of a large tent city migrant camp at 38th and California in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Soutwest Side.

The city has signed a lease on the tent city site, but it’s not a done deal, official say, as the final decision is pending an environmental survey.

It will happen, I am sure.

And as far as I can tell, the national mainstream media ignored Friday’s protest. That’s because the march, in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood with a large Asian presence, contradicts at least a couple of leftist narratives. Because they are “oppressed,” people of color are always on the same side against the majority. 

Of course, that majority is white people. While whites are the largest racial group in Chicago, America’s third largest city–for now–hasn’t a majority racial group for decades.

The other leftist narrative that the Brighton Parch marches and protests exposes as a lie is that the cities are havens from the xenophobia, unlike the exurbs and rural America, where those deplorable MAGA people live.

The Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, both woke outlets, reported that “hundreds” participated in the Brighton Park anti-migrant march. 

ABC Chicago says that “residents have been protesting against the migrant base camp for weeks” and overall, “the pushback has been relentless.”

Oh sure, some goof from the New York Times, Mitch Smith, says Brighton Park is “divided” over the tent city, which is expected to house 2,000 migrants, most of the will probably be from Venezuela. But it sure seems hard to find Brighton Park denizens who support the Bidenville.

As I explained in my post last month about the opposition of the migrant camp in Brighton Park, residents learned from the rumor mill that the tent city was coming, not even the local alderman, a left-wing Hispanic woman was told about it. 

Chicago’s new mayor, Brandon Johnson, a full-blown leftist who, according to the rumor mill, has recently suffered from panic attacks, in his mind is always right.  Why is that?

Have you ever met a leftist who admitted to being wrong about something? 

Like Robespierre, Marx, and Lenin, contemporary leftists like Johnson believe they have the inevitability of history on their side.

But Robespierre ended up on the guillotine and the Soviet Union collapsed.

The decision to build the Brighton Park tent city, if it didn’t come directly from Johnson, who by the way is African American, surely it was the brainchild of a top aide of his.

So, another leftist narrative is collapsing. Nothing to see here, the media collectively says to itself. But let’s push out another dozen stories about MAGA insurrectionists.

Oh, let’s say that instead of building the migrant camp in Brighton Park, the Johnson administration chose instead a site inside the city’s 41st Ward, a predominately white area where many Chicago police officers and firefighters live. In 2020, Donald Trump came close to beating Joe Biden in that ward. 

And let’s say anti-migrant protests and marches were held in the 41st Ward. 

Such events would be the lead story for days on CNN and MSNBC. And the New York Times would have sent more than one reporter there.

John Ruberry, who is married to an immigrant, regularly blogs from his home five miles north of Chicago at Marathon Pundit.

Something that Just Hit Me Concerning Colonization and Mass Migration

Posted: November 12, 2023 by datechguy in opinion/news
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I had plans for two other posts today but something just hit me as I thought about all those Islamists marching in England calling for the death of Jews.

100 years ago many of the countries where those people came from were parts of the British Empire which the sun never set on.

70 Years ago the British started granting independence to those lands in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. By 1980 45 years ago just about all of the countries that were once part of the British were independent and instead of being governed by the British Crown under British common law, they were now governed by their own people in their own lands.

And now two generations after the last of the nations of the British Empire left to be governed by their own population and leaders there has been mass immigration of people out of those countries no longer governed by the British to the British Isles where they are.

And this isn’t restricted to England either, France, Germany the Dutch and Italy no longer have their colonies either granting them independence or losing them in war and having the UN remove their governance from under the auspices of Western Civilization to let their lands be run according to their own traditions.

And yet millions given the chance to live under their own laws without the rule of those evil white Europeans have decided to leave the lands of their fathers to head to Europe to live under those evil white colonizers rather than in their own countries.

Discuss.

The migrant crime wave is here

Posted: November 5, 2023 by John Ruberry in crime, immigration, media, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

“That son of a bitch Castro is sh*ttin’ all over us.” US Immigration officer speaking to Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in the movie Scarface.

And now Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s son of a bitch strongman, is defecating on America.

Where is the mainstream media on this story? 

In the Chicago area, where I live, the MSM is asleep at the wheel. Chicago’s woke daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, the latter laughingly calls itself “the hardest-working newspaper in America,” are the worst violators of committing the sin of omission in regard to media bias.

Television and radio websites here are a bit better, but if you want to get the feel of what the Joe Biden’s migrant crisis has done to the Chicago area, there is only one website to visit, CWB Chicago, which works a heck of a lot harder than the leftist Sun-Times.

Here are some headlines from CWB Chicago from just the last six months:

Let’s move on to the suburbs:

As for those links, while the alleged criminals are all referred to as “migrants,” it’s not always stated in these reports where they are from. That being said, in every case where a nationality is named, every time they are listed as Venezuelan.

Before you call me a racist, bigot, hater, or whatever, I want to make a couple of things clear. I believe that most of the people who Joe Biden all-but-invited into our country who have crossed the Rio Grande have come here with good intentions–mainly to make an honest living.

Most, of course, does not mean all. And some migrants have been the victims of crimes committed by other migrants–or by non-migrants. Yes, I am aware that many migrants in Chicago live in wretched conditions, including inside police stations and at O’Hare Airport.

My ethnic background is Irish. If these were migrants from Ireland or my wife’s native Latvia–instead of Venezuela or wherever–I’d still be reporting on the resulting crime wave.

That being said, this migrant crime wave, which of course is not limited to the Chicago area, seems to be driven by recently arrived Venezuelan migrants.

Joe Biden and the Democrats have waved in millions of people into America who we know little about, including many criminals.

The Biden Wave needs to stop.

As for these crooked migrants, they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, which in Cook County, Illinois, may often be just a slap on the wrist. If found guilty, they should be turned over to ICE officials and put on the fast track for deportation.

These migrants are guests in America.

One more thing: Build the wall.

John Ruberry, whose wife is an immigrant, regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.


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