The Bitemaster talks about patriotism

The Bitemaster stands for the National Anthem, but supports those who kneel in protest against police brutality and racial injustice.

The Bitemaster despises the swifboating of John Kerry. It was one of the most dishonorable actions of George W. Bush’s presidential campaign.

The Bitemaster despises Donald Trump’s insults of Gold Star Mother Ghazala Khan.

The Bitemaster salutes our service members even when he disagrees with their politics. And that goes double for John McCain. Unlike Captain Bone Spur, McCain earned the right to to spout off on any damn thing he wants — even when I think he’s wrong.

I’m no showy patriot, but I have nothing against pledging allegiance to the American flag. But the flag lapel pin has become a symbol of fake patriotism, proudly worn by those who would destroy the Constitution and betray the US to Russia.

And the American right-wing is full of “sovereign citizens,” tax protesters, secessionists like Todd Palin, and other anti-American types.

Which brings me to standing for “God Bless America,” which is now played at American baseball stadia. Should one stand for it? It’s just a song, not the National Anthem. So I asked one of the most decent men I know, himself a veteran of Vietnam. He said he stands in honor of his friends who died there. Good enough for me. Next time, I stand.

 

NRA Convention Bans Guns To Protect Mike Pence

Feel free to fill in your own joke.

Source: NRA Convention Bans Guns To Protect Mike Pence. Parkland Survivors’ Jaws Drop. | HuffPost

Cf. http://biteme.me/thousands-want-gop-to-let-angry-voters-bring-guns-to-republican-convention-in-case-of-isis-attack/

And https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/16/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-guns-secret-service/index.html

NRA is now the voice of the Alt-Right culture warriors

The NRA may be quiet in public in the days following the latest mass school shooting—but its online TV outlet has not missed a beat.

Over the past two days, NRA TV has gone after both law enforcement for bungling the shooting and media outlets for calling for more expansive gun laws. Host Dan Bongino accused the New York Daily News of being both “pure filth” and “not worthy of collecting dog excrement”—aka actual filth. Host Dana Loesch called for protesters to march “to the FBI offices” for its failure to act on the numerous reports it received that the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was dangerous and potentially unstable. Grant Stinchfield, another NRA TV host, added his thoughts on the Fourth Estate on Monday, suggesting reporters were eager for another shooting to push a gun control agenda.

Source: NRA Usually Shuts Up After Mass Shootings. Not This Time.

Gen. Kelly takes second swig of the Kool-Aid

Remember when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron”? And then was forced to walk it back?

“He [Trump] loves his country. He puts America and Americans first. He’s smart. He demands results wherever he goes and he holds those around him accountable for whether they have done the job he has asked them to do.”

Hey, Rex: that was some serious groveling!

Now on to General John F. Kelly, current White House Chief of Staff. It had looked to us here in the Bitecastle like Kelly had brought some much-needed order to the chaotic Trump White House. Then the poor guy started hitting the Kool-aid, and hitting it hard.

In October 2017, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-FL) criticized Trump for his phone call to the widow of a slain U.S. soldier, saying his remarks had been insensitive. A few days later, Kelly held a press briefing where he defended Trump’s phone call, which he had overheard, saying Trump “expressed his condolences in the best way that he could.” He harshly criticized Wilson, calling her “the empty barrel that makes the most noise” and stating that in a 2015 speech she had “stood up” to inappropriately claim credit for securing federal funding for an FBI building in her district. Video of her 2015 speech showed his description to be inaccurate. [Wikipedia]

Then Kelly took his second swig:

In an October 2017 interview with Laura Ingraham, Kelly claimed that “the lack of ability to compromise led to the Civil War.”

. . .  Two historians of the Civil War described Kelly’s remarks as ignorant, a misuse of history reminiscent of Lost Cause mythology, and they broadly reject that a failure to compromise led to the war, noting that a number of compromises on slavery were made in the lead-up to the war. [Wikipedia]

Paul Vixie speaks

Paul Vixie (@paulvixie) is one of the geniuses behind the Internet, He recently opined on Twitter:

centrists, who by def’n decide elections, want gov’t to ensure equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. right to fairness, not aid.

He then linked to a Bernie Sanders tweet.

I think Vixie raises a legitimate question: whether we should judge “fairness” by outcome or opportunity.

Colin Kaepernick’s mom fires back

Quote

After President Trump called Colin Kaepernick (and other athletes who have protested against racial injustice) “that son of a bitch,” Teresa Kaepernick, Colin’s mom, fired back: “Guess that makes me a proud bitch!”

Source: Colin Kaepernick’s mom fires back at Donald Trump’s criticism of national anthem protests

The Bitemaster is not a big fan of . . .

The Bitemaster is not a big fan of . . .

  • The Rhode Island branch of the ACLU bringing suit against the nativity scene in Pawtucket RI (they were slapped down by the Supreme Court in Lynch v. Donnelly)
  • What the Taliban did to the Buddhas of Bamiyan
  • The bombing of the Borobudur temple
  • The tearing down of Confederate statues
  • The defacing of statues of Columbus
  • The renaming of the State of Washington
  • The renaming of sports teams

The Bitemaster is fine with

  • Ceasing to fly the Confederate battle flag over government buildings
  • Removing the Confederate battle flag from state flags (i.e., Mississippi)
  • Cultural appropriation
  • Multiculturalism
  • The ACLU defending the right of the Klan to march in Skokie, opposing Trump’s Muslim ban, and protecting the First Amendment rights of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville VA.

God sends Tropical Storm Harvey to Texas as punishment for Governor Greg Abbott’s many evil actions

Catastrophic flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated Houston on Sunday, forcing residents of the fourth most populous U.S. city to flee their homes in boats or hunker down in anticipation of more days of “unprecedented” rainfall.

Abbott’s evil actions include union busting, racial gerrymandering, anti-choice activism, opposition to gay marriage, and support for an anti-transgender bathroom bill. Clearly, the Almighty is Not Amused.

Source: Houston devastated by flooding from Harvey as residents gird for days of rain