The “peaceful” protests and the future of America.

Over the past few weeks, protests have escalated into violence in several American cities. The protesters and their protests, we are told, are peaceful. We are cautioned by local officials not to overreact to the scattered and inconsequential violence. When they are referring to the violence, they are not talking about vandalism and looting. This is a part of the “peaceful” side.

As we watch (and how can we avoid watching?), we see windows broken, property destroyed and theft in the form of looting all over. Some of us are again shocked by these actions.

The first time we witnessed anything surprising was at the onset of COVID-19 when our neighbors began to hoard toilet paper and several other grocery items. This was all, of course, legal, but nonetheless how many were taken aback by the window it provided into the character of those we live around?

Now we’ve seen unprovoked attacks on the homeless, the elderly, and on unsuspecting pedestrians. Some attacks are so violent that they can’t help but evoke powerful feelings within those of us who are still in possession of our sense of fairness and respect for law and order.

Where will all of this lead?

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Is hydroxychloroquine a “game changer”? We don’t know — and that’s about all we do know.

The real proof that the Cynic is more often than not correct can be seen in the coverage and treatment of COVID-19.

This has been astounding to watch — even for the Cynic — although not unexpected. When the virus arrived, we were being told by the authorities (surgeon general) not to wear masks. Now masks are mandatory in several places across the United States.

Very early on, President Trump hailed hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game-changer.” The non-Fox media immediately admonished him as irresponsible and dangerous. Clinical trials were begun. Those trials that were positive were critiqued as not controlled while those that were negative were quickly and repeatedly broadcast as proof positive of the President’s irresponsibility.

Some states even went so far as to ban the use of hydroxychloroquine as treatment of COVID-19. Never mind that the drug has been in use for over sixty years. Never mind that tens of millions of doses have been dispensed. Never mind that the drug has been deemed safe for pregnant women. It was more important to protect the citizenry, especially if doing so would embarrass President Trump.

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I’m still a cynic — and you should be, by now.

Perhaps the absence of the Cynic was unwise given the events of the last sixty days; however, there could be no more potent recruiting for the forces of cynicism than those events.

The Cynic observes sometime ago that Fox News and CNN/MSNBC could not both be correct. Their reporting of Trump-Russia collusion was diametrically opposed. As a consequence, those watching one network will have been watching the truth whereas those watching the other will have come away totally misinformed (it was not possible for both to be correct or for both to be incorrect).

It appears that Fox News had the story correct (at least somewhat) and CNN/MSNBC (along with the other major networks) were anxiously and enthusiastically wrong.

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September observations (and an apology).

The Cynic sees it has now been over two months since his last post. Accordingly, he apologizes for the radio silence, and promises to try and do better about the frequency of his posting from here on out.


A few random observations on recent events:

  • It seems to the Cynic that by allowing hearsay as a “whistleblower” complaint, the Federal Government is actually encouraging leaking by Federal Employees.
  • The NCAA has, in the past few years, changed the game of NCAA basketball to the point that it has become virtually indistinguishable from the NBA. Now, it appears that the state of California will force the issue of paying college athletes (over and above full-ride scholarships) onto the college governing board. The lawsuits, Title IX consequences and, in all probability, outside money can’t help but have a deletery effect on college sports. But it will be fun to watch the consequences play out. Speaking of which…
  • Many of the Cynic’s friends and relatives are now certain that Trump has finally crossed the proverbial line and will be removed from office for his latest “crimes.” They watch MSNBC, CNN, and the major networks (as they always have). Any bets on whether these networks, which have been hopelessly and notoriously wrong since the 2016 election, will be right in this case?

The hubbub over Baltimore.

It seems that for some time now, pundits have been talking and writing about the deplorable conditions in some of our biggest cities.  But not until now has a president weighed in.  This, as it turns out, is an unpardonable sin.  Why?

Because when anyone but the President mentioned it, the mainstream media was free to ignore.  Now, the President has placed it front and center before the American people and the MSM have two choices:

  1. Address the problem.
    (or)
  2. Accuse the President of racism for having mentioned it.

Google and Facebook? Trying to influence the elections!?!

From Breitbart:

A Google insider who spoke anonymously to Project Veritas claims the company is devoted to preventing anything like the 2016 election of Donald Trump from happening again.

The insider who spoke to Project Veritas also drew attention to the covert suppression of non-progressive voices on YouTube, a Google-owned platform, said that stopping President Donald Trump and other politicians like Trump has become a priority for the tech giant.

Project Veritas also obtained undercover footage revealing yet another Google executive declaring the company’s intention to intervene in its products to stop Trump in 2020. “Responsible innovation” head Jen Gennai was recorded stating that Google shouldn’t be broken up because smaller companies couldn’t prevent “another Trump situation.”

Really, though, shouldn’t we be surprised if they didn’t?

Throw in Twitter and Instagram and now it seems believable — even though they all deny it.

On the upcoming Stephanopoulos interview…

How many Republicans — how many Trumps supporters and advocates — were alarmed when they learned that the president agreed to a thirty-hour interview with George Stephanopoulos?

Remember, a gaffe by a Republican echoes in the canyons of the media indefinitely, whereas a gaffe by a Democrat whispers into the ether of empty space, never to be heard again.

If the president wants to ensure his defeat in 2020, he should continue to grant up-close-and-personal access to his adversaries in the mainstream media.