Category Archives: Etiquette

‘Mateen.’ ‘Mateen.’ ‘Omar Mateen.’ There. I Said It. Media Should Too.

Ethics, Etiquette, Journalism, Media, Morality, Terrorism

Petulant, petty media keep announcing they won’s say the name of the Muslim mass murderer of 49 Pulse patrons in Orlando, last week. Not to say the name of a killer is a silly and infantile gesture, or habit oft repeated by the sanctimonious, self-important sorts in media. It conjures the person who covers his ears and hums loudly, so as not to hear bad news. Reality is reality. Facts are facts. Deal. Media are not in a morality contest. Media are meant to function as chroniclers, entrusted with relaying events, not transmitting subliminal messages.

Omar Mateen. Omar Mateen. Omar Mateen. There. I said it.

Swearing Sombreros

Conservatism, Donald Trump, Education, Etiquette, Family, IMMIGRATION, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim

Conservatives are so like liberals in their parenting philosophy. They see a small kid in a sombrero swearing at Donald Trump’s supporters—and they shout exploitation. Poor little vipers are being exploited by their parents.

Crap. And hand me a brown bag.

Feral kids are foul, be they liberal, conservative, free-range kids or swearing sods in Sombreros. A good hiding in public would cure all. And I haven’t even commented on the great citizens these crappy kids will grow up to make. What an intake.

Kids making America great:

The kids, wearing sombreros and ironically holding signs reading “No hate,” screamed “F*ck you!” repeatedly at the passing motorists.

One of the children in the center of the action could be seen wearing a Bernie Sanders sticker.

Hillary Clinton campaign signs could also be seen in the crowd.

One sign reads “F*ck You Puto.”

“Puto” means “male prostitute” in Spanish.

UPDATED: The Me Myself And I Megyn-Kelly Production (Longer Version)

Donald Trump, Etiquette, Journalism, Media, Republicans

“The Me Myself And I Megyn-Kelly Production” is the current column now on The Unz Review, America’s smartest webzine. (The shorter version on WND has been very popular.) An excerpt:

… Here’s what just happened: Donald Trump had not expected to be subjected again to Megyn Kelly’s ministrations, after the anchor’s missteps during the first prime-time Republican debate, in Cleveland, Ohio, last year.

The consensus among very many outside the Beltway bubble was that the smug Megyn Kelly had been rude and overbearing during that debate, clobbering Trump with sub-intelligent, war-on-women questions.

Donald Trump had implicitly, at least, expected the network to rethink its decision to unleash showy Ms. Kelly, once again, on the occasion of a Republican debate, scheduled for January 28.

It’s hard to believe Kelly’s higher-ups at FNC are so stupid as to put her in the moderator’s chair again. Given the woman’s profile, I suspect Fox’s Golden Goose had henpecked the boss, Roger Ailes, to have at it again.

Kelly’s central focus is to be center-stage. This her unbecoming conduct over months has made clear.

“The Kelly File,” Megyn’s eponymous show, has persistently ignored news about the news-maker of the day, Donald Trump. Yet just this once, Kelly elected to extensively cover Trump’s decision not to attend a debate moderated by herself, to whom she referred adoringly as “yours truly.”

“Yours truly” was the theme of the January 26 segment.

And the guests stampeded to her studio for a chance to genuflect to Kelly and diss the front-runner for the umpteenth time. This time it would be different. This time, Trump was going down.

Kelly’s “Breaking News” coverage entailed parading other candidates past and present to berate Trump’s actions—to call him a coward, running scared of a woman; to question the candidate’s commitment to Iowans, label him as someone who doesn’t show-up, when Trump has been in Iowa all along, showing Iowans The Love.

Especially asinine was the snarky Millennial-like press release Fox News chose to put out in response—a release that cemented Donald Trump’s decision to do something more useful and foil the Megyn Kelly extravaganza.

The notice was too frivolous for actor Sean Penn to have penned (we recently discovered Penn could write). Perhaps the ghost writer was goofy, late-night show host Jimmy Fallon? . …

Read the rest. “The Me Myself And I Megyn-Kelly Production” is the current column now on The Unz Review, America’s smartest webzine.

UPDATE (1/29):

The Megyn Kelly-Michale Moore interview is one of the more nauseating moments in TV; it’s a flirt and a genuflection to Kelly. All that glitters is not gold. Kelly may be beautiful but she cheapens everything she touches.

I spared myself the specter and watched it after the column was written, commenting on Facebook, last night.

I should have steeled myself. The Kelly-Moore exchange is forensic evidence, too.

UPDATE II: NRO Writer’s ‘UnFollow’ Leads To Musing About The Manners-Morals Connection

Conservatism, Donald Trump, Etiquette, Ilana Mercer, Intellectualism, libertarianism, Morality, Neoconservatism

National Review’s Kevin Williamson, aforementioned, once told me he was a libertarian anarchist. Although I never saw evidence for the claim, I took him at his word that he was a friend behind enemy lines. (It’s also true that I don’t study NRO’s output.) In the couple of exchanges we had, Williamson seemed far less uptight about intellectual differences than most Americans. Myself, so long as ad hominem is avoided and respect is shown—I can easily befriend ideological adversaries. And I do. One of the nicest gentlemen, for example, is Benn Steil, director of International Economics Council on Foreign Relations. I can’t imagine Dr. Steil churlishly unFollowing me. We differ. So what? I enjoyed his book, “The Battle of Bretton Woods,” immensely.

The UnFollow/UnFriend churlishness is not the province of neoconservatives and Republicans alone.

From experience, libertarians can be as uncivilized in their interactions. The column “Schooling Beck On Trump’s Nullification Promise” mentions “Ivan Eland’s learned rundown of U.S. presidents,” Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty. I contacted Eland as a courtesy. As did I ask him if he would kindly reciprocate with a Follow on Twitter. Unlike the polite Lawrence W. Reed of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, Eland has simply ignored me. Perhaps he’s on vacation.

Manners are a species of morals. Other than to hate mail or rude mail, I respond to all letters I receive—to each and every one. Many thousands since 1998, which is when I got my first newspaper column, in Canada. Due to time constraints, my replies are laconic. But if a reader has bothered to read my work and comment on what I have to say—then it’s only decent and proper to reciprocate.

I haven’t always been firm in this resolve, but I try my very best. If a colleague writes, I reply, whether I like them and their stuff or not. Ignoring a correspondent demonstrates contempt for that individual—a contempt that reflects on the rude “interlocutor.”

UPDATE (1/24): Facebook readers dispute the characterization of Williamson as remotely intellectual.

Christoph Dollis: Well, I’ve always known Kevin Williamson as a moron. Sorry that it hurts, and I get that (I’ve had similar experiences), but in my long-held opinion about Mr. Williamson, you haven’t lost much. I’m pretty sure Williamson is a staunch friend of arch cuckservative Ed Morrissey of Hot Air. ‘Nuff said.”

UPDATE II (3/5):

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