Breathtaking Stupidity
Like the vending machine thief in Rhode Island who, after he was apprehended by the police, made his public defender’s job much more difficult by making his $400 bail using ONLY QUARTERS (true story!), there are some reports you hear on the radio or see on TV that are so breathtakingly stupid, they’re hard to believe. Let’s look at a few.
First, is New York City’s response to the chokehold death of one Jordan Neely, a mentally disturbed man that had been threatening passengers on a NYC subway (these days, rider harassment on NYC’s subways is, it seems, included in the fare at no extra charge). While being restrained by a Good Samaritan, Daniel Penny, pending the arrival of the police, Neely expired. This resulted in a storm of demonstrations against “police brutality” by demonstrators who didn’t quite get the story straight. These protests were breathtakingly stupid, however, because NO POLICE HAD BEEN INVOLVED in the incident! And, when NYC’s ever aggrieved cadre of ready for action protesters realized their mistake, did they hold a press conference and apologize to the police? No. No, they didn’t. They CHANGED THE NARRATIVE, now saying that what they were REALLY protesting was NYC’s failure to properly treat and “help” Neely. The ever resourceful Reverend Al Sharpton went onto say, and I quote: “Jordan WASN’T THREATENING PEOPLE – HE WAS CRYING OUT FOR HELP!” Passengers on the train, however, uniformly DISAGREED with the good reverend, and several of them thanked Mr. Penny (a former Marine Sergeant), for protecting them. Neely, by the way, had been arrested 42 times since 2013 and was known to be schizophrenic. And, with more breathtaking stupidity, hero Penny has subsequently been charged with MANSLAUGHTER.
On the economic front, a CBS poll from April 17, 2023 showed that 70% of Americans support raising the debt ceiling which is now capped at “only” 31.5 TRILLION DOLLARS. Ok, fair enough. BUT, a CBS News poll from February 5, 2023, shows 76% of Democrats and 89% of Republicans say that lowering inflation is the top priority of Congress. The American People don’t realize that these two positions are ANTITHETICAL. You CAN’T do both.
Further on the economic front, is that while a vast majority of Americans have been hurt by runaway inflation, and the high cost of everything is roundly disparaged by almost all Americans, few appear to be aware that the CAUSE of this crippling inflation is the Democrat party’s penchant for printing money and spending it, or, sometimes, just giving it away. And, in a free market economy such as we have, whenever there is an increasing supply of money without a concomitant increase in real goods and services, the cost of those goods and services INVARIABLY rises. America, it would appear, just doesn’t seem to “get it.”
Now, let’s look at the breathtaking stupidity of the voters of the city of Chicago, Illinois. Recently, the horrendous epidemic of crime, violence and murder in the city under the bizarre “leadership” of “woke” mayor Lori Lightfoot has finally resulted in her ouster. Lightfoot, who, get this, has blamed her ouster on “racism” (they seem to know only one tune, don’t they?) despite the fact that her replacement, Brandon Johnson, is ALSO BLACK! (How did she figure?). Lightfoot’s ouster, presumably along with all the wrongheaded “progressive”policies she espoused, should, you’d think, be a good thing. BUT, amazingly, Lightfoot’s replacement, elected by popular vote in Chicago, is MORE PROGRESSIVE than her! Hard to believe, isn’t it? But, as reported in the Chicago Block Club Magazine (April 26, 2023): the incoming mayor of Chicago “Brandon Johnson Stakes Claim As Most Progressive Chicago Mayor In A Generation.” The Windy City, apparently, just doesn’t learn. Judging by the wild “success” of “progressive” policies under the outgoing Ms. Lightfoot, Chicagoans can now expect even MORE OF THE SAME. Now, THAT’s going to work out just fine, isn’t it? Albert Einstein once said that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but each time expecting a different outcome.”
And, lastly, I will conclude with a very short example of breathtaking stupidity from earlier today. As noted in the National Review: “California’s reparations commission has determined that slavery… is the real reason for present-day black poverty in the state.” This is being used to provide a rationale for “reparations” of up to 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS to each black resident of the state. BUT, ladies and gentlemen: California WAS NEVER A SLAVE STATE! NEVER!
Dr. M., A slight correction to your narrative. Daniel Penny was not a retired Marine Corps officer. He served four years in the Marine Corps (2017-2021). You need a minimum twenty years of service to retire. Daniel Penny was discharged (honorably I presume) from the Corps, not retired. Also, a google search shows that Mr. Penny rose to the rank of Sargent, an enlisted rank, not an officer.