NPRs CEO's Marxism

Defund the NPR.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Marxist organization

I had been thinking about doing a post explaining how Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization.  Thank you Prager U for saving me the work and doing a great job at this.  This needs to be shared, not enough people realize this.

Jordan Peterson on the lie of White Privilege

More brilliance from Jordan Peterson: Identity politics and the Marxist lie of white privilege.

Marxism and the Pope

Bitter clingers?

The Pope says he's not a Marxist, but he's defending his criticism of capitalism according to The Guardian.  Great. I would contend that the Pope wasn't asked the right question.  

Pope Francis has rejected accusations from rightwing Americans that his teaching is Marxist, defending his criticisms of the capitalist system and urging more attention be given to the poor in a wide-ranging interview.

In remarks to the Italian daily La Stampa, the Argentinian pontiff said the views he had espoused in his first apostolic exhortation last month – which the rightwing US radio host Rush Limbaugh attacked as "dramatically, embarrassingly, puzzlingly wrong" – were simply those of the church's social doctrine. Limbaugh described the pope's economics as "pure Marxism".

"The ideology of Marxism is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don't feel offended," Francis was quoted as saying. Defending his criticism of the "trickle-down" theory of economics, he added: "There was the promise that once the glass had become full it would overflow and the poor would benefit. But what happens is that when it's full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing ever comes out for the poor ... I repeat: I did not talk as a specialist but according to the social doctrine of the church. And this does not mean being a Marxist."

He's not a Marxist, Marx decried religion so that would make no sense.  The Pope should have been asked if he was a  socialist.  If he has a political worldview that is informing his political views rather than the reverse, people should know about that.  

The Pope wants to reform the Catholic church.  That can be good and bad.  His focus on the poor is not a bad thing.  That focus would certainly help attract new people to the church.  But there is a difference between recognizing a problem and the prescription applied to it as a cure.  The Pope has decried capitalism but it has often been applied in a way that is as twisted as Marxists claim communism was applied in Soviet Russia.  In other words, capitalism has seen many flawed applications and it has still managed to lift millions of people out of poverty.  Perhaps what the Pope might be seeking is socialism.  Perhaps tempered capitalism.  He has been less than clear.

The danger for the church, particularly in the United States is that if he is taking a socialist approach, he risks turning off a lot of people.  While he may gain converts to Catholicism around the world, he could certainly lose the passion or even the faith of followers in America (and elsewhere). It's not clear if the Pope believes that to be the case and is taking a calculated risk, or doesn't know, or doesn't care.  The Catholic church  has a big pulpit.  If the pontifications coming from that pulpit espouse increased government control, the church may have lost its rudder.

Just what is leadership anyway?

What is a good leader? A leader isn't someone who does the work. A leader is someone who inspires people, or a team, to do it themselves. A leader inspires people to put forth their best efforts. He (or she) brings out their best. A leader also leads by example. A leader has a vision that drives a team in a direction, it does not drag people towards that vision kicking and screaming.

What a leader isn't, is someone who convinces people that they have peaked. An Olympic athlete's coach doesn't tell the athlete to shoot for 5th, or that they can't possibly get any better. He pushes the athlete to go for the gold. The coach, the leader, understands that in every person there is the potential for greatness that is there to be tapped.

Chris Coons pretends to run right

The Delaware Senate election isn't just about Cristine O'Donnell.  There's an extremist in the race, and it's not her.  But you wouldn't know it from the campaign sound-bites.  The mainstream media are doing their best to focus on some silly statements from O'Donnell, in order to avoid shining any light on the Democrat in the race.  Delaware Marxist Democrat moderate(?) Chris Coons is doing his bit to misinform as well.  He's running to the right believe it or not. From Fox News;

I'm no one's pet, and I intend to be an independent voice in the U.S. Senate," Delaware's Democratic Senate candidate, Chris Coons, declared emphatically on MSNBC Wednesday, referencing a recent utterance from the gaffe-prone Majority Leader Harry Reid who called the New Castle County executive "my pet." "That was a very unfortunate choice of words by Senator Reid," Coons told "The Daily Rundown's" Chuck Todd.

Coons cited two specific examples where he disagrees with the White House, saying he opposes the president's offshore drilling proposal and added, "I strongly disagree with how the banking bailouts were handled. I think the TARP bill, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, was passed in a hurry without any accountability and hasn't been administered properly."

The Democrat also would not rule out bucking his party on whether or not to extend all of the Bush tax cuts, though he clearly prefers a middle-class-only approach favored by the president.

But here's some quotes of Coons from the past;

And more, from OnTheIssues.org;

• Buildup of carbon dioxide is unsustainable. (Jul 2010)
• Oil drilling poses an environmental risk. (Jul 2010)
• Link fair trade with national security. (Jul 2010)*
• Longstanding need to fix health care system. (Jul 2010)
• Link security with development and human rights. (Jul 2010)

Interestingly they rate him as a moderate. Gotta love those .org sites.

*Do you know what Fair Trade is? From Wikipedia,

"Fair trade is a financial relationship between producers, sellers, and consumers based on the principle of equity within the exchange of goods. Equity is achieved via creating a platform for trade that is transparent and therefore accountable for the just treatment of all producers. This includes providing market avenues that allow marginalized producers the opportunity to sell, ensuring humane working conditions, and all the while protecting environmental and cultural factors that play into the production process. There are nine main principles by which all fair trade abides: create opportunities for marginalized producers, develop transparent relationships, build capacity, promote fair trade, pay promptly and fairly, support empowering working conditions, ensure children’s rights, cultivate environmental stewardship, and respect cultural identity.

...The Adam Smith Institute sees "fair trade" as a type of subsidy or marketing ploy that impedes growth. "

I'd just add that fair trade certification's emphasis on agricultural cooperatives (co-ops) discriminates against farmers who are understandably skeptical of joining into a co-op. Pushing people into co-ops is something a Marxist might do as an intermediate step.