What Being 'Different' Is Really All About . . .

Some thoughts from our dear friend, Christine Flowers:

Years ago, being different was bad. Being black got you killed. Being Jewish got you banned. Being Gay made you hide. Being Catholic got you laughed at in WASP law firms (my daddy has the “no thank you” letters in his box of memories.)

It’s happened to us all, in different degrees.
We should have stopped at that point in evolution where we said “being different is part of the human condition. Celebrate humanity. Move on.”

We moved on. But we moved too far. Now, being different makes us better. Makes us “worthy.” Makes us special. Gives us superpowers.

Mayor Pete uses his husband to be special as the “gay candidate.”

Kamala and Cory use their race.

Kamala and Elizabeth and Kirsten and Amy and Tulsi and Marianne use their gender.

I’m tired. Being different is not bad. It is not good. It simply “is.” When it becomes important to some, it becomes dangerous to others.

Muslims in New Zealand, Jews in Pittsburgh, Catholics in Sri Lanka, gays in Orlando and whoever else out there, saddled with an unwanted label, know that.

Trump's US Economy Beats Expectations, Again!

“The U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the first quarter and posted its best growth to start a year in four years,” Fred Imbert reports for CNBC. “First-quarter gross domestic product expanded by 3.2%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday in its initial read of the economy for that period. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected growth of 2.5%.” Click here to read more.

“President Donald Trump is taking a principled stand against congressional overreach, refusing to allow Democrats to use Congress as a taxpayer-funded opposition research firm for 2020,” Jenna Ellis writes in USA Today. “Special counsel Robert Mueller has completed his two-year investigation, finding that there was no Russia ‘collusion’ and bringing no obstruction of justice charge. But now, House Democrats have shifted their own version of the discredited partisan witch hunt into full gear.”

“One of the biggest failures of the Mueller probe concerns not what was in the final report, but what was not. Close readers will search in vain for any analysis of the central document in this affair: the infamous ‘dossier.’ It’s a stunning omission,” Kimberly Strassel writes in The Wall Street Journal. “Thanks to the special counsel we know Republicans weren’t playing footsie with Russians. But thanks to BuzzFeed, we know that Democrats were. America deserves to know how far that interaction extended.”

“Veterans of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu have slammed [Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)], for accusing them of killing ‘thousands’ of Somalis and ignoring the fact they were engaged in a United Nations mission designed to protect civilians from a murderous warlord following a devastating famine and civil war,” Russ Read reports for the Washington Examiner. “Danny McKnight, who was the Ranger colonel who commanded U.S. troops, and Kyle Lamb, who was a Delta Force operator, said they were in Somalia in part to protect the Majerteen, Omar's tribe, from the ruthless warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid.” 19 U.S. troops were killed in service of that mission.

OK, So Mull This One Over For A Moment . . .

Outrage At Flyers Continues To Grow . . .

It's hard to imagine a dumber public relations move than the Flyers recent banishment of the beloved singer Kate Smith and her classic rendition of God Bless America.
And now, one week on, the outrage over this continues to build.
Here are excerpts from a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer from Cory Steiner:

It’s very rare that I get riled up any more about much of anything, but the picture of the covered up statue of American super-icon Kate Smith (on the front page of the April 20th Inquirer) blew my mind; a statue which has since been removed. The emotionally crippled elite of Philly have declared Kate Smith a racist based on a song sung 90 years ago whose actual purpose was to mock racism. The 2nd song of concern was also sung by black cultural super-icon Paul Robeson. I’m a Jewish former full-time Active Duty Marine so I know a thing or two about real racism and a lot about the real America. . . . This terrible and destructive behavior has to stop with The Flyers departure from my consciousness not a bad place to begin. Not sure why The Flyers would fall prey to this next installment of the anti-America agenda, but they don’t exist anymore so I don’t care. Many, regardless of which end of the political spectrum they reside, are critically concerned about the direction some are trying to take our nation. We need look no further than moral obscenities like this to find the root cause.

And then there's this from Dennis Malloy at radio station NJ 101.5:

It looks to be yet another case of a knee jerk reaction to what seemed like a horrible occurrence. Once it came to light last week that Kate Smith recorded songs back in the 1930's that were racist, the NY Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers both took immediate action to remove her likeness from their arena and delete her rendition of 'God Bless America' from their playlist. Through some careful thought and easy research, information has come to light that Kate was a pioneer in working with and helping black entertainers of the day. One of the songs in question was actually a parody and a mocking of white supremacy and was also recorded by our own Paul Robeson, a pioneering African American civil rights leader.Just like in the Covington Kentucky High School kids that got misrepresented in the media in D.C., and the Jussie Smollett fake racial attack back in January, this seems to be another hasty rush to judgement before the facts were in. At the slightest hint of misbehavior when it comes to race, the mob jump in to judge and organizations fall all over them selves to create distance from the controversy. When the dust settles and the facts come out, in some cases the damage is already done.

And this, excerpted from a column by Paul Dougherty at the Cincinnati  Enquirer:

Once more, to make sure we have this right: Two sports teams are blackballing a dead singer for a song she sang 80 years ago that wasn’t called God Bless America. In a less enlightened time. When it was OK to do so. So OK that Paul Robeson, an entertainer who happened to be African-American, performed the same song.
There is a difference between hate speech and saying something unwise. It’s not a subtle difference. It’s the difference between Charlottesville and Kate Smith. The more we jump on Kate Smith, the less we take seriously Charlottesville. The line becomes blurred.
Vigilance is a good thing. Constant moralizing isn’t. . . .
When everyone is afraid to speak, no one will. Where will that leave us?
We’ve been a nation of robust discussion that allows for the flourishing of ideas. The ongoing erosion of free, reasonable expression is troubling. Everyone is offended by something, all the time. One reaction is Stepford Politeness. That’s not good for any of us.

Or this, from Flyers Fan Ken Giusini at the Courier-Post: 

Son Of Late Flyers Owner On What's Been Lost

Below the photo of former Flyers owner Ed Snider, Kate Smith and Bobby Clarke you will find excerpts from an op-ed written by Craig A. Snider, Ed Snider's son.

The entire column, which appears in the Philadelphia Inquirer is just beautifully written. 

I’m not a sports fan but what Craig has written remains very meaningful to me because it captures the sense of team-spirit that fuels America and propels us to succeed. I don’t think that Americans have lost that because I see it every day in so many big and small ways in interactions between ordinary people -- the people who do the work, pay the bills, follow the rules and make America work. 

But the big corporations and billionaires referred to by Craig don’t seem to see that because they’re huge international conglomerates that are largely disconnected from it all; insulated from it. THAT’s why people like Ed Snider are so sorely missed.

When the dust settles, Kate Smith’s name may well be cleared of the recent charges of racism leveled against her. However, the fallout from the Philadelphia Flyers’ swift and unceremonious dumping of her into the trash bin of history; the haunting image of her statue--covered head-to-toe in black sheets, ropes tied around her body--will not be soon forgotten.

But obscured by the headlines is a hidden dimension of this story. It’s about the sense of community, common cause and goodwill that a team forges among its fans in both good and bad times. We wear the same team jerseys and t-shirts. We check our gender, race and class identities at the door. Win? We laugh, hug and high-five. Lose? We grouse and curse together. A shared identity among 20,000 politically and culturally diverse people is precious and rare in today’s deeply divided society. Born in the late 60’s and lifted by the rising tide of rock and roll in the 70’s, the modern arena has become a city’s center, the crossroads of culture. . . .

For fifty years, The Spectrum was my family’s second home, its people my people. Nobody saw the other as rich, poor, black, white, gay or straight. Inside the arena we were like Switzerland, politically neutral. What’s happens out there, stays out there. We have a game to win, a star to admire, a family to get home safely.

People are asking what Ed Snider would have done? Having gotten to know Kate Smith personally over many years, I suspect he would have taken time to learn the facts before rushing to judgement. As a beloved member of the Flyers extended family, she deserved a full hearing. But times have changed. Teams and arenas are owned today by corporations and billionaires who made their names and fortunes elsewhere. When Ed Snider died three years ago, the family ethos was buried with him. . . .  .

It's Clear: NOBODY Can Argue With THIS . . .

Boldly Facing 'The Crisis Next Door' . . . .

This afternoon, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump addressed the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual event brings together practitioners and stakeholders from the front lines of the war on drug abuse. Past Presidents have attended the summit, but today President Trump was able to share evidence of real progress from his Administration’s fight to end the opioid epidemic.      🎬 Watch: President Trump says everyone united by same vital goal    The Trump Administration has unveiled numerous programs across the Government since President Trump launched his Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse last year. Those efforts include securing $6 billion in funding, increasing law enforcement efforts through the Department of Justice, and signing the bipartisan SUPPORT Act into law.  Another crucial part of the President’s plan is to cut off the flow of illicit drugs before they flood into our communities. The Department of Homeland Security recently seized 1.2 billion lethal doses of fentanyl over a single 12-month period—enough of the deadly drug to kill every American four times over. President Trump’s efforts to secure our border and crack down on illegal distributors are drying up this lucrative drug supply.  The death toll from this “crisis next door" is nothing short of a national tragedy, but there are signs of progress from the Administration’s massive push. In the President’s first year in office, 68 percent fewer Americans over the age of 26 began using heroin than in the previous year. Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures of fentanyl alone are up 265 percent over the last two full fiscal years.  “ We will not solve this epidemic overnight,” the President told leaders in the fight against drug abuse today in Atlanta. But “we will never stop until our job is done.”  Join other Americans and share your story from the crisis next door.  Watch: First Lady says we will replace the bond of addiction with the bond of love

The American car industry is back. Let’s keep it that way. This afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn Truck Plant in Detroit, Michigan. It’s the same factory town that has produced some of the most iconic Ford automobile lines in American history, from the Model A and Mustang to the newer F-150. Today, the plant is home to some 7,500 employees—each one of them using innovative techniques to help develop America’s next generation of cars. “The automotive industry is the backbone of American manufacturing today,” Vice President Pence told workers. “The [United States–Mexico–Canada trade agreement] will finally give workers the level playing field and be able to compete and win on a global stage as never before.” The USMCA, which President Trump negotiated late last year, will replace NAFTA once it is approved by Congress.    Vice President Pence: New trade agreement puts auto industry first

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, GA | April 24, 2019

Judge Her By Her Own Words And Actions . . .

Rashida Tlaib has a single loyalty & it doesn't appear to be America!

Rashida makes herself the victim of the 911 Jihad attacks & vilifies the American people as the ones to be feared.

Meanwhile, those who Rashida seems to be loyal to were "back home" in Palestine celebrating. pic.twitter.com/fBg42blFqu

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) April 24, 2019

17 Things You May Not Know About Kate Smith . . .

Obviously, the Flyers and the Yankees never did their homework before deciding to banish legendary entertainer and American patriot Kate Smith from their midst.
Here are 17 things they didn't know (or chose not to acknowledge) about Kate Smith:

• No other entertainer raised more to support the US war effort during World War II. Kate Smith raised more than a half-BILLION dollars. And that was in 1940s dollars.
• During a time when African-American entertainers were rarely seen on TV, Kate Smith welcomed black entertainers such as the Billy Williams Quintet on her nationally-televised TV program.
• After the untimely death of Nat King Cole, Kate Smith joined entertainers Dionne Warwick and Sammy Davis, Jr. at a benefit concert to raise money for the Nat King Cole Cancer Foundation.
• Kate Smith performed more than 200 times at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, the center of African-American life in America.
• Kate Smith was recognized by the nation as a patriot and presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Reagan.
• No other performer introduced more songs than Kate Smith. She recorded more than 3,000 songs, introduced more than 1,000 and saw 600 of them make the hit parade.
• At the height of Kate Smith's career she repeatedly was named one of the three or four most popular women in America. In 1942, a nationwide poll listed the three most popular women in America as Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Hayes and Kate Smith.
• Kate Smith made more than 15,000 radio broadcasts and, over the years, received more than 25 million fan letters.
• President Roosevelt once introduced her to King George VI of England, saying: ''This is Kate Smith. Miss Smith is America.''
• For a time, Kate Smith had exclusive rights to perform ''God Bless America'' in public -- a song written by Irving Berlin which she introduced on Veteran's Day, 1938. She relinquished that right when it became apparent the song had achieved a significance beyond that of just another new pop tune.
• Kate Smith and Irving Berlin generously donated all royalties from God Bless America to the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. To this day, those two groups benefit from the song.
• At one point, popular sentiment strongly favored replacing The Star Spangled Banner with God Bless America as the national anthem. But Kate Smith refused to endorse the effort, deferring to tradition.
• Communists and socialists hated Kate Smith. In 1949, The Daily Worker, the official newspaper of the American Communist Party lambasted Smith after she called out repressive communist-controlled regimes in eastern Europe. Smith was undeterred and wore the criticism as a badge of honor.
• Kate Smith suffered the slings and arrows of fat-shaming most of her life but she never let it get to her. Still, there were days she cried quietly in the privacy of her dressing room.
• In 1962 Kate Smith fell into a long period of depression following the death of her mother, Charlotte and her long-time manager, Ted Collins. She did not emerge from this period until 1965.
• Kate Smith wrote two autobiographical books, 'Living in a Great Big Way'' in 1938, and ''Upon My Lips a Song'' in 1960. Both were huge bestsellers. 
• In 1965, after attending Roman Catholic services for 25 years, Miss Smith was baptized into that religion at her local church in Lake Placid, NY.

You can make a difference on behalf of the legacy of Kate Smith. Call the Flyers now at 215-218-7825 and let them know how you feel!

Nova Students Defend Conservative Views!