90 Miles From Tyranny

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Virgil: We’ve Seen This Movie Before–How Communist China Is Following Nazi Germany’s Playbook Against America

In old China, the kowtow was the bow of deep respect, even prostrate obeisance, to the Emperor.

Today, Americans are seeing the distressing spectacle of huge American corporations kowtowing to a new kind of emperor, Xi Jinping, and his Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The most recent flashpoint, of course, has been the self-abasement of the Houston Rockets basketball team.

As Breitbart News put it, the Rockets and the entire National Basketball Association have “caved” to Red China. Indeed, pro basketball is so eager to kowtow to Beijing that it has imported a little bit of Chinese-style totalitarianism to the U.S. Just on Wednesday, basketball authorities engaged in the pettiest possible censorship of its live audience at a game, right before a streaming camera.

Commissioner of the National Basketball Association Adam Silver speaks during a press conference prior to the preseason game between Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors at Saitama Super Arena on October 8, 2019. (Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images)

We can leave it to the subversive wits at Babylon Bee to capture the utter craziness of the moment, in which woke corporate values have displaced familiar patriotic values: “NBA Now Requiring All Players To Stand For Chinese National Anthem.”

Of course, it’s not just the NBA; it’s Activision Blizzard, it’s Apple and Google. In fact, Bloomberg News circulated a long list of American companies that have similarly bowed down to China.

So what’s going on? How is it happening that American leading economic players are now taking orders from China? How did “Yankee Imperialism” turn into “Panda Imperialism”?

Once upon a time, there was the hopeful belief that capitalism and free trade would open up China. And yet by now, we’re learned that the Chinese dictatorship hasn’t been opened up by the flow of American money, it’s been empowered by all that cash.

In the words of New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo, “A darker truth is now dawning on the world: China’s economic miracle hasn’t just failed to liberate Chinese people. It is also now routinely corrupting the rest of us outside of China.”

We might also let Chris Arnade, the ex-Wall Streeter who found his true calling as the photographer/chronicler of gritty “back row” America, tell this sorry tale his way; dripping with scorn for the “front row” of both parties, Arnade tweeted:

You Gotta Make Shit Up...

SHOCK POLL: Trump Gets Support From 32% of Black Male Voters Against Democrat Opponent

No wonder they’re so desperate to impeach him!

According to the findings of a new Hill-HarrisX poll, a shocking 32 percent of black male voters would prefer to vote for Donald Trump over a generic Democrat opponent in the 2020 presidential election.

The Hill reported the data deceptively by claiming that an “overwhelming majority of black voters” would support a Democrat in 2020 over President Trump. The fake news did not mention Trump’s impressive support among black male voters in their report about the poll.

While 32 percent of black males support the President against a Democratic challenger, only seven percent of black females would support him over the generic Democrat. The black community may be split on gender lines over Trump, but he has undoubtedly amassed an impressive level of support from the men for a Republican contender.

Trump has made in-roads with the black community with his support of landmark criminal justice reform legislation:

President Trump on Friday signed into law a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill after it overwhelmingly passed both chambers earlier this week.

The bill, called the First Step Act, reduces mandatory minimum sentences in certain instances and expands on “good time credits” for well-behaved prisoners looking for shorter sentences.

It also instructs the Department of Justice to establish a risk and needs assessment system to classify inmate’s risk and provide guidance on “housing, grouping, and program assignment.”

The Senate approved the bill in a vote of 87-12 on Tuesday while the House approved it 358-36 on Thursday, sending it to Trump’s desk.

The bill’s passage was a significant victory for Trump and his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who was involved in negotiations over the bill. Criminal justice reform was one of Kushner’s major policy goals since arriving in the White House.

Trump’s strong and enduring relationship with rap icon Kanye West has helped as well:

In an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Thursday night, a world-famous rapper and cultural icon gave America a glimpse into the hatred of dissenting opinion that exists in show business while defending his support for...

The 90 Miles Mystery Video: Nyctophilia Edition #76

Before You Click On The "Read More" Link,

Please Only Do So If You Are Over 21 Years Old.

If You are Easily Upset, Triggered Or Offended, This Is Not The Place For You.

Please Leave Silently Into The Night......

You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?

It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,

from the beautiful to the repugnant,

from the mysterious to the familiar.

If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,

you could be inspired, you could be appalled.

This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.

You have been warned.

TRUMP'S TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA IS A BLOCKBUSTER

What the Democrats fear most is happening: President Trump and his negotiating team are reaching wide-ranging agreements with China that will be a huge boon to the United States.

In an Oval Office press conference yesterday, President Trump and China’s Vice Premier announced a Phase 1 set of agreements that will be documented over the next several weeks. The video of the press conference is embedded below; Trump’s performance was masterful. His many years of experience as a negotiator shine through.

The Phase 1 agreement covers several important topics, including agricultural sales. China has agreed to ramp up its purchases of agricultural products to $40-$50 billion–three times the previous peak–over the next two years. Trump joked that farmers will need to buy more land and work overtime. That means, I think, that Democrats can say goodbye to hopes that tariffs would be the issue that could win votes in rural America.

The agreement also opens up China’s financial services markets to American companies, covers currency manipulation, and addresses some aspects of intellectual property and technology transfer agreements. Phase 2 negotiations will begin immediately.

In view of the Phase 1 agreement, new tariffs scheduled to go into effect on October 15 have been canceled. Further tariff increases are scheduled for December 15, but Trump and Steven Mnuchin, who participated in the press conference, emphasized that there is plenty of time to reach a Phase 2 agreement that would nullify those increases. Phase 2 could be the final agreement, or, if there are still open issues, there could be a Phase 3.

Many are saying that the Chinese willingness to enter into this wide-ranging agreement shows that they understand impeachment is a joke, and expect that President Trump will be re-elected. In fact, Trump himself said exactly that in response to a question: “They expect that I’m going to win. Otherwise they wouldn’t sign the deal. It’s very simple.” If Trump can get our relationship with China straightened out well in advance of the election, with economic benefits becoming visible, the main obstacle to his re-election will, in my opinion, be removed.

Here is the press conference in its entirety: