As IF Times

Source: MSNBC guest unchecked after floating theory that Trump-supporting cops may have framed Jussie Smollett | Fox News

One of the most lucrative TV shows ever produced is the classic sit-com, Seinfeld. Even though it last aired an original show more than 20 years ago, it continues to broadcast via re-runs in a seemingly continuous loop on the cable channels. It’s not so much that the show remains entertaining, it still is, but the main reason for the longevity is quite simply because it makes money. Advertisers still pay to hawk their wares during the show’s broadcasts even though everyone has seen each episode dozens of times. But fair to say, after listening to the same shtick over and over again, it’s not about art, it’s about money.

This model is not lost on the people operating in the racial division/social justice business. To this day, in 21st century America, even though the stigma of slavery is a distant period of history, the on going bleats of racism and oppression consumes social discussion as if it was the most pervasive issue facing Americans. As Tucker Carlson points out, no one alive today has grandparents who experienced slavery first hand…unless they’ve been alive since 1863.

Yet over 150 years later, the racial division industry has never been stronger. Some of the early adopters of this racket, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton etc have now been supplanted by a newer generation of ‘activists’ who frame any and every possible issue, no matter how mundane as having some kind of racially oppressive motive. The Jussie Smollet saga is of course the most recent in a never ending line of indignities suffered by the black community.

Some are too young to recall that in 1991, the Heileman Brewing company introduced a new beer product named PowerMaster, a potent malt liquor with an alcohol content of 5.8%, whereas most beers have a content by volume of 3.5% or less. Black community leaders were outraged claiming that this product was targeting urban blacks. I am not making this up. So, due to pressure from Federal regulators, the company retracted the product from distribution. One year later, the product was re-introduced as Colt 45 Premium with an alcohol content of 5.9%, with much success….even though the can had the same design as PowerMaster!

Politicos today pander endlessly to the ‘oppressed minority’ because, like Seinfeld re-runs, they continue to make money off it. Perceived slights are overstated for their sympathy factor and if none are available, some are made up out of whole cloth as in the Smollet case. In fact, as some have observed, overt racist attacks are so rare that they have to pay people from out of the country to do them. This enables these champions of the people to strengthen their political power since otherwise, they would have no platform.

Modern social justice ‘fighters’ truly have no original content, so like the Seinfeld re-runs, they beat on the same old themes which have always brought them success. And like the re-runs there continues to be an audience for this. But it gets tiring and it’s predictable. Even the most sympathetic amongst us will tire of same thing ad nauseum especially if we know the ending. To paraphrase a line from an old Seinfeld episode, “hey the 1880’s called, they’ve run out of outrage”.

Source: Panera’s experiment with socialism craters… “can’t cover costs” … restaurants shuttered – NaturalNews.com

Gee, who could have seen that coming.  Most people have never even heard of this experiment by Panera, a noble one to be sure, but nevertheless one that a 7 year old could have told them was doomed to fail.  Having a business model in which people are allowed to contribute what they want for your products works only in the fairyland in which no one lives. To Panera’s credit, it was the corporation’s own money that was at stake here, not the collective contributions forced from the public that we’re accustomed to seeing.

In fact, you can say that this was a form of charity, always admirable, but only if sustainable. You can dole out only as much as you have in your larder to help others.  If only this philosophy was observed in public policy. As we know, the model there is to enforce some well intentioned policy with the monies confiscated from everyone else, without regard to permission, efficacy or cost.  There’s seldom a mechanism of sober reflection when the policies go wrong, even when they result in the exact opposite of what was originally intended. One bemusing example is the popularity of the “no guns allowed” sticker one finds in so many buildings and all schools. What this really signals is that these are risk free victim zones for perps. There is an internet meme showing a “no wolf” sign around a herd of sheep. The reality is, laws are only for the law abiding.

There are innumerate examples of this, but of course the one capturing the headlines most recently, is illegal immigration.  What may have started off as a gesture of kindness by allowing people into the nation illegally to find work and support their families has transmogrified grotesquely into a virtual industry.  Tens of millions of people are living in the country without going through proper channels and millions more are in their wake literally pushing at the fences to get in.  Unlike Panera Bread which made a decision based on the evidence to stop their program, politicos are doubling down on allowing the flood of illegals to enter the country.  This, despite hard evidence of the unwanted consequences of increased crime, bursting social support systems and schools,  higher taxation and degraded cities.

People with an elevated sense of social justice unfortunately are often also deficient in matters of common sense. When they manage to take office, they’re like children who think bringing home all of the stray dogs in the neighborhood is a good idea, but have no idea the cost and effort required to maintain them, but hey, they’re cute.  If you extrapolate this to public policy, it’s the same thing as making all of your neighbors take in stray dogs as well without their choice in the matter.

And this is what’s happened to public policy today.  Let’s disregard for a moment the mercenary aspects of policy and simply take the proponents at their word; that they are social justice fighters.   There is a breakdown of the system of checks and balances needed to nip ideas which are hopelessly wrongheaded from becoming policy. There is a crying need for rational voices to put a stop to misbegotten notions which threaten the very fabric of a civilized culture.  For too long we’ve allowed the kids to run the place and it’s time for the adults to step up and take back control.