Why would anyone with a mirror associate with (or support) Augusta National Golf Club?

This week golf celebrates the first of it’s four “majors.”  The Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia is on the PGA schedule every year during the first full weekend in April.  It was first played in 1934.  The course, and by extension the club, will be fawned over and spoken about in reverent tones on CBS.

But shouldn’t we be repulsed by the past discrimination which was as natural to it’s membership as the famous magnolias and pine straw.  By all accounts the environment has not really changed very much.  The story is not pretty.

Augusta kept black golfers out of the Masters tournament for 40 years. Lee Elder was able to play in the 1975 Masters not because he was invited.  It was only because he won a PGA tournament (1974 Monsanto Open) which granted automatic qualification to the Masters that he gained entrance.

But it would be another 16 years before a black man would be invited for club membership.

Augusta did not admit its first African-American member until 1990, at a time when controversy was erupting over Shoal Creek, an all-white Alabama club where the PGA Championship took place only after it admitted its first black member.

While limiting membership to white males for so long it also required all caddies to be black.

“As long as I’m alive,” said Clifford Roberts, one of the club’s founders in 1933 and a longtime Masters chairman, “all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black.”

No women were admitted to Augusta as members until 2012.  In August of that year, it admitted its first two female members,Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore.

The reality is clear:  Augusta had to be dragged kicking and screaming into changing their membership criteria.  And it is still barely acceptable.

In my opinion the club should be able to admit (and not admit) whomever they want.  They are a private club and should control their membership requirements.   If it were up to me I would overturn the “public accommodation” findings in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and other state provisions.  In a truly free society a business owner should be allowed to decide with whom he trades.  But the other side of that right is the freedom of potential customers to take their business elsewhere.

Few are the private golfers who would turn down an opportunity to play Augusta.   Many are willing to overlook past transgressions, and current practices, for a chance to experience Amen Corner, et al.

But shouldn’t you ask yourself whether you would patronize a restaurant or other private business which was so discriminatory?

Let them control who they allow in.  I will control who I patronize.

Sinclair freak out

Lefties heads are exploding over a statement which was read on air by many news anchors at Sinclair Broadcast Group owned television stations.  The blogosphere and sites run by the usual liberal suspects are outraged.  Here is a typical headline:

CNY Central, other Sinclair TV stations caught reading same right-wing script

That is from syracuse.com which one would expect to be a straight shooting news source.  But why the visceral reaction?

Here is the actual script which was personalized by each station inserting appropriate names and call letters.

 

Hi, I’m [name] with [station]. Our greatest responsibility is to serve our communities. I am extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [station] produces, but I’m concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country.

The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.

At [station], it is our responsibility to report and pursue the truth. We understand the truth is neither politically left nor right. Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility now more than ever. But we are human, and sometimes our reporting might fall short. If you believe our coverage is unfair, please reach out through our [station] website by clicking on “Content Concerns.” We value your comments and we will respond back to you.

We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced, and factual. We consider it our honor and privilege to responsibly deliver the news every day. Thank you for watching, and we appreciate your feedback.

Not sure what is “right wing” about committing to pursue and report truth.  You have to wonder if any of the people freaking out about this actually read the statement.  Or did they just see a leftie criticism and decide to use the statement as their own “fake news.”

The Hazards Of Doing “Something”

Parkland HS students returning to school after spring break were not happy with some of the safety improvements, including a change to only allow backpacks if they are clear.

Students are learning what happens when strangers show up and say “We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.”  They end up pushing for post-shooting “solutions” such as low capacity magazines, waiting periods,  or stronger background checks, none of which would have prevented this heinous shooting.

Right, like an “assault weapons” ban.

H.L Mencken said that people might be sorry if they got what they wanted, Democracy, “good and hard.”

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

 

Gowdy votes for $1.3 trillion budget, wants to question Zinke on “expensive” door

I love Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and was sad when he announced that he would not run for reelection.

But the irony of him voting for the disgusting omnibus bill while calling out Interior Secretary Zinke for “overspending” on an office door is too much.

Reuters says:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican head of a government oversight panel in Congress asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke this week to provide details on a contract to replace doors in his office that initially ran to $139,000, one of several inquiries by lawmakers of spending by Trump administration officials.

In a letter dated March 22 and seen by Reuters, U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee chairman Trey Gowdy asked Zinke to brief him on the need to replace the doors and provide details on the acquisition process, bidding and receipts.

Those following the recent budget process will note that Gowdy voted FOR HR1625, the “Omnibus” spending bill loaded with pork, which will add trillions to the national debt.

 

Citi preempts your constitutional rights

Citi has placed several conditions on new clients/partners

Announcing Our U.S. Commercial Firearms Policy

Under this new policy, we will require new retail sector clients or partners to adhere to these best practices: (1) they don’t sell firearms to someone who hasn’t passed a background check, (2) they restrict the sale of firearms for individuals under 21 years of age, and (3) they don’t sell bump stocks or high-capacity magazines.

1 – In many states a private  seller does not have the ability to do a NICS background check

2 – How does Citi decide that a state which allows 18 -21 year old citizens is a problem?

3 – What is a “high-capacity magazine?”  5,6,7,10,30?

They are telling 2A proponents that they don’t want your business.  Act accordingly and take your business elsewhere.  That’s what I am doing.  I’ve already opened a new CC account with a friendly company.

There Ought To Be A Law…..

…..or maybe not.

In today’s world it seems that every good idea needs to be codified, legislated, and forced on everyone.

J.D. Tuccille thinks otherwise

Because people are forever looking to the law as the solution to the ills they perceive in the world around them—often only to spackle over the failures of the previous round of laws. In the process, they’re forever forgetting that laws are usually nothing more than codified prejudices, imposed against resistant populations, by sometimes incompetent and often corrupt enforcers.

Read the whole thing.

 

Why I “Need” an AR-15

To start, in a free society asking why someone else “needs” something, something that is legal, is the wrong question.

This article isn’t my attempt to justify anything to you — it’s not a defense of what’s in my gun safe or of the AR-15 itself. If, for you, my AR-15 ownership is prima facie evidence of my mental instability, sexual inadequacy, lack of a conscience, or what-have-you, then I honestly don’t care what you think about this issue. You can go back to broadcasting your own moral superiority on social media, and I can go back to tuning you out until your rage therapy session is over.

Jon Stokes nails it.  Read the whole thing.

US President Colludes With Russia: Deroy Murdock Connects The Dots

Mueller scours Team Trump for Russian collusion as Dems marinate in it

So, the relentless, fruitless quest for Russian collusion among Team Trump instead finds it alive and well among Team Clinton — and as tough to detect as a May Day march through Red Square.

If Special Counsel Robert Mueller sincerely wishes to expose Russian collusion in general, rather than search in vain for the Republican strain of this virus, he should scrutinize the other side of the aisle. Democrats colluded with Russia from 2009 to at least 2016.

Read the whole thing.

#BoycottTheBoycotters

The people and entities listed below are not satisfied with expressing their own opinion.  They have called for a boycott of the NRA in general and also threatened other entities if they won’t agree to boycott also.  Twitter hashtag for the boycott is #BoycottNRA

They have a right to their opinion.  I have a right to decide I don’t want to fund their anti-American political agenda.

They don’t want a public debate.  They are calling for the NRA to be silenced.  Multiple calls for Amazon, Google Play, Roku, etc. to remove NRATV from their platforms.

Chicago Boyz blogged about boycotting the boycotters on February 23.

 

 

AUTHORS

David Beard                      beardwrites.com                                 @dabeard

Kurt Eichenwald                 kurteichenwald.com                           @kurteichenwald

Stephen King                     stephenking.com                                @stephenking

Warren Leight                    warrenleight.com                               @warrenleighttv

John Pavlovitz                    johnpavlovitz.com/                             @johnpavlovitz

Ben Stein                            mrbenstein.com

Jennifer Wright                                                                           @JenAshleyWright

 

BUSINESS

Alamo Rent A Car               alamo.com                                           @Alamo

Allied Van Lines                                                                              @alliedvl

Avis                                                                                              @avis

Best Western Hotels

Budget Rental Car

Chubb Insurance                                                                             @chubb

Delta Airlines                      delta.com                                               @delta

Enterprise Car Rental          enterprise.com                                        @Enterprise

First National Bank of Omaha                                                            @FBNOmaha

Hertz                                                                                                   @Hertz

Kroger                                 kroger.com                                             @kroger

LifeLock                                                                                               @lifelock

MetLife                                                                                                @metlife

National Car Rental                                                                              @nationalpro

North American Van Lines                                                                    @northamericanvl

Paramount Rx                     paramountrx.com

Republic Bank                     republicbank.com                                        @republicbank

SimpliSafe                                                                                            @simplisafe

Starkey Hearing                   starkey.com                                              @starkeyhearing

Symantec

 

Teladoc                                teladoc.com                                             @teladoc

TrueCar                                truecar.com                                              @truecar

United Airlines                       united.com                                               @united

Wyndham Hotel Group       wyndhamhotels.com                                    @wyndham

 

ENTERTAINERS

Elizabeth Banks                   elizabethbanks.com                                   @ElizabethBanks

blink-182                             blink182.com                                            @blink-182

Zach Braff                                                                                           @zachbraff

Mike Colter                          wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Colter                   @realmikecolter

Billy Eichner                          youtube.com/billyonthestreettv                 @billyeichner

Michael J. Fox                                                                                    @realmikefox

Morgan J, Freeman              11thstreetproductions.com                        @mjfree

Jim Gaffigan                         jimgaffigan.com                                       @JimGaffigan

Evan Handler                                                                                       @evanhandler

Amy Hargreaves                                                                                  @amyhargreavesny

Phil Hendrie                         philhendrieshow.com                                 @realphilhendrie

Debra Messing                                                                                     @debramessing

Alyssa Milano                       alyssa.com                                                 @Alyssa_Milano

Scott Nevins                         scottnevins.com                                        @scottnevins

Tatum O’neal                        tatumoneal.com                                       @tatum_oneal

Patton Oswalt                       pattonoswalt.com                                      @pattonoswalt

Mark Ruffalo                         facebook.com/markruffalo                        @markruffalo

Tara Strong                          tarastrong.com                                         @tarastrong

George Takei                                                                                      @georgetakei

Ally Walker                           youtube.com/watch?v=LMZ59ON1ckY       @allywalker1

Beau Willimon                       actiongroups.net                                     @beauwillimon

 

MEDIA

Joe Scarborough                                                                                      @joeNBC

 

POLITICIANS

KarolBrown                           electkarolbrown.com                                  @KarolBrown

Jon Cooper                           democraticcoalition.com                             @joncoopertweets

Dr. Dena Grayson                  wikipedia.org/wiki/Dena_Grayson               @DrDenaGrayson

Martin O’Malley                     martinomalley.com                                      @martinomalley

 

SJW INDIVIDUALS and ORGANIZATIONS

Charlotte Clymer                   facebook.com/cmclymer                              @cmclymer

Shannon Coulter                    grabyourwallet.org/                                    @shannoncoulter

Kathie Dello                                                                                            @kathiedello

Scott Dworkin                        democraticcoalition.org/                              @funder

William LeGate                       addme.fun/legate                                        @williamlegate

Matt McDermott                    matthewfmcdermott.com                              @mattmfm

PoliticsVideoChannel             politicsvideochannel.com/                               @politvidchannel

Jay Scherbeth                                                                                          @jaysch

Michael Skolnik                      wearesoze.com                                             @michaelskolnik

Grant Stern                            grantstern.com                                             @grantstern

Bishop Talbert                        facebook.com/talbertswan                             @TalbertSwan

Tom Watson                          causewired.com                                             @tomwatson

Igor Volsky                            igorvolsky@gmail.com                                   @igorvolsky

 

TWEETERS

Reid Adair                           https://www.uabsports.com/staff.aspx?staff=13 @rwabhm

Rob Bennett                          nittotire.com                                                   @rob_bennett

David Hogg                                                                                                @davidhogg111

Ed Krassenstein                     edkrass.com                                                    @EdKrassen

Brian Krassenstein                 pscp.tv/krassenstein                                          @krassenstein

Darius Marder                        http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2942187/          @darisumarder

 

BLOGGERS

Daily Kos                               dailykos.com                                                    @dailykos

Michael Moore                       michaelmoore.com                                             @mmflint

Laurie O’Connell                                                                                            @lococonsulting

ThinkProgress                        thinkprogress.org                                               @thinkprogress