Friday, December 05, 2014

The Council Has Spoken!! Watcher's Council Results

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The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week's Watcher's Council match up.

“I felt that another one of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse. I mean it was, he’s obviously bigger than I was and stronger and the, I’ve already taken two to the face and I didn’t think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right.” - From Officer Darren Wilson's Testimony

“Before you think this is over, remember what happened in Rodney King,” - Al Sharpton, after the Grand Jury decision

"You can`t sell this sh*t" - Lesley McFadden, Michael Brown's mother to other family members shortly before she and others in her party allegedly assaulted and robbed them over a dispute over whom had rights to the selling of Michael Brown tee shirts and other merchandise .

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This week's winning essay,The Right Planet's – #Ferguson: If You Like Your Facts, You Can Keep Your Facts is a superb roundup of the incident and a reminder to us that no one is entitled to their own facts. Here's a slice:

If you visit the blog on a regular basis, you might’ve noticed I haven’t posted much lately about the riots and mayhem going on in Ferguson, Missouri. The reason is simple: I’m not giving the agitators what they want. What do the Ferguson agitators and rioters want? They want to be seen and heard; and the more they are seen and heard, the better, as far as they’re concerned.

 Like moths attracted to the proverbial flame, the major networks and countless other  media outlets have descended upon Ferguson, Missouri, like a plague of locusts. Recently, I watched Fox News’ reporter Mike Tobin claim there were more cameramen at his location than there were protestors a few days ago. (Apparently the cold weather was keeping the rioters at bay.) That image really stuck with me. It’s like a bunch of people grabbed their lawn chairs and ran off to go watch the riots in Ferguson. One must wonder whether the media would’ve been disappointed had there been no riots and looting.

 Ever since this whole debacle in Ferguson started, I just wanted the facts. If Darren Wilson was in the wrong, then he should be brought to justice. But there were a number of initial eyewitness accounts that reported Michael Brown attacked police officer Darren Wilson and attempted to take his gun. Well, the Grand Jury report appears to substantiate the initial reports. Furthermore, the whole “hands up, don’t shoot” meme is based upon a fallacy. The forensics report, three autopsies, the medical examiner, the coroner, and eyewitness reports appear to show that Michael Brown did not have his hands up when he was fatally shot by Officer Wilson. But rest assured, facts do not matter to the people busily trying to stoke the flames of crisis and chaos in Ferguson.

The Chicago-based Revolutionary Communist Party USA stokes the flames of racial division in Ferguson, Missouri. (Credit: Twitter)

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what mobocracy looks like. The facts do not matter. As a matter of fact, they really just get in the way of some good ole fashioned “radical social change.” There is no such thing as due process or being considered innocent until proven guilty in a mobocracy; it is a lynch mob—pure and simple. Whether you’re guilty or not does not matter. Once the mob has labeled you the enemy, it’s over. There is no justice in a mobocracy. The rule of law is replaced with the law of force—chaos and violence that never ends. Our Founders warned us over and over again about the capricious will of the mob; they coined the term “mobocracy.”

From the very beginning, the whole meme has been a “racist, white pig” mercilessly gunned down an “unarmed, innocent black child.” Just forget the fact Michael Brown was 18-years-old—old enough to get married, old enough to join the military, old enough to be considered an adult by law—and stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 292 pounds. Oh, and just forget the fact Michael Brown (a.k.a. “The Gentle Giant”) had just committed a strong-arm robbery (a felony) at a local convenience store prior to his death.

 michael-brown-strong-arm-robbery

I realize, as I believe most do, that the death of such a young man is truly a tragic thing indeed. But one must accept responsibility for one’s own actions, and their subsequent consequences. Crime and violence often ends badly for all involved. What we’re really talking about is bad behavior, not racism. Bad behavior is no respecter of race or ethnicity. 

Much more at the link.


In our non-Council category, the winner was an eye openng piece in the Atlantic by former AP reporterMatti Friedman – What The Media Gets Wrong About Israel submitted by The Glittering Eye.

In it, he reveals the innate bias of many news outlets including the AP in favor of the 'narrative' that casts the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians as the Good Guys and the Israelis as villains...and exactly how it is promulgated and shaped by them. It's a must read piece, written by an insider.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners


See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

 It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

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