Friday, June 10, 2016

The Council Has Spoken! Our 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.

"“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.” " - Jeff Cooper, Art of The Rifle

"Liberalism is like an acid that distorts and ruins everything it touches" -Rush Limbaugh

“The Second Amendment is timeless for our Founders grasped that self-defense is three-fold: every free individual must protect themselves against the evil will of the man, the mob and the state.” - Tiffany Madison


Stately McDaniel Manor

We had a tie this week in our Council category. Joshuapundit's Welcome To The Left's Carny Show is about...well, let's just say the title pretty much says it all.

Stately McDaniel Manor's Gun Violence Awareness Day And Common Sense concerns the outright hypocrisy involved in one of those cute Leftist 'holidays' I wasn't even aware of, and I bet you weren't either. It's a superb piece, and since I break ties around here,it gets the crown this week. Here's a slice:

Thursday, June 02, was National Gun Violence Awareness Day. I nearly missed it, or at least, I wasn’t aware of it until I read about it in my daily Internet searches. Such occasions must have various symbols associated with them–these days that means a color–and the people behind this occasion have chosen orange. Perhaps they think themselves clever, associating their cause with blaze orange vests worn by hunters for safety purposes, or perhaps it’s just that the rainbow–much more eye-catching–was already taken by LGBTQWERTY folks.

 credit: politico.com
-credit: politico.com

I’ve long had a language problem with “gun violence.” Violence, a noun, requires activation; it requires a verb, as in “he committed violence.” One might add an adjective to clarify the degree of violence, but warping a noun into an adjective to describe an inanimate object–or an idea or concept, as in this case–is nonsensical.

If we’re going there, why not “car violence,” or “hand violence,” or “foot violence?” There could even be “fork violence,” “thrown ketchup violence,” or “hamburger violence.” Far more people experience violence through the application of force via motor vehicles, hands or feet than by firearms. Unsaid, because it is reasonably assumed, is that violence is committed by people using various instruments, when they’re not using their hands or feet. One can shoot someone, and normal people might call that act violent, but normal people do not say: “Bob committed gun violence on Steve.” They say “Bob shot Steve,” assuming any such act would involve violence. And why not “bullet violence”? After all, it was the bullet that did the damage, not the gun. If Bob stabbed Steve with a screwdriver, no sane person would think to say “Bob committed screwdriver violence on Steve.”

Why, then would anyone invent an “awareness” day using such a clumsy and strained bastardization of language? Aren’t people already aware that there are plenty of criminals out there and they sometimes shoot people, particularly in places like Chicago? Of course they are. It’s not because they seek clarity and education. On the contrary, they seek to control, conceal and mislead.

Who, after all, apart from sociopaths and psychopaths, is in favor of violence, regardless of which tool is used to commit it? Who champions “gun violence?” No one. So what do the people behind National Gun Violence Awareness Day hope to accomplish, other than further deconstructing clear, understandable English?

I’ll get to that in a moment, but one thing the Left has down pat is coopting the language. They know all too well how powerful the ability to name things is, and how effective choosing the right language–and relentlessly hammering it into the ears of low-information citizens–can be in controlling any debate. That’s why leftists currently prefer to call themselves progressives rather than liberals. While most people can’t accurately define “liberal,” they can judge the rhetoric, actions and policies of liberals, and liberals have given themselves a very bad name indeed. Thus, liberals have become progressives, because who can be against progress? That’s why they’re always talking about “moving America forward,” and maintaining the glorious progress they’ve achieved. When it gets down to actually explaining that progress, one usually finds that the progress consists of progress in working to maintain progressive progress so that we can continue to progress progressively, or in making life infinitely worse, as with Obamacare.

 Eventually, the public catches up to the latest progressive deception. Hillary Clinton and others have been proclaiming the Republican “war on women,” for a very long time, but she recently stopped using that term when polling indicated it was no longer effective. Apparently progressives still think “gun violence” works.

Amy Schumer's Gun Awareness Day Statement

Progressives are also good at getting celebrities involved in their crusades. A woman billed as an actress and comedian, Amy Schumer, was very much involved, posting a selfie of her torso, naked except for a athletic bra which looks sort of reddish-orangish. Obviously, she is making a statement that semi-naked, headless women in reddish-orangish bras are particularly aware of gun violence and if you pose that way, so can you.

As I already mentioned, no one is arguing for “gun violence.” There is no “More Gun Violence Association Of America” lobbying for more of something that does not, in grammar and fact, exist. “Gun Violence” is nothing more than the June, 2016 version of “Gun Control,” which long ago went the way of “Liberal.” “Common Sense Gun Safety,” is also becoming a bit long in the tooth.


Much more at the link.

In our non-Council category, the winner was The National Interest with The U.S. Navy's Plan to Dominate the Sky in the 2030s (And Beyond) submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD

Here are this week’s full results. Fausta, The Razor and Angry White Dude were unable to vote this week, but none of them were subject to the mandatory 2/3 vote penalty for not voting:

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners


See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. 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.

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