So it is official, I have been banned from contributing to the "Unite Rochester" discussion in their Facebook group. Not only will opposing points of view not be tolerated, they will hear nothing about limiting opposing points of view. In a sad display today, Karen Magnusen accuses me of personally attacking D&C management and hurling mean spirited comments. Care to know the definition of personal attacks and mean spirited comments (according to the D&C)? See below for the conversation, you will only see it here as Karen erased my comments, yet again.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
D&C showing bias against diverse voices in Unite Rochester Initiative Part 2
Friday, April 26, 2013
D&C Says: No Diversity Allowed!
A few months ago, to my surprise, I received an email from Jane Sutter, Editor of Community Partnerships & Niche Content at the Democrat and Chronicle. She invited me to join a forum to discuss their coming “Unite Rochester” initiative, ostensibly intended to serve as a catalyst to bring this community together on the topic of race. I was more than happy to offer my opinion as someone who is married to a Thai immigrant, expectant father (at the time) of a multi-racial child and one who is passionate about our community. (My daughter was born on Thursday April 5th. Mom and baby are doing great)
At the time I offered to bring my wife, as I believe her opinion and thoughts would be valuable to the conversation. To my surprise, the forum I had been invited to was to consist of whites only. They had been breaking out small groups of blacks, latinos, asians, and whites to get their thoughts on how to best approach this initiative. My wife and I had a good laugh at the thought of me going to a “whites only” breakfast. At that first meeting I offered the idea of not focusing on race but rather topics of interest to the community which would provide an avenue of people from various backgrounds, races, religions, etc to come together and “unite”. That idea was quickly shot down.
I was asked to return to another breakfast a few weeks ago that consisted of the various groups from before, where the D&C could bring us all up to speed on what was going on with “Unite Rochester”. Among many items brought up that day was the paper's disappointment that more people were not engaging on the topic, especially whites from the suburbs. I again offered my thoughts of focusing on topics of interest and allow for diversity and uniting to happen organically. Many participants, of all colors, in the room agreed but not Karen Magnuson, the paper's Editor, Jim Lawrence, its editorial page Editor, or publisher Michael Kane.
After the meeting I reached out to Jane Sutter to offer my willingness to be a blogger once again for the D&C, this time for “Unite Rochester”. At first, they seemed to be interested. I was the person they wanted to be involved, right? A white guy originally from the suburbs, although now a city resident. Plus, in a multi-racial/multi-cultural marriage and father to a multi-racial/multi-cultural child. Jackpot!, you'd think. But apparently not to the D&C.
I received a call from Jane, essentially saying that they were concerned about what I would choose to write about. She also referred to a "personality conflict" between Jim Lawrence and me. I replied, “When Jim starts accusing you of being a liar and actually takes the time to call you on the phone to complain when you publicly disagree with him, you too would have a personality conflict.” (See my previous posts for examples)
Here was the offer from Jane, on behalf of the D&C: I could try writing a few blogs and she would review them. I guess if she approved I could then post them. After a good laugh, I pointed out that I can comment on any post, as long as I abide by the D&C terms and conditions, and don’t need her permission to participate in the dialogue.
I find it humorous, disappointing, and totally unsurprising that this is how “Unite Rochester” is going. The D&C isn’t at all concerned about uniting anyone or anything. They are rebranding the same ideology that they have been pushing for the last few decades. They are looking for blacks and latinos to author blogs that softly point the finger at whites in the suburbs for causing the issues that exist in the city and for guilty whites to author blogs that agree with those viewpoints. They are not interested in diversity, but rather in their own rigid orthodoxy.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Boy, When Things Go Wrong ...
A bad week for the Left/mainstream Media.
First, months of propagandizing for a "gun control" law couldn't get it through even the Democratic-controlled Senate. Especially painful because the gun measure amounted to a back-door means of national gun registration, the prerequisite to the cherished leftist goal of national gun confiscation.
Then, while some left-wing crackpots in the media fervently hoped the Boston Marathon bombers would turn out to be a "white Americans", others just told us outright that the bombers were "right-wing extremists," "white supremacists" (whatever that means) or crazed evangelicals. All were crestfallen when the bombers turned out to be not only foreign immigrants, but adherents of the Religion of Peace who demonstrated radical jihadist sentiments.
Doesn't the media know that if you want to find a white American terrorist killer, like Bill Ayers or Bernadine Dohrn, or Kathy Boudin, you have to look in faculty rooms of prestigious colleges?
Hats off to the Boston Police and associated law enforcement members who tracked down the surviving bomber last night. Now on to the next step ...
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Take It from the Indigent Burial Fund
Governor Cuomo has told County Clerk Cheryl DiNolfo that the cost of complying with his new gun law is the counties' problem, not his. "The burden is on local governments to find a way to address the issue."
Monday, April 1, 2013
Legal Experts: Suit Against Cuomo Gun Law "Significant"
“This is a very significant case,” said James B. Jacobs, a constitutional law professor and director of the Center for Research in Crime and Justice at the New York University School of Law. “It may go all the way to the Supreme Court.”So this is not just a frivolous lawsuit by sore losers, but raises genuinely significant issues. The full story is worth reading. You won't find it in the Rochester D&C, of course, but in The Buffalo News, where the important stuff gets printed. (The pattern becomes clearer and clearer).
Sunday, March 31, 2013
You've Got to Be Kidding
I usually try to be pretty terse with my comments on Democrat and Chronicle editorials, but this morning's silliness demands some more.
First, if you don’t graduate from high school, don’t have command of the English language, dress like you are in a gang (or are in a gang), or don’t go out actively pursuing employment, chances are you aren’t going to be hired. This same concept can also be applied to the D&C's “Making justice more just” editorializing, where it complained about lack of diversity in the Monroe County Court/Law Enforcement system. If you are not prepared for the job, you will not get it.
To suggest without any proof or example that the reason there is higher unemployment amongst minorities is because of racism on the part of employers is ridiculous. If you have no proof or example, use some journalistic integrity and ethics and leave it out of the story.
It would do the editorialists some good to watch their newspaper's own video of the young man who tells us he is working to achieve things in life for himself. I didn’t hear anything from him suggesting that business owners are leaving him behind. He also acknowledges that there are many people in the city who are not willing or interested in finding better for themselves. My guess is that many of those add into the high unemployment rate.
Lastly, my last name is Tyson. Tyson sounds plenty "afrocentric" to many people. Believe me, I have surprised many people over the years when they finally meet me and say, “Oh, you’re white”. I have been interviewed for many jobs over the years and worked for many people that were black, latino, and white. As the Editorial Board doesn't consist of business owners, its members most likely won't get this, but business owners are looking for good people. They care less about the name at the top of the resume ("afrocentric," "eurocentric" or otherwise) and more about the experience and ability of the person behind the name.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
New York the Least Free State
Driving to western Massachusetts today revealed the rapacious Vampire State in all its glory. It's the end of the month, so state cops are staked out in their hiding spots everywhere along the Thruway, desperately trying to hit their ticket quota for the month, extracting cash to feed the monster.
So today's news seemed especially appropriate: New York ranks as the least free state in the country.
George Mason University's Mercatus Center spells out the reasons in its study. Oppressive taxes and regulation, of course, but also much more, including the most regulated and monitored motorists. Worth reading, even if it tells us what we already know.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Family Feud
After a truce of sorts, the gloves are off between Assemblymen David Gantt and Joe Morelle.
Still smarting from Morelle's elevation to Assembly Majority Leader, Gantt wasted no time in whacking Morelle for supporting Rochester Mayor Tom Richards for re-election. Gantt favorite Lovely Warren just announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Mayor last week.
The Mayor, says Gantt, "was only supposed to fill in" for a few years as Mayor, and Warren would have the nomination this year. That was the word on the street at the time. Morelle countered quickly with a carefully-worded statement that translates in plain English as: "Gantt's lying, as usual."
So grab your popcorn and a cool drink, sit back and enjoy the show between now and the September primary.
The Monroe County Democratic Committee is concerned about the looming fight. Its house newsletter this morning deployed a bit of diversionary persiflage, with an editorial demanding that the County Republican Committee must "change its policies."
But the real show is the clash betwen Gantt and Morelle, who have been going at it in Albany since Morelle's elevation in January to Shelly Silver's official Number One Sychophant.
Anyone who wants to share information on the shaping mayoral contest is invited to do so, to our e-mail eaddress at the bottom of this page.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Stand Up
The media's urging the national Republican Party to abandon core principles. The better to make it a party that consistently loses. Because right now it doesn't.
In the spirit of that thought, consider this, from Michael Walsh at National Review:
Advice to the RNC: Don’t “re-brand.” Fight.Complete article hereThat’s it. Fight. Fight them on every front, fight them in every state, fight them on television and in print and on the airwaves. Confront them at every opportunity, seek out and embrace conflict, and fear not bullies like Chuck Schumer (the living embodiment of the Lefty Sneer), Dick Durbin, and passive-aggressive corruptocrats like Harry Reid. Don’t make nice with them, don’t play fair with them, don’t reach across the aisle and above all, treat them and their ideas with exactly the same amount of respect with which they treat yours: none. Contempt is the only language they understand. Remember that, thanks to Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Alinsky Left, the personal is now political, so get personal; all’s fair in love and war, and politics isn’t love. As Pat Caddell just reminded the GOP, his team plays to win, and doesn’t really much care how it does it — “by any means necessary” is their motto. If you’re not using their own rules against them, you’re not playing the game.
• • • Finally, stop cringing. As Vito Corleone exclaims as he slaps Johnny Fontane around: “You can act like a man!” Stop caring what your opponents say about you. Stop the counter-factual whining (“if this were Bush . . .”). Of course, they’re going to be opposed to you — that’s the nature of opposition. Politics ain’t beanbag, and smart gangsters and politicians alike understand that. Get in their face, harass them, worry them, give them not a moment’s peace or respite. Come at them constantly, in shifts and in waves. Never back down. But act like it’s fun while you’re doing it — that’s what being a “happy warrior” means.
You may lose, you may win. But at least fight.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Police State
Cops stick together, but can't Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn find a better inspiration than the East German Secret Police, the dreaded Stasi?
Oppressive even by Stalinist standards, the Stasi became notorious in particular for its use of informers. With one informer for every 6.5 citizens, the Stasi maintained greater surveillance over the subjects of its state than any secret police force in history, including the rest of the Soviet bloc.
Now Monroe County's own Sheriff asks citizens to spy on and report each other. Specifically, on fellow citizens they observe driving while "distracted." People reported won't be charged. They'll get a "warning letter," but won't learn who reported them.
The gimmick of a "warning letter" is itself a cowardly and sleazy way around the right of an accused person to confront his accuser. If there's no formal charge, the constitutional right doesn't apply. Yet the Sheriff gets to leverage all the coercive force of police power, not to arrest, but to intimidate. Pure sleaze.
Part of the psychological technique of the oppressive state: isolate and intimidate by not letting people trust anyone else. Who knows who might report you? Or for what?
Never mind that the Sheriff provides no safeguard against his informants filing false or malicious reports solely to harass.
Never mind that just writing down the information required for the report will distract anyone a lot more than a simple phone call. Informants must note their victim's license plate and sex, describe the vehicle, the alleged offense and note the date and time. A lot to write down behind the wheel.
But that just illustrates the real purpose, so grimly familiar here in the Vampire State. The Sheriff's not going after eating or drinking in the car, rummaging through your purse or briefcase, reading the paper, consulting a map, putting on makeup, inserting a CD, or the thousand and one other things people do in cars. Informers submit a "Mobile Device Violation Report."
It's all about your cellphone. What O'Flynn's informants are most likely to notice isn't the indisputably reckless texting while driving. Much easier to spot other people just talking -- an act far less distracting than any of the commonplace in-car activities noted above. The Sheriff's plan adds further insult to the injury of a bad law designed only to rip off and harass ordinary citizens going about their day. Typical New York: find things everyone does, criminalize them, collect the fines.
We've thought of our Sheriff more in the tradition of the gentle Irish romantic than the jackbooted Stalinist oppressor. But his latest initiative reminds us that there's but a thin line between Officer Friendly and Kommissar Kissoff. By inviting citizens to turn informant, Sheriff O'Flynn has crossed it.
