Bernie’s Q&A: Shelby Steele, Trump's "Impeachment" Interview, Entertainer Controversies, and more! (12/20) — Premium Interactive ($4 members)
Bernie’s Q&A: Shelby Steele, Trump's "Impeachment" Interview, Entertainer Controversies, and more! (12/20) — Premium Interactive ($4 members)
Welcome to this week’s Premium Q&A session for Premium Interactive members. I appreciate you all signing up and joining me. Thank you. Editor's Note: There were some very long questions this week that we had to trim down. Please try to keep your questions at a reasonable length. Thank you. Now, let’s get to your questions (and my answers):
Mr. G, I have asked this question for the past 20 years, so it is Not Trump specific; But after watching the Presidential Executive Order ceremony to fight Anti-Semitism Why do most Jews still vote Democratic? I just do not get it. -- Scotty G. Because, for many Jewish voters liberalism trumps Judaism. I am not sure if you followed the Peloton ad fiasco, but if you did can you explain to me why the constantly offended crowd and MSM in this country is treating an actress, who is acting out a script that she agreed to act out, as a real life victim of domestic violence? Are we so caught up in our media driven world that we cannot tell the difference between real life and TV acting? It may have been a distasteful ad, but the two actors were just playing out their scripts, the male and female actors are not a real couple in real life. How was that fact missed by the media and so many others? -- Joe M. I saw the ad and don't understand why some people were so offended. It's not even about the fact that they were actors playing a role. The roles they were playing simply didn't bother me. Maybe I missed something but I don't understand what the connection is to domestic violence. That said, I wonder how the snowflakes would feel about an actor playing Hitler. By Impeachment , is the Democratic Party trying to impose a one Party Dictatorship ? Not that it could succeed. Your thoughts? -- Joseph V. How would that one party thing work? If a president is impeached AND removed from office, his VP would take over. Same party, right? Do you see any changes to investigative reporting going forward based on the Mueller and Horowitz reports? It seemed to me that Fox News's investigative reporting came out a big winner having correctly predicted the Mueller report (no Russian collusion) and the Horowitz report's 17 serious mistakes. CNN and MSNBC looked bad. Fox News's investigative reporting did reveal the FISA abuse and many of the 17 significant mistakes, some several years ago. May we see a return to the old days of investigative journalism? -- Charles K. Too often, especially on cable news TV, journalists confuse wishful thinking with actual reporting. Fox News' hard news team is very good. The others too often "report" what they would like to see happen. That's not investigative reporting. It's wishful thinking masquerading as news. You responded to a letter regarding the "War on Christmas" that Bill O'Reilly talked about by saying "some conservative Christians really did believe there was a war on their religion and on Christmas in particular -- a war waged by secular liberals. But where did they get that idea? From cable TV, mostly." The idea that Christianity in general and Christmas in particular has been under attack in this country is a view held not by just "some conservative Christians" who watch cable TV but by the vast majority of Christians, cable watchers or no. The move to remove Christianity in particular and religion in general from the public square in this country has been going on for decades, long before anyone heard of Bill O'Reilly. Whether you agree with efforts to remove the Ten Commandments from public buildings or "In God We Trust" from coinage or not, to reduce this very real and pervasive move in our modern culture to fringe elements influenced by a TV host for ratings is incorrect and a vast oversimplification of our recent history. You should really take a second look at this and talk to someone in the Christian community besides Bill. -- John F. John, you make a reasonable point. And thanks for making it. I may have oversimplified, as you say. But please don't underestimate the power of cable -- to unite and rally like minded believers ... and to validate their feelings and opinions about all sorts of things, including being victims. I have a friend with whom I shared your points, and he wrote back to me. Let me share his comments: "As a conservative Christian myself, I can tell you that neither I, nor my churchgoing family members and friends felt Christmas was 'under attack,' as opposed to being subjected to politically-correct silliness (including from businesses and schools that were trying to be more inclusive), until cable news hosts shaped the narrative as such. We all know that there's a growing cultural resistance to (and bias against) organized religion, and Christianity is an easy target. But the 'War on Christmas' theme was really overblown. There was (and is) nothing nefarious about 'Holiday trees' or 'Happy Holidays' or 'Winter break.' Is some of that P.C. stuff kind of dopey? Yes. Maybe a little misguided? Sure. But the intent behind it isn't to eradicate, but rather to appeal to a broader group of people." That makes sense to me, John. Let me know what you think. Bernie, a simple question for you in our combative times:what is more important: the truth or power? -- Michael F. Truth. But power IN THE RIGHT HANDS makes it easier to convince people that the truth matters. We're at the time of year where you see a sizeable turnover in the college football coaching ranks. Ah to have become a major college football coach. Win or lose, be a success or a failure, you become a multi-millionaire. I could cite example after example of coaches who have failed miserably and not only received outrageous buyouts/severance, but in many cases are almost immediately hired by another school. Take the case of Charlie Weis, fired by Notre Dame, paid $15 million in severance, immediately hired by Kansas, fired after 3 years, no idea what they paid him to leave. More recently Willie Taggart is fired by FSU after 3 mediocre seasons, reportedly owed close to $20 million in severance from them, and was just hired by FAU. I could go on and on. In what other profession can you totally stink at your job and not only get paid multi millions to leave, but immediately get hired by another employer? Yeah, should have been..... -- John M. Sports is funny that way. It's one of the few places where you can be mediocre and get rich in the process. Good point, John. The pic of you and the Pope reminded me of an incident involving the canonization of Mother Teresa. Apparently Christopher Hitchens was invited to be the devil's advocate in the process of pre-canonization. He came up with several reasons why Mother Teresa shouldn't have been declared a saint. He claimed that she, rather than helping the sick and dying of Calcutta, actually took all the money she received from charitable donations and gave it to the Catholic Church. Other reports say that some people, who could have been saved with medical treatment, were allowed to pass away because (again allegedly) it was more important to her to save their souls and prepare them for heaven than it was to save lives. I don't expect you to know the details of these allegations, but there is something you might know as a journalist. According to Hitchens, the saintly persona of Mother Teresa was manufactured by British journalist Malcolm Muggeridege, whom Hitchens labeled a "fraud." If you're familiar with this, do you think Hitchens was correct in his assessment of Mother Teresa and Malcolm Muggeridge? -- Third World Regards From The Emperor I know about Hitchens role as devil's advocate. But I'm not knowledgeable enough about Malcolm Muggeridge's role -- if any -- in regard to creating Mother Teresa's saintly image. Bernie, enjoyed the piece on the diversity of the Dem Debates ( or lack thereof depending on one's perspective). Isn't it interesting that the Democrats are now under the same set of rules as the Academy Awards (begging the question as you pose "What Exactly do you want?"). Related to the NYT piece, have you ever read Shelby Steele's book "White Guilt?" It changed the way I view race in America in many respects and is a must read for those on both sides of the aisle who would like to see an "honest debate" about race in America (as I do). -- Michael Shelby Steele is a wise man. I've been a big fan for many years. And I've quoted him frequently both in my columns and in several of my books. I spent some time comparing notes with him on a river cruise in France many years ago; we were among a small group of speakers sponsored by National Review. Like you Michael, I wish more people would read his book(s). His wisdom will open their eyes too. Bernie, I have a solution for the Dems in 2020. Run anyone, but don't really fund them or back them - you accept that they are going to lose. Dems should put all their money and energy into the Senate and House races and try to get a majority in both Houses of Congress in 2020 and 2022 and annoy and frustrate Trump for four straight years. He get's nothing done and in 2024 the Dems are a shoe-in for the President and both Houses. -- DrJ Interesting, but why do you think the Democrats should "accept that they are going to lose." Donald Trump may win re-election but it's not a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. As I've written before, if he loses it won't be a Democrat who beat him. It'll be Donald Trump who beat Donald Trump. The economy is doing very well, but his personality to many Americans is toxic. If the election is about the economy, he'll likely win. If it's about him, all bets are off. The Democrats are hoping for the trifecta -- the White House, the Senate and the House. And that's also possible. One more thing, Dr. J: I thought you were great on the basketball court. I miss your grace and elegance going to the hoop. Merry Christmas. As the father of two grown kids in their 20's, I have been intrigued by the college admissions cheating scandal. On the one hand, the brazenness and hubris by all is so over the top it does shock the system. On the other hand, this whole story reeks of the natural outgrowth of status, celebrity and bulldozer parenting (we don't have snowplows in Texas). I refer to it now as having "trophy children", where offspring are being used to put showy parents on a pedestal. It's not enough for the powerful to have a trophy wife or car, they must now have trophy children. And spare me the "I just want what's best for my kids" defense. What is your take on this story? -- Steve R. I think you're on to something, Steve. It's not unusual for parents to brag about their kids. Annoying at times, but not unusual. Perhaps it's in our DNA to tell our friends how well our kids are doing. But when parents cheat to get their kids into (in some cases) a good school, how does that help the kids? They're being put into a situation where they may not succeed. So who benefits? As you say, Steve, it's the parents who can brag about their "trophy children." It's a kind of affirmative action -- for well off white folks. You tweeted [on Wednesday night]: "The phone call was not perfect. Like Trump it was deeply flawed. But ... Trump's real "impeachable offense" is that he beat Hillary Clinton. They'll never admit it, but it's true!" I agree on the Democrats' motivation, since they were preparing to impeach even before the phone call. But then Trump went ahead and actually handed them an "impeachable" offense (defined as a serious abuse of power) by trying to extort a foreign country for dirt on his political rival. Right? If a different president (other than Trump) did this, I'm not sure the other party wouldn't have sought impeachment either. (I might be wrong.) Also, what are your thoughts on the 2008 video where Trump (after praising Nancy Pelosi as Speaker) said he was disappointed that she didn't impeach Bush (who he says deserved it) for — get this — "lying" to America? Irony! -- Jen R. Editor's Note: Here's the video:
Check out this exchange I had with then private citizen @realDonaldTrump on Oct. 15, 2008. We spoke about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and he then offered his thoughts about impeachment. pic.twitter.com/mXlsG9SjbB
— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) December 18, 2019
It's way beyond ironic, Jen. Way, way beyond. Donald Trump can't open his mouth without saying something that isn't true ... yet here he is, saying W should be impeached -- for lying??? Our president is not only a deeply flawed human being, he's not well. His narcissism is a mental disorder. He lacks an ounce of introspection. When it comes to his shortcomings, he's delusional. I could go on. And his pals in the media -- I'm talking about the sycophants at Fox -- blissfully ignore his craziness. They're as bad as he is -- except I can change the channel when those bozos come on. King Bernard.....hope this goes through for Friday’s Q&A gold mine....short and oh so sweet......what are your thoughts on the Designated Hitter in MLB...and yes, yes, YES!....I know light-hitting, absolutely NO fielding Ron Bloomberg of your beloved Yankeees was the first ever DH.......I must hustle off...gotta go eat some rat poison where I can stomach tonight’s Democratic debate follies -- .......Greggo You know who you remind me of, Greggo. I'll tell you. A very wise man. His name is Aristotle. No, just kidding. As for the DH: As a purist, I'm be against it. As someone who likes home runs, I'm for it. But having two sets of rules in MLB is crazy. So, let's either initiate the DH in the NL or drop it in the AL. Which do I prefer? Drop it in the AL. But honestly, I don't give it a lot of thought. Please say hi to Plato for me. Bernie, regarding your answer to my question last week, I could see where maybe I was a bit over the top. I was angry about the way that Leftists are getting away with horrible behavior toward Conservatives. I was particularly upset about the 14 year-old Florida boy who was beaten on a school bus for wearing a MAGA hat. That's what I was talking about when I brought up Hillary's "RESIST" call. They ARE resisting...violently. She might as well have yelled "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater. ANTIFA beating up people whom they see as Conservatives. Kids beating up other kids for wearing a MAGA hat. College students threatening Conservative speakers with violence if they come to THEIR campus. Yes, Bernie, I may be nuts. But I'm tired of the abuses from the LEFT. I'm tired of the hate and the stupidity running rampant in our nation. And I truly believe that Hillary Clinton bears a large portion of the blame as these things were not as commonplace before 2016 and her loss as they have become since she called for people to RESIST. No real question this week, just wanted to clarify and to say that you could be right. I'll try to tone down my rhetoric. I can see where fanning the flames with cries of TREASON would only add to the hatred and not offer any solutions to it. Please accept my apology. -- Jake H. No problem Jake. And I too am tired of the hate and stupidity running rampant in our nation.
Thanks, everyone! You can send me questions for next week using the form below! You can also read previous Q&A sessions by clicking here.