Five Weeks and Counting

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Tom Folden

It has been five weeks now that I have gone without watching any NFL games and I’m at the point of not being able to care less. But I do care about what many players are doing to divide this country.

When Colin Kaepernick started his “protest” last year by kneeling during the national anthem, he said something to the effect that he doesn’t feel proud of this country when there is police brutality against blacks and racial injustice when white police officers are not going to jail for shooting and killing unarmed blacks. Soon after these comments were made many players followed suit and joined him in kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before games.

Most fans of the game saw this as disrespectful toward the flag, the national anthem, the country and especially toward those who serve and have served in the military. Common sense doesn’t seem to get through to these players as they claim they’re not doing it to show disrespect but to protest certain injustices, as well as President Donald Trump.

Whether or not they see it as such, it’s blatantly and undeniably disrespectful. It is a lie to suggest otherwise.

When I see entire teams taking part in this “protest,” I can’t help but think that many if not most of these players just simply don’t know the facts or they’re just going along to get along. But by kneeling during the national anthem, not only are they showing disrespect, they’re alienating fans and costing teams and the league an enormous amount of revenue.

With the platform NFL players have, they could easily form a coalition and conduct a press conference to address their grievances, no matter how misguided they are, and start a proper discussion about what they’re concerned about. The media would surely give them ample airtime and valuable print space.

I’m open to a national discussion on police brutality and racial injustice. I think the country is also open to it. Prove to me that police brutality and racial injustice are systemic in America and I’ll be on your side. But if you can’t prove it, you run the risk of showing your ignorance, losing credibility and further dividing this country.

Tom Folden is a political strategist, conservative thinker, and Editor of RightWingWriter.com, a website for conservative viewpoints. A human rights activist, he is a firm believer in the Constitution and the rule of law. He is also a singer/songwriter and recording artist. For interviews and/or appearances, please contact him at spencergroup@hotmail.com.

DACA Supporters, Protesters Prove to be Criminals by Blocking Traffic on a Busy Morning

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Tom Folden

Supporters of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the unconstitutional executive order President Obama put in place in 2012, took to the streets of Westwood today, blocking Wilshire Blvd. at Veteran Ave., one of the busiest areas in Los Angeles, as it is close to a federal building and the University of California at Los Angeles. Following the premeditated plan to unlawfully assemble, protesters placed bunk beds in the intersection while several protesters chained themselves across the wide intersection, inhibiting traffic from moving and causing massive delays.

It all happened on Thursday, October 5, 2017, the day of the deadline for DACA recipients to renew their work permits. DACA recipients, also known as dreamers, along with supporters claim they are protesting for their “right to be human,” which is an absurdity. No one is saying they are not human. Many people are saying they are illegal aliens in this country since they and their parents came here illegally and need to be deported, the parents anyway.

Facts are facts but that often gets in the way of DACA proponents’ and pro illegal groups’ objectives. Many want the U.S. government to recognize all “undocumented immigrants” as citizens even though they have not gone through the proper channels and earned their citizenship.

It’s a huge slap in the face to those real immigrants who did it the right way, paying large fees and waiting several years to eventually take part in a ceremony where they take an oath to the United States, agreeing to abide by its laws.

Those who took part in blocking traffic did not abide by the law but committed a crime by unlawfully assembling in the intersection, according to LAPD. Their arguments, one of which is that illegals have a right to be here, are weakened when they display their unlawfulness. Good luck trying to convince President Trump and Congress that they should be able to stay.

Illegal and undocumented “immigrants” already place a massive burden on local, state and federal economies as it costs billions of dollars in education, healthcare, emergency room services and other social assistance the government provides them.

According to Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, says that repealing DACA is a “bait-and-switch” by the government. The problem with that is that DACA is unconstitutional in the first place. It was Obama who provided the “bait.” President Trump merely “switched” it back to where it is supposed to be. Another problem is the name of Salas’ organization. No one is treating illegal aliens inhumanely. Illegal aliens aren’t “immigrants” and they don’t have rights other than to be treated humanely, which they are.

What about the humane treatment of U.S. citizens? Why are they put in a position of having to foot the bill for this? Why are many pushed out of jobs from corrupt companies willing to break the law to employ illegals for less? What about the cost in unemployment benefits the government incurs caused by illegals taking jobs away from Americans? Those are the real concerns that don’t get media’s or Congress’ attention.

Like any other hot button issue of the day, it’s time to have a conversation that includes why illegal immigration must be stopped in its tracks, why the border wall needs to be built immediately and the border secured once and for all. Until then, we don’t need to hear about “immigrant rights.”

The Left Quick to Politicize Las Vegas Tragedy

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Tom Folden

What led a 64-year-old man to rent a corner suite on the 32^nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas overlooking the Route 91 Harvest Festival and open fire on a massive crowd of people is the question so many are asking about the senseless massacre that occurred there Sunday night.

It was an event where there was unity regardless of political affiliation, regardless of skin color, regardless of race as country music stars Big and Rich led the crowd in singing God Bless America. As headliner Jason Aldean was performing his last song and closing out the festival, shots from an automatic weapon rang out and chaos ensued, leaving thousands of festival-goers scrambling to run for cover not knowing where the shots were coming from.

Despite attendees, security and first responders coming together to help one another, many leftists couldn’t let this crisis go to waste and sought to further divide the nation. Toeing the liberal line, talk show hosts, celebrities and even politicians immediately jumped into action by politicizing the tragedy.

On Monday night, talk show hosts Seth Meyer, Jimmy Kimmel, James Cordon, Trevor Noah and Steven Colbert all used their bully pulpits to preach about gun control and to urge congress to take action. The action they’re talking about is legislating our 2^nd Amendment rights, aka gun control.

Idiot savant celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Alyssa Milano, Gigi Hadid, Lena Dunham and Sophia Bush showed their ignorance by tweeting asinine comments and endorsing gun control, proving they know nothing about the issue. Some took shots at President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Lady Gaga, for example, called out Trump and Ryan, insinuating they have “blood on their hands.” Others dropped F-bombs. Sophia Bush tweeted “Dear Donald. F*** you for this,” while Alyssa Milano tweeted “F*** you, @NRA.” Shame on all of them for their offensive comments.

Hillary Clinton even took the opportunity to try to stay relevant by stating, “This is nothing but pure, unadulterated greed motivated by people who want to sell as many guns as they can, to engage in a falsity of fear and rhetoric about, uh, why everybody has to have guns…you know, and, there’s just, the evidence is just so clear that more guns do not keep you safer.”

She’s wrong. More guns do keep us safer. More guns in the right hands will prevent innocent lives from being taken. Of course guns in the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people are dangerous and that should be the concern. But politicians want to circumvent the 2^nd Amendment and take away our rights to own firearms and protect ourselves, our families and our loved ones.

Imagine if law abiding citizens were permitted to conceal and carry their firearms in public. Now imagine a scenario where an armed gunman or gunwoman open fired into a crowd of people. Responsible, trained and law abiding citizens could draw their firearms and prevent that criminal from killing innocent lives.

Despite the evidence that more guns save lives, some members of congress are now exploiting the Las Vegas tragedy and urging gun control legislation. The problem with this is that many congressmen and congresswomen who endorse gun control legislation know little or nothing about guns and firearms. Some have no clue about the differences between a semi-automatic and an automatic weapon and thus have no business legislating guns.

Yes, we need to be concerned about guns in the wrong hands, but sometimes there will be tragedies such as the one that took place in Las Vegas Sunday night. No amount of gun control legislation would have prevented the massacre that occurred. It’s unfortunate that those who support gun control endorse taking away the rights our founding fathers sought to secure.

Be Careful What You Tweet – How Pro Athletes and the President Can Make Amends

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Tom Folden

As I sit down to write this article, I do not know if things have changed in the NFL as regards the kneeling of professional athletes, coaches, owners and other staff during the National Anthem performed at each respective football game. Last week I boycotted watching any game and heard about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ disgraceful act in choosing to stay in the locker room, which adds insult to injury. Admirably, Alejandro Villanueva, who served our country as an Army Ranger, took the opportunity to come out to the edge of the corridor, where the players enter and exit the field, and honor the flag, placing his hand over his heart as the national anthem was played.

The “protest” that week, many say, was about the comments President Trump made at an Alabama rally earlier in the week when he asked the crowd “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son-of-a-bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired.’” With the exception of the term “son-of-a-bitch” he chose to use, those comments expressed exactly how most Americans feel about the lack of respect for our country’s flag and national anthem many players displayed.

By denigrating the flag, the national anthem and the country, these players are alienating fans and would-be fans from watching anything that has to do with the NFL. In doing so the NFL’s ratings will decline, ticket sales will decline and fans will become hateful to anyone and everyone who joins this “protest.”

Their anger is misdirected. One shouldn’t protest against police brutality and racial inequality by taking it out on the flag and the national anthem. That is very ignorant and exactly the wrong way to handle any situation. When the NFL’s ratings, ticket sales and merchandise sales decline, it will be their own fault and those players, coaches and owners who joined in with the spoiled and overpaid brats will be the ones responsible for the decline of the institution many Americans love.

In another episode of professional athletes protesting President Trump, Golden State Warrior and NBA champion Stephen Curry tweeted that he would not be attending the White House ceremony his team was invited to. As a gesture, championship teams are commonly invited to the White House to be recognized and to celebrate their NBA championship. Trump responded by tweeting back that Curry was disinvited. Cleveland Cavalier Lebron James injected himself into the twitter war by calling the president a “bum.”

In responding to a question about how he felt when he read Trump’s tweet, Curry stated that “it’s just kind of beneath a leader of a country to go that route…it’s not what leaders do.”

Lebron James also stated in a press conference that Trump “doesn’t understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country…doesn’t understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the President of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement…this is the most powerful position in the world…we are at a time where the most powerful position in the world has an opportunity to bring us closer together as a people and inspire the youth.”

There are certain points that these players make about Trump that are indeed true. It’s hard to defend the president when he uses choice words in his own speeches. However, there is an opportunity here, a way to make amends. If Trump would be willing to extend an invitation to Curry, James, Colin Kaepernick, Aaron Rogers, and others who have taken a stand on this issue, to discuss their concerns, and if these players will accept that invitation, maybe they can all act like mature adults and address ways to improve race relations and make the country better for all.

It’s unfortunate it has come to this. But again, it’s an opportunity. Since President Barack Obama did so much to divide this country with comments he made, Trump has an opportunity to reach out, reverse the damage Obama did and restore this country to how it should be. After all, he campaigned on making America great again.