Veteran Releases Perfect Anthem To Honor Those Who've Served

We’ve actually got two big stories on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co , but there’s only room for one in the headline, and since today is Veterans Day country music artist Ryan Weaver gets the nod. Weaver, who is a military veteran himself, has a brand new song out called “Let’s Talk About Heroes,” and I’m very pleased that he could join me today to talk about how the song came about and why he believes it’s so timely.

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Watch the video above and ask yourself this question; did you see anything objectionable? Did you see anything that was blatantly partisan or political in nature?

Yeah, me neither, which makes the decision by Facebook not to accept an ad promoting the song so weird. According to Weaver, he received a notice from the social media giant this morning informing him that his ad had been rejected because “it mentions politicians or is about sensitive social issues that could influence public opinion, how  people vote and may impact the outcome of an election or pending legislation.”

Who knew that paying tribute to our veterans and first responders was now considered a “sensitive social issue”? This is the type of ridiculous gatekeeping that makes independent journalism so important, and I’m glad to help spread the word about Weaver’s new single, but I hope that you’ll join me in sharing the video on your own social Facebook feeds.

Now, as I mentioned, Ryan’s interview is just one of two big stories on today’s show. We’re also delving into the Kyle Rittenhouse case and the Left’s meltdown over the likelihood of his acquittal. Over at the Washington Post, columnist Paul Waldman provides a perfect case study in media manipulation with his hot take on the Rittenhouse trial and the likely aftermath. From the get-go, Waldman reveals not only his bias, but his lack of a basic grasp of the facts in the case.

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Here’s a quick review of the undisputed facts in the case. As protests gripped Kenosha in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake last August, Rittenhouse, then 17, took his illegally obtained AR-15 and traveled to the city from his home in Illinois. In the midst of the chaotic events, he shot Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz. Rosenbaum and Huber died, while Grosskreutz survived.

I’ll dispute at least one of those “facts.” Rittenhouse did not bring a rifle from Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25th. The rifle that he was carrying that night never left the state of Wisconsin after it was purchased by his friend Dominick Black. And while Black does indeed face charges of “intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 causing death,” his case has not gone to trial and Black himself has pleaded not guilty, so it’s completely inaccurate to say that the facts surrounding the gun’s purchase is “indisputed.”

It gets worse from there, with Waldman proclaiming that the Right immediately turned Rittenhouse into a hero after the shootings last August, without ever mentioning how the Left reacted to Rittenhouse at the time.

From the moment Rittenhouse killed Rosenbaum and Huber, he has been embraced by the right as a hero.

The Trump administration immediately distributed talking points to federal law enforcement officials to use if asked about Rittenhouse, in which they were instructed to say that he “took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.”

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And the Left has treated Rittenhouse as a villain. Joe Biden cut a campaign ad featuring Rittenhouse’s image, and used it to complain on Twitter about Donald Trump not disavowing “white supremacists.” Rittenhouse has been called everything from a domestic terrorist to a cold-blooded murderer since his arrest, and if anything the Left has become more hysterical as it becomes clear that prosecutors simply don’t have a solid case against him.

Now Waldman’s unnerved because he sees the prospect of Kyle Rittenhouse being turned into a hero if he’s acquitted.

So try to imagine what will happen if Rittenhouse is acquitted. Trump will issue a statement somehow taking credit for it. Fox News will fly Rittenhouse to New York for triumphant interviews. Social media will erupt with joy, as millions of conservatives cry “Suck it, libs!” He’ll appear on T-shirts and bumper stickers; maybe he’ll speak at the next Conservative Political Action Conference. And don’t be surprised if Trumpist candidates start seeking Rittenhouse’s endorsement and asking him to appear on the campaign trail with them.

There will be some Republicans who will respond to questions about Rittenhouse by saying the whole thing was an unfortunate episode and we should just put it behind us. But they will be drowned out.

Liberals see in Kyle Rittenhouse’s story a number of things: the foolishness of youth, the fetishization of guns, the inevitable consequence of the right’s celebration of violence as an appropriate way to fight what they see as a civilizational war with the left. But what do conservatives see in this story?

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Oh, the Left doesn’t see the Rittenhouse case as an example of incipient fascism? They don’t view the judge as an enabler of white supremacy?

I’d love to have Waldman answer one simple question: does he believe that the Left will respond peacefully if Rittenhouse is acquitted? It sure doesn’t sound like the Democratic governor of Wisconsin thinks so.

Maybe he’s saving his hot take on how the Left will treat Rittenhouse after the trial for a future column, but I get the feeling it’s far more likely that Waldman will never write about that particular aspect of this case at all. Just as the prosecution in Rittenhouse’s trial have repeatedly tried to downplay the rioting and looting in Kenosha, columnists like Waldman have a vested interest in ignoring the hate and vitriol directed at Rittenhouse from those within his own political tribe.

 

 

 

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