David Forsmark
David Forsmark is the owner and president of Winning Strategies, a full service political consulting firm in Michigan. David has been a regular columnist for Frontpage Magazine since 2006. For 20 years before that, he wrote book, movie and concert reviews as a stringer for the Flint Journal, a midsize daily newspaper.
Why is it that “progressives” who “Lean Forward,” as MSNBC puts it, always reach so far into the past to apply America’s sins to a current generation?
Recently Rachel Maddow had to hearken back to the era of Jim Crow to also bolster her strategy for Democrat victory in 2012– no, I’m not kidding.
Since the Republican shellacking of Democrats in 2010, Tingly and the Twit (Matthews and Maddow) have proclaimed every Republican victory to be pyrrhic. ”NOWWWW you’ve gone too far!” they proclaim on a nightly basis.
MADDOW: Put Republican efforts to strip union rights on the ballot and get ready to meet every heroic public school teacher and every firefighter and everyone who ever learned math from that teacher or had their house saved by that firefighter, get ready for America to hoist main street heroes on to the crowd‘s shoulders.
And to prove her point– and to egg school teachers on to be the new cannon fodder for the Left– she points to the Ohio statewide campaigns of… 1958! (My comments in bold…)
Editor’s Note: This popular post was first published on March 11 here.
In a hysterical rant worthy of the guy carrying “The End is Near” sign, Rachel Maddow screamed the sky was falling in Michigan, making new Governor Rick “the Nerd” Snyder into a combination of Mussolini and Stalin.
It’s like something out of a left-wing dystopia tale! she wailed. Yes, Rachel, that’s exactly what it is. And just as fictional.
The True Twit is just hysterical because she reads union press releases and takes them seriously. In Michigan, the alarm du jour is the slight strengthening of the Emergency Financial Manager law for cities and school districts that are financially going under.
Here’s how powerless the Emergency Financial Managers are now: In Detroit, Robert Bobb, (yes, his name is Bob Bobb) has done brilliant work trying to rescue the Detroit Public Schools, and pretty much all any human being could be expected to do. However, even he could not do anything about the so-called “Rubber Rooms.”
Rubber Rooms are where teachers are sent who are so bad they have been removed from Detroit class rooms (and that takes something!) They get paid $50,000 a year, or so, to basically be in detention. They do nothing for the system, though there was some effort to use them as reading instructors…
Bob Bobb with all of his “powers” cannot dismiss these teachers, which cost the bankrupt school system up to $60 MILLION per year!
Remember the controversy over the GM “Jobs Bank” where employees who were basically laid off came in every day and played cards and read the newspaper for full pay? At least those people had done nothing to put themselves there. This would be like GM having a jobs bank for only people who have been caught stealing from the company or who showed up drunk.
But one of the biggest reasons that Michigan is financially strapped has to do with how far Thomas Jefferson could ride a horse in one day…
From Marlowe to Mitch: 19 Fictional Heroes on the Right Side from the Literary World, Part 3
Throughout the history of popular fiction, the New York Times Book Review and the literati have done their best to focus public attention on writers of the Left. Nevertheless, readers have confounded them by tending to choose heroes with a more traditional, pro-American outlook and a decidedly un-nuanced view of good guys and bad guys.
So while Fletcher Knebel was cranking out critically acclaimed hardcover political thrillers like Seven Days in May from the Left, he and his ilk were being vastly outsold by paperback writers such as Donald Hamilton, Mikey Spillane, and Edward S. Aarons. In other words, by authors whose books featured he-man heroes.
In a more modern era, Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz and Vince Flynn have all dominated the bestsellers list, leaving series like Sara Paretsky’s ultra-feminist private eye, and James Lee Burke’s (excellently written but decidedly left leaning) series in the dust.
So, here, in somewhat chronological order, is volume three of my series on 18 19 of the best heroes to star in their own series of mysteries, thrillers, and espionage novels. Some are not overtly political, but none are politically correct—still others deserve mention because they swam upstream against the prevailing literary trend of the time.
To read volume 1 (heroes 1-6) click here.
To read volume 2 (heroes 7-12) click here.
Note: Such stellar authors who definitely lean to the right as Dean Koontz, Andrew Klavan, Ralph Peters, James W. Huston and Joseph Wambaugh, are not included because they primarily write stand alone novels, and their work is not primarily identified with a dominant hero.
Also, this series was originally subtitled 18 Heroes… but of course, while writing I found one more I just had to include.
The True Twit's idea of good election officials
Rachel Maddow’s Conspiracy of the Night on Thursday revealed a sinister play by Republicans to suppress Democrat voters. Horrors! Was it to stand outside the polls with weapons like this guy and yell at people? Maybe it was to employ German shepherds like this prominent Democrat did?
Nope, it’s worse. In order for Republicans to allow you to vote you must:
- Prove who you are.
- Register in time so election officials can prove that’s really who you are.
- Not be a convicted felon.
Pass the smelling salts! It’s practically a return to the days of the poll tax! So why are Democrats so dead set on having people without identification vote? Hmmmm? read more…
From Marlowe to Mitch: 19 Fictional Heroes on the Right Side from the Literary World, Part 3
Throughout the history of popular fiction, the New York Times Book Review and the literati have done their best to focus public attention on writers of the Left. Nevertheless, readers have confounded them by tending to choose heroes with a more traditional, pro-American outlook and a decidedly un-nuanced view of good guys and bad guys.
So while Fletcher Knebel was cranking out critically acclaimed hardcover political thrillers like Seven Days in May from the Left, he and his ilk were being vastly outsold by paperback writers such as Donald Hamilton, Mikey Spillane, and Edward S. Aarons. In other words, by authors whose books featured he-man heroes.
In a more modern era, Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz and Vince Flynn have all dominated the bestsellers list, leaving series like Sara Paretsky’s ultra-feminist private eye, and James Lee Burke’s (excellently written but decidedly left leaning) series in the dust.
So, here, in somewhat chronological order, is volume three of my series on 18 19 of the best heroes to star in their own series of mysteries, thrillers, and espionage novels. Some are not overtly political, but none are politically correct—still others deserve mention because they swam upstream against the prevailing literary trend of the time.
To read volume 1 (heroes 1-6) click here.
To read volume 2 (heroes 7-12) click here.
Note: Such stellar authors who definitely lean to the right as Dean Koontz, Andrew Klavan, Ralph Peters, James W. Huston and Joseph Wambaugh, are not included because they primarily write stand alone novels, and their work is not primarily identified with a dominant hero.
Also, this series was originally subtitled 18 Heroes… but of course, while writing I found one more I just had to include.
This popular post was originally published March 7, 2011.
Maybe there is something in the water in Chicago besides the green dye that will soon turn the river green for St. Paddy’s Day.
Chicago is infamous for having the most powerful and unassailable Democrat political machine in the nation. When I heard that after the election of our most liberal President, a favorite son of the Chicago machine, two network television shows would be set in Chicago I thought “Here we go…”
I did not expect that both would portray the Chicago machine as corrupt, elitist and hopelessly liberal.
We have given The Good Wife plenty of press for its general fairness toward conservative characters and points of view; and while there was a bit of a brouhaha last week in which a Tea Party member was the hero of the show and that still wasn’t good enough for some conservatives, the new cop show The Chicago Code last week took down Billy Ayers.
Oops, I mean our hero, Detective Jake Wysocki, took down David Argyle, a 1970s radical whose associates did all the hard time, and who escaped prosecution for a series of bombings, is now a celebrated author, adored by the media, and an expert on “education reform.” How could I have gotten that mixed up with Bill Ayers?
Now think about how ex-campus radicals were glamorized on Law and Order… read more…
In a hysterical rant worthy of the guy carrying “The End is Near” sign, Rachel Maddow screamed the sky was falling in Michigan, making new Governor Rick “the Nerd” Snyder into a combination of Mussolini and Stalin.
It’s like something out of a left-wing dystopia tale! she wailed. Yes, Rachel, that’s exactly what it is. And just as fictional.
The True Twit is just hysterical because she reads union press releases and takes them seriously. In Michigan, the alarm du jour is the slight strengthening of the Emergency Financial Manager law for cities and school districts that are financially going under.
Here’s how powerless the Emergency Financial Managers are now: In Detroit, Robert Bobb, (yes, his name is Bob Bobb) has done brilliant work trying to rescue the Detroit Public Schools, and pretty much all any human being could be expected to do. However, even he could not do anything about the so-called “Rubber Rooms.”
Rubber Rooms are where teachers are sent who are so bad they have been removed from Detroit class rooms (and that takes something!) They get paid $50,000 a year, or so, to basically be in detention. They do nothing for the system, though there was some effort to use them as reading instructors…
Bob Bobb with all of his “powers” cannot dismiss these teachers, which cost the bankrupt school system up to $60 MILLION per year!
Remember the controversy over the GM “Jobs Bank” where employees who were basically laid off came in every day and played cards and read the newspaper for full pay? At least those people had done nothing to put themselves there. This would be like GM having a jobs bank for only people who have been caught stealing from the company or who showed up drunk.
But one of the biggest reasons that Michigan is financially strapped has to do with how far Thomas Jefferson could ride a horse in one day…
From Marlowe to Mitch: 18 Fictional Heroes On the Right Side from the Literary World, Part 2
Throughout the history of popular fiction, the New York Times Book Review and the literati have done their best to focus public attention on writers of the Left. Nevertheless, readers have confounded them by tending to choose heroes with a more traditional, pro-American outlook and a decidedly un-nuanced view of good guys and bad guys.
So while Fletcher Knebel was cranking out critically acclaimed hardcover political thrillers like Seven Days in May from the Left, he and his ilk were being vastly outsold by paperback writers like Donald Hamilton, Mikey Spillane, Edward S. Aarons and other pulp paperback writers who featured he-man heroes.
In a more modern era, Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz and Vince Flynn have all dominated the bestseller list, leaving series like Sara Paretsky’s ultra-feminist private eye, and James Lee Burke’s (excellently written but decidedly left leaning) series in the dust.
So, here, in somewhat chronological order, is volume two of my series on 18 of the best heroes to star in their own series of mysteries, thrillers, and espionage novels. Some are not overtly political, but none are politically correct—still others deserve mention because they swam upstream against the prevailing literary trend of the time.
To read volume 1 (heroes 1-6) click here.
Note: Such stellar authors who definitely lean to the right as Dean Koontz, Andrew Klavan, Ralph Peters, James W. Huston and Joseph Wambaugh, are not included because they primarily write stand alone novels, and their work is not primarily identified with a dominant hero.
For days, Rachel Maddow (and Ed “Sergeant” Schultz) have been telling us that “a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll says that 91% of the American people” want to raise taxes on millionaires to reduce the deficit.
Is is true? Sort of. That’s the percentage of people who are okay with it of the people they called, in the context they asked the question. In other words, the poll they cite is the perfect example of how to get the answers the pollsters want.
And it starts with the oldest trick in the book– the polling sample.
When you want a more liberal answer, you ask 1000 “adults.” When you want the relevant answer, you ask “Likely voters.”
The poll cited by The True Twit and her sergeant includes about 20% of respondents who did not even bother to vote in the 2008 Presidential Election — the highest turnout in recent memory.
If you didn’t vote for President in 2008, who cares what your opinion is? Rachel does, because you are most likely to be gullible enough to support her positions and fall for her blather. read more…
Maybe there is something in the water in Chicago besides the green dye that will soon turn the river green for St. Paddy’s Day.
Chicago is infamous for having the most powerful and unassailable Democrat political machine in the nation. When I heard that after the election of our most liberal President, a favorite son of the Chicago machine, two network television shows would be set in Chicago I thought “Here we go…”
I did not expect that both would portray the Chicago machine as corrupt, elitist and hopelessly liberal.
We have given The Good Wife plenty of press for its general fairness toward conservative characters and points of view; and while there was a bit of a brouhaha last week in which a Tea Party member was the hero of the show and that still wasn’t good enough for some conservatives, the new cop show The Chicago Code last week took down Billy Ayers.
Oops, I mean our hero, Detective Jake Wysocki, took down David Argyle, a 1970s radical whose associates did all the hard time, and who escaped prosecution for a series of bombings, is now a celebrated author, adored by the media, and an expert on “education reform.” How could I have gotten that mixed up with Bill Ayers?
Now think about how ex-campus radicals were glamorized on Law and Order… read more…
From Marlowe to Mitch: 18 Fictional Heroes On the Right Side from the Literary World, Part 2
Throughout the history of popular fiction, the New York Times Book Review and the literati have done their best to focus public attention on writers of the Left. Nevertheless, readers have confounded them by tending to choose heroes with a more traditional, pro-American outlook and a decidedly un-nuanced view of good guys and bad guys.
So while Fletcher Knebel was cranking out critically acclaimed hardcover political thrillers like Seven Days in May from the Left, he and his ilk were being vastly outsold by paperback writers like Donald Hamilton, Mikey Spillane, Edward S. Aarons and other pulp paperback writers who featured he-man heroes.
In a more modern era, Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz and Vince Flynn have all dominated the bestseller list, leaving series like Sara Paretsky’s ultra-feminist private eye, and James Lee Burke’s (excellently written but decidedly left leaning) series in the dust.
So, here, in somewhat chronological order, is volume two of my series on 18 of the best heroes to star in their own series of mysteries, thrillers, and espionage novels. Some are not overtly political, but none are politically correct—still others deserve mention because they swam upstream against the prevailing literary trend of the time.
To read volume 1 (heroes 1-6) click here.
Note: Such stellar authors who definitely lean to the right as Dean Koontz, Andrew Klavan, Ralph Peters, James W. Huston and Joseph Wambaugh, are not included because they primarily write stand alone novels, and their work is not primarily identified with a dominant hero.
This popular post was originally published March 1, 2011.
When the lamestream media blindly runs phoney talking points by Media Matters, we call them out. Now, we reluctantly have to do it with Fox News and Newsbusters.
On Friday I challenged Newsbusters for running an out of context clip worthy of Alan Grayson to charge that Prime Time CBS Drama ‘The Good Wife’ Impugns Tea Party as ‘Racist Organization’. At the time, I was hoping that Bret Baker was operating on incomplete information, and would make things right.
By Friday afternoon, the estimable Megyn Kelly was hosting debates on Fox with two people who had never seen the show (3 including her) based on this false charge. Ironically, Megyn made the very point left out of the clip when she said all parties, including the Democrats had racists in them!
But despite being shown the whole context of the clip, Baker is unrepentant. He even ignored comments posted on his blog by one of the co-writers of the episode in question! Here’s a great quote from writer Robert King (more later in this post):
ROBERT KING, WRITER FOR THE GOOD WIFE: A character in the episode (in fact, an opposition lawyer and a bad guy) impugned the Tea Party, and he did it for a reason (defending a cop-killer) that was clearly unsympathetic. In fact, the Tea Party was strongly defended by the sympathetic characters on the show. This was in a section of the episode you didn’t include (except in an edited transcript).
To say “The Good Wife impugns the Tea Party as ‘a Racist Organization’” is logically similar to saying “The Gospels impugn Jesus for being a Deceiver” because those words are actually in the gospels; they just happen to be in the Pharisees’ mouth. read more…
