They aren’t even trying to be credible any more apparently. Wow.
See those words above, in Mediaite’s tweet? Now, if I was doing my best Mediaite imitation, I’d write, “Mediaite didn’t claim Joe Biden didn’t refer to Satchel Paige as a Negro” even while you could read that this is exactly what the media news website did.
In fact, here’s what President Biden, in full bumbling mode, said today at a Veteran’s Day event at Arlington National Cemetery:
And here’s the transcript…
Now, I assume that Joe didn’t mean to call the great Negro Leagues a Negro, it being weirdly acceptable to call the league that but racist, or something, to call a black man that now, but the fact is, and it is a fact, that this is how the words came out of the President’s mouth. He referred to Paige as a Negro. You can hear it. Everyone can hear it. It’s on the video. Nevertheless, here is another progressive propaganda news site gaslighting us all, claiming that it didn’t happen and that “conservative critics” are “lying” by pointing out what Biden actually said.
No, Mediate is lying. This is a smoking gun example of the mainstream media bias that your progressive friends keep saying is a right wing conspiracy theory. Not only THAT…
- It’s a classic IIPTDXTTNMIAFB [“Imagine if President Trump did X that the news media is accepting from Biden.”] Yes, just imagine if President Trump ever called any black man or woman, living or dead, a Negro! It would be reported as proof positive that he is a racist. No defense accepted. Joe? Nah, he didn’t say that! You must have heard wrong! He’s one of the good people, like us!
- Democrats and progressives (and the news media, but..same thing), when they come up with a new motto to replace “E Pluribus Unum” (right after replacing that racist flag) have to use Rationalization #64, “It isn’t what it is.” It’s been their mantra for years now. They have it down pat. It’s a reflex.
- It’s a Jumbo! To paraphrase Jimmy Durante, “Negro? What Negro?”
Wait— there’s more! The effort by Mediate to pretend what everyone heard isn’t what they heard echoes the “Let’s go Brandon!” fiasco. Anything to save Joe’s honor, even right-out-in-the-open lying that won’t convince anyone except someone under a hypnotic trance.
Now, another Ethics Alarms standard should be in play, as I wrote recently: the Julie Principle. We all know what happened here. It’s happened all of Joe’s political life, it’s just happening more often since…well, you know. Big deal, and so what…except that conservatives know that the Axis of Unethical Conduct spent four years pouncing on every Trump gaffe, innocent or now, so they’ll be damned if they let Joe skate. I understand: they are holding the Left to its own declared standards. In this case, it’s petty—except that the pettiness lured Mediaite into showing just how corrupt it is….which is good to know. Don’t believe those people. They lie. They think you’re a gullible idiot.
Meanwhile, to be fair, Biden’s statement had a lot wrong with it beyond using “Negro.” The Negro Leagues were “the pros,” and as of this spring, they were also officially recognized as major leagues. Moreover, Satchel didn’t “become” a great pitcher, he already was a great pitcher and had been one for more than two decades before he was allowed into the American League at the age of 42. He was past his prime: 99% of pitchers are retired by that age. Paige still was damn good.
Satchel, who was one of my Dad’s heroes, wouldn’t have minded being called a Negro. The President diminished his career by a sloppy description, however. I don’t think Biden knows much about Paige at all. As usual, Biden didn’t know what he was talking about.
Ethics Alarms 
Joe wasn’t talking, he was reading, or trying to. Did Trump EVER use a teleprompter? I don’t think he did. He just extemporized, in a round about way, but still, if you allowed for his sense of humor, he made sense. If he bumbled and stumbled the way Joe does every single day, Trump would have been forced out of the job.
Frequently in his initial campaign speeches, while in other ones he complained about politicians using teleprompters, and a quick search confirmed that he continued to intermittently use one and fail, including one claim that the teleprompter was at fault for a mistake. It was one of the early stupid, easily checked, hypocritical statement from Trump, that apparently continued throughout his presidency. Remember, half the things the media CLAIMED were lies from Trump weren’t, but the other half really were (actual ratio not checked, and could be plus or minus 25% either direction).
If I may be permitted an outburst of emotionalism: I hate this crap.
I hate that Biden can’t get three words out in sequence without screwing up.
I hate that he pretends to be informed when he doesn’t have a clue.
I hate that Republicans and conservatives feel they have to jump on every little gaffe.
I hate that the news media can’t just say, “Yes, he fucked up!’ and instead lies and gaslights the public.
I hate that they treat the public like they are all idiots.
I hate that the public tolerates it.
I hate that you can’t trust anyone.
Amen X 6.
I remember a time when we didn’t lock our doors at home, even at night. I get it, times change, and there were lots of bad things during that time as well, so fond remembrances must be tempered with the reality that we tend to forget the bad, so there’s my disclaimer.
I also remember a time when we trusted our president, even when he wasn’t the guy we voted for, and even if that trust was dubious. He had to prove himself incompetent before we’d begin to doubt him. Nixon and Carter exemplified that perception, for vastly different reasons.
I hate that we can’t leave anything unlocked anymore, even in the country. I hate that we are instantly suspicious of everyone. I hate that picking up a hitchhiker is now so dangerous no responsible citizen does it (I remember hitchhiking 90 miles after a rowdy wedding in college on a Sunday morning).
Cynicism is now the universal constant. The world is much the worse for it.
If there ever was a textbook book example of the phrase “Who are gonna to believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?”, I’d have say that this incident ranks right up there.
In other news, YouTube has confirmed that it is now going to start removing the ‘dislikes’ count from public view, which they say is an effort to protect small creators from ‘harassment’.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2021/11/10/youtube-is-removing-the-dislike-count-on-all-videos-across-its-platform/amp/
Color me skeptical that is the real reason (see the like to dislike ratio for Kamala Harris’ cringe and fake NASA video), but I suspect that the comments section will soon go the way of the dodo as well.
That quote should read: “Who are ‘you’ gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?”
My bad for that.
It also appears that all of the major left leaning news outlets in the USA are not reporting on the story.
I actually saw one headline that read, “Eric Trump mocked for ‘flushed face’ reaction to Biden referencing historic ‘Negro League’”.
I saw that, too. Anything for a click, I guess, and all the better if it helps feed your preferred narrative and deflects the reader’s attention.
“Oh, shiny!” wasn’t meant to be a how-to.
Wait for it….
The crowds are going to start chanting “Let’s go Negro”!
I hope so.
I may be hyper-sentive in defense of old Satch, but the “following Jackie Robinson” annoys me in Biden’s remarks as well. Paige only had to “follow” Robinson because he was too old to get the honor of being the one who broke the color line when baseball was ready to do it. He was also, I suspect, considered too “black.” Robinson was well-spoken, handsome, and well-educated.,as well as a great player. But Paige was unquestionably greater, standing with Josh Gibosn and a couple of others as the greatest of the Negro Leagues greats. He may well have been the greatest pitcher of all time, anywhere.
In 1965, Kansas City A’s owner Charley Finley, who aspired to be another Bill Veeck (who brought Paige to the Majors) but wasn’t up to it, signed at age 59 to pitch against the Red Sox. in September. It could have been horrible, and brutal exploitation of an aging legend, but Paige didn’t see it that way. He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just a triple to Carl Yastrzemski. I don’t know that any other pitcher in history could have done that…none even tried. Nolan Ryan pitched his last game at 48: he was the closest, not counting Nick Altrock, a good pitcher but not a great one in his day, who came out of retirement at the age of 57 in 1933 to pitch two innings, giving up two hist and a run. I don’t count Altrock because by that time he had teamed with Al Schacht, the “Clown Prince of Baseball”, for a dozen years, performing comedy routines in the days before official mascots.. Altrock’s pitching appearance was purely done for laughs. Nobody was laughing in Boston after Paige humiliated the Red Sox.
He followed nobody, and nobody could follow him.
Dang, I did not know that about Satchel Paige. Even if the Red Sox were not that good in 1965, they were still a major league team. It is absolutely astounding that he could pitch 3 scoreless innings at that age.
Most pitchers at that age would probably be doing good to be able to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
A tip of the cap to Satchel.