Daily Beast Columnist Robert Silverman's Column Shows He Is A Racist!
In a racist tirade worthy of a grand poobah of the KKK, the Daily Beast's Robert Silverman parrots the abusive language of today's Progressive Left who appear to have adopted a strategy that twists "Live Free or Die" into a narrative that proclaims "Live As I Tell You or Die."
The Progressive Left's movement to "progress" our constitutional government to one of total government control over the people it governs is becoming more and more evident as the era of "PC" (political correctness) morphs into one of "do as we say, or pay dearly." This movement has become so entrenched in government, politics, academia, and media that the Constitutionalist Right movement to preserve limited government is unlikely to stop it. Nevertheless, it will be destroyed by three characteristics that it cannot alter: Its obsession with name-calling, identity politics, and its monumental hubris. Each of these characteristics is a major turn-off to most Americans. Each is ingrained in the Progressive Left mentality. Couple these traits with a fundamental mendacity displayed by virtually every pronouncement by the Progressive Left and you have a movement whose leaders are instinctively unappealing to the vast majority of voters.
A good example of these qualities is found in the writings of Robert Silverman, who pens for The Daily Beast.
After two paragraphs acknowledging Rivera's amazing career with the New York Yankees, Silverman could no longer constrain his hatred for anyone who did not agree with his own peculiar brand of politics, spewing forth such venom as:
"... over the past three years, he’s also served at the pleasure of a racist president, taken part in thinly veiled propaganda on behalf of a far-right government in Israel, and gotten chummy with outright bigots and apocalyptic loons. None of this will be inscribed on his Hall of Fame plaque. It should, even if much of the sports world would very much like to pretend none of it exists."
There you have it, all three characteristics in one foul paragraph. Racism, identity politics, name-calling, the whole enchilada! (Note that good Progressive Leftists reading that last sentence would accuse me of Hispanic Appropriation for daring to use that expression.)
Silverman cannot justify his venomous terms. This is common with Progressivespeak. The beauty of name-calling by Progressives is that it is indiscriminately used without justification for the sole purpose of malignantly labeling anyone who doesn't politically march to the Progressive drumbeat.
When pinned down, Progressives display their self-delusion by fabricating statements and intentions out of thin air that they find convenient to use against their perceived enemies. They live a very shallow life with no chance for fulfillment because their beliefs are built upon fabrications that cannot prevail over truth.
Silverman plods on:
"While his playing career, and the overwhelming sense of dignity he brought to his chosen profession, has been endlessly dissected and universally praised, little was known about what Rivera was like when not on the clock. There were no gossipy mentions of his name in the tabloids, nor public salary-related feuds with the Steinbrenner clan... But Rivera did open up about one aspect of his private life: his Christian faith, which he was more than happy to expound on at length.
...the year he retired, Rivera’s charitable organization, one very much powered by his faith, was distributing nearly a million dollars annually, according to New York magazine; he recently founded a church in New Rochelle, NY (his wife serves as pastor); when Rivera gave up the game-winning single that cost the Yankees the 2001 World Series, he said it was part of the greater good—God’s plan, even—because doing so prevented a teammate from possibly getting on a plane that crashed; and when it comes to his signature pitch, 'He put it in me,' Rivera said. 'He put it in me, for me to use it. To bring glory, not to Mariano Rivera, but to the Lord.'”
Silverman seems to be affronted by Rivera's strong faith in God! Brushing aside Rivera's faith-based work, Silverman divines something nefarious in his assumption that "the vast majority of Evangelical Christians" believe "Jews must rule the Holy Land before Christ can return"! Of course, Silverman doesn't know that is true any more than he knows Rivera "ascribes to those beliefs" admitting that is "unclear." Yet Silverman now has a false platform built on his innuendo upon which to launch his false assertion that Rivera's support for Israel is self-serving. Silverman whines:
"Whether Rivera ascribes to those beliefs entirely is unclear, but his support for Israel and the Israel Defense Forces is a matter of public record. He has traveled to Israel on multiple occasions, possibly beginning in 2013."
While mature adults respond to Silverman's conspiracy theories with eyes rolled, thinking good grief, one can easily imagine Silverman gathering his "evidence" of a conspiracy, hunched over his computer while childishly thinking: "Ah ha! Rivera traveled to Israel! Wow! Something nefarious must be afoot!"
Silverman whines on:
"That year, the New York Board of Rabbis (NYBR) named Rivera its 'Man of the Year.' During the awards ceremony, NYBR’s executive vice president, Joseph Potasnik, claimed Rivera would accompany him to Israel for 10 days... on his WABC radio show in June 2015, Potasnik said Rivera and his family had spent five days with him there. In this case, reports exist which back up Potasnik—Rivera did visit religious landmarks and chatted up government officials. "
Steaming with hatred, Silverman spews forth more venom:
"... at one point they were in the Golan Heights. Gesturing toward Lebanon and Syria, which were visible from where they stood, 'They could have a much better life and yet they choose not to take that path,' the rabbi claimed Rivera told him. 'There’s an ideology that infects their thinking, and they just don’t want to live in peace.'"
One has to wonder to what history of the Middle East does Silverman subscribe? The proponents of frequent unprovoked violence in the area are exactly those Rivera gestured toward. Israel has not started any of the conflicts in the Middle East. It is the stated purpose of many in the area surrounding Israel to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. Clearly, it is that situation to which Rivera referred and which Silverman has a hissy fit over. Is Silverman so steeped in his madness that he isn't aware of that? Whether or not the representation of what Rivera is purported to have said is indeed Rivera's, it is certainly an accurate statement of historic reality. But then Progressives like Silverman are never encumbered by such inconveniences as truth, accuracy, and perspective.
In classic Progressive form, Silverman goes on to create a myth to assail Rivera. When Rivera returned to Israel in 2018, he toured "a military base in a venture organized by the NYBR and the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), a multi-million dollar U.S.-based nonprofit organization that does charitable work on behalf of the IDF." Then Silverman adds parenthetically: "(Randy Levine, the current Yankees president whose name was floated as a candidate to replace Reince Priebus as Trump’s chief of staff, has also participated in FIDF fundraisers and promotional events.)"
Silverman sees something nefarious in all of this! His connection: A former Yankee player raises funds for the IDF. The current Yankees president who was considered for the position of "Trump's chief of staff" also fundraised for the FIDF!
Stop the presses! Another joker is positioned in the house of cards Silverman's fantasies are building.
Silverman spews more:
"Rivera said the IDF trains soldiers to be 'a better person, a better citizen, and a better human being,' according to a statement put out by the FIDF. Two-and-a-half months earlier, Israeli soldiers killed at least 60 Palestinian protesters in Gaza and injured thousands more."
But what really happened? Silverman would have us believe the IDF just decided to open fire on peaceful "protesters" for the sport of it. Silverman cites another Daily Beast article from May 14, 2018 that states:
"Protests at the Gaza border reached a fever pitch Monday, with 52 dead and about 1,200 injured as Palestinians reportedly rushed the border, and Israeli Defense Forces used live fire on those attempting to cross as the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was celebrating its opening..."
Silverman turned 52 into "at least 60" and then turned "about 1,200 injured" into "injured thousands more"! Evidently, Silverman is not even constrained by the very facts he cites. Truth is so inconvenient to the Progressive Left. When thousands storm the border on the day the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had its grand opening, the IDF is supposed to just welcome them in? The "protesters" in the article's photo look much like the masked Fascist ANTIFA thugs. Does Silverman consider ANTIFA "protesters" to be justified in their acts of depraved terrorism?
Any time thousands (or even dozens) of people illegally storm an international border seeking to illegally enter that country the use of deadly force as a last resort is always justified. An invasion is an invasion whether it is with soldiers in uniform using armed vehicles or masses of non-uniformed people attempting to push their way into a country they have no right to enter illegally. Evidently that nugget of common sense reality is too much for Silverman to accept.
Silverman goes on to rail against Pastor John Hagee who Silverman characterizes as "an even more openly extremist and Islamophobic Israel backer... who pushed the Trump administration to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem"! Can you imagine anything more nefarious? Fulfilling a promise that a long succession of Presidents made yet failed to deliver. Silverman goes on to whine about obscure statements in a sermon 20 years earlier as though they were a daily outburst from Pastor Hagee. Silverman has to manufacture a considerable amount of his own thread to weave his conspiracy theory designed to assail Mariano Rivera, simply because Rivera is a man of deep Christian faith.
Silverman tries to turn Rivera's commitment to supporting Israel into a grand conspiracy with people Silverman doesn't like for reasons that are rooted in his own fertile imagination. When truth won't do, fantasy is a convenient alternative.
Silverman doesn't know when to stop. He rambles on, semi-coherently, desperately trying to weave a story about Rivera being some "right-wing" lunatic simply because he is a man of deep faith in God, he strongly supports Israel, he is committed to a host of charitable works, he opposes the abuse of opioids, and for Silverman the worst of all, he supports President Trump.
The way Silverman uses "right-wing" one has to wonder if he has any clue what the term really means.
Right-wing does not mean Nazi (a left-wing national socialist regime) nor does it mean Fascist (another left-wing socialist regime). Neither does it mean bigoted.
Right-wing does refer to those who support individual liberty over the power of the state. Right-wingers strongly support the constitutionally-mandated least governmental power to the federal government while reserving the greatest power to the people, with the states having intermediate powers.
On the other hand, left-wing refers to a those who want the greatest power to be concentrated at the federal level with the people and states serving the interests of the federal government. Left-wing (Progressives, Woke Liberals, Socialists, Communitists, Marxists, Fascists, Nazis) government is the opposite to what our Constitution mandates. Left-wing governments ultimately are the most repressive governments. Everything is mandated by those in control. Left-wing politicians are as seditious as are those who follow them. Because our Constitution is a right-wing document and is fundamentally opposed to left-wing politics, it is the mission of the Left to slowly overturn and change our Constitution so that it empowers federal government at the expense of the people.
In short, "right-wing" implies government that governs least governs best. "Left-wing" implies a dictatorship of the politicians in legion with bureaucrats. Only "left-wing" government creates mandates on its citizens. Social Security, Medicare, and briefly Obamacare are mandated social programs that on their face are unconstitutional, yet they are never challenged in the Supreme Court on the basis of their being an unconstitutional extension of federal power not supported by Article I, Section 8 (powers of government) and their violation of the tenth amendment (reserving all powers to the People and states that are not specifically delegated to the federal government by Article I, Section 8).
In Silverman's bizarre worldview, Mariano Rivera isn't someone who should be remembered as the greatest reliever in baseball history. No, to Silverman, Rivera is just a right-wing nut-case, who supports Israel and President Trump.
I suppose it is only fair to note that most normal people would view Silverman as a left-wing nut-case, and an impotent one at that.
In fact, few ever heard of Robert Silverman until he penned his ludicrous screed about Mariano Rivera, who happens to be a person of color! By Silverman's progressive-left standards, his screed aimed at Rivera makes Silverman a bonafide racist. Just ask Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, The New York Times, or The Washington Post, all of which can be counted on to quickly confirm "racism" applies to any White person (Silverman) who speaks ill of any "person of color" (Rivera).
Welcome to the Brave New World of left-wing lunacy.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.
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