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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

The Hypocrisy of the Left

"Ban the box" is one of the latest  rages from the left. I happen to agree that  a criminal conviction should never be the basis for an automatic disqualification from employment. A more nuanced approach is fairer to prospective workers and employers.

Ironically, the same people who think we should hire ex-offenders are outraged that some members of the Trump administration were given security clearances despite problems in their past.

This is hypocrisy.

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

the radical left dems are anti- american

Anonymous said...

The Left wants to hide the past of those who would care for the Grace Packers of the world. Incompetent child abusers deserve second chances, right? Meanwhile, will a single government employee lose his or her job? Of course not.

Anonymous said...

big difference between not holding a weed possession charge over someone vs a person who fails the security screening in multiple ways and is then granted the full clearance anyway.Comrade trump only hires the best--amirite?
Comrade trump had a foreign agent running his campaign.
One of Comrade trump's grifter family was desperate for a loan to keep his real estate empire going and was trading on his access to Comrade trump.
So a shoplifting conviction and being in bed for 10 years with a Putin thug is two different things.

Anonymous said...

So when your brother tries to set up a back channel communication system with the Russian government and gets caught along with lying about it.
You might have people wondering about whether you are a security risk.
but hey they overlooked your brother's company shooting people in the streets.

Tony said...

Spoken like s true gentleman. Someone get this guy a drink.

Anonymous said...

Apples and Oranges. The suspicions swamping the Trump administration consist of current, on-going contacts and business deals between upper echelon members and foreign interests, not in the past criminal convictions.

Unknown said...

Respectfully, I think your analogy if off on this one. What ban the box does is says that you as the employer ask about criminal convictions later in the hiring process, once you've gotten to know the candidate on their merits. But before an offer is made, you still do review any record--and make the decision to hire or not at that time.

My understanding in this case is that the whistleblower (who acc to the WaPost has worked for both Dem and R administrations) is concerned that people who have past indiscretions were appointed anyway to sensitive positions. Big, big difference.

Canary said...

Support for second chances doesn't oblige anyone to accept a former thief as a bank teller.
There are plenty of jobs outside the White House that can be second chances for felons, without granting them access to sensitive intel.

Anonymous said...

Trumpers have financial dealing with international entities and have done business with questionable characters suggesting the possibility of compromise.

Your hypocrisy tag is a massive stretch.

Anonymous said...

Can't believe there are still bozos pushing Trump, the most incompetent and unqualified person to hold the Presidency in the history of this nation, to run in 2020. He's a clown and is destroying the dignity and credibility of this country.

Anyone but Trump, 2020.

Anonymous said...

There are TONS of examples of hypocrisy in politics, both sides are willfully ignorant when it comes to the smell of their own farts.

This particular issue is a bit of a stretch here, because of the level of expectations for high level government work that involves national security versus operating a forklift in a warehouse.

Anonymous said...

Nothings says "Ghey Grampa" more than posting "Trump 2020" on a blog more or less dedicated to local government.

Anonymous said...

@5:15am: The Republican party is filled with Neo-Nazi, Bible-Thumping treasonous Dotards.

Anonymous said...

12:15 Hate filled much?

Anonymous said...

5 Ways Democrats Have Become Deranged

Anonymous said...

This is not an apples to apples comparison I agree. If you want to work in the White House you should be squeaky clean...unless you're the president of course, then you can be a corrupt real estate guy profiting from your office. Oh the irony!

Anonymous said...

Libs are crazy (literally). Three words:
Green.New.Deal.

Anonymous said...

50+ years the guy has been in the public eye. Minute he runs for office as a Republican, he’s corrupt! Oh, the liberal mind. I would love to see a brain MRI of a liberal vs a sound rational person. Big difference...Bigly.

Anonymous said...

Wow? Censorship on Bernie's blog!!? Deleted posts.

Anonymous said...

12:32 the radical dems are baby killers, no borders no laws anti-jews. they want to tax tax tax the new green deal is an ass hole deal by the bartender aos sanctuary cities and states,no laws which leads to thousands of American deaths the goal of the left is to ruin american life as we know it. the left is anti America they must be eliminated.

Anonymous said...

Wait until the Southern District of New York charges start rolling out and he cant hide or get a pardon for those. Yes, shame on the law for not taking him down sooner, they looked the other way, but when the spotlight is shined on the dark corners of your life because you hold the highest seat in the land you're fair game.

Anonymous said...

12:52 - 50 years as a (relatively) harmless NYC tabloid sideshow who dabbled in business ventures with varying degrees of success. When you voluntarily step up from where Trump was to "Leader of the Free World" I think its safe to assume that the quirks, pecadillos and overall conduct in life and business is going to get a closer look. If you think its because he's a Republican you're deluding yourself.

Honestly when did Republicans become such pussies? It used to be Democrats who whined and cried all the time, but the non-stop "We're being persecuted!", "Nobody likes us!" "Liberals are out to ruin us!" pants wetting is just killing the party. I'm convinced 75% of the MAGA crowd doesn't have a clue about what being a conservative is anymore beyond blathering about Libs, AOC, Trump Derangement Syndrome, etc.

Charlie Sc said...

The "ban the box" movement is not seeking to prevent employers from knowing about criminal history. It is seeking to prevent the question from being asked on the INITIAL application, before an employer has looked at their other qualifications. There are many companies with automated systems of considering resumes, and the check on the box can send a resume right into the trash folder, even if it involved an old offense.

In any case, Jared is being given access to the most sensitive secrets of the US, even though he submitted totally incomplete security clearance forms. Anyone else in that situation would have been charged with a felony for omitting hundreds of conflicts with foreign officials and potential business conflicts of interest from his security clearance forms. Instead, every time he was caught with major omissions, he just added the information that was uncovered to his form.

Security clearance is treated very very seriously for everyone else in the federal government. Even the secretaries in the FBI need full security clearances, which the FBI does themselves.

Anonymous said...

45=46+47

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely nothing compared to the shinannigans that occurred from 1/20/09-1/20/17..

Anonymous said...

Specifics?

Anonymous said...

I really can't wait until the inspector generals report on FISA abuses hits -- about the same time we see the full Muller report i'd guess...

The treachery of Hillary & BHO will make the Russian collusion meme look like the hoax it has proven itself to be...

Anonymous said...

1:09 Ah, the FOX parrots keep squawking.

Anonymous said...

Gitmo is starting to see some residents trickle in. Bush, McCain, soon there wil be BHO and the clintons, Chomey.

Anonymous said...

Bernie, stick to local politics. This is the honestly the dumbest nonsense I've ever read. You are arguing that people applying to do jobs like being auto mechanics and construction workers should be required to tell their employer if they've committed a crime, while defending an administration that shares that position but still hires people with criminal histories to white house jobs with security clearances. Jesus, use your brain.

Apparently, much like the word "disproportionate," you don't know what the word "hypocrisy" means.

PS, I know that while you love to criticize others, you don't take criticism well yourself, so I've copied this so I can just paste it back in when you delete it.

Anonymous said...

12:39...YES. Everything you said.

Anonymous said...

12:32 the radical dems are baby killers, no borders no laws anti-jews. they want to tax tax tax the new green deal is an ass hole deal by the bartender aos sanctuary cities and states,no laws which leads to thousands of American deaths the goal of the left is to ruin american life as we know it. the left is anti America they must be eliminated.

"the goal of the left is to ruin american life as we know it."

Ladies and gentleman, I give you a complete ignoramus with no thoughts of his own, just the regurgitated and dangerous rhetoric of right wing hate radio.

"they must be eliminated"

How do you propose on doing this, Rambo? Nice crew you have here, Bernie.

Anonymous said...


The treachery of Hillary & BHO will make the Russian collusion meme look like the hoax it has proven itself to be...


These buffoons actually believe this obstructionist crap is legit. Newsflash, sparky: HRC and BHO did NOTHING except follow the law and lead this country with dignity and seriousness. Keep hoping for your ridiculous Q-inspired fucknuttery. In the meantime, how about stepping outside your bubble.

Anonymous said...

10:26 the truth hurts all that was said about the radical left is true they are anti-America we need no fox news to know the radical left just watch cnn or the rest of the fake news

Anonymous said...

10:26 the truth hurts all that was said about the radical left is true they are anti-America we need no fox news to know the radical left just watch cnn or the rest of the fake news

Yes, Einstein, you are onto the ruse. Only Fox tells truth and the other thousand news orgs are all in a secret cabal to dismantle democracy and the way of life in the USA. Don't tell anyone.

Anonymous said...

Take your meds 11:43

Anonymous said...

2:11 REALITY TOO MUCH FOR YOU HA HA HA

LVCI said...

11:43 AM is that you Hannity?
If so, you missed the parts about the Hillary cover up, FISA warrants, the fake dossier and news media. Other then those you embody Trump's viewpoints quite well.

May I also suggest you have a tech look at your device. The caps key seems to be stuck and the spell checker is a mess. While you're at it you might want to schedule an MRI for yourself. I'm not sure the 2:11 pm suggestion wouldn't compound the condition you're experiencing.

Anonymous said...


THEY WANT TO KILL BABIES NY GOVERNOR VA GOVERNOR AND MORE

- No they don't. Stop watching Fox and InfoWars and actually understand what you are talking about.

THE DEMS WILL NOT HELP THE BORDER PROBLEMS

- Of course they will. They just won't fund a wall.

THE DEMS ARE ANTI - JEW AND ISRAEL

- Sure, thats why Jews are a Democratic voting bloc. Repubs only like Israel because their bible says that Jews must be there when Jesus returns.

THE DEMS WANT SOCIALISM

- Like Social Security and Medicare? OK, you got us.

THE BIGGEST JOKE IS THE GREEN NEW DEAL

- Actually its not. It reduces carbon so our grandchildren don't die in an apocalypse.

CITIES RUN BY DEMOCRATS BE PROUD OF THEM THE DEMS RULE CITIES GO DEMS GO

- Yes, Democrats run government where its tough and millions of people live. Its easy to govern Kentucky.

I hope you don't have children. You are a real uninformed embarrassment.

Anonymous said...

Trump will prevail

Anonymous said...

AND DO NOT FORGET ALL THE DEMOCRATS DO IS TAX AND THEN TAX SOME LOOK AT O'CONNELL OR ARMSTRONG OR ANY DEMOCRAT ALL THE WANT TO DO IS TAX AND SPEND LIKE A FOOL OTHER EXAMPLES IS EVERY CITY THAT IS CONTROLLED BY THE DEMS LOOK AT THAT GUY IN NEW YORK THE PEOPLE ARE MOVING OUT.

Anonymous said...

3:54 and LVCI you're making the collective heads of the nut cases on this blog explode. Better quit while you're ahead!

Anonymous said...

dems will not go to the border so how can we believe them the people that work on the border must all be liers.

Anonymous said...

oas is right if the radial left takes over this country will fall apart in 12 years

Anonymous said...

omar is not anti - jew she is anti=american

Anonymous said...

cities are run by dems no progress in 50 years but more taxes

Anonymous said...

America wiil cause the world to end in 12 years china india Europe Russia??? its all the usa fault oas

Anonymous said...

no Russians and trump now lets look at the Clintons and Obama by the way how did that jerk in Chicago get off the hook was the Obama's involved did Clinton give anything to Russia?

Anonymous said...

no como and the black face guy do not want to kill babies is this fake news

Anonymous said...

12 years left says oas if the socialists take over she is right

Anonymous said...

Do you mean AOC, or are you just yammering on about someone nobody else has heard of?

Anonymous said...

I MEAN ASS

Anonymous said...

Perhaps you should seek professional help.

Anonymous said...

What do Dems want to do with babies that are born alive from an abortion? Keep them comfortable until they die?

Anonymous said...

Taken from the Breitbart comment section:

2019 Democrat Platform

* Censor Speech
* Ban Guns
* Hate JEWZ
* Infanticide
* Tear down statues
* Ban Books
* Government control of the economy and healthcare

Which group in history shared these same views? I think they were around in the 30's and were lead by a guy with a funny moustache. I think they called themselves the Democrat Socialist Party. Hmmm, maybe it will come to me.


Now, THIS is pretty accurate. Comments? Or, maybe just call Brietbart names.

Anonymous said...

9:o7 this dems yet some fools will not take credit for the dems agenda amd to top it they call trump a hitler type person this fits the title to a tee the hypocrisy of left

Anonymous said...

Democrats don't have any interest in banning books, infanticide, or hating jews. Occasionally private businesses run by Democrats engage in censorship on their platforms, which I have problems with, but every platform has to enforce some boundaries on content, or else they end up like 8chan. Generally, Democrats avoid censorship by the government, which would run afoul of the 1st amendment, while Republicans have made certain forms of this a matter of policy (i.e. preventing federal researchers from presenting their work at scientific conferences).

We want to ban new sales of certain types of guns, but most of us will acknowledge that gun ownership, for hunting and self defense, is an important part of American life. We also generally believe that the supreme court has wildly misinterpreted the 2nd amendment in recent decades on a number of issues, specifically on whether gun ownership by "the people" means the people as individuals or as a community (if you go to colonial Williamsburg, you will see that they had a community armory).

The statue issue is complicated, and you will find a variety of opinions within the Democratic party about what to do with Confederate statues. I generally favor removing them from public parks and putting them in museums or university collections where they can be put into proper context, including that many of them were erected by segregationists in the mid-20th century, rather than by people who could actually remember the confederacy as it was.

Government control of healthcare to some extent is generally regarded as favorable by Democrats, because we believe that many of the current inefficiencies in the American health care market (including the inability of many people to receive adequate care for life threatening or chronic illnesses) are a result of private insurers' motivation to turn a profit, which the government does not share. In fact, the most popular insurance programs that exist now are government-run (Medicaid and Medicare). Outside of very particular industries (like health insurance, and mass transit) most of us don't want government control of the economy, but rather reasonable systems of taxation and responsible regulation.

I know conservatives like to say that the Nazis called themselves socialists, but they were no more actual socialists the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is democratic or a republic. In reality, it was built on a fascist ideology, which is the inverse of socialism, where power flows from the top down rather than the bottom up. This is not to say there aren't socialist states that are also nightmares (see Venezuela, Cuba, the DPRK), but this is a fundamentally different thing than the ideology being advocated on the left wing of the Democratic party now, which is more accurately described as an extension of the New Deal/Great Society.

I hope that was more enlightening than this oversimplistic Breitbart drivel.

– A Democrat

Anonymous said...

12:05

Thank you for a reasonable, comprehensive response. Most Democrats simply try to shout down those who don't agree with their positions, call them racist, etc. By the way, the racist charge has been so overused it has NO effect on me whatever. I know I'm not alone on this.

The element taking control of the Democrat Party right now is much too radical, claiming even more authoritarian government control over our lives is good for us. They want to regulate most of our daily lives. They offer free stuff to get attention. Unfortunately, the percentage of people paying little, or no income taxes to pay for it all has grown so large, ultra radical, socialist/communist candidates might succeed.

I don't think that Breitbart poster is too far off the mark.

- A Conservative, neither Republican nor Democrat



Anonymous said...

Schultz maybe the answer

Anonymous said...

Democrats will destroy Schultz.

Anonymous said...

the radical left dems the baby killers the socialist the sanctuary city people the no borders people will destroy nobody if elected they will destroy america

Anonymous said...

12:38,

I too find some of the rhetoric on the left a bit unnerving. I am pretty far to the left myself (I voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary), but I am concerned that some activists have taken a more left-authoritarian leaning approach without fully understanding that they have done so. However, this view is absolutely not at all mainstream (maybe 10% of the party), and remains much smaller, from my perspective, than the authoritarian strain of thought on the right, which has existed for as long as there has been a political right (while early regional conflicts obscure this lineage in American history, the European political right grew directly out of pro-monarchy political factions).

Understandably this group's influence has been played up dramatically on Fox, mainly to generate negative partisanship against Democrats. Fox, along with conservative radio and now youtube personalities, have done this for years, but to most people it hasn't been plausible that a large number of people held this view until recently (it still isn't actually true). So for people consuming mostly right-wing media, they are only ever really presented with caricatures of Democrats that are mostly unrecognizable to actual Democrats. I will concede that to some degree, outlets like msnbc do the opposite, but it is never as explicit or persistent as it is on Fox. Even Rachel Maddow used to have Republicans like Ron Paul and John McCain come on her show for somewhat extended interviews (by tv standards), until they decided there was more downside than upside to making those appearances.

I am also going to push back on some of your claims of what "we" want. We don't want to regulate your daily life. We do, generally, want more regulation of businesses, which we see as an important way to maintain freedom for individuals. For instance, workplace health and safety regulations and environmental regulations were put in place in order to prevent businesses from putting their workers and consumers at risk of illness or injury. We also think that businesses are not good at regulating themselves, even with the free-market incentives to do so, and you need to look no further than the recent issues with the Boeing 737s for evidence there.

On taxes, we don't see offering government services as a trick, the way Republicans accuse us of doing. Nobody actually thinks that just because services are offered by the government, they are free. Everyone knows they have to be paid for, and Democrats tend to see taxation as a way of doing that more equitably, often by reducing the impacts of bad luck on any one individual (which is why Obamacare put into place protections for people with pre-existing conditions). We also see some services as benefitting both individuals and the populace as a whole, which is basically the argument for more public funding for higher education. When it is possible for the best and brightest to go to good universities regardless of their ability to pay, not only do their lives improve, but the rest of us end up with better doctors, engineers, and teachers (and since conservatives like to complain about elitism in Ed policy, I will add that better access to two year programs also gives us better plumbers, electricians, etc.)

I'm not going to touch the point about accusations of racism point, other than to say that a large part of the strategy Republican have employed since ~1970 has been 1) to stoke fear of minorities and 2) to convince white people that being scared of minorities isn't racist. This results in conservative white people doing lots of things that meet any reasonable definition of racism, while being absolutely certain that the things they are doing are not racist.

to 1:54,
Schultz is not the answer. He is a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, which is a set of ideas shared by only about 3% of Americans. He also doesn't appear to have any ideas apart from thinking he would make a good president.

– 12:05

Anonymous said...

o bama care is a mistake for the person who has to pay for their own health insurance the cost has gone though the roof us middle class people were hit hard again we are paying so others can get cheap insurance payed by us not the government or the democrats our rates have tripled and the deductibles have skyrocketed but we are only 10 percent of the all the people insured so nobody cares as a result we pay or possible go bankrupt thank you politicians on both sides

Anonymous said...

12:05 - I'll finish by saying the face of the PRESENT Democrat Party should be frightening to every responsible and productive American resident. Years ago, I was an active Democrat. Wouldn't go near it these days. Appreciate your views nonetheless.

12:38

Anonymous said...

7:03, Before Obamacare, you were paying anyway when uninsured people showed up at the hospital needing care. And their care was more expensive and less effective than if they had been treated before their condition became an emergency. In any case, the money going towards subsidies on the insurance marketplaces isn't coming out of your insurance costs, it's coming out of taxes and projected medicare savings, so that is not what is driving the price increases in your healthcare.

Anonymous said...

7:03 before o bama care my premium was 300 the deductible was 1500 after the great Obama care the premium is 1349 and the deductible is 7500 so do not give your shit answers because your a typical dem who does not see reality sure Obama care is good program

Anonymous said...

7:03 before o bama care my premium was 300 the deductible was 1500 after the great Obama care the premium is 1349 and the deductible is 7500 so do not give your shit answers because your a typical dem who does not see reality sure Obama care is good program

Because your shitty plan didn't cover anything and then I have to pay for your healthcare. Obamacare actually looked at your income and had you pay your fair share for comprehensive coverage.

Anonymous said...

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 MILLION VOTES. Three million people. This time in 2020, the electoral college fluke won't happen again as Democrats will be overwhelmingly voting against Trump as we saw in 2018. Keep spewing that hate and support for a lying, cheating, adulterating, incompetent, and unqualified president.

Anonymous said...

first of all the the true fact is the politicians in this country do not care they are all in it because of their ego yet they have no clue they have ruined this country and yes it may be over in 12 years. both the dems and republicans are assholes just listen to them when they talk. THEY HAVE SCREWERD JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT THEY TOUCHED. no hope with this system

Anonymous said...

9:36 what you say is so so true politicians are the lowest form of life our only hope would be to get rid of them and start over with a new set of rules--ex. term limits no lawyers

Anonymous said...

9:02 all this country needs is a left wing democrat did aoc say we have 12 years she may be right

Anonymous said...

11:15 and 9:39, that 12 years you are talking about is not a general collapse of the country, but a specific reference to a UN climate report that said we have about 12 years to reduce carbon emissions until it becomes inevitable that we will hit 2 degrees C of warming.

Anonymous said...

sure the un knows