The Homicide of the Truth

 

In 1918 US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson is purported to have said: “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” In the slow-rolling civil war we’re seeing on American streets, truth is AWOL from the media. The media have convicted Kyle Rittenhouse without benefit of trial. But, maybe it’s time to review a few fundamental truths and put some life back into truth.

In 1776 a group of patriots who believed that freedom was more important than servitude stated their beliefs in the simplest of terms:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Every person has the right to life. Every person has the liberty to protect that life. The right of self-defense has always been considered sacred (except in Massachusetts and certain other liberal states). The idea that a person must simply let their life be taken from them by someone bent on doing evil goes against everything our founders stood for. They even took pains to ensure that every citizen would have the right to protect their life:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Each of us has the God-given right to protect our life. Liberals will tell you that the Fifth Commandment read “thou shalt not kill.” But a proper translation would actually be “thou shalt not murder.” There is a difference between murder and self-defense that has been recognized forever by nearly every religion and moralist. When I protect myself against the assault of another, I am not engaging in assault. I am interdicting an assault.

Years before the right to bear arms was protected in Texas, Florida, and now scores of other states, that right was closely held. You could have a handgun for protection in the home, but woe be unto you if you ventured away from the house with it. One of America’s most ardent teachers of firearms tactics had this to say about that prohibition:

“One cannot legislate the maniacs off the street … these maniacs can only be shut down by an armed citizenry. Indeed bad things can happen in nations where the citizenry is armed, but not as bad as those which seem to be threatening our disarmed citizenry in this country at this time.” — Col. Jeff Cooper

This past week in Kenosha, WI, a young man from Illinois went to protect businesses from looting and arson. But he also went with a first aid kit to treat anyone injured. When interviewed, that was what he said he was there for. But violent anarchists, who felt they had the right to burn and loot, confronted him, assaulted him, and he used a firearm to protect himself. He may have unlawfully possessed the weapon, but that’s for another day.

I have a number of concerns about the incident. First, how did a parent allow a 17-year-old boy to attend a riot? How did that happen? Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, I see Billy Crystal yelling “good luck storming the castle!” What responsible parent lets a child go to a riot?

Another question: what responsible parent lets a 17-year-old without sufficient life experience to understand the consequences of armed self-defense, go to a riot armed? Even if you believe, as I do, that he acted with great discretion and in defense of his life, you have to be concerned with how and why he was able to put himself in that position.

WI/IL Map

Map showing Antioch, IL, and Kenosha, WI.

My next concern is how he got charged with being a fugitive from justice in Illinois – where he lives – when all he did was go home for the night. Here’s the map of the area.

Kyle Rittenhouse lives in Antioch, IL. A part of the huge Chicago metroplex, it’s about 35 minutes from Kenosha. It isn’t like he was boarding a boat for Qatar, or hijacking an airplane for Cuba. He was quite simply going home. And some overwrought prosecutor charged him with being a fugitive from justice?

After the shooting, the video shows him approaching police with his hands raised. He stopped and talked to a police officer who told him to leave the area. He did. He tried to report what happened. The idea that he was a fugitive is ridiculous. The mainstream media’s reporting on this is shameful. “The teenager is a former member of a youth police cadet program with an affinity for guns, according to police and online profiles.”

He was a police explorer. Wow! Lock him up. You can’t have normal 17-year-old kids liking police-related content online. Probably shows something horrible about their character!

He currently faces charges for first-degree intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted intentional homicide, and recklessly endangering safety. The only thing he should have been charged with is possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18, which is a misdemeanor. Even that could be forgiven.

But he was charged because the media is driving this. USA Today, no friend of the truth, is running cover for the felons attacking him. USA Today describes Anthony Huber this way:

Friends described Huber as a happy and laid-back guy who loved to skateboard.

“He was always a really sweet person. Always had a smile on his face,” said Max Seebeck, who grew up skateboarding with Huber in Kenosha.

They claim he may have been trying to save lives. By bashing a 17-year-old in the head with a skateboard? And then there’s Joseph Rosenbaum. USA Today says:

According to social media posts from friends and family, Rosenbaum is a Texas native. He moved to Kenosha within the last year. …He leaves behind a fiancée and a young daughter.

The third “victim” is Gaige Grosskreutz. He was in Kenosha for the People’s Revolution Movement. So, not a native, but rather, an outside agitator. Although he did not garner a Darwin Award for himself, it’s doubtful he’ll be patting himself on the back with that right arm anytime soon.

But, was there other information about these victims available to the media that might have shed some light on whether they were in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize? Were they in Kenosha serving humanity? As a matter of fact, there is data and information that paints a different picture of these purported victims. You just have to go find some actual journalism being done (NY Daily News) to locate it:

Online arrest records show [Anthony M.] Huber was arrested several times on battery, drugs and other charges. Rosenbaum had an open criminal case on battery, disorderly conduct and domestic abuse charges, according to the Wisconsin Circuit Court website. His previous record could not immediately be confirmed.

Congrats on the NY Daily News. They got it about one-third right.

Of course, if the NY Daily News had bothered they could easily have located Rosenbaum’s child molestation conviction out of Arizona. Had they checked the Wisconsin sex offender registry they would have found his listing there. Makes you wonder if that fiancée knew what her daughter was getting into? And, as to Anthony M. Huber, he had a domestic abuse modifier and drug-related arrests in his past.

But, what about Gaige? Even the Rittenhouse criminal complaint notes that Gaige had a handgun in his hand at the time he was shot. Numerous photos of it exist. Yet, Gaige had a firearm-related conviction in 2016 for being armed with a handgun while intoxicated. He may actually have been a prohibited possessor. But even if he wasn’t a prohibited possessor, he certainly had a criminal record. A criminal who had previously been armed and convicted of being armed while intoxicated, was carrying a handgun, pointing it at Rittenhouse, and got shot when he tried to use his gun to take Rittenhouse’s rifle. It might be interesting to know if he fired that weapon that evening, no?

There is an excellent breakdown of the Rittenhouse shooting here. It’s worth your time to watch the entire video.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I am very tired of a news media that promotes the violence in these riots and then whines when patriots stand up and take back the streets. While the kid should have been allowed to be a kid, and should have been nowhere near that place, he isn’t a criminal in my view. He should not be charged with an intentional homicide when all he did was try to get out of a dangerous situation, first by running, and only when cornered by firing. Every time I see his young, hopeful face, I see myself at age 17. I was a dumb kid at 17. I did not get a lot smarter until I spent time in the army.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail. Lin Wood has agreed to help with the case. There is a formidable legal team taking shape. The charges should be dismissed in their entirety. If this case does go to trial, hopefully a jury will refuse to convict him.

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  1. lowtech redneck Coolidge
    lowtech redneck
    @lowtech redneck

    The real question is which politicians will be brave enough to defend this earnest young man, rather than avoid the issue?  Or worse, damn him as a ‘vigilante’ and sacrifice him to the lynch mob in order to avoid acknowledging the reality of where we are as a nation?

    On-line support for Kyle Rittenhouse has been extremely strong, even ferocious, largely because the videos make it impossible for the MSM and tech censors to effectively gaslight any moderately informed or critical news consumer.  Tens of millions of people see themselves or their children in potentially the same situation.  The squish and establishment voices are unlikely to be able to sidestep the issue as the railroading proceeds, and we must do everything we can to ensure that they don’t.

    According to the (unusually extensive) evidence available to us now, Kyle Rittenhouse did nothing morally or ethically wrong.  He was too young and naive to choose to be in that position, but he was otherwise a hero (as were other volunteers there that night who were not forced to shoot anyone).  It was the exact equivalent of someone protecting a targeted black church from the KKK in the 1950s.  

    • #1
  2. OmegaPaladin Moderator
    OmegaPaladin
    @OmegaPaladin

    There were 17-year-olds on the front lines of almost every war the US has fought. 

    I salute you, Kyle, a better man than I was at 17.

    • #2
  3. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    I wonder if, being 30 minutes away, doing medic stuff was part of community service or medic requirements for his extracurriculars and he thought it was a good opportunity. I’d like to know.

    Regardless of how he happened to be out there, he should not have been out there unprotected, so I have a huge issue with people pontificating on the 17 year old who was armed while out in the middle of “peaceful protests”.

    • #3
  4. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Speaking of truth.  I’ve been wondering about who was firing all those shots in the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings.  And I have been wondering if Kyle really shot the man who was shot in the head.  Now there is a video out that purports to show a gun being fired before Rittenhouse fired his first shot.

     

    • #4
  5. Anthony L. DeWitt Coolidge
    Anthony L. DeWitt
    @AnthonyDeWitt

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Speaking of truth. I’ve been wondering about who was firing all those shots in the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings. And I have been wondering if Kyle really shot the man who was shot in the head. Now there is a video out that purports to show a gun being fired before Rittenhouse fired his first shot.

     

    We’ll need to wait for forensics and other data to make that call.  But I had the same question.  It sounded like a lot of people were shooting out there, not just Kyle.

    • #5
  6. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Anthony L. DeWitt: In 1918 US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson is purported to have said: “The first casualty when war comes is truth.”

    Silly me.  I thought it was the battle plan . . .

    • #6
  7. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    My advice would be to stay away from these urban warzones. I understand the anger, and the anxiety that some people feel seeing the nightly news. The media and the hundreds of people that use their cell phones to record an incident are not your friends.

    When you become part of the melee you cannot reason with the mob. You have no control of the immediate situation. You are in a position of having to react. You do not have 50, or more people that are dressed like you are-with badges, riot helmets, impact munitions, or chemical agents to give yourself some distance. In the case of the 17 year-old all he had was deadly physical force to protect himself. He didn’t have a flash bang grenade that contains about 100 rubber balls that can deliver pain compliance.

    I know the mindless violence angers people, but don’t put yourself in a position that leaves you with no choices. I’ve worn the helmet. I’ve knocked rioters down. I’ve made arrests, but I had a lot of support.

    • #7
  8. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    What I have heard: “The third “victim” is Gaige Grosskreutz. He was in Kenosha for the People’s Revolution Movement. So, not a native, but rather, an outside agitator. Although he did not garner a Darwin Award for himself, it’s doubtful he’ll be patting himself on the back with that right arm anytime soon.”

    Gaige Grosskreutz was interviewed while in the hospital and he bragged that his intention was to kill Rittenhouse. This pretty much destroys any type of argument any defense lawyer might come up with regarding the guy being an innocent bystander that trigger happy Rittenhouse just happened  to take a dislike to. Rittenhouse can count on his team of world class attorneys to use that interview material to totally provide his self defense argument as charges against him.

    • #8
  9. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    lowtech redneck (View Comment):
    The third “victim” is Gaige Grosskreutz. He was in Kenosha for the People’s Revolution Movement. So, not a native, but rather, an outside agitator. Although he did not garner a Darwin Award for himself, it’s doubtful he’ll be patting himself on the back with that right arm anytime soon.

    One big difference between the current day acts of violence from over the top haters and those who in the 1950’s targeted the churches in the South  is that in the 1950’s we had a Republican President who used the Military to establish order and ensure the safety of people, even when governors and mayors told Eisenhower to stay out of it.

    • #9
  10. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker (View Comment):
    he bragged that his intention was to kill Rittenhouse. This pretty much destroys any type of argument any defense lawyer might come up with

    He was misquoted, I’m sure.

    • #10
  11. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    Flicker (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker (View Comment):
    he bragged that his intention was to kill Rittenhouse. This pretty much destroys any type of argument any defense lawyer might come up with

    He was misquoted, I’m sure.

    Or, he was under the influence of his pain medication due to his injuries, so nothing he said ought be given credence.

    /sarc

    • #11
  12. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Anthony L. DeWitt:

    But, what about Gaige? Even the Rittenhouse criminal complaint notes that Gaige had a handgun in his hand at the time he was shot. Numerous photos of it exist. Yet, Gaige had a firearm-related conviction in 2016 for being armed with a handgun while intoxicated. He may actually have been a prohibited possessor. But even if he wasn’t a prohibited possessor, he certainly had a criminal record. A criminal who had previously been armed and convicted of being armed while intoxicated, was carrying a handgun, pointing it at Rittenhouse, and got shot when he tried to use his gun to take Rittenhouse’s rifle. It might be interesting to know if he fired that weapon that evening, no?

    And when will Gaige be charged with attempted robbery? 

    • #12
  13. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    • #13
  14. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    He was charged with killing two civil rights protesters?

    If people who are burning down entire neighborhoods, looting and beating people into ICU wards of local hospitals for a two month stay can be called civil rights protesters, I’ll eat my shirt.

    • #14
  15. Anthony L. DeWitt Coolidge
    Anthony L. DeWitt
    @AnthonyDeWitt

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    This is, quite possibly, the stupidest thing I’ve seen recently and an example of how the left cannot meme.  Kyle shot at least one felon, on serial domestic abuser, and a guy who was charging him with a pistol out and ready to use and who reports that his only regret is not pulling the trigger.

    Exactly whose civil rights are really at issue here?  Bitchy Little Marxists (aka BLM) is not a civil rights group, it’s a revolutionary movement masquerading as a force that values black lives.  But it only values CRIMINAL black lives.  5 and 8 year old children have no such value.

    Whoever made this should be ashamed of themselves.

    • #15
  16. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    OmegaPaladin (View Comment):

    There were 17-year-olds on the front lines of almost every war the US has fought.

    According to more than a few leftists I have encountered, the only reason people volunteer for the military is because of a sadistic desire to kill (or because they’re poor and need the money.) Yes, that is a common belief (or at least assertion) on the left.

    • #16
  17. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    lowtech redneck (View Comment):

    The real question is which politicians will be brave enough to defend this earnest young man, rather than avoid the issue? Or worse, damn him as a ‘vigilante’ and sacrifice him to the lynch mob in order to avoid acknowledging the reality of where we are as a nation?

    On-line support for Kyle Rittenhouse has been extremely strong, even ferocious, largely because the videos make it impossible for the MSM and tech censors to effectively gaslight any moderately informed or critical news consumer. Tens of millions of people see themselves or their children in potentially the same situation. The squish and establishment voices are unlikely to be able to sidestep the issue as the railroading proceeds, and we must do everything we can to ensure that they don’t.

    According to the (unusually extensive) evidence available to us now, Kyle Rittenhouse did nothing morally or ethically wrong. He was too young and naive to choose to be in that position, but he was otherwise a hero (as were other volunteers there that night who were not forced to shoot anyone). It was the exact equivalent of someone protecting a targeted black church from the KKK in the 1950s.

    The Arizona State Young Republicans have pledged 50% of their fundraising to Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense, and given a direct defense fund link to any who are leery of passing funds through an intermediary.

    Look for more to do likewise.

     

    • #17
  18. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    He was charged with killing two civil rights protesters?

    If people who are burning down entire neighborhoods, looting and beating people into ICU wards of local hospitals for a two month stay can be called civil rights protesters, I’ll eat my shirt.

    The kid is a hero . . .

    • #18
  19. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Anthony L. DeWitt (View Comment):
    Exactly whose civil rights are really at issue here? Bitchy Little Marxists (aka BLM) is not a civil rights group, it’s a revolutionary movement masquerading as a force that values black lives. But it only values CRIMINAL black lives. 5 and 8 year old children have no such value.

    And certainly not unborn black children.

    • #19
  20. Housebroken Coolidge
    Housebroken
    @Chuckles

    A good friend who is a contributor and editor for The Gospel Coalition (I’m encouraging him to resign but he thinks he’s a voice of reason) sent me this link to a commentary on the Rittenhouse saga:https://www.patheos.com/blogs/youngfogey/2020/09/when-they-came-for-kyle-rittenhouse/

    The driving force was this scurrilous article by one of the eight man board.

    • #20
  21. lowtech redneck Coolidge
    lowtech redneck
    @lowtech redneck

    Housebroken (View Comment):

    A good friend who is a contributor and editor for The Gospel Coalition (I’m encouraging him to resign but he thinks he’s a voice of reason) sent me this link to a commentary on the Rittenhouse saga:https://www.patheos.com/blogs/youngfogey/2020/09/when-they-came-for-kyle-rittenhouse/

    The driving force was this scurrilous article by one of the eight man board.

    In other news, Facebook is banning anyone who speaks in Kyle’s defense, and Discover is banning donations.  The lynch mob is moving quickly.  And ‘respectable’ ‘conservatives’ still refuse to believe what is happening.

    To Hades with Tim Carney and The Gospel Coalition.

    • #21
  22. Housebroken Coolidge
    Housebroken
    @Chuckles

    lowtech redneck (View Comment):
    And ‘respectable’ ‘conservatives’ still refuse to believe what is happening.

    Boggles the mind.

    • #22
  23. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Housebroken (View Comment):

    A good friend who is a contributor and editor for The Gospel Coalition (I’m encouraging him to resign but he thinks he’s a voice of reason) sent me this link to a commentary on the Rittenhouse saga:https://www.patheos.com/blogs/youngfogey/2020/09/when-they-came-for-kyle-rittenhouse/

    The driving force was this scurrilous article by one of the eight man board.

    False witness bearers gonna false witness bear. 

    • #23
  24. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    I was impressed when people who have some street cred as far as  weaponry, and who viewed a video of how Rittenhouse aimed and fired at the third victim’s arm, offered accolades at the young man’s quick reflexes. Some veteran gun owners said they didn’t know if they’d have been alert enough to realize the third victim was actually drawing on them, let alone fire in  a way to defend themself and stop his attacker from killing them.

    • #24
  25. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    lowtech redneck (View Comment):
    and Discover is banning donations

    This makes me so spitting mad. Why is nothing being done to address payment processors’ interference in the market?

    • #25
  26. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker (View Comment):

    I was impressed when people who have some street cred as far as weaponry, and who viewed a video of how Rittenhouse aimed and fired at the third victim’s arm, offered accolades at the young man’s quick reflexes. Some veteran gun owners said they didn’t know if they’d have been alert enough to realize the third victim was actually drawing on them, let alone fire in a way to defend themself and stop his attacker from killing them.

    When it come to gun fight Rittenhouse did it right.  He kept his head and chose his targets well, targeted them, and did not do a spray and pray.  The arm shot was the only possible bad hit in that it was not a center mass but given he did it while on the ground still very good.  

    • #26
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