What Is At Risk is Democracy Itself

 

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (who once considered running for president as an independent), has decided to support (surprise!) Joe Biden in the upcoming election.  That an extremely wealthy white man would vote Democrat is not terribly shocking.  But the reasoning he gave was incredible:  “What is at risk is democracy itself: Checks and balances. Rigorous debate. A free press. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternate facts.’ Belief in science. Trust in the rule of law. A strong judicial system. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  Wow.  Let’s go through those one at a time, shall we?

  1. What is at risk is democracy itself. So is that why Democrat party voter fraud is so rampant?  Is this why the administrative state, which controls much of our everyday lives, is staffed nearly exclusively by Democrats who wield enormous power despite never facing re-election?  Is that why Democrats seek activist judges to legislate leftism from the bench?
  2. Checks and balances. He is concerned, perhaps, that the Senate is insufficiently curious about Republican Supreme Court nominees?  Perhaps there would be a more aggressive examination of these people if there were a Democrat president.
  3. Rigorous debate. The press is obviously just lapdogs for President Trump.  With a Democrat president, maybe they’d engage in a more rigorous debate with our leaders.
  4. A free press. President Obama obviously cherished a free press, and never treated them inappropriately.  He didn’t exert total control over the press like President Trump does.
  5. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternative facts.’ This is such an absurd accusation coming from a Democrat that it defies satire.  Sorry – I got nuthin’.
  6. Belief in science. So Democrats believe that gender is unrelated to biological sex… and we’re the ones that don’t believe in science.
  7. Trust in the rule of law. He apparently thinks that Joe Biden is generally lawful, in his dealings with Ukraine, etc.  I wonder if he thinks the FBI and the Mueller investigation conducted themselves lawfully?  Does he think other Democrats, like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, conducted themselves lawfully?
  8. A strong judicial system. The way Democrats have handled the riots across the country does not inspire confidence in their ability to administer a strong judicial system.  Whereas Trump has emphasized a law and order approach ever since taking office.
  9. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He watches Antifa, Black Lives Matter, the major media, and the Democrat party, and he apparently finds that the Republicans are divisive.

I timed it.  I typed the above list in 18 minutes.  Off the top of my head, with no notes or Googling.  This just isn’t that hard.

Obama, Biden, and Biden, LLC

It’s obvious.  He’s so very wrong, in so many ways, that it’s blindingly obvious.  Even to a distracted doctor who should be checking out charts over his lunch break.

Mr. Schultz was the CEO of Starbucks.  He may not be a genius, but he most certainly is not stupid.  Does he actually believe these things?  He considered running for president; surely he’s thought about these topics before.  Are those his considered opinions?

Or is it pure garbage, but he says it anyway because he thinks that type of garbage might get stupid people from flyover country to vote for Biden?

Isn’t he worried about sounding stupid?  What is someone actually listens to him?  What if they stop and think for a minute (or 18, if they’re a bit slow)?  Isn’t he worried about what happens then?

So who does he think he’s talking to?  Certainly no one capable of independent thought.  So he must think he’s speaking to fellow leftists.  Who doesn’t want to hear about rigorous debate or a strong judicial system, BS or not?

Mr. Schultz was CEO of Starbucks.  He ties his own shoes.  He just can’t be this stupid.

So what on earth is he talking about?

I have no idea.  Do you?

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  1. DrewInWisconsin, Man of Constant Sorrow Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Man of Constant Sorrow
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Dr. Bastiat:

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    He’s not talking as much as he is signalling. That he’s for Biden and for these things signals that Biden is for these things the opponent is against these things. That doesn’t have to be true. And it isn’t. It only has to ring like a coin in the hollow cup of a low information voter’s brain pan. Lies are the currency of Democrats.

    • #1
  2. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Being for Biden is being for the destruction of America, because that is what his party stands for. 

    When your enemy tells you what they want to do to you, believe them. 

    A vote for Biden is a vote against America. 

    What this man wants is to feel good about himself as he votes for policies that he does not have to face the consequences too. He can feel good, live in the new aristocratic class while we serfs suffer. 

    • #2
  3. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Dr. Bastiat:

    Mr. Schultz was CEO of Starbucks. He ties his own shoes. He just can’t be this stupid.

    Au contraire. His only discernible talent is to get people to overpay for burnt coffee.

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    His truth is composed of alternate facts. 

     

     

    • #3
  4. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Percival (View Comment):
    His truth is composed of alternate facts. 

    And he does not anticipate rigorous debate.

    • #4
  5. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    His truth is composed of alternate facts.

    And he does not anticipate rigorous debate.

    He can’t get through his statement without self-contradiction.

    My vote is that he’s dumber than a box of rocks.

    • #5
  6. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    DrewInWisconsin, Man of Consta… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    He’s not talking as much as he is signalling. That he’s for Biden and for these things signals that Biden is for these things the opponent is against these things. That doesn’t have to be true. And it isn’t. It only has to ring like a coin in the hollow cup of a low information voter’s brain pan. Lies are the currency of Democrats.

    Exactly. He’s listing these buzz phrases in order to claim those not-insane sounding positions are Biden’s positions.

    Only they are not. Whether Biden knows it or not is a separate question.

    Certainly the DNC backers who cut the deal with the Bernie campaign know their platform and planned legislative agenda do not reflect that list.

     

    • #6
  7. CJ Inactive
    CJ
    @cjherod

    Dr. Bastiat:

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    Democracy is shorthand for the Cathedral. What he means is that people’s blind confidence in the Cathedral is badly shaken, and that their mastery over people is in danger of crumbling.

    • #7
  8. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    You are a prolific writer, Dr. B.  Do you pen your posts between seeing patients or something?  However you do it, keep it up!

    • #8
  9. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    I guess being the CEO of Starbucks means you created a product that people love, and you made a lot of money at it – that’s called Capitalism, in a free Republic. There were Democratic hiccups that I recall – where he pulled some political stunts on his coffee cup advertising – that went flat. Then the rampant homeless populations and tent cities out west starting using Starbucks bathrooms to wash up and shoot up, and didn’t order a coffee, so they had to change their open to all policy. The list above wasn’t long enough….

    PS – Funny Starbucks story: Right before the Christmas holidays a few years back, we drew names among the family. My husband decided the Christmas Blend plus a gift card fit his bill, so we stopped in one evening. It was dark out and pretty much empty…..except for this shifty Russian……

    He was wearing a blue running track suit, but was skinny, pale and didn’t look like a runner, plus it was dark out in December. In my non-fiction spy book, they stripped captured American spies down and put them in blue running suits after they stuffed them into a white van……he was speaking rapid fire Russian into his cell phone…..and had no coffee – no pastry – just using the Wi-Fi…….I was pretending to look at the bags of coffee while I listened – too bad I didn’t take a course in the Mother Tongue……

    We bought our gift, but he left before us in his cheap little car……..very suspect…….

    • #9
  10. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):
    I guess being the CEO of Starbucks means you created a product that people love, and you made a lot of money at it – that’s called Capitalism, in a free Republic. There were Democratic hiccups that I recall – where he pulled some political stunts on his coffee cup advertising – that went flat. Then the rampant homeless populations and tent cities out west starting using Starbucks bathrooms to wash up and shoot up, and didn’t order a coffee, so they had to change their open to all policy. The list above wasn’t long enough….

    Doesn’t matter what Howard says or what woke virtue-signaling  efforts Starbucks attempts — the angry left is still going to trash their stores if they happen to see one in an area where they’re rioting, just like they’ve trashed their stores on a regular basis going all the way back to the 1999 WTO riots. They’ve been designated as one of the evil big corporations whose very name triggers the two-minutes of hate from te SJW types, so endorsing Biden here isn’t going to save the company from that wrath during future riots.

    • #10
  11. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Whenever I see a list like that I think of the chart I slipped into a Powerpoint presentation stating that our product was “Fully Buzzword Compliant“. I did it as a joke to lighten the long, boring presentation, but I think the CEO is serious. Throw out the buzzwords and the fools will vote your way. 

    • #11
  12. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Dr. Bastiat: So who does he think he’s talking to? Certainly no one capable of independent thought. So he must think he’s speaking to fellow leftists. Who don’t want to hear about rigorous debate or a strong judicial system, BS or not.

    You are a freak of evolution. People don’t care about Truth. Truth doesn’t help them breed. Power is everything and status is a kind of power. You don’t get women and political positions by getting the details right. This isn’t Doctoring where you need to get the treatments right. It doesn’t matter if the patient lives or dies but whether or not you can convince family members that you are good guy. 

    Howard Schultz wants to attain power. By saying ‘Orange Man bad’ in overwrought and senseless prose, our CEO makes himself look good to a self-serving elite. Everything he says means that, ‘Joe Biden will be good for people like us and Trump will make things harder.’ The actual reality or policy is immaterial.  

    • #12
  13. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: So who does he think he’s talking to? Certainly no one capable of independent thought. So he must think he’s speaking to fellow leftists. Who don’t want to hear about rigorous debate or a strong judicial system, BS or not.

    You are a freak of evolution. People don’t care about Truth. Truth doesn’t help them breed. Power is everything and status is a kind of power. You don’t get women and political positions by getting the details right. This isn’t Doctoring where you need to get the treatments right. It doesn’t matter if the patient lives or dies but whether or not you can convince family members that you are good guy.

    Howard Schultz wants to attain power. By saying ‘Orange Man bad’ in overwrought and senseless prose, our CEO makes himself look good to a self-serving elite. Everything he says means that, ‘Joe Biden will be good for people like us and Trump will make things harder.’ The actual reality or policy is immaterial.

    I think that I think you’re wrong.

    I hope I don’t feel that you’re wrong.

    Let me think about how I feel for a bit.  I’ll get back to you.

    You make a great horrible point.  I think.

    • #13
  14. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Dr. Bastiat: “What is at risk is democracy itself: Checks and balances. Rigorous debate. A free press. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternate facts.’ Belief in science. Trust in the rule of law. A strong judicial system. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

    We are in upside down world. I read that paragraph, and it is completely everything that Biden is not.

    If there were ever anti-Biden ideas, those are it.  

    • #14
  15. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Get ready for it. 

    Isaiah 5:20-25

    Woe to those who call evil good

    and good evil,

    who turn darkness to light

    and light to darkness,

    who replace bitter with sweet

    and sweet with bitter.

    Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

    and clever in their own sight.

    Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine

    and champions in mixing beer,

    Who acquit the guilty for a bribe

    and deprive the innocent of justice.

    Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw,

    and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,

    so their roots will decay

    and their blossoms will blow away like dust;

    for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts

    and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

    Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people;

    His hand is raised against them to strike them down.

    The mountains quake,

    and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets.

    • #15
  16. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: So who does he think he’s talking to? Certainly no one capable of independent thought. So he must think he’s speaking to fellow leftists. Who don’t want to hear about rigorous debate or a strong judicial system, BS or not.

    You are a freak of evolution. People don’t care about Truth. Truth doesn’t help them breed. Power is everything and status is a kind of power. You don’t get women and political positions by getting the details right. This isn’t Doctoring where you need to get the treatments right. It doesn’t matter if the patient lives or dies but whether or not you can convince family members that you are good guy.

    Howard Schultz wants to attain power. By saying ‘Orange Man bad’ in overwrought and senseless prose, our CEO makes himself look good to a self-serving elite. Everything he says means that, ‘Joe Biden will be good for people like us and Trump will make things harder.’ The actual reality or policy is immaterial.

    I think that I think you’re wrong.

    I hope I don’t feel that you’re wrong.

    Let me think about how I feel for a bit. I’ll get back to you.

    You make a great horrible point. I think.

    I heard it yet again today on KCBS: Those white, college-educated suburban women support Biden, but not because they approve of Biden’s policies. I doubt they even know what his policies are. They say to the pollsters that they are against Trump because they feel … 

    Frankly, who gives a rip what those dim bulbs feel now? I want to see what they feel when Biden’s policies destroy their suburban enclaves. 

    • #16
  17. OmegaPaladin Moderator
    OmegaPaladin
    @OmegaPaladin

    It’s a virtue signal.  Saying the right words to be accepted.  You don’t need to go full Henry Castaigne to recognize that these statements are not meant to be analyzed.  It’s just flashing your badge of being one of the righteous.

    • #17
  18. WillowSpring Member
    WillowSpring
    @WillowSpring

    I keep seeing lists like this of ‘reasons’ why people – who seem like they should be reasonable – are voting for Biden/against Trump.   They all seem to be a more appropriate list of complaints against the Obama administration.

    I always want to know what – if anything – the person had written about the weaponization of the government (IRS, FBI, DOJ, CIA, State Department, …..) against the Obama/Biden administration’s political opponents and other citizens.

    I get that Trump has an abrasive personality, but it has grown on me.  I can’t imagine anyone else holding up as well as he has under the onslaught he has taken.

    • #18
  19. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Django (View Comment):
    Frankly, who gives a rip what those dim bulbs feel now? I want to see what they feel when Biden’s policies destroy their suburban enclaves. 

    They won’t be able to understand that the Democrats are responsible for antifah destroying their favorite smoothie shop and crystal bodega. 

    • #19
  20. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):
    Frankly, who gives a rip what those dim bulbs feel now? I want to see what they feel when Biden’s policies destroy their suburban enclaves.

    They won’t be able to understand that the Democrats are responsible for antifah destroying their favorite smoothie shop and crystal bodega.

    You may be right. College may have been a warm four-year validation of their feelings. However,  was thinking specifically about this: https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/13/how-bidens-housing-plans-would-destroy-americas-suburbs/

     

    • #20
  21. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Dr. Bastiat:

    Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (who once considered running for president as an independent), has decided to support (surprise!) Joe Biden in the upcoming election. That an extremely wealthy white man would vote Democrat is not terribly shocking. But the reasoning he gave was incredible: “What is at risk is democracy itself: Checks and balances. Rigorous debate. A free press. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternate facts.’ Belief in science. Trust in the rule of law. A strong judicial system. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Wow. Let’s go through those one at a time, shall we?

    [snip]

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    It’s a syllogism:

    Checks and balances and whatnot are good. 

    Orange Man is bad. 

    Therefore Biden. 

    Q. E. Duh! 

     

    • #21
  22. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Dr. Bastiat: Belief in science. So Democrats believe that gender is unrelated to biological sex… and we’re the ones that don’t believe in science.

     

    What in heaven’s name are they talking about? Science journals in which scientists argue with each other are a billion-dollar industry.

    • #22
  23. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    CJ (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    Democracy is shorthand for the Cathedral. What he means is that people’s blind confidence in the Cathedral is badly shaken, and that their mastery over people is in danger of crumbling.

    Democracy is also shorthand for ending what’s left of the republic. Democracy in the eyes of the insurgents is rule purely by the popular vote which is tabulated with no proof of citizenship allowed. Every vote must count. No person is illegal, therefore no vote is illegitimate.

    That’s why the Electoral College is under fire, that’s why the push for statehood for DC and Puerto Rico. 4 more Democrat senators. Pack the Supreme Court. Democracy is a train and when you reach your destination you get off.

     

    • #23
  24. Michael G. Gallagher Coolidge
    Michael G. Gallagher
    @MichaelGallagher

    DrewInWisconsin, Man of Consta… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    So what on earth is he talking about?

    I have no idea. Do you?

    He’s not talking as much as he is signalling. That he’s for Biden and for these things signals that Biden is for these things the opponent is against these things. That doesn’t have to be true. And it isn’t. It only has to ring like a coin in the hollow cup of a low information voter’s brain pan. Lies are the currency of Democrats.

    You don’t understand. He’s trying to buy protection from the Woke crocodiles if the Harris-Biden ticket wins and there’s a wholesale Leftist takeover in DC.

    • #24
  25. Gazpacho Grande' Coolidge
    Gazpacho Grande'
    @ChrisCampion

    I’m not sure why a CEO of a coffee company needs to open his piehole about politics in the first place, other than exercising properspeak, which may or may not lessen the destruction of local franchise Starbucks.

    Could also be his board is all on-board with this crap, and he’s just keeping them happy.  But he seems to like it.  It’s a weird association for people, depending on where you come from.  He’s a big corporate guy.  Starbucks is everywhere.  It’s capitalism.  But they preach woke garbage and struggle to ensure their employees are wokefully trained and accepting.

    So lots to dislike there, from all angles.  If they didn’t have tasty breakfast sammiches, I’d never go, only because I’m not a huge fan of their coffee and you can get coffee anywhere.

    But I do wish to be lectured a lot less from on high.  These people aren’t leading anything.  There’s no risk to him in making these statements.  So why not just shut up and cash phat checks?

     

     

    • #25
  26. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    I think what Howard Schultz was trying to say, is that he’s opposed to all those things, and therefore must vote democrat. BTW, I dont think its fair to forever link Starbucks to a crazy ex-employee.

    • #26
  27. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    Most people just go along with their peers.  The left took over the schools.  The question is what about these powerful people, do they believe what they say?  Probably most do.  Self deception because of self interest is very common  and our educational system has been lousy for over half a century making self deception easy.  We let it happen it’s our fault and if we don’t fix it, at least in states run by Republicans that failure will be our fault as well.

    • #27
  28. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    The DHS has weighed in:

    White supremacists will remain the most “persistent and lethal threat” in the United States through 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security draft documents.
    The most recent draft report predicts an “elevated threat environment at least through” early next year, concluding that some U.S.-based violent extremists have capitalized on increased social and political tensions in 2020.
    Although foreign terrorist organizations will continue to call for attacks on the U.S., the report says, they “probably will remain constrained in their ability to direct such plots over the next year.”

    Don’t try that at home unless you have professional grade training like this:

    From the invaluable reporting of City Journal contributor Christopher Rufo, we’ve learned that at the Department of Homeland Security, diversity trainers gave employees handouts to teach them to identify “microaggressions” and “microinequities.” Among the examples of prohibited microaggressions were statements endorsing a color-blind standard of equality, including “America is a melting pot” and “There is one race, the human race.” The training also asked participants to take a quiz to “find the microaggressions” in everyday statements and encouraged them to confront any fellow employee who has committed a microaggression against them, regardless of intent.

    If the FBI gets training like that, it might give some context to the repeated statements that “Antifa” isn’t setting fires in Oregon. Despite are multiple incidents which to say otherwise.

    Besides DHS, there’s an interesting player in the propaganda war to portray as a “white supremacist” anyone who opposes BLM/Antifa :

    About the same time as Kyle turned himself into the police on 26 August,CAIR Chicago was mobilizing a political campaign urging the political powers in Kenosha to prosecute him.  They named Kyle and urged a phone and email campaign.

    This may explain the rapidity with which the prosecutors created a warrant for Kyle’s arrest, which was issued on 27 August 2020. The criminal complaint is absurd; the facts it contains absolve Kyle; one statute does not even apply to Kyle.

    No grand jury was convened to consider the case. The evidence is such as to vindicate a self-defense plea rather than first-degree homicide charges.

    An anomaly in the case is the handwritten non-traffic complaint by the Antioch police dated 26 August, which appears to be before a complaint was issued in Wisconsin. It lists a Wisconsin warrant number, W261694050.

    Perhaps it was a simple mistake in the date. Perhaps an alert reader will be able to find the Wisconsin warrant and explain how it could be issued before a complaint was filed with the court, or how a prosecutor could do enough of an investigation to ask for a warrant less than 24 hours after the event, in which there were enormous amounts of evidence available.

    • #28
  29. Buckpasser Member
    Buckpasser
    @Buckpasser

    Another “woke”, rich, leftest who thinks that by saying this the hungry bear will eat him last.

    • #29
  30. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Ontheleftcoast (View Comment):
    White supremacists will remain the most “persistent and lethal threat” in the United States through 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security draft documents.

    So Black Lives Matter is burning down cities across America, and White supremacists are the real threat.  Where are they?  They must be much more subtle in their destruction and violence…

    • #30
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