Whose side are you on anyway? A question I have been asking of my media colleagues for years when they suddenly decided their loyalties didn't lie with America.. Maybe it started with CNN which became a global news outlet--arguably the first. Since we're not teaching American History anymore with an emphasis on the greatness of America but instead are teaching the how we stole the land from its "rightful" owners and we're using an obscene amount of the world's resources at the expense of every other country on planet Earth it's no wonder that as the reporters educated under that Communist--er, Progressive--curriculum this isn't too surprising. In the years I spent in television (over 30) I noticed the young reporters coming knew more and more about less and less. When I had to explain to a weekend anchor lady who Adolph Hitler was or the definition of "dilapidated" or when reading some news copy about vandalism against our historic monuments said, "Stole General Oglethorpe's sword" by pronouncing the "w" I knew we were in trouble. The also didn't seem to know much about cameras or video editing either and I began to wonder just what were they learning in school. Most were openly liberal and their slant on news stories showed it. But the reas shocker came with the CNN anchors and those at the other alphabet networks began to get the idea that "unbiased" reporting didn't mean a balanced news report but rather you didn't show loyalty to our country. We have big egos in this business anyway or we wouldn't be in this business and somehow we've gotten the idea that the First Amendment gives us the right to broadcast anything and we have a right to be above law and the public needs to know everything. When I heard Bernard Shaw of CNN refuse to cooperate with our military when he was in theater reporting on the first Gulf War I was stunned. Anchors and reporters refusing to wear an American flag lapel pin because that would show bias that was another blow. When Scott Pelley of CBS News was interviewing terrorists in the second Gulf War and when asked by an administration intelligence official why he didn't tell them where he was his, more than hauty, retort was, "Oh, we report." After that shot to the stomach my only thought was, thank God these cretins weren't around in the 1930s and 40s or we would have never won World War II. Yes, they're above the fray--God forbid they show any loyalty to the good ol' USA. They're now citizens of THE WORLD! My question is where in God's name do they think their freedom of speech and almost unlimited access to venues come from? Something tells me it's in the Constitution they seem so eager to trash.
A few weeks ago I was asking the same question about American corporations which now with this "global economy" have demonstrated the same attitude. They're no longer "American" companies, they're world-wide and owe no allegiance to the very company that gave them birth, allowed them to thrive. You can't fill the fingers on one hand counting the other countries on the planet that espouse the free enterprise system that have allowed companies like General Motors, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others (like Nike) to flourish and grow to that global extent. But their attitude of gratitude meter is broken. It's a total mystery to me how so many multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires can bite the hand that feeds them and not show loyalty to this great country. Unless I'm mistaken we still court martial soldiers for disloyalty and give them dishonorable discharges or, in extreme cases, throw them in the brig for treason. Of course we don't execute them anymore--heck Barack gave one trator a Presidential Pardon! I think we paid for his/her/its sex-change operation too!
Now along comes the NBA which over the last couple of decades has become highly popular in Communist China. And the most popular team in Communist China these days is the Houston Rockets since one of their stars is Chinese. Several Chinese have made it in the NBA and done quite well. So a couple of weeks ago when the general manager of the Rockets, Daryl Morey tweeted out he (and we) should stand for freedom--and stand with the protesters in Hong Kong rebelling against treatment by the Chinese government and who have been showing more guts and integrity than any of the left-wing protesters here. The Hong Kong protesters haven't been wearing masks and have been waving American flags not Isis or Antifa banners. But the Commies in China--who unfortunately still run the country with an iron fist--got their shorts in a wad and cancelled NBA scheduled games, took them off the air, and all the other things a Communist dictatorship always does--completely blackout anything they don't like. Heck, no Chinese citizen under the age of 25 knows anything about Tiananmen Square Massacre. CBS News (to their credit) actually did a man-on-the-street interview with young Chinese a few months ago showing kids the pictures and video and all were asking where this happened! Of course, when the powers-that-be in China found out about the survey the reporters and camera crew were arrested and detained for awhile before releasing them. Even the Boston Globe has criticized the NBA for getting their knees bloody apologizing to Communist China and begging for forgiveness. As Gary Washburn's article betings, "So the NBA has spent the week swallowing its castor oil and acting as if it likes the taste." Great line! It seems that the NBA has invested as much as $1.5 billion into the NBA for television rights and marketing and, make no mistake, the sports apparel manufacturers--led by our beloved Nike the same wonderful company who has hired and paid millions of dollars to a washed up ungrateful un-American football player are also involved. Nike that caved like a cheap mattress when that same washed-up football player complained about the Betsy Ross flag on a line of Nike sneakers--is trying to prove it has a backbone made out of something besides tapiocca is trying to save this market. Several Chinese companies, including sneaker manufacturer Anta, have dumped the NBA or at least threatened to. Former NBA and Hall of Fame player Yao Ming who's president of the Chinese Basketball Association and Joseph Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets have both denounced Morey's tweet.
N-B-A Commissioner Adam Silver has had to walk a tightrope trying to save these multi-million-dollar deals as well as defending Morey's right to free speech which we used to have in this country and some of us are trying to keep it that way. The NBA showed its core values when they pulled the All Star Game from Charlotte because the State of North Carolina wants men to use the men's room and women to use the women's room. Some NBA coaches have no trouble saying the most vile things not only about President Trump but those blood-and-flesh creeps who voted for him...but God forbid they stand up for free speech. Gee this couldn't have anything to do with money could it? NBA star Lebron James has been begging the Chinese for forgiveness. He must think he's dealing with a "forgivable" political party that done nothing less than murder 60,000,000 of their own citizens. Most of the younger players who are also apologizing haven't paid much attention in history class either if they've even been in one so they have no clue either. Morley himself might have even been fired but he's since apologized and withdrawn the tweet, like that's going to impress the Chi-Coms. What a shame that the NBA didn't take a stance on something that really matters, that Morley didn't get support from the league and his colleagues and players. But sometimes it shows you who has the power and "respect." Some years back a nun was brutally raped and murdered in New York (maybe Chicago) and police worked overtime for months to find the "perp" without success. Well the MAFIA didn't think the nun and her family were getting any satisfaction and put out a "hit" on the dirtbag responsible. He turned himself in within 48 hours. Looks like with the NBA, the Chinese has the ball in their court.