A ray of hope during a weekend of horror
This past weekend was truly a weekend of horror. There were two mass murder terrorist attacks, one in Australia against Jews celebrating Hanukkah and another at Brown University in Rhode Island in a classroom. In California someone drove up to a home with a Hanukkah display, cursed the home-owners for being Jewish, and sprayed the home with bullets. And in Amsterdam masked Jew-haters attacked a Hanukkah concert.
Meanwhile, two previously popular major rightwing pundits, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, have gone off the deep end, falling into the same rabbit-hole of anti-Semitism and conspiracy madness based on slanders and lies. In the case of Candace Owens, that madness has her make absurd and vicious accusations against the family and friends of Charlie Kirk, claiming without evidence that they were somehow complicit in his murder.
Nor have I even scratched the surface of the ugliness and incivility and violence and barbarism that seems to have overwhelmed civilization in the past decade.
Bringing the cultural principles of the
First Amendment back to America
And yet, buried within the horrors of this past weekend I stumbled by accident upon a ray of hope. And believe it or not, that hope comes from one of our most disgraced and for decades most biased mainstream news outlets, CBS News. It seems that outlet’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, is attempting to abandon the one-sided, 24/7 leftwing perspective that has dominated that news organization (as well as all of America’s so-called “intellectual” culture) for decades.
Instead, she is advocating openness and a willingness to let many different opinions and ideas be heard.
There had been indications she would do this when she was hired, based largely on her open approach to reporting that forced her out of her job at the New York Times and became the hallmark of her work at her own subsequent news outlet, The Free Press.
Her position was made quite clear during a CBS Mornings interview on December 12, 2025, embedded below, where she plugged a CBS News Townhall aired on December 13, 2025 in which her guest was Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk.
Weiss explained that she decided to give Kirk this long form television platform to tell her side of the story because Kirk is now the “CEO and chairwoman of the most important conservative organization in the country.” Weiss also did it to give this widow the chance to defend herself and her dead husband against the slanders, lies, and violent rhetoric that has been put forth since his murder by people like Candace Owen. Weiss wanted to push back against “the brain rot that social media is allowing to spread, the way that it is detaching us from humanity, from our ability to talk to one another and our ability to discern the truth from just out and out lies.”
But Weiss’s most important goal is my ray of hope. As she noted in concluding her interview:
Needless to say, there are many things Charlie Kirk said in his life that I vehemently disagree with. But to me, that’s not the point. The point is that we are walking into an abyss as a country if we accept the idea that words are violence but violence, if directed at the right targets, is acceptable.
I fundamentally reject that worldview. The entire point of our democracy, the whole premise of it, as we’re entering our 250th year, is that we solve our problems by persuasion. We solve our problems by talking to one another.
We don’t solve our problems by shooting one another in the neck as happened that day at that Utah college.
And so to me … the point of this conversation, even if it makes some people uncomfortable, even if they disagree with some of what they heard on stage (I disagreed with some of what I heard on stage), the point is that [this is] the whole nature of the democratic process and this conversation. The point is to revive that, at a moment where I think this country desperately needs it more than ever.
For more than a decade the mainstream press has refused to give voice to any other perspective but that of the left and the Democratic Party. They have become so biased that they oppose the idea of even hiring a conservative of any sort at these outlets, which was why Weiss got pushed out at the Times. She leans left politically, but she also supported the right of conservatives to have a place at the table. Everyone else at the Times couldn’t tolerate that idea, and out she went.
The result of this close-mindedness has been bad news reporting that routinely lies for the Democratic Party, pushing its agenda blindly because there is no one at these outlets with a different perspective. The reporters, editors, and entire management live in a leftist bubble utterly divorced from the real world. It is why increasingly all these outlets have been losing defamation lawsuits, because they repeatedly mouth slanders against the right without foundation because they have no one questioning those slanders.
Weiss was hired to change that at CBS. It appears she is making a sincere and laudable effort. It is for that reason I am plugging her now, to encourage her success, because as she says, America needs a rebirth of open and free debate now more than ever.
You can watch the full townhall with Erika Kirk here. Give it your time. It is refreshing, educational, and above all informative in a civilized way. We need to encourage more of this kind of thing in America.
Weiss’s problem, however, will be in getting people to watch and listen. Too many Americans now have been poisoned by the concept of “safe spaces” that our bankrupt academic community has been pushing now for almost two decades. Gen-X’ers, Millennials, and Gen-Z’ers have been taught that it is wrong to make them hear ideas and opinions they don’t like, and that they have the right to live in a “safe space” where such ideas and opinions are banned. This mentality makes them close-minded, and unwilling to listen to different perspectives.
Weiss’s real task thus will not be to air these alternative perspectives. It will be to get the close-minded generations raised by that close-minded leftwing culture to step out of their bubble and listen.
The battle thus has not yet been won. The ray of hope however is that the battle is now finally been joined. Kudos to Weiss for having the courage to fight it.
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Related:
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW EVIL IN THE WORLD?
“I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was this:
Rob Reiner’s son Nick in custody after horrifying murder of ‘Princess Bride’ director and wife
https://nypost.com/2025/12/15/us-news/rob-reiners-son-nick-in-custody-after-horrifying-murder-of-princess-bride-director-and-wife/
Now I am not a religious zealot nor am I a theologian but as I understand it God says that He / She / IT is with you in the darkest of times. You are not alone.
So, God in however you attempt to understand Him / Her / IT, and I do believe there is something rather than nothing. The human mind in my estimation is not able to fully and properly comprehend and understand exactly what that something is. And so, we / humanity fabricate rituals and symbolism in order to recognize and in some way connect with and honor Him / Her / IT / that Something.
The human animal is and can be very violent and evil and we must strive to in some way civilize ourselves in this dog-eat-dog reality that we find ourselves manifested in. This struggle and competition which defines existence insists that something must die in order that you continue to exist. And that existential violent tendency can and does bleed over (no pun intended) into how we struggle to civilize ourselves and move positively into the future.
And in that existential struggle God tells you I am with you, you are not alone.
Hearing that Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered this morning cuts across all political and philosophical differences, I felt their terror and fear. Terrible, horrific and very sad.
God says, I am with you.
There is an evil and a natural violent component in humanity which reflects the existential struggle of existence, and we must always be on guard to recognize it and handle it in equal terms when necessary so we can all live in relative security and peace. This evil quality related to humanity was long ago recognized specifically by the Founders of America and they attempted to create a governing theory that Objectively dealt with that reality. Humanity is not populated by angels, evil exists and God is with you when it rears its ugly head.
James Madison: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary”.
Are You Paying Attention Yet America? JGL 12/15/25
https://www.sigma3ioc.com/post/why-does-god-allow-evil-in-the-world
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e691e8_70dd0d2e8eac46ed9c10f40e5429359b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_925,h_1390,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/e691e8_70dd0d2e8eac46ed9c10f40e5429359b~mv2.jpg
“””For more than a decade the mainstream press has refused to give voice to any other perspective but that of the left and the Democratic Party. They have become so biased that they oppose the idea of even hiring a conservative of any sort at these outlets, which was why Weiss got pushed out at the Times.”””
Rush Limbaugh often asserted that the Drive-By Media drives the Democrat agenda.
Any novice, rookie democrat could just read the New York Times / Washington Post to “know what to think.”
I myself remember when there were “moderates” in the party.
No Mas
When Nancy Pelosi first became Speaker of the House, regular order (committees, subcommittees, carving out legislation) ceased. Pelosi closed her office door. She and her minions composed monstrous legislation (we have to pass the bill to know what is in it). The House of Representatives had, maybe, 36 hours to read the thousands of pages. Any democrat who did not vote for it would not receive any $$$ for their reelection.
What is different now is the access to all kinds of information (truth) that the Drive-By Media ignore or denigrate. That, and regular Americans just using common sense. That is why “What Is A Woman” became such a thing. The Leftist “leaders” no longer hide their insanity, or their hatred.
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
Dennis Prager, even after paralysis, still believes America is the last, best hope. We still can right this boat. If ever there was a place that embodies Hope Springs Eternal, it is here.
“Kudos to Weiss for having the courage to fight it.”
And kudos to the free enterprise system. It was Paramount taking over CBS and forcing the hire of Weiss to try to get better ratings and therefore more ad revenue that made this happen. Any rational management would recognize that programming for only one part of their audience is a losing proposition. Bill Gates is reorganizing the WaPo for the same reason. The leftist staff at these outlets are not happy, but there are plenty of people to replace them if they leave.
Bob Wilson,
It’s that other Washington state billionaire, Jeff Bezos, who owns the WaPo.
Bill Gates, is, in all probability, hiding out in an undisclosed location to avoid vengeful Greens looking to punish his recent Climate Change[tm] apostasy. The Green Left takes a very Islamic view of apostasy.
They sure do.
CBS has always been a bit more sleepy on zealotry as compared to MSNBC…being almost as fossilized as I am :)
I seem to remember them being their nastiest back in the 1990s.
Say what you will of Robert Reiner’s politics, I don’t think there was a human being on the planet who was as friendly and ebullient–not even poor Robin Williams…the only other celebrity whose death crushed me like this has.
Oh, bloody period.
If you have not seen the reports, it appears the primary target at Brown U was the VP of the College Republicans.
“Trump overfed Koi fish in Japan.”
Oh, the piscatology! Have you seen Koi? I do not think overfeeding is possible.
I have never understood religious hatred in my soul. Its just not logical nor intelligent. Dislike yes hatred no.
And I have never in my life understood the hatred of the Jewish people. By anyone. None of their reasons are logical. We are supposedly a more educated and intelligent world than we were 3, 4 or even 5 hundred years ago. More advanced. More understanding.
I just don’t understand an Arabic hatred of Jews after 3 thousand years. Nor how it extends into Islam which is not even 1500 years old.
I also don’t understand racial supremacists. There is only one race, the human race.
And its all over the world in one form or another. Not just in America.
The Reiner deaths are a tragedy. I never liked the mans philosophy but his family should never have had to go through that.
If it was because of drugs the son will live with the guilt the rest of his days. If it was because of insanity maybe he will never understand why he did it or even remember he did it.
We need to lock up drug addicts until they are clean and we need to bring back insane asylums(mental facilities) to help cure the reason they do the drugs. Its better than leaving them homeless begging on the streets.
I think Tucker is still plenty popular, top 10 podcast on spotify. He is clearly not anti-semitic if you listen to what he says. Unless you define anti-Semitism as being critical of putting Israeli interests above the interests of American citizens. And if you view that as a bad thing, then what are we doing here?
Kyle: Anyone who sees nothing wrong with someone saying that Churchill was the real villain in World War II loses my respect. And that’s just one example of Carlson’s drift into madness.
Boundaries are important.
Maintaining them never pleasant…patrolling a border…or discipling a child. The longer you put it off, the worse it becomes when you do have to put your foot down.
–as this weekend’s horrors demonstrated.
Anyone promoting conspiracy theories is not letting logic or common sense rule their lives.
Tucker should have the people needed to check out the rumors before repeating them.
Candice has always been an attention seeker. She is just getting worse now to the point of idiocy.
Bob Wilson noted: “Any rational management would recognize that programming for only one part of their audience is a losing proposition. ”
There is a website I visit daily, whose main focus is not politics. After the ’24 election, the site took a decided hard turn to the Left; every article was slanted against Trump. This is a site putatively focused on things, not people. One of the editors moved to England (and has since moved back), like a certain formerly famous ‘nice’ person. I stopped visiting, because it was just tiresome, and political rant had replaced information on the thing I was there for in the first place.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. This year, the site has mostly ditched the politics, and has made a show of providing useful, informative articles. The emigrant editor leading the political charge has been muffled. I visit the site daily, now, because it has things I want to see. This is far from the only example. Money talks; you know what walks.
Jeff Wright:
Rob Reiner guested in the 1976 ‘Rockford Files’ episode “The No-Cut Contract” on 16 January, along with Dick Butkus(!).
Pzatchok stated: “””And I have never in my life understood the hatred of the Jewish people. By anyone. None of their reasons are logical.”””
I remember in the 1960s, every 5 years or so, the Soviet Union would “allow” some Jews to leave. I wondered why they couldn’t leave at other times. When I asked my dad, he kept it simple: “They are frakin communists.”
Dad had fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam as a pilot. Mom and dad never demonstrated or said a hateful word, but dad hated communists. He explained that the USSR was the prison camp, but no one could leave without permission.
Re: hatred of Jews. Haters are going to hate. Hatred of Jews is easy for those without a moral compass. They hate Jews because most Jews lead, or try to lead, a moral life. No, neither Jews nor Christians are perfect, but the love of God and of your fellow man get in the way of the those who follow the hateful path.
At least body armor is getting better, if this is to be believed:
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/0soZ_gnpEV8
That could also be spacecraft armor. I don’t just want fuel taken to Mars bound craft. I want Starship to carry tough cycler components.