Scroll down to read this post.

 

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News


Pro-American UNC frat boys: Don’t hold a party, use the money more effectively!

UNC Frat boys protecting American flag

Earlier this week a group of college students belonging to the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at North Carolina University (UNC) put their bodies between a mob of pro-Hamas protesters and the American flag, as shown in the picture on the right. That mob had been attempting to remove Old Glory and replace it with the Palestinian flag. Video of the incident can be seen here, with the Hamas mob throwing bottles and garbage at the UNC students, while other American students circle about in-between, holding up the Israeli flag in defiance.

The story quickly went viral in the conservative press. Then someone set up a Gofundme fundraiser to thank the students: “Pi Kappa Phi Men Defended their Flag. Throw ’em a Rager”. As noted by John Noonan, the origanizer:

Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators.

But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes. Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde — laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles.

These boys… no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best. Help us raise funds to throw this frat the party they deserve, a party worth of the boat-shoed Broleteriat who did their country proud.

To the shock of everyone, the money poured in. Within days more than 13,000 people had donated over $450K, with some donations topping five and ten thousand each.

Noonan now says he has found “a world class event planner [Susan Ralston] and she is already hard at work. She worked in the White House and knows what she’s about.” Noonan and GoFundMe is also attempting to identify every student seen holding up or defending the flag. It appears the goal is to to put together a big event that will not only be a great party but a political campaign rally.

I say that’s a big mistake. Wouldn’t it much better for the students to use that half million dollars to directly challenge and defeat these Marxist Hamas fifth columnists now residing in America and attending UNC and all other American campuses?

Why not use these funds instead to create a database that identifies every single one of the Hamas protesters who attempted to take over the UNC campus so that future employees will have a resource when it comes time to hire graduates?

Why not then use that UNC database as the starting point for a nationwide database, to identify other Hamas protesters who took over colleges at every other university?

In every case, ample video evidence exists. If that web database is built properly, it should be possible for people to go to it, pick the college of their choice, and scan through many videos of the riots and campus take-overs and see if they can identify anyone, mask or not. Readers could then upload information to the site, linking their upload with the specific moment in a specific video, with further identifying information.

In addition, students from every college should be able to go to the site and upload their own videos of these horrible events, thus increasing the evidence pool for others to search.

Mug shots of pro-Hamas protesters arrested in Florida
Mug shots of pro-Hamas protesters arrested in Florida.
Do all of these look like students? Would you want to
hire any of them?

Think of it as a mug shot search engine. The goal here is not to get these protesters kicked out of school or even arrested, but to make them face the consequences of their actions. The protesters showed themselves to be barbarians who are not qualified for any college-level employment. Future employers need to know who they are in making their hiring decisions.

Once established companies will have the ability to enter the name of anyone who has applied for a job, and see if their name pops up as an anti-American, anti-Semitic, supporter of Hamas and the torture and massacre of babies, children, and women. The employer will than have the right information for making a hiring decision. At a minimum, that employer will be able to challenge the applicant to see if he or she has any regrets about their actions in the spring of 2024.

Using the money to do a political rally, no matter how much fun and effective for this upcoming election season, will still very transitory. After it is done it will vanish into thin air, quickly forgotten.

Conservatives who believe in the American way of liberty, freedom of speech, personal responsibility, and the rule of law need to start doing things that will have a much more long term impact. I make one suggestion. I am sure others can propose even better ideas.

The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.

 

Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.

29 comments

  • Ian C.

    “Why not use these funds instead to create a database that identifies every single one of the Hamas protesters who attempted to take over the UNC campus so that future employees will have a resource when it comes time to hire graduates?”

    Soros hired them today. Soros will hire them tomorrow.

  • Fr j

    And exactly why is it a big mistake?
    I gave to honor them & give them credit for honoring the flag & our country…
    Not for a database or anything else…
    PPA
    Party Poopers Anonymous ..

  • Col Beausabre

    Please Bob, as a fraternity brother, it is fraternity brother, not the other word. Ad they are men, not boys. The boys are their opponents.

    BTW, one thing I noticed when I was in school was that the demonstrations only happened when the weather got nice and more than a few guys said they went to pick up chicks, not out of ideology.

  • Jeff Wright

    Toga!
    Toga!

  • “[450] thou a year, will buy a lot of beer”

    Timbuk3, maybe

    450 large is a bit of a nightmare when you might be expecting perhaps mid-five figures for a lifetime-conversation party, max. Early days, yet. My concern would be that the symbolism will get out of hand, and the folks to be honored might find themselves manipulated.

  • Nerina Bellinger

    Oh my goodness, people, take the W on this one. Enjoy this cultural moment where young men – vilified by so many and outnumbered on these campuses – took a stand in the face of some obnoxious forces. I hope they have a great celebration of the American spirit.

  • James Street

    I’ve been wondering when the frat boys would get involved. Good for them.

  • Related:

    WHAT WILL THE DEMOCRAT PARTY NOT DO?

    “I have a friend, a long-time NY lawyer, who is very familiar with and worked in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, despises Trump. And even they have had to admit that what former president Trump is being put through and charged with and why he is currently in court is just plain old politics and has nothing to do with the Objective application of the law. But then, you probably figured that out.”

    https://www.sigma3ioc.com/post/what-will-the-democrats-not-do

  • Nolan Parker

    Why Either/Or? There is Plenty of money to do more than one thing. Hell, they might be able to set up a fund for the fraternity to use going forward. And using some to go all James O’Keefe like, some boots on the ground research and discovery, doing some deep diving, finding out Who,Exactly is paying the Protesters who are not students.

  • pzatchok

    The problem with a data base of unconvinced protesters is all it takes is one defamation slander lawsuit and all the funds are gone.

    They should have a good safe party,c something conservative. A few good bands and some food. Throw in a few political speeches and invite EVERY conservative speaker to come and talk.(for free of course)

    They could spread the cash out a little longer by accepting donations of every kind.

    Do it within walking distance from campus. Open it up with a few clergy to offer prayers and blessings. Political speech and local bands in the morning and afternoon and see what national act would be willing to come out and play a set or so at night.

    I bet they could get it together in a few weeks.

  • Why Either/Or?
    Exactly.

    The problem with a data base of unconvinced protesters is all it takes is one defamation slander lawsuit and all the funds are gone.
    The Internet is forever. Add a web-page generation job to it so all the gathered data creates plain ol’ HTML pages and it will be indexed by everything and stored in the WayBack Machine. Add a “full download” button to it that downloads everything (compressed, one assumes) as a turnkey website and it will never go away.

    Here’s me, 22 years ago: https://web.archive.org/web/20020529144227/http://15grant.com/ (I have to admit that’s a bit spooky)

  • Edward

    Robert,
    That is an idea that is better than voting for some politician who will only compromise away our freedoms in a futile attempt to appease Democrats. It is a good reaction to the evil that now surrounds us. It is one of the things that we can do to combat the fascism that has crept into our country.

  • Edward: You keep saying the Republicans are all no different than the Democrats, and thus there is no reason to vote.

    Then answer me this: Is Ron De Santis just like Gavin Newsom?

  • pzatchok

    The frat has hired a bug gun event planner and several country artists have already volunteered(Lee Greenwood was the first i heard about.)

    This might get pretty big. End of the month would make a good day, May 27th in fact.

  • pzatchok

    Robert

    As much as I hate to get all personal on line.

    How are the ribs doing? I hope they are better.

  • pzatchok

    The Frat Boys should ask the University for the flag. It would be replaced real quick by someone.

  • pzatchok: Thank you for asking. Very appreciated. The ribs are mending, but it appears I had also cracked my sternum, which did not show itself until a week later. That is taking more time to mend, but I expect all will be well in a couple of more weeks.

  • Edward

    Robert Zimmerman
    Then answer me this: Is Ron De Santis just like Gavin Newsom?

    Hmm. I did say that every individual is exactly like every other, didn’t I?

    So what was it that I said?

    From the next thread over, and 15 minutes before my above comment (.https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/voting-by-conservatives-has-made-a-difference-just-not-enough-so-far/#comment-1462179 ):
    To Danimal28 “You assume that the Republicans are the good guys. Very few are. Very few are worth voting for. The reason people don’t see a difference between the parties is that no matter which takes office, the results are the same. Change will not occur until there are conservatives worth voting for.

    It seems to me that De Santis is one of those few worth voting for. Too bad he isn’t on my ballot. Too bad Newsom has been, but California cannot even recall his sorry butt. I know, because we tried. California is lost, so you guys need to make sure you have conservatives worth voting for before your states all go the way of California, the once-golden state is now the *****y state.

    Florida is not going the way of California, and De Santis is one of the reasons why. That Floridians are willing to elect him is another major reason why. Good for Florida and its citizens.

  • Edward: Based on what you are willing to contribute, a Ron De Santis is never going to be on your ballot. You are unwilling to make the slightest effort to encourage such people to run. They know they won’t get your support because you assume that voting for Republicans is a waste of time.

    Some recent quotes from you confirm to me your opinion that you assume any Republican running is a wasted vote:

    “Which ones? The Democrats or the Republicans? Both are moving in that direction, racing each other for who will get there first.”

    “Well, if there aren’t conservative Republicans running for office, then maybe there just aren’t that many conservatives left in the party.”

    “If the conservative is not available, then there is no sense in voting. Until a conservative party comes along, my strategy has become: vote only for the candidate worth voting for. If the Republican Party is not willing to present that candidate, then I won’t be voting Republican.”

    “I demand candidates worth voting for, not the pack of useless idiots that keep being elected. I won’t vote for those idiots. You don’t have to worry that I don’t vote, because I probably won’t vote for your guy anyway.”

    If Ron De Santis had been running in California, you wouldn’t have voted for him, and he likely would never have won. In Florida however he got the support of the Republican Party (Ain’t that interesting?) as well as the support of the voters. And lo and behold, he is doing the job right.

    You get the government you deserve. Based on your close-minded attitude to all Republicans, what you you deserve and apparently want is a government run by corrupt and power-hungry Democrats.

  • Edward

    Robert,
    You wrote: “You get the government you deserve. Based on your close-minded attitude to all Republicans, what you you deserve and apparently want is a government run by corrupt and power-hungry Democrats.

    You aren’t hearing what I say. I have told you what it takes to get my vote, and you have reinterpreted that into ‘I will never vote.’

    When you all are ready for my vote, it will still be here.

  • Edward: Bah. You are nothing but excuses. You expect every candidate presented to be your perfect vision of a conservative, and if they don’t meet your high standards, you sit home, head in the sand.

    Why not go down to the local Republican office and offer to run yourself? You are smart. I bet they desperately need candidates, especially for school boards.

  • Edward

    Robert,
    Why not go down to the local Republican office and offer to run yourself.

    I have never won a contested election in my life. The result would only be a further watered down election, with the Democrat even more likely to win than they already are with the current Republicans who are unable to win elections. It is important for us to know our limitations, and this is one of mine. I know it well, from early experience and recent experience.

    My only hope is to convince members of the Republican Party to move back to the right, where it will pick up conservative voters rather than leftists. As long as the Republican Party is a leftist party, it is not worth voting for. Should I vote, it probably will not be for your guy, because he is almost certainly too far to the left. Not voting is my way of motivating you and others to fix your party as a way to get back my vote.

    It is up to you to improve your party, to make it once again worth voting for.

    Eight years ago, when I finally realized that the party I was once so proud to belong had moved so far to the left that I didn’t recognize it anymore, you did not complain like this when I left the Republican Party in search of a party that hadn’t moved leftist.

    Three years ago, we all discovered that the Republican Party has no interest in ensuring that our elections are free and fair. They allow Democrats to cheat and rig elections in their own favor, and they allow government to take sides and influence elections, to the point that there is no point to elections. We already live in a nation that looks like the Soviet Union, with one (uni)party control with elections just for show, and Democrat-controlled media and education.

    Doing as you have suggested, voting for the most conservative person on the ballot in order to encourage more conservative candidates, was not the solution, and it is not the solution now. It is what we did to end up here, and it will not take us back to freedom or liberty. It is a failed strategy, a path paved with good intentions but taking us all to the inevitable destination. It is how we all got the government you deserve.

    This is my voice in the wilderness, this is the only power I have, and you are the only connection I have: I am challenging you all, the ones with the voices, the connections, or the power to demand not only the Republican leadership but also the Republican voters to stop running toward the left and to return to conservatism and free and fair elections. Otherwise, your party will continue running left and continue taking us all to the inevitable destination.

    If you succeed, you can earn my vote. You may even get back some of the others who left the Republican Party to remain on the right as independent voters.

  • Edward: See what happened just now in Missouri:

    Breaking: Grassroots Revolution Overthrows RINOs at Missouri State GOP Convention

    It appears that a lot of real conservatives were unhappy with the weak action of the established Republican Party in Missouri, and rather than whine and complain at home, they came out as delegates and grabbed control of the party there. Good for them.

  • mkent

    ”See what happened just now in Missouri.”

    So what happened in Missouri? You don’t say. Neither does the article you linked to, other than the “RINO agenda” was shot down. Neither do any of the nearly 400 comments.

    Missouri is one of the most conservative states in the country, considerably more conservative than Texas. Yet according to the linked article and comments, Missouri Republicans are really “RINOs”, “Democrats”, “communists”, and “Marxists”, as is their agenda.

    So who were the previous committeemen? In what way were they deficient? What was the previous agenda? What items on it were problematic? Who are the new committeemen? In what ways are they superior? What is the new agenda? What items on it are superior, and how are they better?

    None of the answers to those questions was even hinted at. I’m sensing a lot of righteous anger here, there, and elsewhere but not a lot of substance.

  • mkent: The website where this story was posted, The Gateway Pundit, is well known as a very very very conservative site that has been opposed to the Republican establishment for more than a decade. It is also based in Missouri, and closely tied with the local politics in that state.

    My experience with stories posted at this website is that though they often seen far too partisan, they are also almost always correct. Thus, if the report says the new people in charge are more aligned with the Republican conservative base, and that those who had been in charge in Missouri were “RINOs” trying to block change, I would tend to believe it.

    Of course it could all be pie in the sky dreaming. However, I must ask, why is there such a desire by so many conservatives to take such a defeatist attitude? The certainty too many conservatives have that nothing good is ever going to happen guarantees that nothing good is ever going to happen.

    I greatly prefer those who are willing to fight to change things, and am trying to spot and encourge them wherever I can. It won’t happen overnight, but that fight can make a difference, if only the right doesn’t give up before it even gets to the starting line.

  • mkent

    Robert:

    I’m familiar with Gateway Pundit. I used to read the site regularly until they denied me access because the browser I was using didn’t support pop-up ads. I never commented there, so it wasn’t that, but I do try to read sites that I don’t agree with in order to get a feel for different points of view.

    I’m also a 30-year resident of Missouri. As I said, it’s one of the most conservative states in the country. Outside of some large parts of St. Louis and Kansas City, life is good here. The elections are fair, crime is low, the schools are decent, the economy is growing, jobs can be had, traffic is manageable, and there are plenty of parks to enjoy. Improvements can be made, for sure, but large-scale changes are not needed and are likely to be counter-productive.

    That’s the heart of my complaint. There is emerging among certain Republicans — particularly the Trump wing — a “burn it all down” mentality. You haven’t succumbed to it, but you can see it in the comments here, and it’s all over the place at sites like Gateway Pundit and Conservative Treehouse. Left unchecked, it grows into an unfocused rage. Witness the two above-mentioned sites.

    Now back to the article. What was wrong with the Missouri Republican Party and how would this action fix it? Neither the article author nor the nearly 400 commenters ever said. The only specific issues mentioned were in the comments: the California primary system that often advances two Democrats and no Republicans to the general election and Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, neither of which the Missouri Republican Party had anything to do with. (Nor are they trying to implement either of those systems here.) Lots of rage. Lots of “MAGA.” Not a single clue what’s wrong or how to fix it.

    Now, you do a much better job on your site than Jim Hoft does on his. Your complaints are usually specific and focused (even when they’re wrong :-) ). A rare lapse on your part.

    So I guess I should say that my complaint isn’t with you but rather the general state of discourse on the right side of the debate. It’s declined precipitously over the last nine years.

  • mkent: My complaint about the overall discourse is similar to yours. The desire of too many sites on both sides to descend into insults and obscenities is a easy example. So many people are proud to act like barbarians rather than civilized citizens.

    As for the Republican Party in Missouri, I personally think a change in leadership is almost always a good thing, especially when you consider how poorly the right has been doing generally. Republicans in general have been unwilling to fight. It could be the party rank-in-file got frustrated and demanded a change.

  • Edward

    Robert Zimmerman,
    Edward: See what happened just now in Missouri

    It appears that the article makes my point:
    Even though the GOP runs the state with a huge majority, key conservative policies and beliefs are pushed aside.

    If you intended the article to give me hope, that conservative Republicans may take back the party, I already had that hope, which is why I have bothered with my comments. You and others need to encourage, or better yet, demand that everyone else to do similar actions to take back your party. If you think that the Missouri Republican Party has earned my vote, I don’t live there, so I may not be legally entitled to vote there.

    When you all are ready for my vote, it will still be here.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *