Open Request to John McCain

I call on you, Captain John S. McCain, USN (ret.), Republican, Senior Senator from Arizona, to put a stop to the public smearing of your erstwhile running mate, Governor Sarah L. Palin, Republican from Alaska.

Governor Palin committed herself and her family to your cause, moreover, to the cause of America, provisionally for four years. She did so with gusto--even after the Mainstream Media saw fit to go after not only her, but two of her children--and we, the Republican electorate, were glad for her decision. She nearly saved your candidacy.

But, now that Senator Barack H. Obama has become President-elect Barack H. Obama, the finger-pointing has begun and I would expect such from the average political candidate. However, sir, you are not the average political candidate. You are a retired US Navy officer and, on top of that, a Vietnam POW and a survivor of the horrendous accident on the USS Forrestal. You know what it's like to be looking to your leaders in the worst of times and to have your subordinates look to you at similar points in time. You know about Faith, Loyalty and about Leadership.

Well, sir, it's time for you to Lead again. Stop the dishonorable actions of your subordinates toward another--not just for the governor's sake but for yours--because it is not the governor who your aides are dishonoring; it's you.

Sincerely,

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng, SSgt, USAFR (ret.)
Los Angeles CA

Comments

[For Palin]

Amen! She saved McCain from a horrendous loss, he should step up and clear the air.

She Was Awesome. Thank You Sarah for your service.

John McCain - do the right thing.

[K]

Agreed! I called his AZ and DC offices to express my concern on his silence this morning.

You can find the numbers here:
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.OfficeLocations

[Rustmeister]

Hear! Hear!

Beautifully said.

[Joey]

Nice letter and I agree 100%

[davis,br]

Awesome Juliette. A twofer.

Kudos again.

[Goose]

Maverick, don't bug out on your wingman.

[Bob]

Juliette, I just wrote Senator McCain using your open letter with my intro. You did a terrific job! Thank you!

Bob
AF 77-81

[Maura]

Wonderfully said! Make this a petition, and I'll gladly sign!

[Caltechgirl]

Amen. I couldn't say it better.

[Karen]

I love this blog. Thanks.
I understood that the "sources" of this smear campaign are anonymous; may or may actually be McCain's people doing it.

[Karen]

Meant may or may NOT be. . .

[PeggyU]

Juliette: That was succinct and very fine!

[Greg]

I agree; it is unseemly and pointless. Let's just let her go back to Alaska (where she belongs) in peace.

[Wry Mouth]

Hear, hear. I had tears in my eyes as I read this.

and me going by "wry mouth," a skeptical, sarcastic SOB.

Thank you, and I hope Mr. McCain comes through.

[truthbeknown]

Without the "quote unquote" anonymous smearing of Palin, we might have been spared her visage in the media. This is yet another strategic rallying point for those who voted the McCain/Palin ticket. Mark my words, if not this weekend,no later than Monday, John McCain will repudiate, thus the continuing saga of John and Sarah. Go away already !

[douglas]

To be fair, it's possible that he thought the best thing to do was lay low and try to let it blow over quickly, rather than getting involved, making it a bigger story and keeping it up longer. Turns out it was going to stay up, so, I agree- he needs to speak out. So well out as usual, Baldi.

[Mike O]

Great letter, Juliette. I agree completely, and those responsible should be known; no politician would want such weasels working for them

[baldilocks]

"Go away already!"

Nah, too easy!

[Jim]

And all those horribly difficult questions Couric put to her must have been out of context too. "What papers do you read regularly?" Now there's a real gotcha. She was an unqualified embarrassment and the sole reason I didn't vote for McCain.

[cardeblu]

In the same vein as Douglas at 10:07, it also could be that he has offered help, but she turned it down, stating that she could handle it on her own. I have no doubt she can.

[Osas]

Sarah "I can see the presidency from my home" Palin was certainly not the main cause of McCain's resounding defeat. But she was a substantial contribution to it - betcha!

And she definitely was the one who could be called illoyal; in the TV comedy spot that Tina Fey and John McCain did together (the man is actually a talented comedian), Fey very ably spotlighted this.

It is people like Palin who give rednecks an undeservedly bad name. Sigh.

Osas

[Malcolm Kirkpatrick]

Without Sarah Palin on the ticket, I would have voted for the Libertarian. Governor Palin has more executive experience than McCain, Obama and Biden put together, and more private-sector experience than these life-long professional politicians as well.

Bush the First tolerated the smearing by his staff of his better-qualified VP, Dan Quayle (doubt it? Compare Quayle's handling of the coup attempt against Corazon Aquino when Bush was in Malta to Bush's handling of the attempted coup in Panama. Quayle acted. Bush dithered).

Big-government Republicans like McCain ally with northern Democrats and the mainstream media against social and small-government conservatives.

[Kevin]

...or, perhaps it is not a bunch of smears but, in fact, true. Perhaps she was this way? Ever thought of that.

Remember what they teach you in law school about slander. If you call someone's wife a prostitute it is not slander if she is, in fact, a prostitute.

[C. Smith]

Hear, hear.
Well said. The RINO shot himself in the foot. That the ticket did as well as it did says more for her than him.

[ErikZ]

I remember a time when Baldilocks was thinking about quitting blogging.

Hard to imagine such a thing now.

[Casey]

And do you, Kevin, have any evidence at all that the slanders are accurate?

Same thing for Osas; all talk and no data, who garbles a dowdified misquote, and then uses Tina Fey as "proof" that Palin is a disloyal redneck.

That's as lame as saying that Obama is really Muslim, when your real argument is against his policies.

I have yet to see anyone come up with a substantiative criticism against Sarah Palin. Every single time it's based on echoing the two-dimensional cardboard cutout doll the media has been pushing ever since her name showed on the radar.

[Bucky Katt]

Bravo Juliette! Right on target. Time for McCain to snap his aides back into line. Being a recently retired Naval Officer myself, I've been disappointed thus far in his failure to take charge and stop this pointless backstabbing and bickering from his staff members.

[nocomme1]

baldilocks;

I think you should consider putting up a clock here and starting it from when the first McCain-camp smear against Sarah Palin was launched (about an hour after the election was called for Obama, as I recollect) and see how long it runs before Senator McCain defends his former running mate.
I'm unhappy Obama got in and happy that McCain lost, if you know what I mean. Disgraceful. So much for loyalty and honor.

[Deathknyte]

When I voted it was for Sarah Palin, not mccain or obama. I think that mccain has never cared about anyone as much as he cares about himself. Politically anyway. So his abandonment of Sarah is not really surprising. As for the aids I hear that they are actually former Romney staffers, so they may be trying to remove Sarah from any possible run in 2012.

[tom poole]

Well said Juliette. John McCain should take those people to the woodshed, publish names (so we can monitor who they work for ahead) and insure they don't work another campaign. I was not a Obama supporter, and still am not, but even had I been his "fingering" of McCain and now his put down of Nancy Regan prove what I always suspected, he has absolutely no class no matter how many 'brooks bros' suits he wears. Move-on.org has him bought and paid for..gonna be interesting

[Pasadena Closet Conservative]

McCain and the entire RNC have been strangely silent. And what about the females in Congress? Where are they? This is not gaining the RNC any points with the millions of conservative Americans out here. They better do some soul-searching and fast.

[Darleen Click]

McCain's silence on the lies told about Sarah (anonymous smears are lies. People who have facts go on record, like NSC Steve Biegun) make me fear this is his brunt offering to Democrats to get back in their good graces in the Senate.

I swear, I'm going to travel to AZ and work to have him kicked out of the Senate for this dishonorable behavior.

[Dave M]

He will never ever ever ever ever ever ever speak up on her behalf. She is a REPUBLICAN. He decided at some point in his life that party loyalty is wrong, that it's cronyism or something, and this is one of those things he is never ever changing his mind on. It would be like reversing a Custer decision or something. He's a one trick pony and his trick is pooping all over other Republicans and assuming that this will somehow magically make Mexicans love him.

[Scrapiron]

Anyone consider the possibility that no one in the McCain campign has made these slangerous remarks? The Lame Stream Democrat Media is on it's death bed and will do anything, including lie, to try and sell or save itself. So far every accusation has been proven a lie by 'real' media and the people involved. If the liars don't come clean then everyone who worked the McCain campaign will be tarred with the same brush and only an idiot will ever hire one of them again.

Just like the WaPo admitting they used their paper to campaign for Hussein. How many Lame Stream media employee's have already lost their job? The rest will follow them to the graveyard of unemployment? The WaPo should lose all licenses from the city, state and federal government.

[me]

Sara Palin’s continued prominence in the Republican party just reassures a second Obama term so keep it up folks!!!! Palin is a walking breathing illustration of why Republicans have earned their long deserved exile to the wilderness. The stories about Palin’s stupidity and vapidness would not have legs if they did not already echo her interview catastrophe with soft as whip cream interviewers Couric and Gibson. Everyone saw her interviews and no fair minded person could say that the word salad Palin dispensed had anything to do with the “filter of the main stream media”. To enumerate the ways Palin is unqualified to be in a position of authority for anything is too long. Here is a very brief attempt:

-Palin’s profound ignorance of basic facts about the world that your average third world peasant farmer would know. See the Couric and Gibson interviews in full.

-Palin’s utter lack self of awareness and emotional immaturity. Watching her Couric and Gibson interviews it was clear that she truly believed she would just bluff her way through like a high school student giving an oral report to her social studies class. Heck it worked in Alaska all these years why not on national television and in front of the whole world? A mature adult with foresight knows their own level of ability, the seriousness of the situation and prepares accordingly.

-Palin’s lack of personal responsibility. See the financial or legal mess she left behind as mayor of Wasilla or her support of the Bridge to Nowhere or condemning her very own daughter to a loveless marriage rather than admit her public views of abstinence don’t conform to reality and jeopardize her political prospects. Now the Secret Service is confirming what everyone knew: that the threats to Obama grew in proportion to the growing lynch mob atmosphere orchestrated at Palin rallys. I assume you have all seen any one of the many videos of the in your face racists lining up for the Palin rallies. No? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxzmaXAg9E”>Here is a link to just one of them.

-Palin is an obvious liar.

On a side note: While I do look forward to the day when Blacks can rise to prominence in the republican party for something other than attacking other Blacks I wonder what Black conservatives make of all the recent video documentation of the large volume racism about Republican political rallies? If I were a Black conservative after seeing some of these videos I would steer clear of using the word plantation.

[baldilocks]

After the nasty things you and your ideological brother said to me after your little temper tantrum about comment moderation, I would steer clear of any admonition about attacking other blacks if I were you.

By the way, you owe me an apology for accusing me of deleting comments. Submit it publicly in your next comment.

[baldilocks]

One more thing: until you put up a real email address, don't ever presume to call anyone a coward.

me-at-notyou-dot-com in an email field doesn't exactly indicate testicular fortitude in a commenter.

[Osas]

me commented bitterly:
"While I do look forward to the day when Blacks can rise to prominence in the republican party for something other than attacking other Blacks"

May I recall that both Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice have risen to prominence. Both are Republicans. Both have endorsed Obama (Condi after the fact).

Osas

[Casey]

me is a whiny little she-canine puppy who spews vitriol in place of reasoned debate.

For example, I've heard many claims that Palin rallies were host to race-hatred, but I haven't yet seen a reliable link. me posts one, but it's literally gibberish, and leads nowhere.

I'll make one suggestion: perhaps the story of "Palin as idiot" had "legs" because so many in the mainstream media bought into the hype, instead of (Lord forbid) actually investigating? In the same professional, "overlapping layers of fact-checkers and editors" manner they completely blew off the story of Edwards' bastard child, until embarrassed by (of all establishments) The National Enquirer!?

Take away the self-evident fact that Sarah Palin did not handle the first interviews well (and we all know how that's the concrete bedrock for establishing political credibility in this country), and me's latest spittle-flecked diatribe contains little fact.

Oh, and Osas, since when has Powell been considered a genuine Republican? Not trashing the guy, but calling him a Republican is like calling Joe Lieberman (or Zell Miller) a Republican for supporting the war. Colin Powell is no more a genuine Republican than Nelson Rockefeller or Mitt Romney.

And -please excuse the off-topic comment, Juliette- I have just about HAD it with people who refer to "Blacks" (why capitalize, me?) or "whites" as nouns.

Black in this context is a noun, as is white. What is a noun? A person, place, or thing. A label. By referring to "blacks" or "whites" one is implicitly making an entire group of people things. It's the difference between blacks, and black voters.

"Black" is an identifier, it names a "thing." "Black voter" is an adjective; it describes a particular aspect of a thing (a person). That is, their skin color.

Same thing for the difference between a white, and a "white voter." The first labels, while the second describes.

Does it at all help the dialog if certain participants insist on using labels such as "blacks" and "whites" instead of "black Americans" and "white Americans?"

[Osas]

Shorthands are often problematic, for they can be construed as derisive. I do my best avoid terms like "Jengs" or "Kyuks" for this reason; but as to colour adjectives that are not starting with an "n*", your concern seems a bit misplaced to me.

Osas

[Osas]

One little comment still as to Sarah "dumb-dumb" Palin.

There exists a venerable conservative intellectual tradition within the USA. One need not agree with it, but one will respect it. President Ronald Reagan also stood in this tradition, his pragmatism notwithstanding. The redneckish anti-intellectualism of Palin on the other hand stands against everything this noble tradition representes. Her conservative critics have outlined that clearly enough and often enough.

Osas

[Doc]

Sadly, most folks including the press won't judge the woman on her record. The lady has actually accomplished tangible things in her political career. (lowering property taxes,transferring the tax burden to the oil companies, supporting a gas pipeline, 80% approval rating, kicking out unethical folks from her own party and the list goes on) Unsupported name calling and hyperbole do not constitute substantive thought. I would proudly be accused of "anti-intellectualism" and I likely have more education than the majority on this board. The most important things I learned in life were from people with no formal education.

[Steve]

Great post!

Would you like a Link Exchange with our new blog COMMON CENTS where we blog about the issues of the day??

http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com

[baldilocks]

"redneckish"

Osas, this is a racial slur. Please do not use it here. And I'd appreciatie it if you would give an example of Palin's alleged anti-intellectualism. The outlines of her nameless critics have been debunked.

[Osas]

It is a cultural slur. As such only it is used and will be used where it fits, and will be avoided where unfitting. If there is need, I will however be glad to explain a bit more about its ambiguous contemporary employ in US social and cultural discourse.

In the same way I shall continue to call a mshenzi a mshenzi and not a "culturally challenged rural dweller". :-)

As to Palin, she has been sufficiently "debunked", to use the verb you kindly provided, by her very prominent conservative critics, not just by centrist and liberal voices. Nobody is beyond redemption of course, as the Gospel teaches us, but some are beyond serious argument.

Sincerely,
Osas

[Doc]

More name calling and unsubstantiated drivel from an intellectual I'd imagine.

[AME]

baldilocks: I'd appreciatie it if you would give an example of Palin's alleged anti-intellectualism.

Osas: She has been sufficiently "debunked" ... by her very prominent conservative critics, not just by centrist and liberal voices.

I think, Osas, that we can safely call your position "debunked" inasmuch as you were given a clear question and yet failed to answer.

[Osas]

Doc - who is hardly a doctor - guessed:
"from an intellectual I'd imagine"

You are entirely correct. People like William Buckley and Peggy Noonan would indeed be addressed as conservative intellectuals. A species you will loathe almost as badly as leftists and liberals, no doubt :-).

But either of them has done much more for conservative causes than the entire blogosphere zoo, I would say.

Osas

[Cricket]

Juliette,
Forever and always, you are a lady.

Well spoken.

Thank you, ma'am, for your service. You represent the best of what America should be.

[Doc]

I am a physician... Those people you mentioned have a professional world of the abstract. Mine, just like many veteran's, is a world of harsh reality. The choices I make in my profession can not be based on a whim or ungrounded basis. If I screw, up someone gets hurt. You could say I have had alot of blood on my hands which would be true.I don't look at myself as anything special, just another person doing a job. But, I have a low tolerance for words not grounded in fact. That is what your posts are.
I never thought I would vote for any woman besides besides someone like Margaret Thatcher and I thought McCain's choice of a woman was trite. Romney had the best qualifications
objectively.But I did the intelligent thing and read about Governor Palin.
She has shown leadership, composure, achieved goals in a world of men all while preserving her femininity, her marriage and herself. These are attributes to be admired and things no "dummy" is able to accomplish.

[Osas]

Doc spake: "I never thought I would vote for any woman"

Okay... if it was Sarah Palin who managed to change this stance of yours, then she has achieved at least one worthy thing (apart from making life difficult for provincial librarians, keeping negroes out of her administration, and making violated women and girls pay the police for the expense of their own rape evidence kit), and I shall acknowledge that.

Osas

[Doc]

Osas,

Your posts are accusatory and unsubstantiated. For that...you have my pity. True, I am suspicious of intellectuals. They have done both good (Jefferson)and evil(Robespierre) throughout history. but I have learned much from well sourced posts. That is why I must move on to find them.

[Slim]

I too am disappointed but not surprised at mccain's lack of backing palin or any response at all. Their 'both English" said a lot during their times together.

But she's a nut. She may have 'energized' the base (and there are too many religious nuts therein. Don't get me wrong, religion is great, but please save me from those crazies who want everyone to be like them). So this energized base: great, go for it. But she knew so little, as shown in her interviews during the campaign and now. She's very naive and has NO idea how much she does NOT know. Blind faith and confidence are great in a basketball game, but not wen dealing with Americans' lives.

I hope she fades away into obscurity. She belongs there. Flash in the pan. The energized base got flamed, then the rest of the country saw who she really was. And that was it. Nut case.

[JLawson]

For the next six to twelve months, you're going to see PDS out of the left like crazy, trying to shape the perception of Palin as an utter incompetent - just like Osas is attempting.

Palin's sins? She's capable, competent, attractive, charismatic - and she's NOT from the left or the Washington intelligentsia. She not only threatens the feminist lock on the women's vote, her fighting against corruption in the Alaska good old boys' entrenched systems threatens the Washington corrupt-o-crats.

And THAT cannot be allowed to stand. She must be destroyed, utterly and completely...

But you know something? I don't think she's vulnerable to the usual crap thrown out by the media. There will be idiots who will go with their partisan beliefs, but the majority of people will see her for who she is - a warm, genuine person who's very intelligent and cares deeply for the country. The Osas of the world will look at her through their own filters, cynically deconstructing her motivations and abilities by THEIR standards - which they're perfectly free to do.

But they expect their standards to be the norm. Which they aren't. In 2010 - who knows? I wouldn't be surprised to see Palin elected into Congress. In 2012 - running for President. And I'd vote for her with no hesitation - she's not a carefully crafted politician, she's as real as it gets in the political circus.

[uptownsteve (edited)]

Mommy!!! MOOOMMMMMYYYY!!!! Why don't you love meeee????

[baldilocks]

Osas,

You're repeating smears that have been debunked. Please update your smears.

[mnotaro]

The "anonymous" workers coming out and saying all this garbage about Palin are just sore losers. And they are a bunch of cowards..if you are going to come out and slaughter someone's character, atleast have the balls to put your name on it. Cowards. McCain's advisers can't take any responsibility for their own mistakes so they feel they must find someone to blame...and how easy to pick on Palin. The liberal MSM illuminati have been doing it for months now. And shame on you, John McCain for not standing up for her.

[Casey]

Osas demonstrates his (I assume he) ignorance or bigotry by repeating the slander against Palin.

Aside from the Georgetown drinking-crowd, I haven't heard many conservatives leaders -much less conservative intellectuals- going after Palin. I know Jerry Pournelle has a good opinion of her.

Last I heard Buckley hasn't criticized her, and Noonan is a columnist, not an intellectual.

Osas really gets slimy when he accuses Palin of "keeping negroes out of her administration," then repeats the hoary old myth that she charged rape victims for the evidence kit. I call you out, on that: you're a lying sack of crap, and full of bull fertilizer. If you want to stuff the "proof" for that claim down my throat, feel free. It doesn't exist.

Um, Slim, what planet are you from. No, really? How is Palin -in any way- a religious "nut" or a "crazy?" Sure, she blew a couple of interviews, but can you demonstrate actual ignorance? Especially when you consider that most of the MSM was out to crucify her? You are as uninformed as the "Barack is really a Muslim" crowd.

The only real criticism I've seen with an iota of traction relates to the expensive campaign clothes, and that goes back to the RNC (which authorized the purchases) than anything else.

[me (edited)]

baldilocks sez: 'Me,' you have something you need to do before you are allowed to comment here again. After you do it, I will restore this comment. I'm going to turn on comment moderation now so don't flip your wig again.

Me's original Comment:

Hello Casey.
In case you still want to see the pervasive racism at the Palin rallies a lot of it has been documented for posterity over at Youtube. Just do a search with keywords 'Palin racist'. Maybe you will recognize some of your friends?

I did put a link to one of the videos in my post way above and it did work for about a day but the tag information "magically" got altered. So here is the link again. Lets see how long it will take "to stop working" again.

If you click to that link you will also see a ton of other videos on the right side of the page that also show republican voters using their own one and two syllable words to demonstrate why Blacks will not be leaving the "Democratic plantation" anytime soon.

baldilocks sez: 'Me' has too little self control, too little logic, too few balls (this is the email address he gave--me@notyou.com) and too many Mommy issues to keep from flipping his wig again. He is banned

[me (edited)]

Deleting my comments or "content moderation" which ever the case you are attempting to control how people respond to you because you can not cope. Classic authoritarian behavior. While I admit the tone of the discussion sometimes gets intense it is more likely the facts that are causing you to freak out like when IvanIvan finally pulled your card for doing your "I'm an old cold warrior" routine.

So as far as that "kneel before Zod" S&M moment that you authoritarians perpetually fantasize about it ain't gonna to happen with me. It would be like a civil rights protester in the South apologizing to George Wallace's Black valet for forgetting to say good morning in just the right tone.

OBTW you confirmed my statement when you spiked the youtube link that documented the volume of racism at McCain/Palin rallies. (Do what you want it is your blog.) Did you watch it though? It is quite telling that these are the people you feel at home with. The rampant racism in your party that the videos expose are not going away just because you spiked one link. And just between me and you we both know what these videos mean for your raisone d'etre as a Black Conservative. But you will probably come up with yet more rationalizations for why you continue to affiliate with a group whose rank and file is full of so much bigotry. I feel sorry for you.

baldilocks sez: See, ya spineless fake-address, fake-name testicle-less Punk? Your comments weren't deleted.

Have a "nice" life, Mr. me@notyou.com. And we'll see who needs sympathy in the end.

[Casey]

me, me, me... You are pathetic little wretch vainly clawing for validity.

The link above sent me to a vid quoting Ohio residents who thought Obama was a terrorist. This is racist? I recall watching a linked vid a couple weeks back which was more overtly racist, but only to the extent that the first two opening vid bites related to two over-50 (if not over-60) rural citizens who obviously had little experience with black Americans. That is: a couple of olde fartes in rural Ohio had reservations about a black candidate.

This is racist? May we then present the overwhelming (90%+) preference of most black American voters as also racist?

I speak as someone who works with black Americans, white Americans, and hispanic immigrants every day of my life, in a blue-collar job. I know one late-20s black American who was convinced that Obama would never be allowed to be elected. Was he racist?

In a sideways way, I'm glad -for his sake- to be proven wrong.

I also have to say that "me's" comment underline his own racism, as he mindlessly slimes Baldi as some sort of conservative "Aunt Jemima" (she's certainly no Uncle Tom) while refusing to even provide a valid email addy.

I've blasted commenters on other conservative or "right wing" blogs on certain issues, and I've always included my genuine online vitals, usually through blogger, movable type, or wordpress registration.

I've yet to get any hate mail, even though I've been pretty pungent upon occasion.

As for Palin, I've yet to see any hard data which would contradict the position that she is someone who:
-is committed to a form of Evangelical Christianity
-is a devoted mother
-has gay friends that she accepts unreservedly
-is much more committed to small or local government than John McCain
-won her position as mayor without disqualifying all the other candidates
-won the governorship of a physically large state, and currently enjoys an 80% approval rate (choke on that 16%, Pelosi!)
-is NOT a lawyer
-is a decent human being

Apparently a white, Protestant female conservative equates to "racist" in "me's" world. That's really sad; I see Obama as a top-down, centrally-controlled-economy enthusiast with a strong prelidiction state intervention. With all of that, I'm still ready to kick back and see how he actually governs before I wet my pants.

It would seem that me carries a far greater inclination to see the mote in his neighbors eye before he notices the beam in his own.

[Casey]

er, read the above as "a strong predilection for state intervention, etc..."

Feh. :(

[Xpressions]

I was glad he finally stepped in and took the blame off of her, that his advisors were trying to shift. The left-wing illuminati and media were loving the divide.