Tea at Trianon: The Media Double Standard

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

The Media Double Standard

From The Conservative Review:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, and national security adviser General H.R. McMaster categorically denied that the president revealed classified information to the Russians. Early Monday morning, President Trump tweeted that he did share “facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety” with Russian officials at that meeting. It is unclear if the information Trump shared was classified, as reported by the Washington Post. Conservative Review Editor-in-Chief Mark Levin addressed the report on his radio program Monday night, making several key points.

“Remember, the whole point here is to take out Trump,” Levin said. “The whole point is to destroy the man’s character and his reputation. ‘He must be an incompetent boob.’ ‘He shoots from the hip.’ ‘Maybe he’s even working with the Russians, giving them information’ – it’s just so absurd.”

“Did Barack Obama ever have a situation like this?” Levin asked, noting the rabid media coverage of every single Trump misstep. “The media frenzy never existed. It never occurred. It just didn’t happen.”

Remember Operation Fast and Furious? The IRS scandal? Attorney General Eric Holder being held in contempt of Congress? The surveillance of journalists like James Rosen? Solyndra? Bowe Bergdahl?

Remember when Hillary Clinton kept classified information on an unsecure private email server that was hacked by multiple foreign agencies?

Where were the media earthquakes for those scandals? (Read more.)

Unknown said...: I find the fanatical anti-trump movement in the press and among the Democrats to be reminiscent of the Jacobins and the anti-monarchy sentiments in France. With the antiifa activity and the destruction of the southern monuments honoring great American/confederate heroes now occurring i fear the communist agenda is gaining traction amongst the young and uninformed. I would be interested to hear your take on this.; May 17, 2017 at 11:02:00 AM EDT
julygirl said...: If the 'Lefties' can drum up charges against a noble figure like Louis XV1 and have
him executed, then I fear what is happening to our President. They have thrown him into the ocean with no life jacket and the sharks are circling, and we the 'silent majority' will no longer have a champion.; May 18, 2017 at 2:42:00 PM EDT