'God Bless America' is the target — not Kate Smith

Wikimedia Commons

Here are a few statues that actually exist:

  • A bust of Che Guevara glaring at a hillside in Bolivia.
  • A statue of Lucifer in Madrid, Spain, and another in Belgium.
  • There are statues of Karl Marx, Stalin, and Lenin all over the world, including a statue of Lenin in Seattle.
  • Same goes for Mao Zedong, who is responsible for roughly 30 million deaths.
  • Just outside a former ghetto in Warsaw, there was a statue of Hitler kneeling in prayer. (It sold for $17 million at Christies in New York.)
  • There's a monument to a fascist soldier in Chicago that was gifted by Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini adored.
  • A large statue of a naked man standing on naked women in a cemetery in Brooklyn.
  • There's a statue of a policewoman urinating in Dresden, Germany.
  • There's the infamous "Manneken Pis" statue in Brussels, which features a little boy peeing into a found and is, frankly, hilarious (they dress him up in little outfits depending on the season or holidays).

RELATED: Recent Yale study proves the left's racist outrage is an act of projection

Here's a list of things that have been branded racist in the past couple of years:

  • Dogs/dog-walking.
  • 911 calls.
  • TSA's body scanners.
  • Classic literature/philosophy.
  • Milk.
  • Knitting.
  • Being cheerful.
  • Not being cheerful.
  • Friendliness.
  • Not being friendly enough.
  • Libraries.
  • Clowns.
  • The Avengers.
  • Diets.
  • Infant mortality rates (that one comes from none other than Kamala Harris, by the way, who tweeted that "implicit racial bias is one critical reason that the maternal mortality rate for Black women is three to four times higher than white women." She blamed maternal mortality rates on racism.)
  • Makeup.
  • Personal space.
  • Vikings.
  • Potatoes.
  • Inclusion.
  • Burger King commercials.
  • Okie-doke hand signs.
  • Rainbows.
  • Compliments.
  • Childbirth.
  • House plants
  • Nail polish.
  • Bacon (The New York Times made this flawless argument in an article titled "Donald Trump is Trying to Kill You").
  • Trying to improve racial tensions.
  • Not focusing constantly on racial tensions.
  • Mentioning racial tensions.
  • Existence (if white).

I could list of examples of perceived racism all day, because that seems to be the new standard: Everything is somehow racist. Every facet of life. Frankly, it's exhausting.

And, as you know, there's an incredible amount of overlap between statutes and perceived racism. I don't have to give you any examples, you already know what I'm talking about, but I will say that they've included Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Scott Key, Abraham Lincoln, and Joan of Arc, among many, many others.

The most recent example is as unexpected as the whole "walking your dogs is racist" claim. And, honestly, whoever made the claim clearly did some expert-level research. They worked really hard to find this so-called racism.

But it's also a little more nuanced than most of the above examples.

The controversy centers on a statue of Kate Smith, a singer who once called "the Songbird of the South," who gained fame in the 1940s for her rendition of "God Bless America."

Smith's achievements are awe-inspiring. She performed for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, at the White House shortly before the start of WW2. Ronald Reagan bestowed her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She's been credited helping defeat the Nazis thanks to an 18-hour broadcast in which she helped CBS raise over $100 million in war bonds.

And, for decades, both the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Flyers played her version of "God Bless America" at home games. The Yankees had featured it in during the seventh inning since 9/11. The Flyers even had a statue of Smith outside their stadium. She had become the team's good-luck charm after she performed "God Bless America" before Game Six of the 1974 Stanley Cup finals, and the Flyers won.

Suddenly, Smith became known as a racist, undeserving of a statue, destined to be canceled and forgotten.

But this month, all of that changed. Suddenly, Smith became known as a racist, undeserving of a statue, destined to be canceled and forgotten.

The statement reads:

The Flyers have enjoyed a long and popular relationship with 'God Bless America,' as performed by the late Kate Smith...But in recent days, we learned that several of the songs Kate Smith performed in the 1930s include lyrics and sentiments that are incompatible with the values of our organization, and evoke painful and unacceptable themes.

The songs?

"That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven."

"Pickaninny" being an archaic derogatory word to describe black children. She performed the song in the 1933 movie "Hello,

Everybody!" In the scene, she devoted the song "a lot of little colored children living in an orphanage" and sang of how "great big watermelons roll around and get in your way" and "luscious pork chop bushes bloom right outside your doorway."

As for the other song, "That's Why Darkies Were Born," well, have a listen for yourself:

Kate Smith - That's Why Darkies Were Born - 1931youtu.be

Lyrics:

Someone had to pick the cotton/Someone had to plant the corn,
Someone had to slave and be able to sing/That's why darkies were born.
Someone had to laugh at trouble/Though he was tired and worn,
Had to be contented with any old thing/That's why darkies were born.

Based on that, it looks pretty bad for poor ole Kate Smith. But, as we see more often, the cries of "racism!" are in fact deeply ignorant, based on little more than emotion and sycophantic outrage.

Because the song, "That's Why Darkies Were Born" is purely satirical, as part of the 1931 Broadway revue "George White's Scandals" as a satire of white supremacists. Smith wrote the song with Paul Robeson, actor and civil rights activist. Robeson's father was literally a runaway slave.

Worse yet, both songs came at an early point in her career, in the 1930s, a time when works of satire like these were considered controversial, even dangerous, for the opposite reason. They are just two, largely insignificant, songs of the roughly 3,000 that she recorded over the course of her career.

Kate Smith's niece told USA Today:

Aunt Kathryn really did not see color. She didn't see a person's color. She was very in tune with a person's character. I've always thought that was a model, to not see a person's color but to see their character. And this is why I'm incredibly sad.

The message is clear: the left's outrage machine knows no bounds. Anything, even the fight against actual racism, can be deemed racist.

The case for mass deportation

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Unchecked illegal immigration into America may be the most dangerous issue our country faces today, and with every day it goes unsolved, the risk of a terrorist attack of 9/11 proportions only increases.

Despite the risk, we can't even touch the subject without the Left and the mainstream media having a meltdown. Even suggesting that the tide of undocumented immigrants may pose some sort of national problem will quickly get you labeled as a racist, stumping intelligent conversation before it can even begin. But as any right-minded Conservative will tell you, calls to close the border and deport the people who stole into our country have nothing to do with race.

In his most recent TV special, Glenn described in detail what sorts of dangers we have let into our countries, with facts and figures that prove that if we don't act soon we will be in deep trouble. Glenn made it clear: we need to conduct a mass deportation or risk being torn apart from within. Here are three reasons that make the case for mass deportations:

Islamic terror cells are forming in South America.

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Congressional testimony from the Committee on Homeland Security in 2011 revealed that Hugo Chavez held a "Secret Summit" involving the Supreme Leader of Hamas, the Chief of Operations for Hezbollah, and the Secretary General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Caracas, Venezuela. It is clear that ever since (and possibly before) there has been a Radical Islamic Terrorist presence in Venezuela. Right now there is an Iranian beachhead off the Venezuelan coast on Margarita Island, where the Iranian government is running criminal activities and recruiting and training Venezuelan gangs. These gangs have used our border crisis to infiltrate the U.S. The most infamous of these gangs, Tren de Aragua, has been declared a terrorist organization by the State of Texas.

Terrorist-backed gangs are smuggling in weapons and tearing through the country.

John Moore / Staff | Getty Images

What are these Iranian-trained and backed gangs doing in America? As you can imagine, nothing good. Just this year alone an estimated million rounds of ammunition, 1.2 million gun parts, 3,000 body armor vests, and thousands of pieces of other military paraphernalia have been smuggled across the border. On top of that, they have already taken over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, and are now terrorizing the remaining residents.

It's noteworthy that the gang managed to move into the apartment in the first place because they received subsidies through an NGO that was assisting the Colorado asylum seekers program, using money given to the state by the Biden administration in 2021.

Gangs have attacked military bases.

Lee Corkran / Contributor | Getty Images

It hasn't stopped at apartment complexes either. A leak from the U.S. Army revealed that the gangs have launched probing attacks on military facilities within the U.S. Members have been sighted taking surveillance photos of Lackland Air Force Base, as well as firing multiple shots into the facility. Another military base in Texas, Fort Sam Houston, caught a gang member attempting to gain access to the facility. This coincides with suspicious activity documented within the Permian Basin, the largest oil field in the U.S.

They are smuggling in vast quantities of military equipment, probing and surveying military facilities and key energy locations, and taking over residential areas. What exactly is going on and why isn't the federal government taking it more seriously?

VP debate recap: A Vance victory

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This might have been the most consequential VP debate in recent memory.

For those of you who missed the debate, it was a decisive victory for J.D. Vance and the Trump-Vance team as a whole. Vance presented a calm, collected, and considerate side of the Republican party that compliments Trump and helps to make their platform more palatable. Meanwhile, Tim Walz had a lackluster, though certainly not catastrophic, night. He had a few embarrassing gaffes and came across as overly nervous, but like Vance, kept it civil.

Both VP candidates entered the stage as relative unknowns to most Americans, and by the end, both men had given an accurate representation of their characters. Here is a brief recap just in case you missed the debate:

J.D. Vance looked great

ANGELA WEISS / Contributor | Getty Images

Vance came out of the gate swinging, with a stellar opening statement that helped set the stage for the rest of the debate. He delivered a concise yet compelling recap of his life, which framed him as everything Walz claims to be: a relatable veteran from humble beginnings who earned his position through hard work and service. He then went on to deliver a clear and palatable defense of Trump's platform and mission while cooly drawing attention to the failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

Overall, J.D. Vance looked incredibly presidential. He presented himself not just as a capable vice president, but as a strong successor to Trump and as a valid replacement if anything should happen to the former president between now and the end of his hypothetical second term. Vance also successfully dispelled the notion that he is "weird" as Walz called him, and if anyone looked strange during the debate, it certainly wasnot Vance.

Tim Walz's gaffes

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

While Tim Walz certainly didn't have an awful night, he did not stack up well against Vance. Walz had a major gaffe around halfway through the debate when asked to explain the change in his position on assault weapon bans. Walz then claimed that he had befriended school shooters during his time in office. While that was clearly not the intention of what he was saying, it was embarrassing nonetheless.

Another weak moment was when the moderators asked Walz to explain a claim he had made regarding being in Hong Kong during the infamous Tiananmen Square protest in 1989, which has since been proven false. Walz gave a long-winded, rambling answer about taking students to visit China and how Trump should have joined in on those trips, before being called out by the moderator for dodging the question.

Vance fact-checked the fact-checkers

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

One of the conditions of the CBS debate was that the moderators would not fact-check the debaters live, but instead rely on after-the-matter fact-checking. But, CBS couldn't keep to its own rules. While Vance was describing the migrant crisis that has swelled during the Biden-Harris administration, one of the CBS moderators, Margaret Brennan, chimed in with a "fact check." She claimed that the Haitian migrants in Ohio have legal status, to which Vance clapped back by calling Brennan out for breaking the rules of the debate, then proceeded to correct her, explaining that they only had legal status due to overreach by the Biden-Harris administration.

Dockworker strike: Everything you need to know

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

At midnight on September 30th, dockworkers across the East Coast went on strike, effectively cutting the country's import and export capabilities in half.

Don't go out and panic buy a pallet of toilet paper and instant ramen just yet. It's going to take some time for the full effects of the strike to be felt and hopefully, the strike will be good and over by then. But there are no guarantees, and this election cycle could get significantly more insane as we draw near to the election. And even if the strike is settled quickly, it shows growing cracks in our infrastructure and industrial capacity that needs to be addressed if America wants to maintain its global dominance.

Here is everything you need to know about the dockworker strike:

What do the dockworkers want?

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

As with most strikes, pay is the driving factor behind this situation the country now finds itself in. The longshoremen want more pay, and with rising inflation who can blame them? After all, working the docks is hard and dangerous business, and fair compensation only seems... fair. But when you compare the wage of a dockworker, which is around $100,000 to $200,00 a year to the average income in America of $56,000, suddenly they seem significantly less sympathetic.

How much money are they asking for? For most Americans, a three percent raise is considered high, but the unions are asking up to 15 percent, depending on location. On top of that, they are asking for a 77 percent raise over the next six years. The West Coast dock workers recently made off with a 36 percent raise and were considered lucky. These increases in costs are just going to be transferred to the end consumer, and we'll likely see a jump in prices if these terms are accepted.

The other major ticket item is protection against automation. Autonomous ports are quickly becoming a reality, with major ports in China that are capable of handling vast amounts of cargo being run by a single office, not an army of dock workers. Naturally, the longshoremen are concerned that their jobs are at risk of being replaced by machines that can work harder, longer, for cheaper, and without risk of injury.

How will it affect Americans?

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Don't panic yet!

It is going to take some time for consumers to feel the effects of the strike and it is possible that a resolution could happen at any time.

Week one should be pretty much business as usual. It might be a good idea to stock up on fruit and other perishables, but there is no need to go COVID-lockdown-crazy yet.

Week two is when you'll first start feeling the pinch. Fresh fruits and veggies will become scarce, along with other imported goods like shoes, toys, and TVs. Prices will start to creep up as the shelves will start to look a little sparse. The supply of tools, lumber, and other hardware materials will also begin to dry up.

By week three, the cracks in the system will really start to show. Entire industries will begin to slow down, or even stop. Factory workers will get furloughed and sent home without pay. Stores will have to ration items, prices will be sky-high, and online orders will come to a standstill. At this point, the strike will have escalated into a full-blown crisis, and even if it was resolved immediately, it would still take weeks to restore everything to working order.

At the four-week mark, the situation will have developed into a national security crisis, and as Glenn describes, a poly-crisis. Small business will be closing their doors, entire brands will be out of stock, and everything that remains will be so expensive it is unaffordable. By this point, the holiday season will be drawing near and there will be a rush on any sort of gift or decor items left. At this point, irreparable damage to our economy will have occurred and it will be months if not years before it can be mended.

While that sounds bleak, with the election just around the corner, it seems unlikely that the Biden-Harris administration will let it get that bad. That being said, their administration has not been characterized by good decision-making and reasonable policy, so there are no guarantees.

What can be done?

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The big question is "Why hasn't Biden already done something?"

President Biden, who ran on the image of a blue-collar, union-worker, has been uncharacteristically absent from the issue. Despite his earlier involvement in a train strike, Biden has declared that involvement in union fights is not a presidential issue unless it getsreally bad.

So where's the line? At what point will he step in? He has to understand that an economic crisis right before the election will reflect poorly on Kamala.

Join Glenn TONIGHT for BlazeTV's exclusive VP debate coverage!

Anna Moneymaker / Staff, Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Join Glenntonight for Vice Presidential debate coverage you do not want to miss!

Tonight is the first (and only) Vice Presidential debate, and it will be hosted by CBS News. But don't be reliant on CBS News or any other mainstream media channel for their biased coverage. Join the BlazeTV live stream tonight to get the uncensored truth alongside top-quality commentary from Glenn and the rest of the world-class panel.

Glenn is joined by Megyn Kelly, Liz Wheeler, Allie Beth Stuckey, Steve Deace, Jill Savage, Dave Landau, and more to cover the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. Blaze Media subscribers gain access to live chat with the fantastic panel of hosts! If you subscribe today by visiting BlazeTV.com/debate you will get $40 off of your annual subscription with code DEBATE. This is the largest discount ever offered, so take advantage NOW!

See you TONIGHT at 8 PM ET for an event you do NOT want to miss it!