UPDATED: Harvard University withdraws fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning

MSN

(Also here at Townhall) "Harvard did the right thing, but it’s probably going to be a very triggering day for progressives." 

"Harvard University on Friday withdrew a fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of leaking classified data, after two top intelligence experts distanced themselves from the school over the invite.

"Manning, 29, was released in May from a U.S. military prison in Kansas where she had been serving time for passing secrets to the WikiLeaks website in the biggest breach of classified data in the history of the United States.

"Harvard Kennedy School of government announced on Wednesday that it had invited the controversial figure to be a visiting fellow and speak at a forum. The invitation to speak at the university still stands, said Douglas Elmendorf, the dean of Harvard Kennedy School, in a statement.

" 'I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility," Elmendorf said. "I see more clearly now that many people view a visiting fellow title as an honorific, so we should weigh that consideration when offering invitations.' " . . .

Thank you Mike Morell and Mike Pompeo for injecting sense into the equation.  

" 'While I have served my country as a soldier in the United States Army and will continue to defend Ms. Manning's right to offer a defense of why she chose this path, I believe it is shameful for Harvard to place its stamp of approval upon her treasonous actions," Pompeo wrote." . . .

Excellent, in-depth discussion of academic - I have to say this - silliness: 

Harvard’s repudiation of the Chelsea Manning fellowship offer is a rebuke to the campus mindset

. . . "But here is what got the attention of the real powers at Harvard:

Please know that I am fully aware that Belfer and the IOP are separate institutions within the Kennedy School. And that most likely Belfer had nothing to do with the invitation of Ms. Manning to be a fellow at IOP. But as an institution, The Kennedy School’s decision will assist Ms. Manning in her long-standing effort to legitimize the criminal path that she took to prominence, and attempt that may encourage others to leak classified information as well. I have an obligation to my conscience – and I believe to the country – to stand up against any efforts to justify leaks of sensitive national security information.

"It is not very often that we see a major university rebuke its members for living in a bubble."

Monica Showalter: Chelsea Manning's sneering, self-pitying tweets about getting dumped by Harvard   "Chelsea Manning has been making quite a spectacle of himself out on Twitter, taking Michael Morrell's and Mike Pompeo's exit from the school as a welcome new opportunity to call attention to himself. He starts with an emoji-filled cheer at news of Morrell's resignation from Harvard after the school's bad judgment in bringing "Manning in as a fellow to 'mentor' students. Manning declared it 'good' that Morrell has pulled out." . . .

Matt Lauer: “Did You Make Enough Mistakes Yourself To Lose The Election?” Clinton: “I Would Say No”

Oh. First this: Amazon Propping Up Hillary Clinton’s New Book?

Weasel Zippers

Notice her skill at taking the subject off Lauer's question after making a cursory answer to his question about her mistakes. This got her away from a follow-up question.

"Delusional arrogant harpy.

"Via Fox News:

Matt Lauer did not shy away from confronting Hillary Clinton for blaming the “Today” co-host for his role in losing her the election.

Clinton called out Lauer in her new memoir for focusing too much on her highly publicized email scandal at the presidential forum held at New York City’s U.S.S. Intrepid last September.

Lauer took the opportunity Wednesday to question Clinton about her claims when she appeared in her first live television interview since she lost the election.

“You criticized me pretty soundly in a few pages of this book,” Lauer told Clinton in the second half of her interview on the “Today” show.

He quizzed, “Did you make enough mistakes yourself to lose the election?”

Clinton shot back, “Well, I will say no Matt” before launching into a push for her new book.

Keep reading…

MSNBC's Katy Tur accidentally reveals the left's bizarre mindset

Thomas Lifson  "There is a lot of competition, but MSNBC's Katy Tur is a strong contender for the title of "Most Obnoxious Media Leftist."  In her latest embarrassment, she revealed on Meet The Press Daily a disturbing understanding of what life is like for Americans.  To put it bluntly, in her world, politics is the supreme concern, and all life decisions quite naturally accord priority to the political consequences of personal choices.

"That must be why, without a flicker of hesitation, she could recommend that the Democratic Party simply "recruit" surplus Democrat voters from California to relocate to swing states that voted for Trump.  David Rutz of the Free Beacon presents the exchange (video embedded below):

"Why would the Democratic Party not just recruit people from California to move to Michigan and to Wisconsin?" Tur asked, adding it seemed like a "simplistic answer."

Tur said her friends had "brought this up repeatedly whenever we've talked about what's going on with the Democrats."

"Democrats have more voters, but they're in the wrong places," New York Times reporter Nicholas Confessore said.

Liberal guest Zerlina Maxwell interjected that there are policies in red states that "marginalize communities and that's why we choose to live in places like California and New York."

"Got it," Tur said. . . .

 Her father was Bob Tur but who "is now officially Zoey Tur.

"The TV helicopter pilot, who famously covered the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase and captured the Reginald Denny beating for KCBS in Los Angeles, has completed gender reassignment surgery, TMZ reported."

Katy's father is also known for this altercation with Ben Shapiro:

The greatest threat facing the West

"The standard operating key of this campaign is to target anyone that doesn’t hold “modern” progressive views. Anyone who espouses the unacceptable teachings of Christ or challenges their view of acceptable Christianity must be removed from the public life, because they represent a danger to the Western world’s cherry-picked view of Christianity."

Ojel L. Rodriguez  "The error of Western Civilization is that it has divorced Christ from his Cross” these words, probably theatrical in tone, integrate greatly the recent political news arising from our Anglosphere world. Voiced on a rerun of the program “A life Worth Living” hosted by the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the words summed up the greatest threat to our Western society, highlighted by the past few weeks news cycle -- the removal of Christianity from the public sphere.

"The uproar raised by comments by a backbench member of the British Parliament and the line of questioning from certain U.S. senators to a judicial nominee are perfect examples of how this campaign by Western liberalism is being normalized. This campaign, based in the misguided belief in liberal “equality,” is menacing the order necessary to sustain our society under the mantle of ordered liberty.

"Last week in the U.S. Senate, examples of these attempts to bar anyone who holds, in their words, “orthodox” or “extreme” views from the public sphere, were in full display. Judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's nominee for the 7th Circuit Court, was questioned by Democratic senators such as Diane Feinstein and Dick Durbin on whether her Catholic faith would be an impediment to her as a judge. Question range from “Do you consider yourself an ‘orthodox Catholic?” from Durbin to Feinstein comments “…I think in your case, Professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.' ”  . . . 

"The exclusion of the Christian religion amounts to removing the driver from the wheel, with the consequences being a society in decay. So it is absolutely right that Christianity should be at the heart of our public life, not sidelined to a private Benedictine bubble."

"Peace activists" choose wooden bats over aluminum, apparently

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

How to Make a Revolution    "The new leftist Revolution USA may be orchestrated by a remarkably small number of people and a little information technology.  Forget the neo-Nazis in this as they are generally stupid and love physical activity. Letter writing in any form is not their game.  You talk about ISIS using the Internet in sophisticated ways?  They are mere amateurs compared to really serious players, who not only recruit but also mass message and try to control the agenda.Consider this.   You have a small group of loyal participants willing to protest against any particular event, on cue.  What to do?" . . .

THE HILL CALLS THEM “ACTIVISTS:” Antifa Terrorists Say Violence is Necessary.   "It’s sad but the quality of journalism at The Hill seems to have been declining lately."

 Jammie Wearing Fools posts it here: Antifa Terrorists Say Violence is Necessary  "These media and Democrat darlings are becoming more of a nuisance for their supporters and let’s say say the mask has dropped on their intentions. No more “mostly peaceful” nonsense for these clowns, they’re a domestic terror group and the sooner they’re crushed the better of we’ll all be. Remarkably, the headline to the story calls them activists.

Anti-fascist activists, or “antifa,” increasingly mobilized in the wake of President Trump’s election, are unapologetic about what they describe as the necessary use of violence to combat authoritarianism.

MO GOP-Led Senate Reprimands Dem Sen. For Trump Murder Facebook Post

TPM

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican-led Senate on Wednesday formally reprimanded a Democratic colleague for a Facebook post hoping for President Donald Trump’s assassination while the House referred to an ethics panel a complaint about a Republican’s post calling for a Confederate monument opponent to be hung from a tree.

"The differing legislative actions came in response to comments posted last month by Democratic Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and Republican Rep. Warren Love amid a nationwide controversy over Confederate monuments and white nationalist rallies.

"Numerous top Republican and Democratic officials in Missouri have called upon Chappelle-Nadal to resign after she wrote “I hope Trump is assassinated!” on her personal Facebook page and later deleted it. She has said the remark was made in frustration over Trump’s response to a white nationalist rally in Virginia that descended into violence.

"Some also have called for Love to resign for a Facebook post expressing hope that whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in Springfield, Missouri, would be “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.” Love has said he was using old cowboy jargon for saying he hopes the vandal is prosecuted, but Democrats have said his words evoking images of lynchings of black residents." . . .

Hollywood Hypocrites! Tinseltown Is Racist and Sexist, But Wants Us to Obey

Corinne Weaver   "This Fall TV season is starting to arrive and the Emmys are just around the corner. Likely both will provide the media with new opportunities to preach to ordinary Americans about how diverse Hollywood is. But what those claims won’t tell you is that Hollywood is one of the most racist, sexist places to work.

"Entertainment Tonight has already bragged about just how diverse and progressive the 2017 Emmy nominations list is. “In total, 25 people of color were nominated across the Emmy’s 18 onscreen acting awards,” Stacy Lambe wrote in July. The Fall TV season is also an annual reminder of Hollywood’s influence. Several new shows are slated to target President Trump and conservatives, while others will promote identity politics like Will and Grace.

"But those shows won’t admit one essential fact. For all of Hollywood’s attempts to tell viewers how to live, sexism, racism, and bigotry in all forms run rampant throughout the industry. So why should the audience allow stars any moral high ground?

"On a regular basis, the media awards Hollywood and entertainment as an industry that promotes values. Politicians, celebrities, and journalists alike use it as a pulpit to preach from. George Clooney, while accepting his Oscar in 2006, praised Hollywood for being “out of touch” because the industry promoted civil rights and LGBT rights when no one else did." . . .

Limbaugh was Right to Question Motivations of the Media Concerning Irma

Ironically — and quite dangerously — many of the people in and around Miami fled to Naples, Fla., or other cities on the west coast because the weather “experts,” “projections,” “cones,” and “spaghetti models” told them that side of the state would be much safer. Until it wasn’t.

 

Christopher Collins  "Florida-based radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh angered many as Hurricane Irma approached by suggesting the media was trying to scare people in order to hype a climate change agenda and to spur bottled water sales.

"As it turns out, Limbaugh was well within his rights to question the motivations of some in the media and the various weather services with regard to Irma and Hurricane “forecasts,” and Hurricane “hype”, reports Foundation of Economic Education (FEE).

"Douglas MacKinnon of FEE explained:

Irma did put millions of people at risk on both coasts and should have been taken very seriously. All the more reasons not to guess, pretend, or lecture.In the past, I have equated weather “forecasters” to political pundits and economists. They all factor a great deal of guesswork into their predictions with the weather forecasters often coming up a poor third in terms of accuracy.A number of years ago, I sat down with the general manager of a major television news station. He told me that in their own survey, viewers tuned in for “weather first, sports second, and news last.”  Therefore he stressed, weather forecasters were the “cash cow” of the station.He further explained that much of television weather forecasting was a “sham.” He said that decades ago, they would give a “one-day” forecast. But then Station B across town went to a “two-day” forecast. So then they countered with a “three-day” forecast,” until everyone went to the “useless seven-day” forecasts.He emphasized that it was all done for reasons of competition and ratings and that with a “seven-day” forecast, the station and the networks were playing viewers for “fools,” because they normally “couldn’t even get the forecast for tomorrow correct.”Now, going back to Rush Limbaugh, he was also entirely truthful when he stated that many on the left use hurricanes — and any tragedy that might be associated with them — to hype and push their global warming and climate change narratives. . . .

Worried about your home in the Florida Keys? Here’s a way to check it out

Photo evidence: Media hyping hurricane damage to the Keys . . . "A lesson learned decades ago: never, ever trust the mainstream media on politics or hurricanes."

No Amnesty Is a Good Amnesty

President Trump is the last president who will ever have a chance to make the right decision on immigration. After this, it's over. The boat will have sailed. 
If he succeeds, all the p@ssy-grabbing and Russia nonsense will burn off like a morning fog. He will be the president who saved the American nation, its character, its sovereignty, its core identity. But if he fails, Donald Trump will go down in history as the man who killed America. 

Ann Coulter  "Donald Trump is being told that amnesty for "Dreamers," or DACA recipients, will only apply to a small, narrowly defined group of totally innocent, eminently deserving illegal immigrants, who were brought to this country "through no fault of their own" as "children." (Children who are up to 36 years old.) 
"Every syllable of that claim is a lie, and I can prove it. 
"To see how DACA will actually work, let's look at another extremely limited amnesty that was passed in 1986. 
"Farmers wanted temporary guest-worker permits for their cheap labor, so that they could continue pretending that the Industrial Revolution never happened and refuse to mechanize. (And, boy, did that work! We haven't heard a peep about "crops rotting in the fields" since then.) 
"The agricultural amnesty was supposed to apply to -- at most -- 350,000 illegal aliens. It would be available only to illegals who were currently in the country doing the back-breaking farm work that no American would do. Without them, crops would wither on the vine. They were saving us from starvation! 
"Talk about deserving. Are any Dreamers saving us from starvation? 
"But instead of guest-worker permits, then-Rep. Charles Schumer -- from the lush farmland of Brooklyn -- decided to grant full amnesty to any illegals who had done farm work for at least 90 days in the previous year. 
"That's pretty restrictive, isn't it? 
"In the end, "up to 350,000 farm workers" turned into 1.3 million. 
"Oh well, what are you going to do? No use worrying -- let's just move forward and get all these people voter registration cards! 
"This innocent little amnesty for a small, clearly defined group of illegals quickly became amnesty for anyone who applied. The same thing will happen with any other amnesty, no matter how strictly the law is written. (And it won't be written strictly.)" . . .

"Hillary’s Infinite Jest" among other opinions.

National Review  . . . "Through Hillary’s lens, Elizabeth Warren’s problem isn’t that she’s a kooky socialist who could single-handedly send the economy careening off the cliff. It’s that she’s seen as a “shrill woman.” Most of Hillary’s problems were completely self-made, and yet here she is, explaining away: “The Puritan witch hunts might be long over, but something fanatical about unruly women still lurks in our national subconscious.” Well, it lurks in someone’s subconscious, certainly."

What Kind of History Did Hillary Clinton Make?  . . . “Hillary made history by winning the nomination” is another way of saying “Hillary made history by managing to not lose the nomination with institutional advantages that no other candidate is likely to enjoy for the next few decades.” . . . Read more 

Silvio Canto, Jr.: 'La Hillary' is back, and most say 'no más'  . . . "So the Clinton explanation tour goes on now with a new book, incredibly titled What Happened.

"I heard today that most people just want her to retire.  And do what?  Chat with Bill by the fireplace?

"Frankly, it's sad to watch, even for those of us who find the Clintons despicable.

This next is just another sexist, misogynist...er, wait. This is written by Doris O'Brien who is - apparently - a woman:

Hillary's new book: 'It Takes a Pillage'   . . . "Yet how could such a thing be happening? How could Hillary Clinton – for many years considered one of the world's most admired women – suddenly lose all perspective and angrily "take on" just about everyone, including the Democratic Party?  How, in a nutshell, could a shrewd operator like Mrs. Clinton "lose it"?" . . .

Apparently, her pals in Hollywood and Silicon Valley are infuriated by What Happened. 

Clinton: 'I Am Not Someone Who Will Say Things That Aren't True'  . . . 'Clinton criticized the news media for offering broad advantages to her opponents during 2016’s presidential campaign season. Democrats, she said, experience a “very difficult media environment.' ” . . .

The great conservative cartoonist Ben Garrison just put out another masterpiece.  And commenting thus:

Hillary just won’t go away. Now she’s subjecting us to her mewling about how unfair things were and how deplorable people were to her. She tells us that she didn’t even bother writing her concession speech. As if she ever wrote anything. She pays scriptwriters for that. Now another writer has ghostwritten her latest book in which she blames everyone but herself. She even blames Bernie Sanders, from whom she stole the primaries. Sanders, being the politically correct wimp that he is, even supported the thieving witch, but Hillary blamed him regardless.She blamed Trump for annoying her at one of the debates. He came too close to Her Majesty and she wished she had told him to ‘Back up, you creep!’ She probably wanted to say worse—and she did say worse to the Secret Service agents who protected her. What an inconvenience it must have been for her to actually have to spend her valuable time to debate Trump. Oh sure, she made sure she got the questions provided to her in advance, but she still had to go through the motions and debate Trump. What an aggravation! Apparently she wanted the Presidency handed to her by default. She said she was ‘gobsmacked’ when Americans had the nerve to reject her. The problem is, she won’t shut her gob now.

Clinton State Dept SILENCED Them on Benghazi Security Lapses, Contractors Say

Catherine Herridge, Pamela K. Browne, Cyd Upson   . . . They spoke exclusively with Fox News for “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” revealing new information that undermines the State Department's account of the 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, where Islamic militants launched a 13-hour assault from Sept. 11-12 that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALS Ty Woods and Glenn Doherty.

"Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions provides security for U.S. embassy and consulate personnel around the world in some of the most dangerous locations spanning Africa, the Middle East and South America, according to the firm.  

"Jerry Torres remains haunted by the fact specific bureaucrats and policies remain in the State Department after the Benghazi attack despite the change in administrations. "A U.S. ambassador is dead and nobody is held accountable for it. And three guys … all died trying to defend him," said Torres, the company’s CEO and a former Green Beret.

"Asked if there was a specific effort by a senior State Department contracting officer to silence them, Torres said, "Absolutely, absolutely." . . .

Security firm hired by State Department says bureaucrat silenced it about lapses in Benghazi   . . . "But was it her incompetence or that of her superiors?  Sending unarmed guards into a city like Benghazi that resembled old Dodge City on a Saturday night would be incomprehensible except that the policy was perfectly aligned to the mindset of State Department officials.  These are the same people who refused to send help to the compound because they feared a backlash against the new U.S.-created Libyan government – a backlash that would have been caused by U.S. boots on the ground.  Also, the compound was supposedly being additionally guarded by a local militia, who ended up standing aside once the assault began.

"Before Ambassador Stevens's body was cold, the State Department was planning the whitewash.  None of what Mr. Torres told Fox News is surprising – just further confirmation of how badly botched the entire incident was.  And the finger points right at Secretary of State Clinton."    Rick Moran

ESPN Host Gets Slap on the Wrist After Calling President Trump a White Supremacist

CDN  "Cable sports network ESPN has been slowly morphing into a leftist propaganda organ instead of focusing on the games and providing the content that built it into the powerhouse that it is today.

"It’s now almost impossible to tune into ESPN without being subjected to some raving leftist nutcase (and more than a few racists) popping off about politics and taking pot shots at President Donald Trump.

"Despite the network having lost millions of subscribers and conducting a minor house cleaning, the politics continue and are getting worse as bitter Colin Kaepernick defenders are given spots to spew their thinly disguised anti-white bigotry.

"But this week, African-American female Sportscenter host Jemele Hill took the racial venom to a new level when she went on a deranged Twitter rant during which she accused President Donald Trump of being a white supremacist." . . .

Also this:  ESPN Determined to Kill its Brand With Left Wing Politics