UC Berkeley will pay $70G to conservative group to settle free speech lawsuit

Fox News

"After more than a year of litigation, the University of California, Berkeley, has settled a lawsuit with the Young Americas Foundation and the UC Berkeley College Republicans.

"Campus conservatives accused the university of bias in the process of bringing high-profile speakers to campus. The original lawsuit revolved around the cancellation of an event with Ann Coulter. An amended version of the lawsuit included roadblocks initiated by the university for an event with Ben Shapiro.

"The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest backing the campus conservatives. The crux of their argument revolved around two campus policies that they claim violate students’ First and 14th Amendment rights: an unspoken "High-Profile Speaker Policy" and an on-the-books "Major Events Policy."

“ 'This Department of Justice will not stand by idly while public universities violate students’ constitutional rights,” Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand said at the time.

In the settlement, UC Berkeley agreed to the following terms set by YAF:

1. Pay YAF $70,000.2. Rescind the unconstitutional “High-Profile Speaker Policy.”3. Rescind the viewpoint-discriminatory security fee policy.4. Abolish its heckler’s veto — protesters will no longer be able to shut down conservative expression.

"Under these terms, UC Berkeley will no longer be allowed to place a 3 p.m. curfew on conservative events or relegate conservative speakers to remote or inconvenient lecture halls on campus while giving left-leaning speakers access to preferred parts of campus." . . .

MS-13 Gang Member Busted in AZ Says He Used Migrant Caravan for Cover

Breitbart

. . . "Agents assigned to the Ajo Station apprehended an illegal alien on November 27 after he crossed the border from Mexico. The agents transported the migrant to the station for a biometric background investigation, according to information obtained from Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials.
"During the investigation, the agents identified the man as 30-year-old Wuilson Lazo-Ramos, a Honduran national. Agents reported the man has tattoos indicating membership in the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. He also has a conviction from a court in Maricopa County, Arizona. The court sentenced Lazo to 30 days in jail and two years probation on the weapons offense.
"Officials reported that Lazo claimed he traveled through the “dangerous parts of Mexico” with the migrant caravan “for his safety.” He said he left the group at the border and crossed illegally on his own because “he has a criminal record” in the U.S., officials stated.
"A few days earlier, El Centro Sector agents arrested another MS-13 gang member who traveled through Mexico with the migrant caravan. The agents came upon the Honduran national east of the Calexico Port of Entry after he illegally crossed the border from Mexico." . . .

Six members of the MS-13 gang are accused of butchering a Massachusetts teenager with a knife as if they were “chopping wood.”
. . . "One of the six suspects, a 19-year-old Salvadorean national named Henri Salvador Gutierrez, had evaded deportation the month before the murder.

"Authorities say Salvador successfully convinced an immigration judge that he was not a threat to public safety or involved in a gang.' . . .

Nancy Pelosi Promises to Pass Illegal Alien Amnesty via Dream Act  "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) promised over the weekend to pass the Dream Act in the new Congress, which would provide amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants." . . .

Curtains for the Clintons; When They Lose MoDo, They've Lost Their MoJo

Kind of a neat update at the bottom.

Maureen Dowd (MoDo) 

Empty seats at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto last week during Bill and Hillary Clinton’s speaking event.

"I’m feeling something foreign, something I’ve never felt before. It takes me a moment to identify it."I’m feeling sorry for the Clintons."In the 27 years I’ve covered Bill and Hillary, I’ve experienced a range of emotions. They’ve dazzled me and they’ve disgusted me."But now they’re mystifying me."I’m looking around Scotiabank Arena, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s a depressing sight. It’s two-for-the-price-of-one in half the arena. The hockey rink is half curtained off, but even with that, organizers are scrambling at the last minute to cordon off more sections behind thick black curtains, they say due to a lack of sales. I paid $177 weeks in advance. (I passed on the pricey meet-and-greet option.) On the day of the event, some unsold tickets are slashed to single digits."I get reassigned to another section as the Clintons’ audience space shrinks. But even with all the herding, I’m still looking at large swaths of empty seats — and I cringe at the thought that the Clintons will look out and see that, too. It was only four years ago, after all, that Canadians were clamoring to buy tickets to see the woman who seemed headed for history.
"It’s a sad contrast with the sold-out boffo book tour of Michelle Obama, who’s getting a lot more personal for the premium prices. But introspection has never been within the Clintons’ range."I can’t fathom why the Clintons would make like aging rock stars and go on a tour of Canada and the U.S. at a moment when Democrats are hoping to break the stranglehold of their cloistered, superannuated leadership and exult in a mosaic of exciting new faces."What is the point? It’s not inspirational. It’s not for charity. They’re not raising awareness about a cause, like Al Gore with global warming. They’re only raising awareness about the Clintons." . . .

UPDATE: Tickets for Clintons' stadium speaking tour now marked down 90%

. . . "Obviously, the humiliation of facing a crowd in Toronto last week that filled fewer than 17% of the seats in the giant hockey-basketball arena was more than the Clintons could bear.  Even with a theater about one third as big, the danger of a sea of empty seats was so big that drastic markdowns were necessary.

"Everyone who paid the original prices is now officially a sucker." . . .

Putin developing fake videos to foment 2020 election chaos: 'It's going to destroy lives'

Ben Wolfgang  "U.S. leaders say Vladimir Putin used a familiar cyber playbook to “muck around” in the midterm elections last month, but intelligence officials and key lawmakers believe a much more sinister, potentially devastating threat lies just down the road — one that represents an attack on reality itself.
"Policy insiders and senators of both parties believe the Russian president or other actors hostile to the U.S. will rely on “deep fakes” to throw the 2020 presidential election cycle into chaos, taking their campaign to influence American voters and destabilize society to a new level.
"The eerie process, which relies on cutting-edge, deep-learning algorithm technology, produces high-quality audio and video of individuals saying things they never said or doing things they never did. The phony video, analysts say, will be virtually indistinguishable from real footage, mimicking voices, speaking patterns, facial expressions and surroundings to a frighteningly realistic degree.

"U.S. officials attending a high-level national security forum last week say the technology is the next major threat to American elections and potentially to democracy itself, and analysts say the nefarious possibilities are virtually endless." . . .

What Pooty-poot wants, he gets:

Lest We Forget: The Smearing Of Brett Kavanaugh Was Truly Evil

To their credit, perhaps led by the unflinching example of President Trump, this time around most of the Senate Republicans have rallied behind Judge Kavanaugh. They seem to have begun to learn that they must oppose these undemocratic tactics of personal destruction, not merely to save our own freedoms and our children’s, but also those of these twisted Democrats such as Schumer and Waters. They may not realize it, but they can’t take away the rights of some of us without taking away their own.  Christina F. Jeffrey

Can there be no sense of shame in any of these women over what they did to a family?

Mollie Hemingway: The Smearing Of Brett Kavanaugh Is Truly Evil  . . . "But thank God that Republicans didn’t kill the Garland nomination by tearing down the man and spending months trying to find high school classmates to claim attempted rape and near-death experiences.
"At some point one must consider whether evil means are justified for progressive ends. The bottom line is that this media-enabled Democratic smear campaign simply can’t be the standard by which we destroy people. Watching this miscarriage of justice is radicalizing those who care about rule of law and political processes that have a semblance of sanity."

Christina F. Jeffrey: The Politics of Personal Destruction Redux  . . . "On January 9, 1995, three days after starting my new job as historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, I was falsely accused on the floor of Congress, by multiple House Democrats, of being an anti-Semite. That evening Representatives Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) held a press conference calling my appointment a disgrace to the tens of thousands of their constituents who had survived the Holocaust and demanded that I be fired." . . .

Kavanaugh's ordeal shows the depravity of the rabid left   "Is there no depth to which leftists will not sink to demonize those with whom they disagree?" . . . 

Accusations of Sexual Assault Can Damage a Reputation for Life  . . . "We all saw the character-assassination attempt on Judge Kavanaugh when Dr. Ford charged him with sexual assault. When the FBI investigated the alleged witnesses from Dr. Ford, none could corroborate her charge. Judge Kavanaugh and his family, though, will live with the burden of a sexual assault charge for the rest of their lives." . . .

Look at the price that Judge Kavanaugh had to pay when political leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer said, “He should recuse himself based on the claim.”

There is no floor for the ugly accusations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  . . . "It is apparent to me that Kavanaugh truly loves coaching his daughters’ teams. He lamented that part of the aftermath of the Democrats’ character assassination of him may end his coaching days. Sure enough, an opinion piece in USA Today was more than happy to promote such a travesty." . . .

From the WaPo! I don’t know Kavanaugh the judge. But Kavanaugh the carpool dad is one great guy.

Justice Kavanaugh returns to coaching girls basketball team: Report "Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has returned to coaching his daughter’s basketball team.

“ 'Coach K,” as he said the girls call him, was spotted on the basketball court at DeMatha Catholic High School in suburban Maryland over the Thanksgiving weekend, The Washington Post reported.

"He had feared his time as a coach for the Catholic Youth Organization team would have to end after he faced unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct during his confirmation to the Supreme Court.

“ 'I love coaching more than anything I’ve ever done in my whole life,” he told Democrats during one of his hearings. “But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to coach again.

"It turns out he’s also been able to return to another of his favorite activities. He was spotted after his confirmation serving meals at Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Washington."

Keep this a secret or leftists/Democrats will send their bizarre characters to the games.

Emile Ratelband, 69, told he cannot legally change his age

So Western society hasn't gone off the edge but is getting closer. Perhaps soon I can legally change my weight to ten pounds less. Then I hope to have a good-looking, muscular guy tattooed over the front of my body TD

BBC

A Dutchman who wanted to change his date of birth to boost dating prospects has lost his legal battle to do so.

"Emile Ratelband, still aged 69, wanted to change his birth date by 20 years to avoid what he called discrimination.

" 'We live in a time when you can change your name and change your gender. Why can't I decide my own age?" he said.But the court disagreed, highlighting that many rights in law are based on a person's age, and changing it at will could cause many problems.

"There was no legal basis to make such a change, it said.

" 'Mr Ratelband is at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly," the judges said, but changing his legal documents would have "undesirable legal and societal implications".

"Mr Ratelband, who calls himself a "positivity trainer", made headlines around the world with his unusual request.  . . .

A small ray of sanity in an increasingly insane world.  "This judge is acting far too reasonably and logically to fit in these days. Doesn't he know that things like biology, gender identity, and sexual preferences all depend on how you feel and not on reality?" . . .

This gentleman tried for years to disguise his age, but we didn't buy that either: 

Assessing Threats to U.S. Vital Interests: Europe, Asia, Middle East

Heritage

The United States is a global power with global interests. . .

. . . "Scaling its military power to threats requires judgments with regard to the importance and priority of those interests, whether the use of force is the most appropriate and effective way to address the threats to those interests, and how much and what types of force are needed to defeat such threats.

This Index focuses on three fundamental, vital national interests:

• Defense of the homeland;

• Successful conclusion of a major war that has the potential to destabilize a region of critical interest to the U.S.; and

• Preservation of freedom of movement within the global commons: the sea, air, and outer space domains through which the world conducts business.

"The geographical focus of the threats in these areas is further divided into three broad regions: Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

"This is not to say that these are America’s only interests. Among many others, the U.S. has an interest in the growth of economic freedom in trade and investment, the observance of internationally recognized human rights, and the alleviation of human suffering beyond our borders. None of these interests, however, can be addressed principally and effectively by the use of military force, nor would threats to these interests result in material damage to the foregoing vital national interests. These additional American interests, however important they may be, therefore are not used in this assessment of the adequacy of current U.S. military power.

"Throughout this Index, we reference two public sources as a mechanism with which to check our work against that of other recognized professional organizations in the field of threat analysis: The Military Balance, published annually by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies,1 and the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community (WWTA).2 The latter serves as a reference point produced by the U.S. government against which each threat assessment in this Index was compared. We note any differences between assessments in this Index and the work of the two primary references in summary comments." . . .

Must-See TV: Scandalous: Chappaquiddick Premieres Tonight

Fox News takes aim at the hagiographic, airbrushed revision of the real history of Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy. 

Peter Barry Chowka  "Highly recommended is a new program on the Fox News channel tonight, Sunday, December 2 from 8-9 P.M. E.T./P.T.  It's the second season premiere of the occasional documentary series Scandalous.  Season two, episode one ofScandalous: Chappaquiddick, "The Bridge," will be shown this evening, with three more hour-long episodes to follow on successive Sunday evenings in December.  The subject of the four new in-depth programs is the 1969 scandal involving the late Sen. Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy (D-Mass.) that essentially short-circuited his seemingly inevitable path to the presidency.  Not well remembered now, the scandal a half-century ago was also depicted in a dramatic feature film, titled Chappaquiddick, that premiered in theaters last April and bombed at the box office (only $18 million in ticket sales versus a $34-million budget).

. . . "Approaching the beach, the Oldsmobile sedan Kennedy was driving veered off the small Dyke Bridge and became submerged in the Poucha Pond below.  Kennedy escaped and said later that he repeatedly dove into the water in search of Kopechne, who remained trapped inside the vehicle.  Inexplicably, after giving up, Kennedy did not report the accident, but instead walked back to the cottage, where he conferred privately with several of his closest aides, who also failed to report the accident." . . .
. . . 
"Although he never made it to the Oval Office, Kennedy's career in the U.S. Senate lasted for over 40 more years until the day he died from a brain tumor in 2009.  Over time, the details of the 1969 incident at Chappaquiddick largely faded, and Kennedy – in life and after his death – was lauded by Democrats and Republicans alike, constantly celebrated and honored as the "Lion of the Senate."  Hopefully, Scandalous: Chappaquiddick's new four-hour-long deconstruction of the events almost a half-century ago will add some much needed clarity to the hagiographic, airbrushed revision of the real history that has dominated political discourse ever since."

Kennedy survived to demolish the reputation of Judge Bork who had been nominated for the Supreme Court.

The stomach-turning 'ballot-harvesting' that enabled Democrats to walk off with California

Monica Showalter  "The picture emerging from California's election is grotesque. How again did Democrats engineer their strange midterm victory in Orange County and in other traditionally Republican areas? In that election, apparently winning Republican candidates were all unseated as the ballots just kept arriving, and arriving, and arriving, until the results flipped. Each and every time. And no such flips happened for Republicans, just Democrats, after they learned that Republicans were winning. And Democrats say it's just 'counting all the votes.'

Welcome to ballot-harvesting.

The Daily Caller has an ace report with a video showing just how that's done:

Robert Barnes@Barnes_Law

Cali new law for 2018 election "allow anybody to walk into an elections office and hand over truckloads of vote by mail envelopes with ballots inside, no questions asked, no verified records kept. It amounts to an open invitation to large-scale vote buying, voter coercion"

. . . "This signals a grotesquely changed electoral landscape. Turns out the mail-in ballots are all that matters now, because all anyone has to do is harvest, and keep harvesting them, until Democrats get the result they want. I wrote about those lingering questions in the recent midterm here.

" 'Count all the ballots!' has been the Democrat rallying cry. Yet in reality, it was their defense of this sneaky little project, making anyone who doen't like it someone who wants to disenfranchise people.

"It's a lie. It's not about counting all the ballots in the slightest, it's about selectively counting the ballots of only voters who fill in the Democratic slots." . . .

Cohen’s Guilty Plea Isn’t Proof Trump Campaign Colluded with Russia

Debra Saunders

Trump’s actions, like any private businessman’s, were legal.

"On his way to catch Air Force One on Thursday, President Donald Trump shared his thoughts about Michael Cohen, his one-time personal lawyer who pleaded guilty that morning to lying to Congress about negotiations for a possible Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"Trump said: (1) it was no secret he was interested in putting a Trump Tower in Moscow; (2) as a private citizen, he had every right to build in Russia; so (3) there was no reason for Cohen to lie to Congress, and if he did lie, it had nothing to do with the president.

"Trump has a point. As Brad Blakeman, a lawyer in President George W. Bush’ administration, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Trump’s actions were legal. Trump wasn’t president in 2016, and he didn’t know that he would win. He had every right to push to keep his business going.

“ 'He was hedging his bets,” Blakeman said. “I don’t know why Cohen had to lie about it.”

"The other big point: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a penchant for winning guilty pleas from Trump associates who have lied to authorities, but from what America has seen, he has not made the case that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

"Cohen’s guilty plea for lying about Trump’s flirtation with building in Moscow at least has a Russian angle. That’s much closer than the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was found guilty on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud as far back as 2010, long before he worked for Trump. Ditto co-defendant Rick Gates, who cut a plea deal to reduce his sentence in exchange for testimony against Manafort.

"There often has been a political tinge to Mueller’s actions. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud — charges that had nothing to do with Trump. But he also pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation related to a payment to a porn actress that was supposed to buy her silence on her involvement with Trump in 2006, as well as an improper payment to a former "Playboy playmate." . . .

UPDATED: 'Murphy Brown' features reporter beaten by 'sea' of MAGA-hat wearing thugs at 'Trump' rally

Recall our previous post on the virulent anti-Trump propaganda of Murphy Brown et al.

Washington Times

CBS‘ “Murphy Brown” took its jabs at the Trump administration to a new level this week with a story in which character Frank Fontana is beaten by a mob of MAGA-hat wearing thugs.

Rumors swirled this week that Candice Bergen’s show would not be renewed after its initial batch of 13 episodes aired, but the creators’ liberal stance was further solidified on Thursday with a story called “Beat the Press.”

"Actor Joe Regalbuto’s character is left battered and beaten after “President Trump” calls him out at a campaign event.

“ 'When Trump left the stage, I decided to leave the press pen and go interview some of the people. Next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a sea of red hats,” the character says at one point.

“ 'Oh, God,” replies the show’s lead, the media watchdog NewsBusters reported Thursday evening.

"The act was instigated after the fictional version of Mr. Trump lamented “Fibbin’ Frank Fontana” and suggested he deserved “a good body slam.”

"At a later point in the episode the victimized reporter likens America under Mr. Trump to Libya.

“ 'I filed [my Libya experience] away under ‘Bad stuff that can only happen in another country.’ But I’m home, Murph. This is America, and … I don’t feel safe here anymore.”

"The Hollywood Reporter noted Wednesday that CBS will not renew the show due to low ratings, although the show’s creator disputed such claims Thursday on Twitter.

“ 'No, we are not cancelled,” Diane English wrote. “But we will have to wait until spring to hear if we are renewed for another season of 13. Thank you for being such a loyal audience. We shoot episode 13 tomorrow. Meanwhile you have four more episodes to enjoy starting with tonight.”

Perhaps TV would consider a story about the assaults on pro-Trump people. Naaaah.

UPDATE:  On the other hand, no reporters have ever been physically assaulted by any Trump fan. In fact, it is quite the opposite. To date there have been at least 639 acts of violence committed against Trump fans since 2016.

. . . “He had it coming,” the woman seethes. “He’s fake news. He’s the enemy of the people.”
“He’s a journalist,” the reporter replies. “He was just there to cover the rally. That is what the free press does. That’s what separates a democracy from a dictatorship. Or maybe a dictatorship is what you’d prefer.”
Then the woman punches him, too.
All this is quite a leap from real life. In reality, not one Trump supporter has physically assaulted any reporter anywhere, much less doing so right at a rally where all the press would be there to see it and cover it.
Indeed, the only political supporters who have been caught assaulting reporters have been members of the left-wing Antifa.
Just to name a few examples, in August of this year, members of Antifa attackedjournalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in another case, Asian-American journalist Andy C. Ngo was attacked by Antifa protesters in Portland.

New Details Reinforce That The FBI Used Fake Pretexts To Start Investigating Trump

The Federalist

The evidence continues to mount that during the Obama administration, the FBI used George Papadopoulos as a prop to legitimize investigating the Donald Trump campaign.

"The evidence continues to mount that during the Obama administration, the FBI used George Papadopoulos as a prop to legitimize launching its investigation into the Donald Trump campaign. While the FBI claimed it initiated Crossfire Hurricane on July 31, 2016 in response to reports that Russian-linked individuals told Papadopoulos the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton, that story seemed shaky from the start.

"Since then, text and email messages between former MI6 spy and Fusion GPS dossier author Christopher Steele and twice-demoted Department of Justice attorney Bruce Ohr raised the possibility that information Steele fed the FBI through Ohr was the true justification for the the FBI targeting the Trump campaign. A Wednesday tweet from Carter Page gives further credence to the suggestion that the Hillary Clinton campaign-funded Steele dossier served as the basis for the FBI’s interest in the Trump campaign.

"In his tweet, Page included a screen grab of a July 2016 text message from Washington Post reporter Damian Paletta (who was then working for the Wall Street Journal) asking the former Trump campaign advisor about his supposed meeting in Moscow with Igor Sechin, and another meeting Page reportedly had with “a senior Kremlin official—Divyekin—and he said they have solid kompromat on Clinton as well as Trump.' ” . . .