Reuters reporter deliberately withheld damaging info on Beto O'Rourke for a year

In reporting on Sen. Cruz's narrow victory, why does the press not consider the - effectively - campaign publicity that came from CNN, MSNBC (et al) and TV talk shows that all went against Cruz? TD

Rick Moran  "In the November, 2018 election, Rep. Beto O'Rourke came within 3 points of toppling GOP incumbent Senator Ted Cruz. O'Rourke used that near miss and the excitement his candidacy generated nationwide to launch a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last week.

"But what if Cruz had slaughtered O'Rourke? It's a relevant question because a reporter for Reuters deliberately withheld damaging information that would almost certainly have made a lot of Texans who ended up voting for him think twice.

"The story by Joseph Menn ran on Friday and detailed O'Rourke's membership in the notorious hacking group known as the Cult of the Dead Cow*. While a member of the CDC, O'Rourke hacked online games and stole credit card numbers in order to make free long distance calls. That's not only a serious invasion of privacy, but it's also credit card fraud for which O'Rourke could have been prosecuted and sent to jail.

"Menn defends his decision not to run the story during O'Rourke's Senate campaign because he was writing a book. He says he hadn't nailed down the information completely and no one at the CDC would go on record about Beto's membership in the group. Menn finally made a deal with sources in the CDC not to run the story until after the 2018 election.

"Menn's book is about the CDC and he says he first learned of O'Rourke's involvement in late 2017." . . .

. . . "If writing a book negatively affected Menn's ability to be a journalist, he should have been forced to choose. Instead, he helped launch the national career of a politician who should have gone to jail for credit card fraud."  (Emphasis mine, TD)

*. . . "The Cult of the Dead Cow was notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft’s Windows program. It is also known for inventing the term “hacktivism” to describe human-rights-driven security work. O’Rourke’s membership could explain much about his approach to politics and subverting established procedures in technology, the media and government." . . .  From the Guardian's, A big hand for Beto O'Rourke and his amazing waving arms .

Bill Maher Tears Into The DNC For Running Away From Fox News' Tough Questions

"Conservatives have to continually talk to liberal news anchors and reporters because the majority of news outlets are liberal. If conservatives refused to talk to liberal outlets then they'd be construed as "cowards" who are hiding from the tough questions."

Townhall

"During his Friday night show, HBO Host Bill Maher slammed the Democratic National Committee's decision to bar Fox News from hosting a 2020 presidential debate. According to DNC Chairman Tom Perez, the decision was made because Fox "is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates."
. . . 
" 'Last week, the Democrats made a terrible decision when they announced that they had turned down Fox News's offer to host one of their 2020 primary debates, saying that Fox was nothing more than propaganda. OK, so why not go on Fox News and tell them that?" Maher asked rhetorically. 

“ 'You wanna be in the big leagues, but you refuse to ever play an away game? You don’t like the questions that Fox News might ask, so you’re deciding not to take any questions at all? How very Trump of you,” Maher explained. Republicans never shy away from coming on this show, and they come with a smile on their face despite knowing that the only people in the crowd cheering them on are the three campaign aides they brought with them … The audience is against them and they don’t care — it’s an opportunity to expose people to your side of the story.' ” . . .

"Propaganda"? You mean like this from CNN?

'Come here!': the man who chased away the Christchurch shooter

UK Guardian



"When the gunman advanced toward the mosque, killing those in his path, Abdul Aziz did not hide. Instead, he picked up the first thing he could find, a credit card scanning machine, and ran outside screaming: “Come here!”

"Aziz, 48, has been called a hero for likely preventing more deaths during Friday prayers at the Linwood mosque in Christchurch after scaring the gunman off.

"But Aziz, whose four sons and dozens of others remained in the mosque while he faced off with the gunman, said he believed it was what anyone would have done.

"The gunman killed 50 people after attacking two mosques in the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s modern history.

Christchurch shooting: Ardern says 'manifesto' sent to office minutes before massacre

Read more

"The gunman is believed to have killed at least 41 people at the Al Noor mosque before driving about 5km (3 miles) across town and attacking the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more people. One person died later in a hospital, and police announced Sunday that a 50th body had been found.

"Tarrant, 28, has been charged with one count of murder in the killings. Police said it was likely more charges would follow.

"Latef Alabi, the Linwood mosque’s acting imam, said he believed the death toll would have been far higher if it had not been for Aziz’s actions." . . .

Victims of the NZ mosque massacre

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It Wasn’t Comey’s Decision to Exonerate Hillary – It Was Obama’s

As we also now know – but as Obama knew at the time – the president himself had communicated with Clinton over her non-secure, private communications system, using an alias. The Obama administration refused to disclose these several e-mail exchanges because they undoubtedly involve classified conversations between the president and his secretary of state. It would not have been possible to prosecute Mrs. Clinton for mishandling classified information without its being clear that President Obama had engaged in the same conduct. The administration was never, ever going to allow that to happen.

Earl of Taint

Andrew C. McCarthy  "The thing to understand, what has always been the most important thing to understand, is that Jim Comey was out in front, but he was not calling the shots.

On the right, the commentariat is in full-throttle outrage over the revelation that former FBI Director Comey began drafting his statement exonerating Hillary Clinton in April 2016 – more than two months before he delivered the statement at his now famous July 5 press conference.

"The news appears in a letter written to new FBI Director Christopher Wray by two senior Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Lindsey Graham. Pundits and the Trump administration are shrieking because this indicates the decision to give the Democrats’ nominee a pass was clearly made long before the investigation was over, and even long before key witnesses, including Clinton herself, were interviewed.

"It shows, they cry, that the fix was in!

"News Flash: This is not news.

"Let’s think about what else was going on in April 2016. I’ve written about it a number of times over the last year-plus, such as in a column a few months back:

On April 10, 2016, President Obama publicly stated that Hillary Clinton had shown “carelessness” in using a private e-mail server to handle classified information, but he insisted that she had not intended to endanger national security (which is not an element of the [criminal statutes relevant to her e-mail scandal]). The president acknowledged that classified information had been transmitted via Secretary Clinton’s server, but he suggested that, in the greater scheme of things, its importance had been vastly overstated.

A Lesson in Socialism for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

American Spectator

A fundamental underpinning of any economy is a certain scarcity. Here is why:

American Thinker  "Newly elected congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now appears ubiquitously in the news.  At the end of February, she made headlines in a dispute with Ivanka Trump.

"Ocasio-Cortez's professional persona is a Millennial socialist who openly advocates for socialist policies.  One of these socialist policies concerns the notion of a guaranteed income and jobs for all.  She says:

It's wrong that a vast majority of the country doesn't make a living wage.  I think it's wrong that you can work 100 hours and not feed your kids.  I think it's wrong that corporations like Walmart and Amazon can get paid by the government, essentially experience a wealth transfer from the public, for paying people less than a minimum wage.

. . . 
 . . . "Ultimately, labor, tragedy, and scarcity are the terms of our existence.  So long as socialists refuse to accept that it is the common doom of man that we must labor, socialism will always fail.

We can never eradicate scarcity; we must accept it.  We can never change the human condition to utopian; we must accept its tragic nature.  We can never invalidate Original Sin and its punishment, labor; we must accept that every attempt to cure it will only introduce additional miseries than had we accepted its terms from the beginning.

"The next time someone advocates a living wage, guaranteed jobs, and any other socialist ideals, remember Kipling's dire warning:

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

References

Burke, E. (1797). Letters on a regicide peace. Indianapolis, IN: The Liberty Fund.

Melzer, A. (1990). The natural goodness of men: On the system of Rousseau's thought. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.

Is There a Future for Jewish Americans in the Democrat** Party?

Stilton's Place

American Spectator

"Nearly all Americans, Republican and Democrat, see their Jewish neighbors as good members of the community — solid co-workers, fine friends, and beloved relatives. Ugly prejudice remains but its thin stuff compared to the genuine article which has been expelled from decent circles. The recent controversy over the remarks of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), however, and the insipid reaction of the Democrats to her bigotry vividly show that Jewish Americans, who have traditionally voted Democrat, should wonder whether the old monster of anti-Semitism is alive in their political home and if their loyalty is misplaced. To recap:

"With Omar’s arrival in Washington, D.C., her 2012 tweet resurfaced: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

"The particular “evil doings” that Omar had in mind that Israel had hypnotized the world into not seeing was a targeted air strike in 2012 in the Gaza Strip aimed at Zohair al-Qaisi, Secretary General of the Popular Resistance Committees. That happy chappy had led a group of Palestinian terrorists, who had just killed eight Israelis including six civilians. The Israelis reasonably believed he was planning a more lethal attack. Their air strike killed him before he could act. Palestinian militants retaliated for the death of their pal, firing 300 rockets that killed 23 Israeli civilians. Israel responded with strikes against the militants, killing 22 of them and 4 civilians. The incident was broadcast internationally and nothing was hidden despite Israel’s mythical, mystical power to hypnotize the world into not seeing its actions. In fact, Omar told CNN’s Christine Amanpour that she tweeted her tweet after watching the bombing on TV (on CNN perhaps?)." . . .

Omar did say Obama got away with murder

Colorado Governor Signs National Popular Vote Bill Into Law

Weasel Zippers

"If the Democrats are successful in nullifying the Electoral College, the country will essentially be ruled by the East and West coasts and the urban enclaves in between. They will have almost achieved single party rule."

"Via The Hill:

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed into law Friday a bill that would award the state’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote.

Polis signed the measure after both chambers of the state’s legislature passed the bill last month along party lines, with Democrats pulling heavily for the measure.

Colorado now joins 11 other states and the District of Columbia as part of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

“It is important to understand that the National Popular Vote bill significantly amplifies Colorado’s voice in choosing the president of the United States,” John Koza, chairman of National Popular Vote, said in a press release.

The joint agreement only goes into effect if enough states sign on to total the number needed to win the presidency — 270 electoral votes.

The addition of Colorado’s nine electoral votes brings the total to 181.

Keep reading…

In defense of the Electoral College 
"If anything, it was the Electoral College that made it possible to end slavery, since Abraham Lincoln earned only 39 percent of the popular vote in the election of 1860, but won a crushing victory in the Electoral College. This, in large measure, was why Southern slaveholders stampeded to secession in 1860-61. They could do the numbers as well as anyone, and realized that the electoral college would only produce more anti-slavery Northern presidents."  Refute that, if you can.

The blue would have given us Hillary.

The Electoral College dispute exposes the Progressives’ world of lies
With the popular vote system, these states will run our country. And with Texas becoming Californicated, it may not be our bulwark against socialism and foreign colonization for long. TD

Trying to learn about the NZ mosque murderer

New Zealand Mass Murderer Visited Pakistan Last Year – Called it “Incredible Place Filled With the Most Kind-Hearted, Hospitable People in the World”

The fact that Tarrant recently visited Pakistan is interesting, especially since he spoke so highly of Pakistan in recent Facebook posts.   

The mosques that he targeted in New Zealand were Bangladeshi mosques.  It is well known that Pakistan and Bangladesh are two factions that do not get along.

New Zealand community rushes to aid mosque shooting victims amid gunfire, reports say  . . . " 'We heard rapid-fire semi-automatic shots and saw people running out of the mosque, fall on the ground in front of us on the side of the road," Carl Pomare, a manager for employment agency Naki Labour Hire, told the Herald of the scene outside the Masjid Al Noor mosque. "I said to my mate, 'We need to do something.'" . . .

No matter what the shooter's religion, if any; Muslims will consider him a Christian just as I heard some call the Oklahoma City bomber., raised Catholic but claimed agnosticism. TD

Facebook Streaming, Location Made New Zealand Attack Unusual Act of Terrorism

Don’t Exploit Christchurch; The New Zealand massacre was an act of pure evil, but it should not serve as an excuse to silence frank discussion about Islam and mass immigration.  How sad that it all happened in the city with such a holy  name. TD
. . . "Now, on the opposite side of the globe from Norway, another evil act of mass carnage has taken place. Once again, there are two crime scenes: a pair of mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, at which dozens of Muslims were shot to death while at Friday prayer. The death toll, at this writing, has reached 49. Once again, there’s an online manifesto charging that Western leaders, by encouraging the influx of Muslims into the West, have served the cause of cultural suicide. (Whether the manifesto is a reflection of the alleged gunman’s actual views or was simply designed as a provocation remains to be seen.) Once again, a young man previously unknown to the authorities has been taken into custody. And once again, politicians, reporters, and commentators are exploiting this atrocity for their own political purposes." . . .

Duffel Blog: Army to name new attack helicopter after Elizabeth Warren

The Duffel Blog: FORT RUCKER, Ala. — The U.S. Army will honor Elizabeth Warren and her Native American ancestry with the latest addition to its helicopter fleet, the AH-68 Warren, sources confirmed today.

The Warren will join the Black Hawk, Kiowa, Apache, and Lakota in the Army’s impressive legacy of combat aircraft named after Native American tribes. 

"The Warren conquered its two chief competitors, the AH-67 Redskin and V-23 Columbus, to win the Army contract.

“The Redskin just offended too many white people, and frankly, I’m not even sure Redskin is a real tribe,” said Army Acquisition Corps Spokesman Maj. Darren Snyder. “And the Columbus, well that death trap killed people every time it landed.”

Snyder dismissed concerns regarding Warren’s Native American ancestry.

“ 'Do you really think Harvard hired her just to brag about having a Native American law professor?” he asked." . . .  About Duffel Blog 

I don't explain, I just post the news. Exactly like CNN. TD

Our Bankrupt Elite

Matthew Continetti at NR

Actress Lori Loughlin (left) appears at a hearing at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, Calif

. . . "Lessons? Here are two. First the good news: We are shocked by the actions of these parents precisely because there is so little corruption in America. If the problems were as systemic as some on the Internet believe, they would hardly raise such an outcry. Denizens of countries where bribery is a way of life look at us and say, “Amateurs.”

"The second lesson is not as comforting. Operation Varsity Blues is further evidence of the bankruptcy of American elites. For over a decade now, the legitimacy of elites in politics, foreign policy, central banking, journalism, religion, and economics has crumbled as reality failed to match their rhetoric. Education is the latest sphere where elites have betrayed our country’s institutions and our country’s people by using wealth and connections to rig the rules of the game.

"The scandal also points to the flagrant hypocrisy of Hollywood liberalism. No class is more moralistic, more hectoring, more obnoxiously activist than the Hollywood Left. They barrage Americans with displays of their virtue, their calls to humanitarianism, their paeans to multiculturalism and feminism, their slanders of President Trump, Vice President Pence, Republicans in general, and conservatives in particular. And they have great sway in national politics. A Democrat’s future depends on the beneficence of Hollywood donors — donors who were well represented among the individuals charged in Operation Varsity Blues.

"The entertainment-industry liberals talk a good game. But look at their actions. . ."

Read also: Justice for Smollett versus justice for Loughlin



I still recall the image of actress Alyssa Milano, getting some great publicity by choosing the ideal place to sit in the Kavanaugh hearings. Her self-righteous glare giving her plenty of coverage at the expense of the Judge and his family. TD

Justice for Smollett versus justice for Loughlin

The spinning Wheel of Misfortune is fickle. Kathy Griffin and Roseanne Barr are gone for making bad jokes. Samantha Bee remains employed after calling the president's daughter the C-word.

Don Surber  "Jussie Smollett faces 16 charges for faking a hate crime. A Chicago judge set his bond at $100,000. He is still employed by the TV show, Empire.
"Lori Loughlin faces charges for cheating and bribing to get her daughter into a prestigious college. A federal magistrate set her bond at $1 million.
"Now I get the difference in bond.
"Smollett's case is local. Her case is federal because the complaint involves dozens of people in various states.
"But here is where the double standards apply." . . .

Well, Smollett has a two-fer in the Democrat assessment: black and gay. Loughlin is a woman, but white. Any public statements she makes would do well to begin with the words, "As a woman..."