Fresno State University won’t — and cannot — punish professor for Barbara Bush tweets

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

. . . "Fresno State correctly acknowledges that Jarrar’s tweets were made as a private citizen. As such, and because they touched upon a matter of public concern, Jarrar’s tweets are unquestionably protected speech under the First Amendment and Fresno State has no power to censor, punish, or terminate Jarrar for them.

Photo added, TD

"It’s often said that the First Amendment doesn’t protect a speaker from the consequences of his words. That’s true to a certain extent. One who says something that offends others will often face consequences of some sort, whether it’s caustic criticism from people he offended, loss of private sector job opportunities, loss of membership in voluntary associations, and so on. But the First Amendment places limits on what consequences a government actor may impose in response to speech.

"As we’ve explained in response to another professor terminated for her public commentary, public universities are government actors bound by the First Amendment:

The law is well-established that employees of government institutions like [a public university] retain a First Amendment right to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern and may not be disciplined or retaliated against for their constitutionally protected expression unless the government employer demonstrates that the expression hindered “the effective and efficient fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public.” Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 150 (1983); Pickering v. Bd. of Ed., 391 U.S. 563 (1968).

. . .
Her pictured gesture has been endorsed by academics, late-night TV hosts and ex-presidents.

Americans Grapple With Evil Amid Decline in Religious Faith

Emilie Kao at Heritage 

The writer lists her key takeaways in this article:

• "In modern-day America, few statements can raise eyebrows more swiftly than expressing faith in the transcendent.
• "In a world where we can communicate globally and change the temperature of our homes, it is easy to believe that we have mastered our physical environment.
• "As elites show increasing hostility to faith and regular Americans eschew traditional and moral frameworks, we may become increasingly blind to this dimension.

. . . "From Joy Behar mocking Vice President Mike Pence as mentally ill for believing that God guides him, to former President Barack Obama ridiculing “bitter” people who cling to guns or religion, the “enlightened” claim to have progressed past the simplistic explanations of those who still believe in the existence of good and evil.

"In a world where we can drive vehicles, communicate globally, and change the temperature of our homes with the touch of a finger, it is easy to believe that we have mastered our physical environment. Yet we are stumped when the age-old problem of evil rears its ugly head." . . .

How to ensure "never again" when so many are erasing Holocaust history?

Edwin Black

"The following is a transcript of Edwin Black’s April 11, 2018 keynote address in the Michigan Capitol Rotunda for that state’s official Holocaust Commemoration."

"Today, I come not just to mourn nor to scorn but rather to warn our world, that is, the world of today whose memories are still whistling and bristling with the torments and tribulations of a generation now passing before our eyes. But also, for the world of tomorrow — and the day after — pulsed by a generation whose torments and tribulations may yet be in store. The outrages are audible just over the horizon. But in many cases the horizon is speeding toward us like an unstoppable tsunami preparing to crash.

"Many of us dwell in the dark past hoping to immunize our future from the maniacal and ideological fires that immolated six million Jews and so many others— and left a world’s hands and souls smoke-singed in the process. The Holocaust was unique among history’s great cruelties, for it was a 12-year international persecution and murder machine perpetrated in the glare of broad daylight as well as the dim of night… emboldened by its own German Ministry of Propaganda advertising it and amid incessant media coverage that bled across the front pages of newspapers, crackled into regular radio reports, flickered in newsreels, and even saddened the whispers and diaries of children hiding in an Amsterdam attic. The world knew.

"With study, revelation, and investigation, many now understand how we got here. Make no mistake. The Germans did it. Their allies and accomplices did it. Hitler did it. 

"But Hitler had help. " . . .

. . . Lithuania has followed suit quickly with a pending amendment to its “Law on Consumer Protection” that would outlaw books critical of the country during the Holocaust—Lithuania where 90 percent of Jews perished, and many at the hands of their Lithuanian neighbors. These laws will be used by misguided programmers in Silicon Valley to avoid liability by simply quietly shutting out the history. 

 'What if a tree falls and no one hears the sound? What if six million people perish and no one is reminded?" . . .

DOJ turns over redacted Comey memos to congressional committees

Legal Insurrection

Fox News  "The Justice Department on Thursday gave lawmakers redacted versions of five memos kept by former FBI Director James Comey to document meetings with President Trump, a congressional source told Fox News.

"The source told Fox News the memos were turned over to the House Judiciary, Oversight and Intelligence Committees following threats from Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., to subpoena Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for failing to meet the deadline to submit the documents.

"In a statement to lawmakers, the Justice Department said it had redacted classified information in the memos, but would provide an unredacted version on Friday. 

"Goodlatte, House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., had set a Monday deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Comey memos.

"In a joint statement, the committee chairmen said the memos "are significant for both what is in them and what is not." . . .

Thomas Lifson: Apparently Comey didn't think through his book very carefully  "James Comey is in the process of destroying his credibility.  Perhaps the rush to cash in on his notoriety with a bestselling book led to a failure to consider the implications of what he wrote in light of his previous statements and positions.  But with the book now available and being carefully read by non-sycophants, certain self-contradictions are coming to light.  A Twitter account in the name of @RacySicilian has come up with doozy:

"When Comey tells ABC he knew Trump was doing something shady by arranging a private meeting, then describes Obama doing the EXACT SAME THING on page 148 of his book 🙄#TotalBS#Racy4Trump#LiberalHypocrisy pic.twitter.com/jCL9iKVzMO

— Racyღ (@RacySicilian) April 17, 2018

"I don't think his previous career strategy – sucking up to superiors, stabbing rivals in the back, and manipulating public opinion – that served him well in the federal bureaucracy will be effective now that he is subject to intense public scrutiny and is being held to account for all the positions he has taken and people he has screwed over.  

"The chapter of his life currently underway will not end well for him."

One Percent Chance Comey Not A Self-Dramatizing Fruitcake

Ann Coulter  "There have been a lot of questions about why Trump fired James Comey, ever since he announced to NBC's Lester Holt -- incomprehensibly -- that it was his decision, citing, by my count, at least a half-dozen different reasons. 

"On Sunday night, that question was answered. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Comey for showing the American people why he was so badly in need of firing.

"Interviewed on his new book, "Living in Truth," "The Dictates of My Conscience," "The Politics of Truth," "A Higher Loyalty," it quickly became apparent that one of Comey's favorite formulations is: I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don't know whether so-and-so sodomized a chicken. It's possible. I don't know.

"Here he is on ABC News, accusing Trump of hiring prostitutes to urinate on a hotel bed in Moscow (possibly -- I don't know):

" 'I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don't know whether the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It's possible, but I don't know."

"And here he is on ABC accusing Trump of colluding with Russia:

" 'More words I never thought I'd utter about a president of the United States -- but it's possible [that he is compromised by Russia]. It is stunning, and I wish I wasn't saying it, but it's just -- it's the truth. ... It's possible."

"And here he is being interviewed by USA Today on Russian influence:

" 'I don't know [if President Trump has been compromised by the Russians]. And these are words I never thought would come out of my mouth about an American president, but it's possible. I'm not saying it's likely, I don't know, and the honest answer is it's possible.' "  . . .

In conclusion, Ms. Coulter considers:

I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don't know whether the former director of the FBI carries 8-by-10 glossies of himself wherever he goes. It's possible. I don't know. 

Not a joke: Fortune names David Hogg and cohorts the world's greatest leaders of 2018

Are they making a case for teenagers to be allowed to vote?

Timothy Bishop

Monica Showalter  "It has a whiff of classic fake news: David Hogg and all his foul-mouthed little high school buddies who made headlines and raked cash from their calls for gun control in the wake of the Parkland shooting have been elevated to the number-one spot in Fortune magazine's annual list of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders.

"Mike Allen at Axios got a sneak peek of the upcoming issue and reported it in his Vitals column this morning:

FORTUNE editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf: "If 2018 becomes the year that the United States finally begins to tackle its disease of gun violence ... it will be due not to the good sense of elected officials, but rather to the courage, tenacity, and sheer eloquence of students."

From the magazine's annual list of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders:

1. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and other schools
2. Bill and Melinda Gates, cofounders, The Gates Foundation
3. The #MeToo Movement
4. South Korea President Moon Jae-in
5. Ken Frazier, Merck CEO

"Seriously?  Of all the world leaders on the global stage, they went for one famous for his petulance, immaturity, and string of losing causes?  Hogg and his buddies certainly knew how to make headlines for their gun control cause in the wake of the Parkland shooting, but cripes, this is a guy whose brand of "leadership" is to refuse to accept a  gracious apology from radio host Laura Ingraham and instead called for a nationwide boycott of her show over his...hurt feelings about not being able to get into a good college." . . .

Can you do this in the dark while hiding in a closet?

Rich Terrell

Starbucks and the Race-Hustlers

M. Catharine Evans . . . "Khalif was one of the first agitators to rally protesters outside the Philadelphia Starbucks last week.  On April 15, he stood at the counter of the Starbucks with his bullhorn, demanding that the manager be fired.  The photo in the Yuma Sun is worth a look.  A white, male barista, actually working for a living, stands silent as Khalif proves why calls for "dialogue" and "conversation" with thugs are laughable.

"Khalif is Philadelphia's Al Sharpton.  A week after Krasner took office this past January, Khalif gathered up a dozen protesters to stand outside Krasner's office calling for the release of a prison inmate convicted for a 1991 murder.

"Khalif shouted:

We have a package for Larry Krasner, the district attorney that black and brown people got elected.  It's time to pay up.  We're here!  You ran on progressive change.  We're holding you to it.  We want Eric Riddick released immediately.

"Krasner, like Starbucks, thinks he can have a rational dialogue about his "unconscious bias" with a bunch of radical hoodlums like BLM.  When will these liberals ever learn?"

Starbucks’ Virtue Signaling Gets the Meme Treatment it Deserves
Black Lives Matter activist made famous, but probably not in the way he hoped

Black Lives Matter targeted the store where the two men were arrested and is calling for a boycott. A picture of Asa Khalif, a BLM activist, holding a bullhorn during a protest Sunday has made its way into internet meme lore in the best of ways.

Fake Starbucks coupons circulate online promising free coffee for black customers

. . . "The coupons, which feature images of Starbucks beverages, the brand's iconic color green and bar codes, appear to offer "people of color" or "African-American heritage" free drinks.

" 'This is completely false and in no way associated with Starbucks," a Starbucks spokeswoman told CNBC." . . .

Viral Video Of Black Man Demanding (And Getting) Free 'Reparations' Coffee From Starbucks Is Not What You Think "Political vlogger Bryan Sharpe, AKA "Hotep Jesus," filmed himself walking into a Starbucks and demanding free "reparations" coffee from a white barista in light of recent allegedly racist incidents involving black men at two of the company's stores. Sharpe did indeed receive the free coffee and the video quickly went viral online. In Twitter postings, Sharpe implored other black folks to tape themselves demanding free coffee, too, as part of the "#StarbucksChallenge."

"Sharpe's stunt, however, was not done to get free things by virtue of his skin tone and encourage others "entitled" to do the same, but to highlight how "white guilt" and "black privilege" got him free coffee, which, he says, is actually racist."

"Black privilege gets me free coffee. I love racism. Only in America," posted Sharpe, adding a #StarbucksChallenge hashtag to another tweet.

Hotep Jesus @VibeHi

15 Apr

Starbucks is racist https://www.pscp.tv/w/baPGMzFkcmplZ1Baa05RYkd8MWdxR3ZwWVFvZGd4QlTijO7KQr5etQB4yI5nhWFl1mi817-s6ddOSuN37mVG …

Hotep Jesus @VibeHi

Black privilege gets me free coffee.

I love racism.

Only in America.

Situation Involving Fresno State Professor Gets Significantly Worse

Daily Wire

"The situation involving a professor at Fresno State University who rejoiced over the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush got a whole lot worse for the university after new tweets were discovered.

Added

"Professor Randa Jarrar ignited controversy with a series of offensive tweets celebrating the death of Bush and the pain that the family is experiencing as a result of her death. Jarrar even bragged about how much money she made as a tenured professor, saying, "I will never be fired."

"Jarrar has since locked her account after racist and anti-Semitic tweets were discovered.

" 'I can't wait for the old white guard of literary writers and 'critics' to die. Their time is f**king up, too," Jararr wrote." . . .

Added

"Jararr, who is Muslim and is a major supporter of the Palestinian state, also wrote, "we are sooooo much cooler than Israelis, don't at me b**ch.' "  . . .

Demented Professor Celebrates the Death of Barbara Bush

" . . .Her name is Randa Jarrar. Throw it up there. There it is. Throw it up… That is the professor flipping off the photographer with her middle finger. She’s not pregnant, by the way. That is a normal, everyday photo. This woman is a professor! This woman is teaching young skulls full of mush the drivel and the poison and the hatred that she harbors, and she went out and she said she is so happy.

"She is so happy. She says, “Either you are against these pieces of [excrement] and their genocidal ways or you’re part of the problem. That’s actually how simple this is. I’m happy the witch is dead. Can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way a million and a half Iraqis have. Bye,” and then she starts gloating about how she has tenure and nobody could do anything to her."

"They’re demented, they are deranged, and they’re getting worse. Twenty-five, 30 years ago when this program started, if anybody in public had wished somebody dead, it could get you fired. It could ruin your reputation. You would be shunned. You would become so stigmatized. Today, people on the left are applauded. They are supported, and they are effectively given medals for this kind of stuff. Her name again is Randa, R-a-n-d-a, Jarrar, J-a-r-r-a-r.

Will she be on "The View"?

/a>

TW posts scarce lately

I apologize for the few posts these past few days due to a shoulder injury.  Many thoughts run through my mind about items that need to be posted, but a 78-year-old shoulder seems to be slower healing and uncooperative. But don't forget us here.
The Tunnel Dweller.

The Courage of the Civil Rights Legacy

But Willie Parker refuses to acknowledge that pro lifers actually care about stopping the intentional killing of innocent human beings. He is committed to smearing his opponents by attributing sinister motives to them without a single shred of evidence. For example, Parker claims that men oppose abortion because of a “misplaced horror of women’s sexual autonomy.” He further asserts that, “Women’s sexual independence is the thing men have always wanted to control.”

Mike Adams

. . . "Willie Parker provides no evidence to support his speculative attacks. In fact, his 217-page defense of abortion lacks a single footnote or endnote. Thus, there is no way of verifying the empirical basis of these attacks. However, he does make a few admissions in his book, which reveal why he is so eager to divert attention from his own motives.

"Willie Parker admits to aborting humans as early as six weeks after they are conceived and charging $550 for the procedure. He also admits to aborting pregnancies that are “father along” and charging as much as $1400 for those procedures. He also claims that he sometimes performs as many as fifty abortions in a single day. If we assume that he makes the bare minimum of $550 on each procedure then Parker makes $13,750 in a single day’s worth of providing “abortion care” (read: killing innocent human beings). This helps explain why he wants people to refrain from making judgments about people’s sex lives. The more sex people have, the more money he makes in the abortion clinic.

"In order to justify earning a living in this line of work, Parker could simply deny the minor premise that abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being. But he does not do this. Instead, he denies the major premise that it is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. He does so by dehumanizing the unborn in general – for example, insisting that the term “unborn child” is not medically accurate. He notably uses the term “person” as a substitute for “human being” throughout his book. This allows him the privilege of substituting a term that is not medically accurate for one that is – in the hopes of persuading people, as opposed to humans, that some of their neighbors are more deserving of life than others.

"But what specifically makes some humans deserving of protection, while others are deserving of destruction? Parker begins to make his specific case on page 11:" . . .

REPORT: North Korea, South Korea Set To Announce Official End To 64-Year-Long War

As Obama counseled President Trump. "First bow to  Kim, then apologize".

artwanted.

Come At Me, Bro: How Trump Pulled Off His North Korea Gambit
While Kim simply ignored Obama.

Daily Wire

"Hostilities on the Korean peninsula ended on July 27, 1953, but the war didn't.

"On that day, the U.S., North Korea and China signed an armistice agreement designed to "insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved," according to the agreement.

"Sixty-four years later, the war has never been officially declared over.

"Now, though, North and South Korea are reportedly in talks to permanently end the war, daily newspaper Munhwa Ilbo reported Tuesday, according to CNBC.

Ahead of a summit next week between North Korean premier Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, lawmakers from the neighboring states were thought to be negotiating the details of a joint statement that could outline an end to the confrontation.Kim and Moon could also discuss returning the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone separating them to its original state, the newspaper said.Pyongyang and Seoul have technically been at war since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended with a truce — and not a peace treaty. Geopolitical tensions have occasionally flared up since the armistice, although to date both countries have managed to avoid another devastating conflict.

"President Trump and the North Korean dictator are set to hold talks as early as next month." . . .