Three Cheers for Lib Defectors

Laura Hollis   "Conservative journalists, commentators and on-air talent have been working for years to break the stranglehold that the Left has on the media, and therefore news and culture. They have made remarkable strides, and their impact is growing every day.

"More recently, a less-frequently discussed but equally notable phenomenon has been taking place. Over the past few years, a notable number of left-wing authors have broken ranks with their comrades in pursuit of a work environment free of the censorship and bias that has been throttling real reporting.

"Bari Weiss left The New York Times, moved to Substack, and then founded a new online newsletter called The Free Press that features writers of a variety of political persuasions. Glenn Greenwald was one of the co-founders of The Intercept, created purportedly in response to a perceived need for independent journalism. Greenwald subsequently left The Intercept, citing editorial censorship; he, too, moved to Substack. Michael Shellenberger, who used to describe himself as a progressive, wrote a scathing piece for Forbes magazine in 2019, criticizing so-called progressive policies in California that were contributing to the homelessness crisis in that state. Shellenberger has since authored two bestselling books, "Apocalypse Never" and "San Fransicko," exposing the deceit and damage inflicted by the environmental and homelessness policies espoused by the Left. Matt Taibbi was once a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine. He now publishes his popular online newsletter, The Racket, via Substack.

"Greenwald has become a relentless critic of American media, newly popular on the Right and now loathed by the Left. Weiss, Taibbi and Shellenberger have also made themselves personae non grata on the Left by helping Twitter's new owner Elon Musk reveal the extent of the censorship that was taking place in the social media behemoth. Twitter's former executives — often at the behest of Democrat operatives in government — were falsely labeling political conservatives as Russian operatives, suppressing truthful but damaging information about Joe Biden and his son Hunter in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, and shutting down the accounts of anyone with questions or information that ran counter to the "official narrative" about the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, alternative treatment protocols, the efficacy of masks or the risks of vaccines.". . .

I suggest the tracks be replaced by a pipeline

 

Pete Buttigieg Blames Trump for Ohio Train Disaster He Ignored for 10 Days

Buttigieg Blames Trump for Ohio Train Derailment but Leaves Out One Inconvenient Detail  . . ."He somehow failed to mention, however, that the Trump administration ended two years ago — and that he and his fellow Democrats have had every chance to rectify the situation if they really believed it would cause an accident like this.". . .

OUCH: Biden Administration Calls Out Buttigieg For ‘Misinformation’ for Blaming Trump for Ohio 

. . ."However, an official from his own administration called these statements “misinformation.” Buttigieg referred to a “braking rule” but the rule had already been dismantled by Trump in 2018.". . .

Looking for a cabinet member named Pete  . . ."I'm not mocking the job but only pointing out that this is not supposed to be a controversial post.  Of course, that was before a fellow named Pete Buttigieg got the job because he met certain criteria in the "identity politics" section.  In the old days, people got cabinet jobs because they had certain expertise in their areas.  In this administration, it's all about clicking boxes, e.g., just check out the press secretary.". . .

Geraldo Rivera: Buttigieg is the most disappointing member of Biden’s cabinet  Video

The Babylon Bee won't let this pass:  Pete Buttigieg Celebrates 24 Hours Without A Train Derailment   

The Transportation Secretary was clear, however, that his work is still not done. "We still have a long way to go," he continued. "Clearly, some trains are racist, and we must stop them. Some train tracks are still racist, and we must dismantle them and then rebuild them using construction workers of color. I am gay."

. . ."At publishing time, Buttigieg had decided to delay his presidential campaign announcement until everyone forgets about this whole thing.". . .

Don Lemon Utters 'Dumbest Thing Ever Said on CNN' - And Hilariously Cites Google as His Source

Google: the most trusted name in news.

 Western Journal   "CNN’s Don Lemon made a belittling comment about women on his low-rated morning show Thursday and cited Google as his source.

"In today’s society, overt sexism is not generally tolerated. In Lemon’s case, we can probably assume his comment was made with confidence and without fear of repercussion because he checks off enough diversity boxes.

"In any event, Lemon’s short tenure as a co-host of “CNN This Morning” has been an unmitigated disaster. The calamity continued unabated on Thursday as the dedicated left-wing activist took on a new enemy: women older than 40.

"As he discussed Nikki Haley’s presidential bid in relation to her comments on some of America’s elected officials being too old, he implied the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor is over the hill.". . .

Magical Thinking at the New York Times

 Ann Coulter

It's understandable that the very same news outlets fanning the flames of anti-police hysteria in the wake of Floyd's martyrdom -- directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of black people -- would want to shift blame to "The Pandemic." But witch doctors have more empirical evidence for their diagnoses than the Times does for its repeated pronouncements that the pandemic caused violent crime. Ann Coulter

"Ancient primitives -- or as we now call them, "Indigenous people whose land we stole" -- believed in talismans, voodoo, rain dances and other versions of "A preceded B, so A caused B." Today, we consider such reasoning classic fallacy. Except at The New York Times.

"First, you need to understand that the Times is no longer a newspaper, but more of a shaman. The paper used to report news. Anyone reading it for information these days might as well pull into a gas station and expect the nice man in a crisp white shirt to dash out and pump his gas.

"Much like a Starfish tuna factory, the news comes in, then has to be cleaned, chopped up, soaked in oil and tightly packed into a tin can. If you peered into the Times' back room, you'd find hundreds of woke scriveners repacking the news to fit the narrative.

"Second, an urgent cleanup operation was needed to explain the paroxysm of violence that followed 2020's anti-cop mania pushed at places like the Times. It simply could not stand to have people imagine that revering criminals while anathematizing the police would have any effect on the crime rate.

"No, that wouldn't do. The facts had to be retrofitted into an alternative narrative. What was the best backup explanation? The pandemic!

"Attributing the massive crime wave to the pandemic solved two problems that would have arisen had the Times simply reported the facts: the upsurge in black crime, and the Times' active encouragement of such.". . .

Biden installed: What could possibly go wrong?

This man does not believe Americans have a right to self-defense, but criminals have the right to unrestricted freedom. 

 Patricia McCarthy  "Beyond Molly Ball’s Time Magazine bragging confession, there are the ballot box-stuffing mules, and the accounts of numerous cyber experts that demonstrated how some voting machines could be (and seemingly were) programmed to cheat. Biden was not legitimately elected, he was fraudulently installed. So terrified of Donald Trump are the denizens of the swamp that they were willing to sell out the country, the Constitution, and the American people, and put into the oval office a man so corrupt and so compromised, that the nation might never recover from this catastrophic theft of an American presidential election.  Biden has effectively ruined America in two short years.

"We are no longer energy independent but are being starved of domestic energy. Businesses, especially restaurants, that survived the ridiculous Covid lockdowns now face unaffordable gas bills. Gas prices are twice what they were under Trump — and now these fools want to ban gas stoves! Punishingly absurd.

"This is a party that means to restrict all of the freedoms Americans have long taken for granted. The loathsome governor of California dismisses our reverence for those “freedoms” (his air quotes) in favor of gun control:

We’ve chosen this. This is our decision to live in these conditions. It doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. So, we’ve chosen this. We’ve accepted this. We can sit there and say ‘thoughts and prayers’ or we can look in the mirror, say, ‘This is the price, I guess, of whatever, fill in the blank, freedom? This is the price of freedom.’ Freedom from what?. . .

Outraged Ohio residents erupt at town hall: 'Where's Pete Buttigieg?'

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson reports live from East Palestine, Ohio, on residents' frustrations with the federal response to the toxic spill. 'Fox & Friends' co-hosts react to the developing situation. #FoxNews

"Thank you Fox for covering what no one else will!! "

"Just like Kamala Harris appointed to the Border and NEVER SHOWED! Pete is not going to show up! This is another of hundreds of Bidens DISGRACES! This breaks my heart! ️ These folks deserve so much more! " comment to this post.

"100 BILLION FOR UKRAINE, AND 100 BILLION FOR INVADING NOMADS, BUT NOTHING FOR US." Comment

SURPRISE! George Soros Tied To Over 50 Influential People In Media Through Groups He Funds

American Lookout

"Have you noticed that the liberal media often covers for, or downplays the influence of left wing billionaire George Soros?

"There is a very good reason for that.

"Some of the most influential people in our media are financially tied to him through the various groups he funds.

"FOX News reports:

"Liberal billionaire George Soros is tied to some of the most influential media figures in the United States and abroad through cash he provides to groups affiliated with them, according to a new study conducted by MRC Business.". . .

“In fact, his funding has helped him establish ties with some of the biggest name media personalities in the United States and abroad which help indoctrinate millions with his views on a day-to-day basis. MRC Business found at least prominent 54 media figures… who are tied to Soros through their connections to organizations that he funds,” Vazquez and Schneider continued. “These include personalities like ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt and The Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee.”…

The study found at least 54 media figures linked to Soros’ cash, with Bloomberg News co-founder Matthew Winkler and CNN’s Christiane Amanpour also among them.

There’s new information about who’s really in charge of Joe Biden

However, no one looking at the Biden marriage believes that the president has the capacity to discuss issues intelligently with his wife. To the extent there’s mental wattage in that marriage, the ideas and decisions flow from her to him and not vice versa.

 Andrea Widburg  "Most people watching Joe Biden believe that he’s a puppet who says and does what he’s told. He seems to be a “useful idiot,” as the 20th century’s communists would have said. The big question, then, is who’s really in charge in the White House? Barack Obama? Valerie Jarrett? Nope, a Bloomberg report intimates. It’s really Jill Biden, and she intends to see her decrepit husband run again.

"According to a Nancy Cook article at Bloomberg, the person with whom Joe doublechecks every decision he makes is his unelected wife, Jill Biden, a school teacher who wrote a shoddy dissertation to justify a truly meaningless doctorate in education. Writes Cook:

[W]ithin the White House she is understood to be the president’s closest and most protective confidante.

“She is his gut check on everything,” said Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to the first lady and special assistant to the president. 

As the campaign unfolds, the first lady is expected to assert herself on major decisions, especially the biggest of them all: whether Biden — at 80, the oldest person to ever hold the presidency — will run for re-election in the first place...

. . ."The one good thing is that it’s the Democrats’ nightmare to see Joe run again. In 2020, they could get away with the con that Americans hated Trump so much they’d rather have a barely sentient, corrupt, creepy fossil in the White House. However, given the myriad (and intended) disasters of Biden’s administration—a failing economy, a broken border, flailing national security, and an ever-closer WWIII—it'll be a lot harder to cheat Joe into the White House, especially with Kamala at his side.

"In other words, Joe Biden is the Republicans’ dream Democrat candidate. And if that’s what Jill brings to the 2024 election…well, “Let’s go, Jill!' ”

Will Vigilante Justice Replace Corrupted Criminal Justice?

DIANNY

John Green  "The Constitution is our pact of civilized behavior.  From it we've derived a system of institutionalized justice, which we call our criminal justice system.  It's intended to include checks and balances to protect defendants from biases and ensure fair adjudication of their charges.  Those safeguards include the following:

• a presumption of innocence
• a right to due process
• a right to legal defense
• a right to a trial by one's peers
• a right to trial before an impartial judge

"Given our presumption of innocence, absolute justice can't be guaranteed because conviction depends on the presence of evidence.  Instead, we have agreed to accept equal treatment under the law.  We agree to abide by the law in exchange for a system that treats us equally and is administered by officials who swear an oath to defend our constitutional protections.

"Then Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, and Merrick Garland came along as the country's top law enforcement officials and flushed it all.  Under them, the application of justice has become decidedly unequal.  Perfection was never possible, but now the claim of equal treatment has become laughable.  The foundation of our legal system is being eaten away by government termites — whose lust for power far exceeds their wisdom to wield it.

"The presumption of innocence seems like a quaint idea from the past.  Was New York attorney general Letitia James presuming innocence when she made a campaign promise to initiate a criminal investigation of Donald Trump before she even entered office or saw any evidence of wrongdoing?  Or was she promising to operate her office using the Beria methodology?  Clearly, she had her target and was promising to find the crime.  Yet she faces no accountability for this flagrant violation of her oath.

"Was due process followed when the FBI destroyed evidence of Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified documents — at Clinton's request?  Did the FBI have a legal predicate when it launched an investigation of an incoming president — based on fabricated evidence provided by his political opponent?  How about when they raided the homes of reporters — with armed agents — to recover Ashley Biden's diary?  Had a crime even been committed?

"Is our right to competent legal representation being undermined when attorneys face disbarment for taking legal actions challenging election practices?  Will this trend prevent conservative defendants from hiring competent lawyers in the future — when those lawyers fear cancellation for representing an unfavored client?

"Was a conservative from Montana tried by a jury of his peers — when that jury comprised mostly Democrats from Washington, D.C.? Was Derek Chauvin — a police officer accused of murdering a black man — tried by an impartial jury when one of his "peers" was a Black Lives Matter–supporter?". . .

Super Bowl Wokeism: Are You Sick of It, Too?

America, for the overwhelming most part, has bestowed liberty and justice for all.

 The American Spectator  "They had someone sing the “Black National Anthem” before the Super Bowl.

"Are you sick of it? #MeToo.

"Here’s how sick of it: I actually had the pre-game show on my TV just so that I could walk out of the room the moment they started singing that nonsense. I then came back in for “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And I stood for both.

"Aren’t we supposed to be One Nation under G-d, Indivisible?

"We have one national anthem: the Star-Spangled Banner. Thanks to our crack public education system, most Americans don’t understand all its words: hailed, ramparts, o’er. So what? Learn them. Look them up. That’s why G-d gave us Al Gore to create the internet. And that high note? That highlights the word “free.” So do your best when you sing it and celebrate those who can hit it. But that is our song. That is our theme, the theme of One Nation. Listen to a stadium of hockey fans sing it. Sounds pretty darn good, huh? Listen here as Canadians honor it.

"There is nothing wrong with cherishing one’s unique ethnic heritage: Irish, German, Polish, Scottish, African, Italian, Jewish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Armenian, Mexican, Cuban, Venezuelan. Cherish your heritage. Learn that history, too. Learn the vernacular associated with your forebears: Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Armenian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Tagalog, Mandarin, Gaelic, Whatever. Learn your history, your family tree, how you got here.

"But make English your official language. We should not need language choices on the phone when we call the utility company or on election ballots. We are One Nation. We always had One Language. We have One National Anthem.

"When I call the utility company, why should I be given choices of languages? Are you sick of it? #MeToo. My grandparents came here speaking Yiddish. They knew a bit of Russian, a bit of Polish, but not a word of English. To their last days, they spoke their English with accents they never could shake. But they learned English soon enough and knew and understood English. The utility company did not offer them a Yiddish option. They did not get ballots in Yiddish. So they learned English. Their children all excelled in unaccented English. Their grandchildren? Heck, I am an Orthodox rabbi, and I am proficient in English.

"I love the Star-Spangled Banner, both the banner itself and the anthem. When it is played on TV, I stand, even though no one else is in the room except for G-d and me. I stand for that anthem that stands for this country that has afforded so much opportunity to my grandparents, my parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings, and children. This is a great country. And that’s all we ever asked for: opportunity. Just give us a chance. Not reparations. Not handouts. Not “entitlements.” Just a chance. We’ll take it from there.". . .

MAgical Thinking at the New York Times

Cops, the only people who seem to really believe "black lives matter," risking their lives to bring safety to dangerous neighborhoods, were viciously slandered and kneecapped at every turn. Again, especially by the Times.

Ann Coulter   "Ancient primitives -- or as we now call them, "Indigenous people whose land we stole" -- believed in talismans, voodoo, rain dances and other versions of "A preceded B, so A caused B." Today, we consider such reasoning classic fallacy. Except at The New York Times.

"First, you need to understand that the Times is no longer a newspaper, but more of a shaman. The paper used to report news. Anyone reading it for information these days might as well pull into a gas station and expect the nice man in a crisp white shirt to dash out and pump his gas.

"Much like a Starfish tuna factory, the news comes in, then has to be cleaned, chopped up, soaked in oil and tightly packed into a tin can. If you peered into the Times' back room, you'd find hundreds of woke scriveners repacking the news to fit the narrative.

"Second, an urgent cleanup operation was needed to explain the paroxysm of violence that followed 2020's anti-cop mania pushed at places like the Times. It simply could not stand to have people imagine that revering criminals while anathematizing the police would have any effect on the crime rate.

"No, that wouldn't do. The facts had to be retrofitted into an alternative narrative. What was the best backup explanation? The pandemic!

"Attributing the massive crime wave to the pandemic solved two problems that would have arisen had the Times simply reported the facts: the upsurge in black crime, and the Times' active encouragement of such.

"Unfortunately, doing a rain dance to bring rain is quantum mechanics compared to the Times' cause-and-effect theory about "The Pandemic" inciting the post-George Floyd violence.

"Here are the facts.". . .

Police Knew About MSU Shooter, Progressive Prosecutor’s Soft-on-Crime Approach Kept Him on the Street

 Legal Insurrection

“The initial charge was a felony that carried a potential penalty of five years in prison, according to the records.”

"While you hear the leftists and Democrats scream about gun control, remember this. Their policies kept the Michigan State University gunman on the street.

"Anthony McRae killed three people on Monday night and injured five others. He killed himself off-campus.

"McRae shouldn’t have been on the street, but Ingham County’s progressive prosecutor at the time, with ties to George Soros, went soft on him in 2019:

Anthony McRae was arrested in Lansing and charged in June 2019 with carrying a concealed pistol without a concealed carry permit, according to Ingham County court records obtained Tuesday by The Detroit News. The initial charge was a felony that carried a potential penalty of five years in prison, according to the records.

At about 3 a.m. June 7, 2019, an officer encountered Anthony McRae in Lansing where the officer asked him if he had any weapons on him. McRae acknowledged he had a gun but he didn’t have a concealed weapons permit, according to court records. McRae also had a magazine in his right breast pocket, according to the court records.

“He advised the handgun was registered to him,” a court document about the incident said. “He bought it late March at Capital Discount. He was currently trying to obtain a concealed weapons permit.”

In October 2019, Ingham County prosecutors added a second charge against McRae: possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, a misdemeanor.

That same month, October 2019, McRae agreed to plead guilty to the lesser misdemeanor charge, and prosecutors dismissed the felony charge.

Police and McRae

"Why is it that it’s always people the police or feds know about?". . .

Violence — The calling card of the Democrat Party

. . .Carol Siemon was the prosecutor at that time. Judges and law enforcement complained about “her soft-on-crime policies.”

I found a few instances of her being soft on violent people. This one shook me to the core.

In 2020, she allowed a man who bludgeoned two women to death to plead to second-degree murder, which carries a minimum range of 30-50 years, because Siemon “doesn’t believe in life-without-parole sentences.” First-degree murder carries that sentence.

Siemon allowed that plea despite the man planning to kill four women. He killed two of them.

The plea ticked off the victims’ parents. The sheriff asked the state attorney general to take over.

It all changed in the hands of Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina when she rejected the deal and allowed the defendant to “withdraw his guilty pleas, saying Siemon was trying ‘to be creative to get around the judge and the Legislature, and quite frankly, the law’ in what the judge described as ‘textbook first-degree, premeditated’ murder cases.”