RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-adl-chiefs-disingenuous-epiphany-about-left-wing-anti-semitism/

(July 13, 2021 / JNS) It’s a sad day when the head of the Anti-Defamation League receives accolades for acknowledging that anti-Semitism “also” hails from the left. If the person in question had been living in a cave until last week—when he published an op-ed in Newsweek called “It’s Time to Admit It: The Left Has an Anti-Semitism Problem”—he might be excused for having an epiphany about a phenomenon that has been obvious for decades.
But Jonathan Greenblatt hasn’t been in isolation for the past six years, when he replaced Abraham Foxman as CEO of the Jewish organization, established in 1913 by B’nai B’rith. On the contrary, he’s been as active a participant in American political culture throughout his current tenure as he was during his term in the White House as special assistant to former President Barack Obama.

It is thus that Jews across the spectrum viewed the ADL’s announcement in November 2014 that he would be taking over the reins from Foxman in July 2015 as “dramatic.” Unlike Foxman, a liberal but an indefatigable defender of Israel, Greenblatt’s love for the Jewish state was and still is conditional on its policies—particularly those of the government under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His attitude is par for an ardent Democrat whose subsequent loathing for former President Donald Trump made his feelings about Netanyahu pale in comparison. Nor was his mission to transform the ADL into an NGO devoted to a distorted version of tikkun olam, a Jewish concept of making the world a better place that morphed over the years into a branch of “woke-ism” that bears no resemblance to its original meaning.
Nor was combating the globe’s evils the founding purpose of the ADL. That emerged during the trial of American Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank, who was lynched by an angry mob two years after he was wrongly convicted of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta.
At the time, the severe anti-Semitism that gripped the U.S. South emanated particularly from white racists who hated Jews and blacks in equal measure. They saw the Jewish community and members of the press mobilize on behalf of Frank as proof that Jews control the world and certainly the media.
The irony is inescapable here since Frank’s key champion was The New York Times. And the idea behind the ADL was that when anti-Semitism is allowed to thrive, the rest of society is in trouble—not that Jew-hatred is one among many forms of racism.

What a difference a century makes.

Today, it’s not white supremacists who pose a threat to Jews in particular and society as a whole, but rather movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Students for Justice in Palestine. There’s a simple reason for this, and it has nothing to do with the identity of the targets of abhorrent positions and behavior. It is, rather, the fact that the former is on the fringe, while the latter is completely mainstream.

Greenblatt’s piece on Thursday, then, was more deserving of ridicule than praise.

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/11/trump-winds-and-biden-whirlwinds/

Victimizers quickly becoming victims is a recurrent theme of Thucydides’ history. In his commentary on the so-called stasis at Corcyra, he offers his most explicit warning about the long-term dangers of destroying legal institutions, customs, and traditions that serve the common good for short-term gain. 

The historian notes that in the inevitable yin and yang of politics, the destroyers inevitably will seek, but do so in vain, refuge in what they have destroyed. Between 2017 and 2021 the Left has done exactly that. 

What was common to the media’s deification of the criminally minded Michael Avenatti, and the promotion of a series of abject hoaxes? Do we remember the Steele “dossier,” the supposed authority of Fusion-GPS, the Schiff “report,” and the entire Russian “collusion” yarn? 

Do we recall how the Left invented the Charlottesville construct out of a supposedly racist and unqualified endorsement by the president of the Klan and neo-Nazis? Who has forgotten the charge of “racism” for merely connecting the origins of COVID-19 to a Wuhan, level-4 security, gain-of-function-research, Chinese-military-affiliated virology lab rather than to a chopped-up wet bat or pangolin? 

Do we remember the names of our supposed best and brightest retired intelligence officials who lied shamelessly and on spec for the Biden campaign, claiming that Russian “disinformation” accounted for a supposedly fictitious Hunter Biden’s laptop? And are the fabrications by Joe Biden and the media—that men with guns staged an “armed insurrection” of January 6 and “killed” officer Brian Sicknick—the new standard of truth? 

What ties together the efforts of Robert Mueller’s 22-month, $40 million witch hunt, and the two impeachment proceedings—the last dispensing with witnesses, formal hearings, cross-examinations, a special prosecutor, and the Chief Justice presiding, all in mob-like efforts to try to convict in the Senate now private citizen Donald Trump? Must a Joe Biden, one day as president-emeritus and private citizen, fear that there will be no statutes of limitation to his vulnerability, when the vast trove of Hunter Biden’s laptop is finally accessed and turned over to a future hostile congress or federal prosecutor?

What is the common denominator of the Lt. General Michael Flynn debacle, the unmasking and leaking of surveilled American citizens, the nonstop politicized commentaries of retired military officers, and the weaponization of the intelligence agencies? What binds together the text trove of Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, the cleansing of FBI cell phones, or the forgeries of FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith?

What was the catalyst that turned a left-wing Democratic Party into a cultural revolutionary mob? In other words, why in our 233rd year of the republic are Democrats so intent to destroy the Electoral College, pack the court, admit new states to the Union, junk the filibuster, and federalize national election laws? What was so wrong with assimilation, integration, intermarriage, the “content of our character,” and race as incidental rather than essential to who we are? What has the woke revolution offered us instead?

Since when did regaining a House majority equate to impeaching a president on the eve of a reelection campaign, with his future and fiercest campaign opponents possibly as senators to be sitting in judgment on him in any Senate trial? What was common to all the “bombshells” and “walls are closing in” mythologies regarding meetings with Russians in Trump Tower, or mysterious “pings” of Trump tower machines automatically communicating with Russians, or the certain impending indictments of the Trump family?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17558/european-union-superstate

The July 2 “Joint Declaration on the Future of the European Union” represents the first significant endeavor by euroskeptic parties to jointly oppose efforts by European federalists to transform the European Union into a godless multicultural superstate.

The document states that the European Union requires “profound reform” because, “instead of protecting Europe,” it has itself become “a source of problems, anxiety and uncertainty.” The signatories say that the EU has become a tool of “radical forces” that are determined to carry out a civilizational transformation of Europe. Their objective, they say, is to create a European superstate void of European traditions, social institutions or moral principles.

“We are convinced that the cooperation of European nations must be based on tradition, on respect for the culture and history of European States, on respect for the Judeo-Christian heritage of Europe and on the common values that unite our nations — and not in their destruction.” — Joint Declaration on the Future of the European Union, July 2, 2021.

“All attempts to transform European institutions into bodies that take precedence over national constitutional institutions create chaos, undermine the sense of the treaties and call into question the fundamental role of the constitutions of EU member states. The resulting disputes over competences, in effect, settled by the brutal imposition of the will of the politically stronger entities on the weaker ones. This destroys the basis for the functioning of the European Community as a community of free nations.” — Joint Declaration on the Future of the European Union, July 2, 2021.

“Some EU officials are doubtful that an additional layer of bureaucracy — the conference will have a ‘Joint Presidency,’ an ‘Executive Board,’ a ‘Conference Plenary’ and a ‘Common Secretariat’ — will solve the EU’s already confusing bureaucratic ills.” — Maïa de La Baume, French journalist, Politico, March 4, 2021.

“The EU’s ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ has already written its conclusions. It seeks the forced federalization of the EU against the true will of European nations and apart from the national parliaments…. We do not want a federal Europe in which all decisions are made in Brussels.” — Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s conservative party Vox, July 2, 2021.

The leaders of 16 political parties from across Europe have announced an unprecedented alliance to defend the sovereignty of European nation states, protect the nuclear family and preserve traditional Judeo-Christian values.

The July 2 “Joint Declaration on the Future of the European Union” represents the first significant endeavor by euroskeptic parties to jointly oppose efforts by European federalists to transform the European Union into a godless multicultural superstate.

ttps://bariweiss.substack.com/p/a-witch-trial-at-the-legal-aid-society?token=

If you google “bleeding heart liberal,” Maud Maron might well turn up as the first hit. Every cause liberals are supposed to fight for, every group they are supposed to champion, every candidate they are supposed to support — well, that was Maron’s not so atypical life and career. Until recently.

A New York City native, Maron lived her early years in subsidized housing when her father walked out on her mother, who was a pediatric nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital. Her mother remarried, the family moved to Pennsylvania, and Maron returned to the city for college. While a student at Barnard, Maron was a clinic escort for Planned Parenthood. Later, she went to Cardozo Law School knowing she wanted to be a public defender. There, she was a student of Kathleen Cleaver, the former Black Panther who was then a visiting professor. (Cleaver calls Maron her “excellent research assistant” on the first page of this published paper about Mumia Abu-Jamal.)

After Maron graduated from Cardozo in 1998, she joined the Legal Aid Society, where she represented the most disadvantaged people in Manhattan. She left in 2006, after the birth of her first child, and then rejoined the nonprofit in 2017, working in the Bronx. “I had always intended to go back. It just took longer than I thought because I wound up having four children over a decade. But when my youngest was 18 months I went back to work,” Maron told me over the weekend. “For me, being a public defender is more than a job. It’s who I am.”

Maron and her husband, an Argentine immigrant, chose to send all of their children to public schools. In 2017 and, again, in 2019 she was elected to the local Community Education Council — the equivalent of a school board. Then, two years ago, she decided to run as a Democrat for City Council in lower Manhattan. Maron had always been politically involved: she was a poll watcher for John Kerry in Pennsylvania during 2004 and contributed many times to Bernie Sanders’s campaign in 2016.

In short, Maron is exactly the kind of lawyer you’d imagine Legal Aid would put on the cover of its brochures. But today the public defender is filing suit in the Southern District of New York against the organization to which she has dedicated her career. 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17543/house-select-committee-criminalize-obstruct

Pelosi’s committee has absolutely nothing to do with the investigation of facts concerning what happened on January 6. It is a transparent political ploy to sensationalize and criminalize all things and persons related to President Donald Trump and political conservatism.

Pressure from a March 2021 Judicial Watch lawsuit helped lead to the disclosure that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes. For weeks, Sicknick’s death had been falsely characterized as a cynical lie by members of Congress and their lapdog reporter buddies for political advantage.

If the government were truly interested in the full disclosure of all the facts and circumstances around the Capitol breach, why would they stonewall Judicial Watch requests? Why force the matter into slow and lengthy litigation? Slow and lengthy? Oh, that’s why!

Speaking of a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice — there’s Pelosi’s phone call to General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff…. You’ll remember that call was purportedly when Pelosi told Milley not to obey President Trump’s orders. We can all look forward to reading the transcript of that call.

There is a lot to question concerning law enforcement involvement on January 6. The official narrative keeps changing. For example, claims concerning the number of people that died were wrong. Only Babbitt, an unarmed protestor, died that day by Capitol Police gunshot from a still unidentified officer. Protestors supposedly caused $30 million in damage — they did not. There are several other points to question.

The government is fighting tooth-and-nail not to make the information public. The release of all these records and videos is discretionary — some of the same people calling for investigation are actively blocking release…. Read stories about some of the protestors — how they are being treated and prosecuted — some are still in solitary confinement, others are being “reprogrammed,” and it seems that most are being specifically targeted for their political beliefs.

The House of Representatives just voted to create a select committee to investigate the unrest on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. And — surprise, surprise — Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger crossed over to vote with the Democrats in support of their select committee. Cheney found herself appointed to the select committee by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She says she is “honored to serve.” Cheney’s Republican primary opponent(s) must be overjoyed.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/gwendolynsims/2021/07/08/who-are-the-extremists-on-facebook-n1459316

Have you noticed? Lately, Facebook is more confused and more creepy than usual. In that oh-so-tolerant way that today’s Left has, our Facebook Redirect Initiative Overlords continue to work hard flagging people and posts they don’t agree with as “extremists” and “extremist content.”

Early this week, Facebook flagged a post that I viewed as potentially exposing me to “harmful extremist content.” The post (full text below) simply asked a question and mentioned a MAGA hat in the context of the Gwen Berry anthem incident:

Facebook screenshot.

FULL POST TEXT:  “How would the Left respond if an Olympian wore a MAGA hat on the podium during the medal ceremony?”

FULL FACEBOOK NOTICE TEXT:  “Gwendolyn, you may have been exposed to harmful extremist content recently

Violent groups try to manipulate your anger and disappointment. You can take action now to protect yourself and others.

Get support from experts

Spot the signs, understand the dangers of extremism and hear from people who have escaped violent groups.”

Notice that the supposedly offending post didn’t mention President Donald Trump nor imply or encourage violence of any sort and yet, it’s still deemed “harmful extremist content” from “violent groups” from which I might need protection and “support from experts” to cope with such exposure.

That’s right, the very thought of the acronym for “Make America Great Again” has become such a boogeyman in the leftists’ hivemind, they see it as harmful and extremist.

If you’re anything like me, you’re simultaneously unsurprised at this while also thinking, “What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on here?!” Does Facebook actually believe that all posts and all people who simply view “MAGA” in a post would need to seek support? Really? Does Facebook actually believe every single one of the over 74 million Americans who voted for President Trump in 2020 is a potential “violent extremist” just because he or she might post “MAGA,” wear a red hat, or believe America is great? Sadly as we already suspected, this is what it’s come to and the answer appears to be an unequivocal “yes.”

With that in mind, it’s well past time we remind Facebook and the rest of the leftists who think they speak for America just who the actual online and real-life extremists really are. Let’s look at where the Left stands on three key issues:

Racism

We know because the Left has told us ad nauseam that it sees everything through the lens of racism, whether real or perceived. It believes one’s skin color bestows both disadvantages to non-whites and ambiguous privileges to whites. Ironically, it also believes being born in America–the most prosperous and free nation on earth–doesn’t provide significant opportunities for non-whites.

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/08/no-relief-for-lego-man-or-other-january-6-detainees/

Joe Biden’s Justice Department wants the Lego Man kept behind bars—indefinitely.

Federal agents seized a plastic replica of the Capitol building from the Pennsylvania home of Robert Morss during his arrest on June 11. Justice Department officials are citing the Lego model as evidence in the criminal case against Morss for his involvement in the January 6 protest: “During his arrest, law enforcement recovered some clothing and other items that appear to match those he carried with him on the 6th—including a ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flag, a neck gaiter, a military utility bag, a black tourniquet, and military fatigues. (Law enforcement also recoverd [sic] a fully constructed U.S. Capitol Lego set.)”

So wrote government prosecutors in a July 2 filing asking the D.C. District Court to deny Morss’ release while he awaits trial on nine counts, including assaulting police officers and disorderly conduct. 

While dangerous criminals daily threaten the safety of innocent people in cities across the country—and many are released on bail—the FBI continues its nationwide manhunt for Capitol protesters while the Justice Department repeatedly petitions the court to keep the accused incarcerated for months on end.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who despicably compares January 6 to the Oklahoma City bombing, recently bragged his office reached a “benchmark” of 500 arrests. (Who knew criminal investigations had quotas?). In more than 100 cases and counting, Garland’s prosecutors have sought and often received pretrial detention for first-time offenders, including defendants not accused of committing any violent crimes.

The government’s justification for keeping Capitol defendants in jail until either a plea agreement or trial is that the events of January 6 were uniquely horrific and anyone who participated poses a threat to the country. 

“Morss’s dangerousness is not limited to his past actions, but presents a future threat,” assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson warned in the July 2 detention motion. “It is difficult to fathom a more serious danger to the community—to the District of Columbia, to the country, or to the fabric of American Democracy—than the one posed by someone who knowingly and eagerly engaged in a violent insurrection to occupy the United States Capitol and abort the certification of a lawful and fair election.”

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/07/will_the_democrats_have_broad_smiles_on_their_faces_at_the_end_of_their_jan_6_kangaroo_inquisition.html

For reasons not yet explained, the media refers to the date of the demonstration at the Capitol six months ago as “Jan. 6,” not as “January 6.”    The forthcoming kangaroo inquisition on the event, under the aegis of Speaker Pelosi, will likely, then, be called “The Jan. 6 Hearing” — if not  the “Trump-provoked Insurrection Hearing.

If the reason for the abbreviated use of first month of the year, in the context of the Capitol demonstration is unclear, the purpose of the Pelosi-directed kangaroo inquisition is perfectly clear:  to smear the Republican Party as the party of insurrection, racism and authoritarianism.    Will the GOP house leadership hand Pelosi the sword to decapitate them — figuratively.

This writer covered the January 27, 2007 anti-Bush protest of leftists in the vicinity of the Capitol.  The images obtained included those of Hollywood celebrities, including Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, and Sean Penn, as well as members of Congress including a dour John Conyers and a smiling Jerrold Nadler.   

Will the performance, indeed participation of congressional Republicans during this kangaroo inquisition be such as to have Rep. Nadler smile even more broadly than the smile this writer captured via a Canon camera using film, some 14 and a half years ago? 

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/07/bidens_cognitive_decline_continues_to_be_swift_and_obvious.html

More video emerged on Thursday showing that Joe Biden’s cognitive decline has neither slowed nor stopped. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t feel sorry for him because his long history of corruption, nastiness, racism, and pervy behavior disqualifies him from getting my compassion. And while I’d like to feel Schadenfreude as to the Democrats – that is, I’d like to enjoy watching Democrats struggle with a mentally decompensating president – the fact that Biden is theoretically the leader of the free world makes the situation too scary for Schadenfreude.

The latest evidence of Biden’s swift mental decomposition occurred when he appeared before the press to take questions about Afghanistan. This video is admittedly a compilation of select bad moments over a more extended time, but you’re seeing repeated examples of a man struggling to hunt down the elusive thoughts in his head so that he can verbalize them:

I don’t have to visit leftist websites to know the defense Democrats will offer to Biden’s stumbling speech and long pauses: Biden stuttered as a child. I’m sure that’s true. The part that Democrats leave out, though, is that Biden overcame his stuttering. We have hours of boring video footage covering decades, all showing Biden in his adult life speaking without stuttering. Even during the 2012 campaign, Biden was a smooth and fluent, if stupid and mean, speaker.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hide-your-grandparents-cuomo-vows-handle-gun-violence-he-did-covid-19

Elderly New Yorkers beware; Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) vowed on Thursday to tackle the state’s skyrocketing gun violence in the same manner as he administration dealt with COVID – in which he notably ordered COVID patients to be housed in elder care facilities – where the most vulnerable live, leading to countless unnecessary deaths.

“We know how to deal with an epidemic,” he said during a briefing. “We wanna do with gun violence, what we just did with COVID,” he said.