wnd--2020-07-22--America's descent into 'cheap freedom of 'nothing left to lose''

When you hear that Biden wants to “ transform ” America , and then you hear that he is leading President Trump by 10 or 15 percentage points in the polls , you have to fear that perhaps America is already transformed , that it is no longer the sweet land of liberty , that it is no longer the same land where our fathers died , that the dear freedom we once took for granted has been replaced by the cheap freedom of “ nothing left to lose.
” But if we as a nation no longer respect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the articles of the Constitution , in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who put honor and country first , then we must ask -- those of us who still have a moral compass and are looking for the direction home -- “ How did we get here ?
” It ’ s no accident that Biden ’ s promise to transform America echoed the words of the man he served as vice president .
The week before Barack Obama was elected president , he told a crowd in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.
” After his election , he endeavored to fulfill that promise , most overtly by co-opting the nation ’ s health care system , one-fifth of the U.S. economy , and putting it under the auspices of the federal government with the Affordable Care Act .
But let ’ s not blame Obama and absolve ourselves of all responsibility .
To paraphrase Shakespeare , the fault is not in our star politicians , but in ourselves .
Ben Franklin said that the Founding Fathers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you can keep it.
” Well , we ’ ve done a rather poor job of keeping it .
The descent into the madness on our streets and in our courthouses and in our legislatures today did not just start with Barack Obama , and as we now see clearly it will not just stop with Donald Trump .
For well over 100 years , the nation has toyed with socialism like a fifth-grader experimenting with cigarettes .
What harm could it do , right ?
But before you know it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggling to breathe or is starting another round of chemotherapy .
Actions have consequences , and so does looking the other way .
In my new book , “ How We Got Here , ” I look at some of the roots of the radical ideology that is now threatening to destroy our country .
It is no accident that the subtitle is “ The Left ’ s Assault on the Constitution , ” because it is that document which restrained the socialist impulse for many years and yet is now proving dangerously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I submit that our faith in the Constitution was perhaps ill-placed .
We forgot the warning of John Adams that “ Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People .
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
” That quote is well-known to conservatives , if not sufficiently honored , but the rest of President Adams ’ letter to the Massachusetts Militia in 1798 is little remembered .
That ’ s unfortunate , because it sounds the alarm on our current crisis quite presciently : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America , once become capable of that deep … simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations , which assumes the Language of Justice and moderation while it is practicing Iniquity and Extravagance ; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming Pictures of Candour frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and Insolence : this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World .
Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion .
Avarice , Ambition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net .
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People .
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
” Sound familiar ?
It should .
Black Lives Matter and its allies on the left have adopted the “ language of justice ” while indeed “ practicing iniquity ” in the form of arson and shootings and “ rioting in rapine and insolence.
” Though the word is out of fashion , rapine seems an apt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets since the end of May .
It is defined as the “ violent seizure of someone ’ s property.
” How else do you describe what happened in Minneapolis and Atlanta and Seattle and is still happening in Portland , Ore. ?
Adams warned that “ this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World ” should these conditions come to pass , and we do not have to guess if he was right .
We are living it .
We know full well that the instincts of “ avarice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ break the strongest cords of the Constitution.
” Witness what happened to the St. Louis attorney who defended his home with a weapon when he was threatened by an unlawful assembly .
No one protected him , no one answered his call for police , and within a week his gun was seized and he was threatened with prosecution for a “ hate crime.
” So much for the Second Amendment .
“ We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People ” have no way to contend with a government that is unbridled by morality and religion .
That , ladies and gentleman , is the point we have reached , so discovering “ how we got here ” may be only an academic exercise .
Nonetheless , if we are going to have any chance to restore morality to government -- and power to the Constitution -- we must do the hard work of finding out what went wrong .
After that , we shall see if there is any hope .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of morality .
This is the north star of behavior , the bellwether of decency , the certainty of right and wrong .
Morality is what C.S .
Lewis in “ The Abolition of Man ” called the Tao — “ the doctrine of objective value , the belief that certain attitudes are really true , and others really false , to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are.
” In other words , it was that force which existed independent of man but embedded in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain inalienable rights as “ self-evident.
” The Tao was not created by religion , but rather was the reason why religions existed .
It is what our Founders called Natural Law .
So what went wrong ?
In a word , education .
In two words , “ progressive education.
” For the first hundred years or so of our nation ’ s history , education served its usual purpose of reinforcing social norms , teaching values and passing on the heritage and traditions that bind us together .
All of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanks in large part to one man — John Dewey , the godfather of progressive education , who insisted on teaching children what they want to learn instead of what they should learn .
Essentially , what the progressive education movement wanted to accomplish — and did accomplish by the 1960s — was to jettison traditional values and replace them with transient values ( those which each generation or even each student adopted individually ) .
This meant that society was no longer tethered to the Tao .
Morality had become relative .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of reinforcing social conventions and standards to uprooting them .
Time magazine in 1958 put it this way : “ In a kind of country-club existentialism , Dewey and his boys genially contended that the traditional ends of education , like God , virtue and the idea of ‘ culture , ’ were all highly debatable and hence not worth debating .
In their place : enter life adjustment .
The Deweyites thus transformed conditioning techniques into ends in themselves .
...
Within the schools , discipline gave way to increasingly dubious group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one high school principal said proudly , ‘ there is nothing more powerful than the approval or disapproval of the group .
When the majority conforms , the others will go along.
’ It would not easily occur to the modern educationists that such blind fostering of group pressure is a travesty of free democracy.
” Dewey ’ s system of education emphasized students doing what feels good rather than learning what is good for them .
Progressive education does not believe in moral , religious or cultural absolutes , but rather teaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reject any system of belief , any principles , and values that they find to be “ restrictive ” or that make them “ uncomfortable.
” In essence , Dewey said to question everything and respect nothing .
That model did permanent damage to the family , to the church , and to the country .
Progressive education does not believe in moral , religious or cultural absolutes and makes every individual the master of his own moral universe .
It also means that nothing can be taken for granted , nothing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and wrong is malleable .
Which brings us -- in this truncated history -- to the 1960s .
The social revolution of that decade was the illegitimate child of progressive education and the affluent society .
Thanks to the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation , my own generation was able to smoke weed , skip class , and raise Cain — all while on the family allowance .
Somehow along the way , these products of indulgence decided that America didn ’ t live up to their high standards of social justice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and free enterprise and substituted their socialist fantasies .
The Vietnam War gave them the perfect foil to foment civil unrest and to enlist most of their generation into a war on “ the establishment , ” which meant a war on law and order , a war on religion , a war on the nuclear family , and a war on authority in general .
These were the godchildren of John Dewey : Question everything , respect nothing .
One mastermind of the ’ 60s revolution was Bill Ayers , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bomb-throwing revolutionary in the Weather Underground , and then a fugitive from justice .
It was while he was hiding from the FBI for the entire decade of the 1970s that Ayers realized that violent revolution could not topple the government unless it was first rotted from within .
In “ Prairie Fire ” and other radical writings , Ayers described how young people , minorities and women could be turned against the system , and most importantly how revolutionaries who wore suits and ties could infiltrate boardrooms , political parties , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of society in order to bring about change from within .
When you see how many millions of dollars that corporate America has voluntarily given to the communist front organization known as Black Lives Matter , you can gauge just how successful Ayers was in his strategy .
When you see that the Democratic Party is led by communists and socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , you can thank Bill Ayers .
When you see military generals publicly condemning the commander-in-chief for his efforts to ensure public safety , you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory .
When you watch our courts chip away at our freedoms , you can bet that Bill Ayers thinks he has won .
And maybe he has .
A recurring theme in “ How We Got Here ” is that the Constitution no longer means what it says it means , but rather what any five Supreme Court justices say it means .
These justices have a remarkable knack for discovering new powers for the government hidden in nooks and crannies of the document that somehow were missed previously .
Under such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tool for social engineering rather than a protection against government excess , as was originally intended .
It too is all part of the plan .
After all , judges are lawyers , and lawyers are graduated from law schools , and the top law-school students come from the top Ivy League and radical-left colleges , and most radical college students come from public schools , and public schools are to progressivism what politics is to the swamp .
You can thank John Dewey , and you can thank Bill Ayers , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became an influential educator of educators at the University of Illinois at Chicago .
In “ Prairie Fire , ” Ayers outlined how the revolution would transform America .
Yes , violence would play a role .
Yes , bankrupting the system by increasing dependence on government would play a role .
Yes , spurring foreign wars to spread America ’ s military too thin would play a role .
Yes , encouraging division among the races would be part of it , as would weakening the influence of religion on the masses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the revolution , Ayers made it perfectly clear how to begin : “ The real question is : Who will control the schools ?
” How did we get here ?
The answer by now should be obvious .

When you hear that Biden wants to “transform” America, and then you hear that he is leading President Trump by 10 or 15 percentage points in the polls, you have to fear that perhaps America is already transformed, that it is no longer the sweet land of liberty, that it is no longer the same land where our fathers died, that the dear freedom we once took for granted has been replaced by the cheap freedom of “nothing left to lose.”
But if we as a nation no longer respect the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, in the articles of the Constitution, in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who put honor and country first, then we must ask -- those of us who still have a moral compass and are looking for the direction home -- “How did we get here?”
It’s no accident that Biden’s promise to transform America echoed the words of the man he served as vice president. The week before Barack Obama was elected president, he told a crowd in Missouri, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” After his election, he endeavored to fulfill that promise, most overtly by co-opting the nation’s health care system, one-fifth of the U.S. economy, and putting it under the auspices of the federal government with the Affordable Care Act.
But let’s not blame Obama and absolve ourselves of all responsibility. To paraphrase Shakespeare, the fault is not in our star politicians, but in ourselves. Ben Franklin said that the Founding Fathers had given the nation a republic “if you can keep it.” Well, we’ve done a rather poor job of keeping it. The descent into the madness on our streets and in our courthouses and in our legislatures today did not just start with Barack Obama, and as we now see clearly it will not just stop with Donald Trump.
For well over 100 years, the nation has toyed with socialism like a fifth-grader experimenting with cigarettes. What harm could it do, right? But before you know it, your fifth-grader is all grown up and struggling to breathe or is starting another round of chemotherapy. Actions have consequences, and so does looking the other way.
In my new book, “How We Got Here,” I look at some of the roots of the radical ideology that is now threatening to destroy our country. It is no accident that the subtitle is “The Left’s Assault on the Constitution,” because it is that document which restrained the socialist impulse for many years and yet is now proving dangerously susceptible to court-ordered subversion.
In retrospect, I submit that our faith in the Constitution was perhaps ill-placed. We forgot the warning of John Adams that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
That quote is well-known to conservatives, if not sufficiently honored, but the rest of President Adams’ letter to the Massachusetts Militia in 1798 is little remembered. That’s unfortunate, because it sounds the alarm on our current crisis quite presciently:
“[S]hould the People of America, once become capable of that deep … simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations, which assumes the Language of Justice and moderation while it is practicing Iniquity and Extravagance; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming Pictures of Candour frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and Insolence: this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World. Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Sound familiar? It should. Black Lives Matter and its allies on the left have adopted the “language of justice” while indeed “practicing iniquity” in the form of arson and shootings and “rioting in rapine and insolence.” Though the word is out of fashion, rapine seems an apt description of the state of our city streets since the end of May. It is defined as the “violent seizure of someone’s property.” How else do you describe what happened in Minneapolis and Atlanta and Seattle and is still happening in Portland, Ore.?
Adams warned that “this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World” should these conditions come to pass, and we do not have to guess if he was right. We are living it. We know full well that the instincts of “avarice, ambition and revenge” can indeed “break the strongest cords of the Constitution.” Witness what happened to the St. Louis attorney who defended his home with a weapon when he was threatened by an unlawful assembly. No one protected him, no one answered his call for police, and within a week his gun was seized and he was threatened with prosecution for a “hate crime.” So much for the Second Amendment.
“We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion,” said Adams. “We the People” have no way to contend with a government that is unbridled by morality and religion. That, ladies and gentleman, is the point we have reached, so discovering “how we got here” may be only an academic exercise. Nonetheless, if we are going to have any chance to restore morality to government -- and power to the Constitution -- we must do the hard work of finding out what went wrong. After that, we shall see if there is any hope.
Let’s start with the loss of morality. This is the north star of behavior, the bellwether of decency, the certainty of right and wrong. Morality is what C.S. Lewis in “The Abolition of Man” called the Tao — “the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are.” In other words, it was that force which existed independent of man but embedded in him that impelled our Founders to describe certain inalienable rights as “self-evident.” The Tao was not created by religion, but rather was the reason why religions existed. It is what our Founders called Natural Law.
So what went wrong? In a word, education. In two words, “progressive education.” For the first hundred years or so of our nation’s history, education served its usual purpose of reinforcing social norms, teaching values and passing on the heritage and traditions that bind us together. All of that began to change in the 1880s, thanks in large part to one man — John Dewey, the godfather of progressive education, who insisted on teaching children what they want to learn instead of what they should learn. Essentially, what the progressive education movement wanted to accomplish — and did accomplish by the 1960s — was to jettison traditional values and replace them with transient values (those which each generation or even each student adopted individually). This meant that society was no longer tethered to the Tao. Morality had become relative. Education had switched from being a method of reinforcing social conventions and standards to uprooting them.
Time magazine in 1958 put it this way:
“In a kind of country-club existentialism, Dewey and his boys genially contended that the traditional ends of education, like God, virtue and the idea of ‘culture,’ were all highly debatable and hence not worth debating. In their place: enter life adjustment. The Deweyites thus transformed conditioning techniques into ends in themselves. ... Within the schools, discipline gave way to increasingly dubious group persuasion. ‘With teen-agers,’ one high school principal said proudly, ‘there is nothing more powerful than the approval or disapproval of the group. When the majority conforms, the others will go along.’ It would not easily occur to the modern educationists that such blind fostering of group pressure is a travesty of free democracy.”
Dewey’s system of education emphasized students doing what feels good rather than learning what is good for them. Progressive education does not believe in moral, religious or cultural absolutes, but rather teaches students that they have the right to reject any system of belief, any principles, and values that they find to be “restrictive” or that make them “uncomfortable.” In essence, Dewey said to question everything and respect nothing. That model did permanent damage to the family, to the church, and to the country. Progressive education does not believe in moral, religious or cultural absolutes and makes every individual the master of his own moral universe. It also means that nothing can be taken for granted, nothing is certain, and the concept of right and wrong is malleable.
Which brings us -- in this truncated history -- to the 1960s. The social revolution of that decade was the illegitimate child of progressive education and the affluent society. Thanks to the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation, my own generation was able to smoke weed, skip class, and raise Cain — all while on the family allowance. Somehow along the way, these products of indulgence decided that America didn’t live up to their high standards of social justice. They rejected the principles of rugged individualism and free enterprise and substituted their socialist fantasies. The Vietnam War gave them the perfect foil to foment civil unrest and to enlist most of their generation into a war on “the establishment,” which meant a war on law and order, a war on religion, a war on the nuclear family, and a war on authority in general. These were the godchildren of John Dewey: Question everything, respect nothing.
One mastermind of the ’60s revolution was Bill Ayers, who was first a progressive educator, then a bomb-throwing revolutionary in the Weather Underground, and then a fugitive from justice. It was while he was hiding from the FBI for the entire decade of the 1970s that Ayers realized that violent revolution could not topple the government unless it was first rotted from within. In “Prairie Fire” and other radical writings, Ayers described how young people, minorities and women could be turned against the system, and most importantly how revolutionaries who wore suits and ties could infiltrate boardrooms, political parties, the military, the courts and other institutions of society in order to bring about change from within.
When you see how many millions of dollars that corporate America has voluntarily given to the communist front organization known as Black Lives Matter, you can gauge just how successful Ayers was in his strategy. When you see that the Democratic Party is led by communists and socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you can thank Bill Ayers. When you see military generals publicly condemning the commander-in-chief for his efforts to ensure public safety, you know that Bill Ayers has come close to victory. When you watch our courts chip away at our freedoms, you can bet that Bill Ayers thinks he has won. And maybe he has.
A recurring theme in “How We Got Here” is that the Constitution no longer means what it says it means, but rather what any five Supreme Court justices say it means. These justices have a remarkable knack for discovering new powers for the government hidden in nooks and crannies of the document that somehow were missed previously. Under such a scenario, the Constitution becomes a tool for social engineering rather than a protection against government excess, as was originally intended.
It too is all part of the plan. After all, judges are lawyers, and lawyers are graduated from law schools, and the top law-school students come from the top Ivy League and radical-left colleges, and most radical college students come from public schools, and public schools are to progressivism what politics is to the swamp. You can thank John Dewey, and you can thank Bill Ayers, who after he returned to public view, became an influential educator of educators at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In “Prairie Fire,” Ayers outlined how the revolution would transform America. Yes, violence would play a role. Yes, bankrupting the system by increasing dependence on government would play a role. Yes, spurring foreign wars to spread America’s military too thin would play a role. Yes, encouraging division among the races would be part of it, as would weakening the influence of religion on the masses, but if you wanted to win the revolution, Ayers made it perfectly clear how to begin: “The real question is: Who will control the schools?”
How did we get here? The answer by now should be obvious.


wnd--2020-07-22--Watch confused Biden describe campaign's 'voter registration physicians'

His latest is a reference to `` voter registration physicians '' in the states , the Gateway Pundit reported , commenting that he `` became totally incoherent during a softball interview '' with MSNBC 's Joy Reid .
`` Have a whole group of lawyers who are going out to every polling every uh uh uh voter registration physician in the states , '' Biden said .
`` The secretaries of state making sure that they in fact have a game plan as to how they 're going to allow the voting to take place , '' Biden continued .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the House did .
They passed the money to allow for voting in place , to have vote , uh , not only , voting by mail but also voting in place by providing the necessary equipment for social distancing , sanitation .
We 've 10,000 people have volunteered . ''
The Gateway Pundit wondered , `` What exactly is a voter registration physician ? ''
`` Biden previously said he is 'constantly ' tested when asked if he has been tested for cognitive decline .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests ! ''
On one occasion during the current campaign , he said he is running for the Senate .
When he ran for vice president with Barack Obama , he introduced his running mate as the `` next president of the U.S. – Barack America ! ''
During the 2008 campaign , Biden was speaking in Ohio about John McCain , the Republican candidate : `` Look , John 's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class , and it happens to be , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jobs .
J-O-B-S , jobs . ''
He once told state Sen. Chuck Graham of Missouri , a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair , `` Stand up Chuck , let 'em see you . ''
About the economy he once said : `` Now , people when I say that look at me and say , 'What are you talking about , Joe ?
You 're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt ? '
The answer is yes , that 's what I 'm telling you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How in Lord 's name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts ? ''
`` They 're going to put y'all back in chains , '' he said while campaigning in 2012 to an audience that included many African Americans .
`` Folks , I can tell you I 've known eight presidents , three of them intimately , '' he once stated .
About his faith he said , `` The next Republican that tells me I 'm not religious , I 'm going to shove my rosary beads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , `` If the Lord Almighty came down and gave us 60 percent of the right answers , we 'd still have a less-than-even chance of making this work . ''

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has a decades-long record of verbal blunders.
His latest is a reference to "voter registration physicians" in the states, the Gateway Pundit reported, commenting that he "became totally incoherent during a softball interview" with MSNBC's Joy Reid.
"Have a whole group of lawyers who are going out to every polling every uh uh uh voter registration physician in the states," Biden said.
"The secretaries of state making sure that they in fact have a game plan as to how they're going to allow the voting to take place," Biden continued. "We are continuing a push what Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the House did. They passed the money to allow for voting in place, to have vote, uh, not only, voting by mail but also voting in place by providing the necessary equipment for social distancing, sanitation. We've 10,000 people have volunteered."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
"We have a whole group of lawyers who are going out to every voter registration physician in the states...to allow for voting in place..." Joe Biden becomes totally incoherent during a softball interview with MSNBC pic.twitter.com/TRpiIEZAuX — Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) July 20, 2020
The Gateway Pundit wondered, "What exactly is a voter registration physician?"
"Biden previously said he is 'constantly' tested when asked if he has been tested for cognitive decline. Biden should release the results of his cognitive tests!"
On one occasion during the current campaign, he said he is running for the Senate.
When he ran for vice president with Barack Obama, he introduced his running mate as the "next president of the U.S. – Barack America!"
Author Mike Towle published a book called "Biden Time" featuring many of Biden's gaffes.
During the 2008 campaign, Biden was speaking in Ohio about John McCain, the Republican candidate: "Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: Jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs."
He once told state Sen. Chuck Graham of Missouri, a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, "Stand up Chuck, let 'em see you."
About the economy he once said: "Now, people when I say that look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?' The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you."
And he asked, "How in Lord's name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts?"
"They're going to put y'all back in chains," he said while campaigning in 2012 to an audience that included many African Americans.
"Folks, I can tell you I've known eight presidents, three of them intimately," he once stated.
About his faith he said, "The next Republican that tells me I'm not religious, I'm going to shove my rosary beads down their throat."
He's also admitted he wouldn't succeed.
He said, "If the Lord Almighty came down and gave us 60 percent of the right answers, we'd still have a less-than-even chance of making this work."


wnd--2020-07-22--Michael Cohen suit claims he was sent back to prison over tell-all book

The legal team for attorney Michael Cohen filed a petition seeking his release from jail Monday , alleging that he was only brought back as retaliation for a book that he is writing about his time working for President Donald Trump .
Cohen is being represented by both private lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union .
His legal team filed the suit in the Southern District of New York against Attorney General William Barr , Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal and James Petrucci , the warden of the prison where Cohen is being held , The Hill reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retaliation for his protected speech , including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the President – and recently making his public intention to publish that book soon , shortly before the upcoming election , ” Cohen ’ s petition says .
The petition calls for Cohen ’ s immediate release , arguing that his imprisonment is a violation of his First Amendment rights , according to The Hill .
Cohen , who was previously one of Trump ’ s personal attorneys , pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serving his three-year sentence when he was released into home confinement in May amid the coronavirus pandemic , the Wall Street Journal reported .
He was brought back into custody in early July after a dispute with his probation officers which would have barred him publishing his book , promoting his book or speaking with the media , The Hill reported .
Cohen began working on his manuscript once he arrived in prison , the petition stated .
The manuscript alleges that Trump made anti-Semitic remarks and racist comments about President Barack Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill .
Cohen , Trump ’ s longtime so-called fixer , testified before Congress in 2019 , and said the president of was a racist , a fraud and a liar , NPR reported .
Cohen ’ s petition also mentions the Trump administration ’ s efforts to prevent the publication of books by former National Security Advisor John Bolton and Mary Trump , the president ’ s niece , casting the administration as trying to “ censor speech that reflects negatively on Trump himself or his administration.
” The administration has denounced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completely false .
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact [ email protected ]

By Andrew Trunsky
Daily Caller News Foundation
The legal team for attorney Michael Cohen filed a petition seeking his release from jail Monday, alleging that he was only brought back as retaliation for a book that he is writing about his time working for President Donald Trump.
Cohen is being represented by both private lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union. His legal team filed the suit in the Southern District of New York against Attorney General William Barr, Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal and James Petrucci, the warden of the prison where Cohen is being held, The Hill reported.
“He is being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the President – and recently making his public intention to publish that book soon, shortly before the upcoming election,” Cohen’s petition says.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The petition calls for Cohen’s immediate release, arguing that his imprisonment is a violation of his First Amendment rights, according to The Hill.
Cohen, who was previously one of Trump’s personal attorneys, pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress and for campaign finance violations. He was serving his three-year sentence when he was released into home confinement in May amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported.
He was brought back into custody in early July after a dispute with his probation officers which would have barred him publishing his book, promoting his book or speaking with the media, The Hill reported.
Cohen began working on his manuscript once he arrived in prison, the petition stated. The manuscript alleges that Trump made anti-Semitic remarks and racist comments about President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela, according to the Hill.
Michael Cohen is suing Attorney General William Barr, claiming he was thrown back in prison because he refused to put the kibosh on his tell-all book about Trump. https://t.co/Jby4COmvMJ — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 21, 2020
Cohen, Trump’s longtime so-called fixer, testified before Congress in 2019, and said the president of was a racist, a fraud and a liar, NPR reported.
Cohen’s petition also mentions the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent the publication of books by former National Security Advisor John Bolton and Mary Trump, the president’s niece, casting the administration as trying to “censor speech that reflects negatively on Trump himself or his administration.”
The administration has denounced both books, insisting that they are completely false.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


wnd--2020-07-22--Christian adoption agency challenges state hostility to faith

Reversing a lower court , an appeals court ruled evidence of state `` hostility '' to faith must be investigated in a lawsuit by a Christian adoption agency challenging a New York state requirement that it place children with same-sex couples .
Representing New Hope Family Services , the Alliance Defending Freedom said Tuesday the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a `` resounding victory '' for the agency .
The court reversed a district court 's decision to dismiss the case against New York officials who barred the agency from placing children in homes .
The appeals court said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York , whether public or private , is undeniably great . ''
The pleadings `` raise a plausible suspicion that [ the state ] acted with hostility toward New Hope because of the latter 's religious beliefs , '' the court said .
The case now goes back to the district court .
`` Every child deserves a permanent home with loving parents , '' said ADF spokesman John Bursch .
He said New Hope 's faith-based services `` do nothing to interfere with other adoption providers , but banishing it means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fewer adoptive parents will ever welcome their new child , and fewer birth parents will enjoy the exceptional support that New Hope has offered for decades . ''
`` Additionally , government officials are not being neutral when they single out religious organizations for hostile treatment based on their beliefs about marriage , '' he said .
`` That ’ s a flagrant violation of the U.S .
Constitution . ''
The appeals court said the complaint and other claims `` plausibly allege that New Hope would be compelled to speak or associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regulation in question were enforced . ''
The court pointed out that the agency was granted permission by the state to operate perpetually and that it takes no government funding from the state .
The opinion confirmed that the evidence so far in the case does not permit a court to conclude , `` as a matter of law , that [ state ] actions in promulgating and enforcing the regulation at issue were neutral and not informed by hostility toward certain religious beliefs . ''
The Supreme Court , the ruling noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution `` aim to foster a society in which people of all beliefs can live together harmoniously , '' not a society devoid of religious beliefs and symbols .
The court explained that when the law was adopted , the governor himself assured that no agency would be forced to violate its beliefs , and it was only a few years ago that the rule-making process took that step .
The agency , for years , has excused itself and referred same-sex couples to other agencies where they are able to obtain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency argued , no applicant is denied services .
The court found that the state 's requirment that New Hope serve unmarried and same-sex duos directly `` raise a sufficient suspicion of hostility . ''
The state said New Hope could `` compromise '' or close .
ADF said the New York State Office of Children and Family Services `` singled out the religious nonprofit for its policy prioritizing the placement of children it serves in homes with a married mother and father . ''
In its ruling in favor of New Hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , `` that the district court should not have dismissed the lawsuit because the adoption provider ’ s arguments demonstrate that the government ’ s regulation may not have been neutral and may instead have been 'informed by hostility toward certain religious beliefs . '
'' The U.S. Supreme Court has stated `` many who deem same-sex marriage to be wrong reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises , and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here . ''
It said that those who adhere to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with utmost , sincere conviction that , by divine precepts , same-sex marriage should not be condoned . ''
The case is part of the fallout of the Supreme Court 's establishment of a right to same-sex marriage in 2015 .
Along with adoption agencies , states have launched discrimination cases against Christian wedding-cake artists , photographers , venue operators and others .
New Hope has placed more than 1,000 children in adoptive homes since it was founded in 1965 .
`` It is plainly a serious step to order an authorized adoption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for 50 years , taking no government funding , successfully placing approximately 1,000 children , and with adoptions pending or being supervised—to close all its adoption operations , '' the Second Circuit wrote .

Reversing a lower court, an appeals court ruled evidence of state "hostility" to faith must be investigated in a lawsuit by a Christian adoption agency challenging a New York state requirement that it place children with same-sex couples.
Representing New Hope Family Services, the Alliance Defending Freedom said Tuesday the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a "resounding victory" for the agency.
The court reversed a district court's decision to dismiss the case against New York officials who barred the agency from placing children in homes.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The appeals court said the "need for adoption services in New York, whether public or private, is undeniably great."
The pleadings "raise a plausible suspicion that [the state] acted with hostility toward New Hope because of the latter's religious beliefs," the court said.
The case now goes back to the district court.
"Every child deserves a permanent home with loving parents," said ADF spokesman John Bursch.
He said New Hope's faith-based services "do nothing to interfere with other adoption providers, but banishing it means fewer kids will find permanent homes, fewer adoptive parents will ever welcome their new child, and fewer birth parents will enjoy the exceptional support that New Hope has offered for decades."
"Additionally, government officials are not being neutral when they single out religious organizations for hostile treatment based on their beliefs about marriage," he said. "That’s a flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution."
The appeals court said the complaint and other claims "plausibly allege that New Hope would be compelled to speak or associated in violation of those beliefs if the regulation in question were enforced."
The court pointed out that the agency was granted permission by the state to operate perpetually and that it takes no government funding from the state.
The opinion confirmed that the evidence so far in the case does not permit a court to conclude, "as a matter of law, that [state] actions in promulgating and enforcing the regulation at issue were neutral and not informed by hostility toward certain religious beliefs."
The Supreme Court, the ruling noted, has said the religious clauses of the Constitution "aim to foster a society in which people of all beliefs can live together harmoniously," not a society devoid of religious beliefs and symbols.
The court explained that when the law was adopted, the governor himself assured that no agency would be forced to violate its beliefs, and it was only a few years ago that the rule-making process took that step.
The agency, for years, has excused itself and referred same-sex couples to other agencies where they are able to obtain full services.
That way, the agency argued, no applicant is denied services.
The court found that the state's requirment that New Hope serve unmarried and same-sex duos directly "raise a sufficient suspicion of hostility."
The state said New Hope could "compromise" or close.
ADF said the New York State Office of Children and Family Services "singled out the religious nonprofit for its policy prioritizing the placement of children it serves in homes with a married mother and father."
In its ruling in favor of New Hope, the Second Circuit concluded, ADF said, "that the district court should not have dismissed the lawsuit because the adoption provider’s arguments demonstrate that the government’s regulation may not have been neutral and may instead have been 'informed by hostility toward certain religious beliefs.'"
The U.S. Supreme Court has stated "many who deem same-sex marriage to be wrong reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises, and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here."
It said that those who adhere to religious doctrines may "continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned."
The case is part of the fallout of the Supreme Court's establishment of a right to same-sex marriage in 2015. Along with adoption agencies, states have launched discrimination cases against Christian wedding-cake artists, photographers, venue operators and others.
New Hope has placed more than 1,000 children in adoptive homes since it was founded in 1965.
"It is plainly a serious step to order an authorized adoption agency such as New Hope—operating without complaint for 50 years, taking no government funding, successfully placing approximately 1,000 children, and with adoptions pending or being supervised—to close all its adoption operations," the Second Circuit wrote.


wnd--2020-07-22--Twitter bans Star of David images as 'hateful'

Twitter is locking the accounts of users who display the Star of David in their profile image or header , deeming it `` hateful imagery . ''
The London-based nonprofit Campaign Against Antisemitism said several Twitter users have contacted them recently to report that their accounts had been locked because various images of the Star of David violated the social media platform 's `` rules against posting hateful imagery , '' the Jerusalem Post reported .
`` You may not use hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header .
As a result , we have locked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the users .
The Post reported the offending images `` ranged from a white Star of David in a graffiti style , to a superimposition of the modern blue star on the flag of Israel spliced with the yellow star Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis , to a montage of yellow stars . ''
Stephen Silverman , director of investigations and enforcement for the Campaign Against Antisemitism , said social media companies often claim `` that they lack the resources to tackle hate on their platforms , but Twitter has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrating that it does have the resources , but chooses to target the benign symbol of a victimized minority instead of the countless racists who use its platform with impunity . ''
`` Twitter must immediately restore these accounts , apologize to the owners , and pledge finally to take robust action against the antisemites whom it has enabled for so long , '' he said .
The Post said that just last week , Twitter was accused of inciting anti-Jewish hatred for allowing the hashtag # JewishPrivilege to trend .
The tag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as , `` # JewishPrivilege is being born into a world where your ancestors have ‘ progressive-ly ’ transformed an entire civilization into a Jewish ‘ utopia ’ by inverting its formerly Christian values into their exact opposites . ''
Another said , `` # JewishPrivilege is running the Slave Trade , owning the Slave Ships and owning the Cotton Plantations but constantly blaming Slavery on White people with the very media that you completely control.
” Silverman said it 's `` deplorable enough that Twitter consistently fails to act against antisemitism on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking action against Jews for the simple crime of showing pride in their identity by displaying a Star of David . ''
`` It never fails to astound just how low Twitter is prepared to go , '' he said .

Twitter is locking the accounts of users who display the Star of David in their profile image or header, deeming it "hateful imagery."
The London-based nonprofit Campaign Against Antisemitism said several Twitter users have contacted them recently to report that their accounts had been locked because various images of the Star of David violated the social media platform's "rules against posting hateful imagery," the Jerusalem Post reported.
"You may not use hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header. As a result, we have locked your account," Twitter wrote to the users.
The Post reported the offending images "ranged from a white Star of David in a graffiti style, to a superimposition of the modern blue star on the flag of Israel spliced with the yellow star Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis, to a montage of yellow stars."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said social media companies often claim "that they lack the resources to tackle hate on their platforms, but Twitter has put the lie to that claim by demonstrating that it does have the resources, but chooses to target the benign symbol of a victimized minority instead of the countless racists who use its platform with impunity."
"Twitter must immediately restore these accounts, apologize to the owners, and pledge finally to take robust action against the antisemites whom it has enabled for so long," he said.
The Post said that just last week, Twitter was accused of inciting anti-Jewish hatred for allowing the hashtag #JewishPrivilege to trend.
The tag was used to promote anti-Semitic messages such as, "#JewishPrivilege is being born into a world where your ancestors have ‘progressive-ly’ transformed an entire civilization into a Jewish ‘utopia’ by inverting its formerly Christian values into their exact opposites."
Is the Star of David hateful? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 3% (22 Votes) 97% (742 Votes)
Another said, "#JewishPrivilege is running the Slave Trade, owning the Slave Ships and owning the Cotton Plantations but constantly blaming Slavery on White people with the very media that you completely control.”
Silverman said it's "deplorable enough that Twitter consistently fails to act against antisemitism on its platform, but now it is taking action against Jews for the simple crime of showing pride in their identity by displaying a Star of David."
"It never fails to astound just how low Twitter is prepared to go," he said.


wnd--2020-07-21--Astonishing: Popular teacher fired for tweeting 'Trump is our president'

A popular Michigan high-school teacher says he was fired for a series of tweets in which he supported President Trump 's call to reopen schools this fall and declared he would not be silenced .
Justin Kucera , a varsity baseball coach and social-studies teacher , said he was called on the carpet by Walled Lake school-district officials and told he must resign or be fired , the Washington Free Beacon reported .
The teacher retweeted President Trump 's tweet stating `` SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL . ''
Kucera added his own message : `` I 'm done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president . ''
In a July 10 meeting with human resources , the superintendent and the principal , Kucera said , the officials took his statement on why he wrote the tweets .
They initially said they would announced a decision about his future employment in the coming days .
However , when they completed the meeting , Kucera said , `` I was told I had the option to either be fired or resign . ''
`` I know a lot of people are just rooting for Trump to fail , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do that , '' he told the Free Beacon .
`` Agree with him or not , you should want the president to do well .
I apologized that [ my tweet ] brought so much negative attention , but I 'm not sorry for what I said . ''
Walled Lake Western High School is in Commerce Township , a northwest suburb of Detroit .
The Beacon reported Kucera was popular among parents and teachers , and one student lamented she would have to find a new `` favorite teacher . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed his political views to impact his classes or teams .
A parent of two Walled Lake Western boys who asked not to be identiried told the Free Beacon that Kucera was an apolitical figure who coached his son in baseball and basketball and taught his sons AP History and student leadership .
Other Walled Lake teachers have expressed their political views , the Beacon reported , and if they are in opposition to President Trump they have faced no repercussions .
One teacher had suggested students read about `` how to beat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a `` sociopath . ''

A popular Michigan high-school teacher says he was fired for a series of tweets in which he supported President Trump's call to reopen schools this fall and declared he would not be silenced.
Justin Kucera, a varsity baseball coach and social-studies teacher, said he was called on the carpet by Walled Lake school-district officials and told he must resign or be fired, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The teacher retweeted President Trump's tweet stating "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Kucera added his own message: "I'm done being silent. @RealDonaldTrump is our president."
In a July 10 meeting with human resources, the superintendent and the principal, Kucera said, the officials took his statement on why he wrote the tweets.
They initially said they would announced a decision about his future employment in the coming days.
However, when they completed the meeting, Kucera said, "I was told I had the option to either be fired or resign."
Should this teacher take legal action after being fired for saying Trump is our president? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 96% (746 Votes) 4% (33 Votes)
"I know a lot of people are just rooting for Trump to fail, and I don't think that anybody should do that," he told the Free Beacon. "Agree with him or not, you should want the president to do well. I apologized that [my tweet] brought so much negative attention, but I'm not sorry for what I said."
Walled Lake Western High School is in Commerce Township, a northwest suburb of Detroit.
I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president ❌🧢 Don’t @ me — Coach Kucera (@CoachKWLW) July 7, 2020
The Beacon reported Kucera was popular among parents and teachers, and one student lamented she would have to find a new "favorite teacher."
Recent graduate Bryant Hixon said Kucera never allowed his political views to impact his classes or teams.
A parent of two Walled Lake Western boys who asked not to be identified told the Free Beacon that Kucera was an apolitical figure who coached his son in baseball and basketball and taught his sons AP History and student leadership.
Other Walled Lake teachers have expressed their political views, the Beacon reported, and if they are in opposition to President Trump they have faced no repercussions.
One teacher had suggested students read about "how to beat Trump," and another called Trump a "sociopath."


wnd--2020-07-21--If Confederate generals were 'traitors,' so was Geo. Washington

The Confederacy has been the excuse for some of today 's rioting , property destruction and grossly uninformed statements .
Among the latter is the testimony before the House Armed Services Committee by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in favor of renaming Confederate-named military bases .
He said : `` The Confederacy , the American Civil War , was fought , and it was an act of rebellion .
It was an act of treason , at the time , against the Union , against the Stars and Stripes , against the U.S .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ facts about our founding that should be acknowledged .
Let 's start at the beginning , namely the American War of Independence ( 1775-1783 ) , a war between Great Britain and its 13 colonies , which declared independence in July 1776 .
The peace agreement that ended the war is known as the Treaty of Paris signed by Benjamin Franklin , John Adams , John Jay and Henry Laurens and by British Commissioner Richard Oswald , on Sept. 3 , 1783 .
Article I of the Treaty held that `` New Hampshire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Providence Plantations , Connecticut , New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina and Georgia , to be free sovereign and Independent States . ''
Delegates from these states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to form a union .
During the Philadelphia convention , a proposal was made to permit the federal government to suppress a seceding state .
James Madison , the Father of the Constitution , rejected it .
Minutes from the debate paraphrased his opinion : `` A union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( would ) provide for its own destruction .
The use of force against a state would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment and would probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound . ''
During the ratification debates , Virginia 's delegates said , `` The powers granted under the Constitution being derived from the people of the United States may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of New York and Rhode Island expressed similar sentiments ; namely , they held the right to dissolve their relationship with the United States .
Ratification of the Constitution was by no means certain .
States feared federal usurpation of their powers .
If there were a provision to suppress a seceding state , the Constitution would never have been ratified .
The ratification votes were close with Virginia , New York and Massachusetts voting in favor by the slimmest of margins .
Rhode Island initially rejected it in a popular referendum and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 32 against .
Most Americans do not know that the first secessionist movement started in New England .
Many New Englanders were infuriated by President Thomas Jefferson 's Louisiana Purchase in 1803 , which they saw as an unconstitutional act .
Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts , who was George Washington 's secretary of war and secretary of state , led the movement .
He said , `` The Eastern states must and will dissolve the union and form a separate government . ''
Other prominent Americans such as John Quincy Adams , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Quincy III and Joseph Story shared his call for secession .
While the New England secessionist movement was strong , it failed to garner support at the 1814-15 Hartford Convention .
Even on the eve of the War of 1861 , unionist politicians saw secession as a state 's right .
Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel of Maryland said , `` Any attempt to preserve the union between the states of this Confederacy by force would be impractical and destructive of republican liberty . ''
New-York Tribune ( Feb. 5 , 1860 ) : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Revolution of 1776 , then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861 . ''
The Detroit Free Press ( Feb. 19 , 1861 ) : `` An attempt to subjugate the seceded States , even if successful , could produce nothing but evil – evil unmitigated in character and appalling in extent . ''
The New-York Times ( March 21 , 1861 ) : `` There is a growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fought for independence from the Union just as George Washington fought for independence from Great Britain .
Those who label Robert E. Lee and other Confederate generals as traitors might also label George Washington a traitor .
Great Britain 's King George III and the British parliament would have agreed .

The Confederacy has been the excuse for some of today's rioting, property destruction and grossly uninformed statements. Among the latter is the testimony before the House Armed Services Committee by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in favor of renaming Confederate-named military bases. He said: "The Confederacy, the American Civil War, was fought, and it was an act of rebellion. It was an act of treason, at the time, against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution."
There are a few facts about our founding that should be acknowledged. Let's start at the beginning, namely the American War of Independence (1775-1783), a war between Great Britain and its 13 colonies, which declared independence in July 1776. The peace agreement that ended the war is known as the Treaty of Paris signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens and by British Commissioner Richard Oswald, on Sept. 3, 1783. Article I of the Treaty held that "New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and Independent States."
Delegates from these states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to form a union. During the Philadelphia convention, a proposal was made to permit the federal government to suppress a seceding state. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, rejected it. Minutes from the debate paraphrased his opinion: "A union of the states containing such an ingredient (would) provide for its own destruction. The use of force against a state would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment and would probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound."
During the ratification debates, Virginia's delegates said, "The powers granted under the Constitution being derived from the people of the United States may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or oppression." The ratification documents of New York and Rhode Island expressed similar sentiments; namely, they held the right to dissolve their relationship with the United States. Ratification of the Constitution was by no means certain. States feared federal usurpation of their powers. If there were a provision to suppress a seceding state, the Constitution would never have been ratified. The ratification votes were close with Virginia, New York and Massachusetts voting in favor by the slimmest of margins. Rhode Island initially rejected it in a popular referendum and finally voted to ratify – 34 for, 32 against.
Most Americans do not know that the first secessionist movement started in New England. Many New Englanders were infuriated by President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which they saw as an unconstitutional act. Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts, who was George Washington's secretary of war and secretary of state, led the movement. He said, "The Eastern states must and will dissolve the union and form a separate government." Other prominent Americans such as John Quincy Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Fisher Ames, Josiah Quincy III and Joseph Story shared his call for secession. While the New England secessionist movement was strong, it failed to garner support at the 1814-15 Hartford Convention.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Even on the eve of the War of 1861, unionist politicians saw secession as a state's right. Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel of Maryland said, "Any attempt to preserve the union between the states of this Confederacy by force would be impractical and destructive of republican liberty." New-York Tribune (Feb. 5, 1860): "If tyranny and despotism justified the Revolution of 1776, then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861." The Detroit Free Press (Feb. 19, 1861): "An attempt to subjugate the seceded States, even if successful, could produce nothing but evil – evil unmitigated in character and appalling in extent." The New-York Times (March 21, 1861): "There is a growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the Gulf States go."
Confederate generals fought for independence from the Union just as George Washington fought for independence from Great Britain. Those who label Robert E. Lee and other Confederate generals as traitors might also label George Washington a traitor. Great Britain's King George III and the British parliament would have agreed.


wnd--2020-07-22--U.S. orders China to close Houston consulate

( WASHINGTON EXAMINER ) -- China promised to retaliate after the United States ordered the country on Tuesday to close @ @ @ @ @ “ China demands the U.S. revoke this wrong decision .
If the U.S. goes ahead @ @ @ @ @ take the necessary countermeasures , ” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a @ @ @ @ @ statement , State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the order was issued to `` protect @ @ @ @ @ ' private information .
”

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) -- China promised to retaliate after the United States ordered the country on Tuesday to close its consulate in Houston.
“China demands the U.S. revoke this wrong decision. If the U.S. goes ahead with it, China will take the necessary countermeasures,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a news briefing.
In a statement, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the order was issued to "protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information.”
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-22--Tsunami warning triggered by coastal Alaska quake dropped

( FOX NEWS ) -- A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rattled a large swath of coastal Alaska late Tuesday , @ @ @ @ @ sent residents fleeing before it was called off .
The U.S. Geological Survey said the @ @ @ @ @ local time , centered 65 miles south-southeast of Perryville at a depth of 17 miles @ @ @ @ @ very significant earthquake in size , ” Michael West , state seismologist with the Alaska @ @ @ @ @ Anchorage Daily News .

(FOX NEWS) -- A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rattled a large swath of coastal Alaska late Tuesday, triggering a tsunami warning that sent residents fleeing before it was called off.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 10:12 p.m. local time, centered 65 miles south-southeast of Perryville at a depth of 17 miles.
“This is a very significant earthquake in size,” Michael West, state seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center, told the Anchorage Daily News.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-22--One nation under anarcho-tyranny

One nation under anarcho-tyranny

The America you grew up in is not the America we live in now .
TRENDING : 'Time for people to go to jail ' : Trump chief of staff expects indictments in Russia probe The right to bear arms ?
Ha .
It 's not `` socialism '' or `` communism '' under which we suffer .
Our dangerously chaotic , selectively oppressive predicament is more accurately described as `` anarcho-tyranny . ''
The late conservative columnist Sam Francis first coined the term in 1992 to diagnose a condition of `` both anarchy ( the failure of the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the same time , tyranny – the enforcement of laws by the state for oppressive purposes . ''
The `` criminalization of the law-abiding and innocent , '' Francis expounded , is achieved in such a state through : `` exorbitant taxation , bureaucratic regulation ; the invasion of privacy , and the engineering of social institutions , such as the family and local schools ; the imposition of thought control through 'sensitivity training ' and multiculturalist curricula ; 'hate crime ' laws ; gun-control laws that punish or disarm otherwise law-abiding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminals who get guns illegally ; and a vast labyrinth of other measures . ''
The toxic combination of `` pandemic panic '' and `` George Floyd derangement syndrome '' has thoroughly destroyed the home of the brave .
It is a paradise for the depraved and dictatorial .
Anarcho-tyranny is how hoodlums can toss statues into rivers with impunity , while citizens disgusted by Black Lives Matter street graffiti are charged with `` hate crimes '' – as David Nelson and Nicole Anderson in Martinez , California , were by a George @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anarcho-tyranny is how rioters can shut down highways and byways on a whim without fear of arrest , while commuters trying to escape the window-smashing barbarians obstructing traffic are charged with `` assault '' – as poor Jennifer Watson of Denver , Colorado , was this week .
Anarcho-tyranny is how hordes of gay pride activists marching shoulder to shoulder can defy social distancing guidelines with gushing approbation from radical left-wing medical `` experts , '' while anti-lockdown and anti-mask mandate protesters are deemed public health menaces who now face snitch hotlines , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Anarcho-tyranny is how 1,000 black militia members can take over the streets in Georgia and point their guns at motorists as they demand reparations , while white citizen militia members in Idaho , Utah and New Mexico have been smeared publicly as racists and face injunctions for peacefully defending their neighborhoods .
Where do the police stand in this regime ?
It pains me to say it , but those of us who have backed the blue so loyally and vocally can no longer do so under the assumption that the blue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cops who are issuing citations to citizens who want to breathe freely .
It 's rank-and-file cops who are standing by while our monuments and courthouses and landmarks are burned and obliterated .
It was rank-and-file cops in Denver who watched as my patriotic friends and I tried to hold a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day this past Sunday and were besieged by Black Lives Matter and Antifa thugs who had declared that their sole intent in invading our permitted celebration was to `` shut us down . ''
I livestreamed the chaos as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizer , Ron MacLachlan , who was bloodied in the face and head just a few feet from me by black-masked animals .
One Antifa actor wielded her collapsible baton just inches from me .
The cop-haters had obstructed traffic on their five-minute march from their unpermitted event at the Colorado State Capitol to our permitted space .
Unprovoked , the cop-haters blared airhorns , sprayed our faces ( mine included ) , burned an American flag , punched , shoved and menaced and took over our stage .
The Denver police chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has repeatedly and publicly blamed us – the law-abiding – for not having enough private security in place , even as he admitted that 76 officers have been injured by the `` peaceful '' agitators who have turned our capital into a heathen hellhole ( and perpetrated more than $ 1 million in property damage so far ) .
If we had brandished or used our weapons in self-defense , we 'd be facing felony assault charges – as armed citizen Steven Baca is in Albuquerque , New Mexico , at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If any of our men had tried to peel the female Antifa thugs off of MAGA ladies who were assaulted , they 'd be charged with battery , too – just like Baca .
On Tuesday morning , a Denver police union official called me to apologize for the department 's failure to protect those of us who tried to speak on their behalf .
The `` backlash '' for defending our constitutional rights was too high a price to pay , he told me .
Sorry .
So the message is loud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bloody shove in end-stage America , under the rule of the anarcho-tyrants , we , the law-abiding , are the enemy .
Those in uniform sworn to protect and serve will turn their backs on us because their bosses do n't answer to the public .
They protect and serve the mob .

The America you grew up in is not the America we live in now.
One nation under God? Ha.
Land of the free? Ha.
Domestic tranquility? Ha.
Equal protection under the law? Ha.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The right to bear arms? Ha.
Freedom of speech? Association? Peaceable assembly? Ha. Ha. Ha.
It's not "socialism" or "communism" under which we suffer. Our dangerously chaotic, selectively oppressive predicament is more accurately described as "anarcho-tyranny." The late conservative columnist Sam Francis first coined the term in 1992 to diagnose a condition of "both anarchy (the failure of the state to enforce the laws) and, at the same time, tyranny – the enforcement of laws by the state for oppressive purposes."
The "criminalization of the law-abiding and innocent," Francis expounded, is achieved in such a state through: "exorbitant taxation, bureaucratic regulation; the invasion of privacy, and the engineering of social institutions, such as the family and local schools; the imposition of thought control through 'sensitivity training' and multiculturalist curricula; 'hate crime' laws; gun-control laws that punish or disarm otherwise law-abiding citizens but have no impact on violent criminals who get guns illegally; and a vast labyrinth of other measures."
The toxic combination of "pandemic panic" and "George Floyd derangement syndrome" has thoroughly destroyed the home of the brave. It is a paradise for the depraved and dictatorial.
Anarcho-tyranny is how hoodlums can toss statues into rivers with impunity, while citizens disgusted by Black Lives Matter street graffiti are charged with "hate crimes" – as David Nelson and Nicole Anderson in Martinez, California, were by a George Soros-funded district attorney two weeks ago.
Anarcho-tyranny is how rioters can shut down highways and byways on a whim without fear of arrest, while commuters trying to escape the window-smashing barbarians obstructing traffic are charged with "assault" – as poor Jennifer Watson of Denver, Colorado, was this week.
Anarcho-tyranny is how hordes of gay pride activists marching shoulder to shoulder can defy social distancing guidelines with gushing approbation from radical left-wing medical "experts," while anti-lockdown and anti-mask mandate protesters are deemed public health menaces who now face snitch hotlines, fines, house arrest or jail time.
Anarcho-tyranny is how 1,000 black militia members can take over the streets in Georgia and point their guns at motorists as they demand reparations, while white citizen militia members in Idaho, Utah and New Mexico have been smeared publicly as racists and face injunctions for peacefully defending their neighborhoods.
Where do the police stand in this regime? It pains me to say it, but those of us who have backed the blue so loyally and vocally can no longer do so under the assumption that the blue will back us.
It's rank-and-file cops who are issuing citations to citizens who want to breathe freely.
It's rank-and-file cops who are standing by while our monuments and courthouses and landmarks are burned and obliterated.
It was rank-and-file cops in Denver who watched as my patriotic friends and I tried to hold a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day this past Sunday and were besieged by Black Lives Matter and Antifa thugs who had declared that their sole intent in invading our permitted celebration was to "shut us down." I livestreamed the chaos as pro-police attendees were beaten, including the organizer, Ron MacLachlan, who was bloodied in the face and head just a few feet from me by black-masked animals. One Antifa actor wielded her collapsible baton just inches from me.
The cop-haters had obstructed traffic on their five-minute march from their unpermitted event at the Colorado State Capitol to our permitted space.
No cops intervened.
Unprovoked, the cop-haters blared airhorns, sprayed our faces (mine included), burned an American flag, punched, shoved and menaced and took over our stage.
No cops intervened.
The Denver police chief, Black Lives Matter champion Paul Pazen, has repeatedly and publicly blamed us – the law-abiding – for not having enough private security in place, even as he admitted that 76 officers have been injured by the "peaceful" agitators who have turned our capital into a heathen hellhole (and perpetrated more than $1 million in property damage so far).
If we had brandished or used our weapons in self-defense, we'd be facing felony assault charges – as armed citizen Steven Baca is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the hands of another Soros-subsidized district attorney.
If any of our men had tried to peel the female Antifa thugs off of MAGA ladies who were assaulted, they'd be charged with battery, too – just like Baca.
On Tuesday morning, a Denver police union official called me to apologize for the department's failure to protect those of us who tried to speak on their behalf. The "backlash" for defending our constitutional rights was too high a price to pay, he told me. Sorry.
So the message is loud and clear. When push comes to bloody shove in end-stage America, under the rule of the anarcho-tyrants, we, the law-abiding, are the enemy. Those in uniform sworn to protect and serve will turn their backs on us because their bosses don't answer to the public. They protect and serve the mob.


wnd--2020-07-23--Patricia McCloskey's gun was inoperable, so gov't made it work so she could be charged

( KSDK ) -- ST. LOUIS — The gun Patricia McCloskey waved at protesters was inoperable when it arrived at @ @ @ @ @ lab , but a member of Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner 's staff ordered crime lab @ @ @ @ @ it and wrote that it was “ readily capable of lethal use ” in charging @ @ @ @ @ On Your Side has learned .
In Missouri , police and prosecutors must prove that @ @ @ @ @ ” capable of lethal use when it is used in the type of crime with @ @ @ @ @ charged .
Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley ordered crime lab staff members to field strip @ @ @ @ @ had been assembled incorrectly .
Specifically , the firing pin spring was put in front @ @ @ @ @ which was backward , and made the gun incapable of firing , according to documents @ @ @ @ @ Side .

(KSDK) -- ST. LOUIS — The gun Patricia McCloskey waved at protesters was inoperable when it arrived at the St. Louis police crime lab, but a member of Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's staff ordered crime lab experts to disassemble and reassemble it and wrote that it was “readily capable of lethal use” in charging documents filed Monday, 5 On Your Side has learned.
In Missouri, police and prosecutors must prove that a weapon is “readily” capable of lethal use when it is used in the type of crime with which the McCloskeys have been charged.
Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Hinckley ordered crime lab staff members to field strip the handgun and found it had been assembled incorrectly. Specifically, the firing pin spring was put in front of the firing pin, which was backward, and made the gun incapable of firing, according to documents obtained by 5 On Your Side.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-23--MSNBC's Chuck Todd hammered by the LEFT for Trump comment

( FOX NEWS ) -- MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd was slammed by the left for noting the evolution President Trump @ @ @ @ @ amid the coronavirus pandemic .
During a panel discussion on Wednesday , the `` Meet @ @ @ @ @ host highlighted the `` most newsworthy item '' from the latest White House briefing , @ @ @ @ @ 's remarks about his administration 's consideration of `` abiding '' by local mask mandates @ @ @ @ @ he said they 're thinking about it is probably -- shows you that at least @ @ @ @ @ the president has turned a corner , '' Todd said .

(FOX NEWS) -- MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd was slammed by the left for noting the evolution President Trump has had on wearing masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During a panel discussion on Wednesday, the "Meet the Press: Daily" host highlighted the "most newsworthy item" from the latest White House briefing, which he thought was Trump's remarks about his administration's consideration of "abiding" by local mask mandates.
"The fact that he said they're thinking about it is probably -- shows you that at least on the mask front, the president has turned a corner," Todd said.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-23--Magician Penn Jillette: Las Vegas without entertainment is 'jack s**t'

( FOX NEWS ) -- LAS VEGAS – Celebrity magician and longtime Las Vegas resident Penn Jillette didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ describe what Sin City is like without live entertainment .
“ Vegas without entertainment is @ @ @ @ @ ” Jillette told Fox News .
“ It has to come back in some form @ @ @ @ @ of it.
” While the iconic Las Vegas Strip reopened in June , the doors @ @ @ @ @ the world ’ s greatest shows as Nevada works to curb the rise in coronavirus @ @

(FOX NEWS) -- LAS VEGAS – Celebrity magician and longtime Las Vegas resident Penn Jillette didn’t mince words when asked to describe what Sin City is like without live entertainment.
“Vegas without entertainment is jack s--t,” Jillette told Fox News. “It has to come back in some form and smart people are thinking of it.”
While the iconic Las Vegas Strip reopened in June, the doors remain closed to some of the world’s greatest shows as Nevada works to curb the rise in coronavirus cases.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-23--Potential clue for new name of NFL's Washington franchise

( FOX NEWS ) -- There is a good chance that the NFL ’ s Washington franchise may have found @ @ @ @ @ known as the Redskins , the Washington team looks like it could be renamed the @ @ @ @ @ same name as the team in the movie called “ The Replacements.
” A Reddit @ @ @ @ @ company which manages Redskins.com , recently registered for the domain name , DCSentinels.com .
The @ @ @ @ @ features star actor Keanu Reeves , was based on the 1987 Redskins replacement players .

(FOX NEWS) -- There is a good chance that the NFL’s Washington franchise may have found a new name.
Formerly known as the Redskins, the Washington team looks like it could be renamed the Sentinels, which is the same name as the team in the movie called “The Replacements.”
A Reddit user apparently discovered that the company which manages Redskins.com, recently registered for the domain name, DCSentinels.com. The 2000 football movie, which features star actor Keanu Reeves, was based on the 1987 Redskins replacement players.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-23--Martha Stewart, 78, shocks with sexy poolside pic

( FOX NEWS ) -- Martha Stewart is looking better than ever .
On Tuesday , the lifestyle author posted @ @ @ @ @ waded in her pool .
Stewart , 78 , had a frosty pink lipstick , @ @ @ @ @ as she gave a subtle pout to the camera .

(FOX NEWS) -- Martha Stewart is looking better than ever.
On Tuesday, the lifestyle author posted a sultry selfie while she waded in her pool.
Stewart, 78, had a frosty pink lipstick, shimmery eyeshadow and mascara on as she gave a subtle pout to the camera.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-07-23--Smithsonian: This is how 'hard work' is racist

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy . ]
In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests over police brutality , interest in “ anti-racist ” education has exploded among educators and advocates .
The case that educators should seek to combat racism seems self-evident .
What ’ s less clear is how the admirable cause of “ anti-racism ” is fueling , in some corners , the inclination to denounce universal virtues and useful skills as the product of “ white culture.
” Witness last week ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Museum of African American History and Culture .
The museum , which bills itself as “ the only national museum devoted exclusively ” to educating the public on these topics , recently debuted the online guide “ Talking about Race.
” The guide included a chart cataloguing the “ aspects and assumptions ” of “ white culture ” that “ have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States.
” What are these sinister aspects of “ white culture , ” you ask ?
Well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ hard work , ” “ self-reliance , ” “ be [ ing ] polite , ” and timeliness are all a product of the “ white dominant culture.
” Indeed , it turns out that conventional grammar , Christianity , the notion that “ intent counts ” in courts of law , and the scientific method and its emphasis on “ objective , rational linear thinking ” are all proprietary to “ white culture.
” TRENDING : Ex-FBI operative : Obama , Holder 'turned their back on our country' There are several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
But the place to start may be by observing just how insidious it is to teach black children to reject intellectual and personal traits that promote personal and civic success — in the U.S. or anywhere else .
After all , in what land are students well-served when they ’ re encouraged not to work hard , make decisions , think rationally , or be polite and on time ?
Among the extraordinarily accomplished people honored by the museum , those such as Frederick Douglass ; Harriet Tubman ; Jackie Robinson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Toni Morrison ; John Lewis ; Oprah Winfrey ; Michael Jordan ; Condoleezza Rice ; and Barack Obama might be surprised to learn that hard work and rational thinking are somehow alien to black culture .
A 2020 National Association of Colleges and Employers poll found that four in five employers expected job applicants to exhibit a strong work ethic , the ability to work in a team , and analytical thinking skills .
If one asks parents — of any race — what values they want their kids to learn , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name concepts like “ hard work , ” “ being well-mannered , ” and “ being responsible.
” In fact , black parents are one to three percent more likely than white parents to think traits like “ hard work , ” “ being well-mannered , ” and “ persistence ” are “ important to teach children.
” This all makes obvious sense .
These are the traits that make for good neighbors and colleagues , and support strong communities .
Perhaps we ’ ve blinkered vision , but we ’ re still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where parents say that they ’ d like their children to slack off , be rude , and shirk responsibility .
After an online outcry , the Smithsonian removed the chart on Thursday night — but not with any denunciation of the chart ’ s content , only the bland understatement that the chart turned out to “ not contribute to the productive discussion ” they had wished for .
Of course , the lack of “ productive discussion ” shouldn ’ t have surprised , given the shoddy scholarship it reflected .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ linking to a one-page PDF asserting , sans evidence , that traits such as “ hard work , ” “ self-reliance , ” and politeness “ are common characteristics of most U.S. White people most of the time.
” Not surprisingly given this foundation , the Smithsonian ’ s chart was rife with dubious claims and questionable assumptions .
The idea that Christianity belongs to white culture could come as a surprise to the 72 percent of black Americans who identify as Christian , especially when only 65 percent of white Americans do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objectivity are the province of white culture would probably come as a surprise to air traffic controllers or cardiovascular surgeons in Cambodia and Cameroon , as it turns out that these traits are crucial to their professional competence and success — whatever the practitioner ’ s race or culture .
While it might be tempting to laugh off the Smithsonian ’ s chart as political correctness run amok , that would be a mistake .
The troubling conviction that admirable , useful , universal values like hard work and politeness are somehow the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been gaining increasing currency in education circles .
Just this month , the influential KIPP charter network announced it was abolishing its motto “ Work Hard .
Be Nice.
” as part of its push to “ dismantle systemic racism.
” As educators rush to act upon the admirable impulse captured by “ anti-racism , ” the lesson is that they need to be extraordinarily deliberate about what that means in practice .
When all is said and done , in 2020 , the Smithsonian ’ s caretakers chose to tell our children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are part of the “ white ” inheritance—and don ’ t come naturally to those raised in other cultures .
If this demeaning caricature was offered up by drawling good ol ’ boys defending Jim Crow in some grainy newsreel footage , we ’ d spot it for the unapologetic racism that it is .
The question of the hour , though , is what we call it when educators offer it up in the name of “ anti-racism.
” Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program manager of education at AEI .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy.]
By Frederick M. Hess & RJ Martin
Real Clear Policy
In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests over police brutality, interest in “anti-racist” education has exploded among educators and advocates. The case that educators should seek to combat racism seems self-evident. What’s less clear is how the admirable cause of “anti-racism” is fueling, in some corners, the inclination to denounce universal virtues and useful skills as the product of “white culture.”
Witness last week’s contretemps at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum, which bills itself as “the only national museum devoted exclusively” to educating the public on these topics, recently debuted the online guide “Talking about Race.” The guide included a chart cataloguing the “aspects and assumptions” of “white culture” that “have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States.”
What are these sinister aspects of “white culture,” you ask? Well, according to the Smithsonian, values like “hard work,” “self-reliance,” “be[ing] polite,” and timeliness are all a product of the “white dominant culture.” Indeed, it turns out that conventional grammar, Christianity, the notion that “intent counts” in courts of law, and the scientific method and its emphasis on “objective, rational linear thinking” are all proprietary to “white culture.”
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
There are several things that might be said about all this. But the place to start may be by observing just how insidious it is to teach black children to reject intellectual and personal traits that promote personal and civic success — in the U.S. or anywhere else. After all, in what land are students well-served when they’re encouraged not to work hard, make decisions, think rationally, or be polite and on time? Among the extraordinarily accomplished people honored by the museum, those such as Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman; Jackie Robinson; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Toni Morrison; John Lewis; Oprah Winfrey; Michael Jordan; Condoleezza Rice; and Barack Obama might be surprised to learn that hard work and rational thinking are somehow alien to black culture.
A 2020 National Association of Colleges and Employers poll found that four in five employers expected job applicants to exhibit a strong work ethic, the ability to work in a team, and analytical thinking skills. If one asks parents — of any race — what values they want their kids to learn, more than four out of five will similarly name concepts like “hard work,” “being well-mannered,” and “being responsible.” In fact, black parents are one to three percent more likely than white parents to think traits like “hard work,” “being well-mannered,” and “persistence” are “important to teach children.”
This all makes obvious sense. These are the traits that make for good neighbors and colleagues, and support strong communities. Perhaps we’ve blinkered vision, but we’re still looking for the culture, anywhere, where parents say that they’d like their children to slack off, be rude, and shirk responsibility.
After an online outcry, the Smithsonian removed the chart on Thursday night — but not with any denunciation of the chart’s content, only the bland understatement that the chart turned out to “not contribute to the productive discussion” they had wished for. Of course, the lack of “productive discussion” shouldn’t have surprised, given the shoddy scholarship it reflected. The original chart contained a single footnote linking to a one-page PDF asserting, sans evidence, that traits such as “hard work,” “self-reliance,” and politeness “are common characteristics of most U.S. White people most of the time.”
Not surprisingly given this foundation, the Smithsonian’s chart was rife with dubious claims and questionable assumptions. The idea that Christianity belongs to white culture could come as a surprise to the 72 percent of black Americans who identify as Christian, especially when only 65 percent of white Americans do so. The idea that timeliness and objectivity are the province of white culture would probably come as a surprise to air traffic controllers or cardiovascular surgeons in Cambodia and Cameroon, as it turns out that these traits are crucial to their professional competence and success — whatever the practitioner’s race or culture.
While it might be tempting to laugh off the Smithsonian’s chart as political correctness run amok, that would be a mistake. The troubling conviction that admirable, useful, universal values like hard work and politeness are somehow the product of “white supremacy” has been gaining increasing currency in education circles. Just this month, the influential KIPP charter network announced it was abolishing its motto “Work Hard. Be Nice.” as part of its push to “dismantle systemic racism.” As educators rush to act upon the admirable impulse captured by “anti-racism,” the lesson is that they need to be extraordinarily deliberate about what that means in practice.
When all is said and done, in 2020, the Smithsonian’s caretakers chose to tell our children that values like hard work and rationality are part of the “white” inheritance—and don’t come naturally to those raised in other cultures. If this demeaning caricature was offered up by drawling good ol’ boys defending Jim Crow in some grainy newsreel footage, we’d spot it for the unapologetic racism that it is. The question of the hour, though, is what we call it when educators offer it up in the name of “anti-racism.”
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. RJ Martin is the program manager of education at AEI.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Policy.]