thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--About All Those Hand Sanitizers You Were Told To Use By Government… They Just Recalled 50 More Of Th

About All Those Hand Sanitizers You Were Told To Use By Government… They Just Recalled 50 More Of Them For Being Toxic This past Saturday , The Sons of Liberty ’ s health and wellness expert , Kate Shemirani , and I discussed the issue of hand sanitizers , especially in this era of the COVID hoax .
Shemirani warned of the toxicity of hand sanitizers and while some ignored the warning , it seems the criminal and unconstitutional Food and Drug Administration is not recalling 50 hand sanitizers .
That ’ s right , the very ones approving of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are attempting to cover their corrupt backsides .
FDA is warning consumers and health care providers that the agency has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol ( also known as ethyl alcohol ) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination .
Methanol , or wood alcohol , is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested .
The agency is aware of adults and children ingesting hand sanitizer products contaminated with methanol that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blindness , hospitalizations and death .
Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects .
FDA ’ s investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing .
The agency will provide additional information as it becomes available .
Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning .
Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea , vomiting , headache , blurred vision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , permanent damage to the nervous system or death .
Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk for methanol poisoning , young children who accidently ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol ( ethanol ) substitute , are most at risk .
FDA reminds consumers to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds , especially after going to the bathroom ; before eating ; and after coughing , sneezing , or blowing one ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not readily available , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) recommend consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol ( also referred to as ethyl alcohol ) .
If that wasn ’ t enough , the FDA said they were “ especially concerned ” with “ dangers of drinking any hand sanitizer under any conditions.
” If you are drinking hand sanitizer , that is really the least of your concerns .
You need to seek some seriously mental health help .
Another thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand sanitizer was , “ Products packaged to appear as drinks , candy or liquor bottles , as well as products marketed as drinks or cocktails because their appearance could result in accidental ingestion or encourage ingestion.
” According to the agency , “ Children are particularly at risk with these products since ingesting only a small amount of hand sanitizer may be lethal in a young child.
” Again , I ’ m sorry , but I ’ ve never seen any hand sanitizer packaged that way and additionally since when are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” sanitizer ?
Here ’ s the thing : The criminal FDA gets immunity on all products that it approves of and this instance of recalls demonstrates that the FDA is complicit in putting into the marketplace items that it now deems dangerous and deadly .
Their own website points to millions of people who have died from drugs they have approved , though they try and sidestep their involvement by claiming that they can ’ t be sure it was the drugs themselves that led to the deaths .
The Food and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of hand sanitizers that contain methanol , a wood alcohol substance that can be toxic when ingested or absorbed through the skin .
And worse yet , sometimes the ingredient may not even be listed on the products .
When the agency began maintaining the list in June , all nine brands of potentially toxic hand sanitizer on it were made by the same Mexico-based manufacturer , Eskbiochem SA de CV .
Should consumers realize they ’ ve unknowingly acquired a hand sanitizer from the warning list , the FDA warns not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the drain , ” but instead immediately dispose of them in hazardous-waste containers .
Perhaps , people need to simply use common sense , which isn ’ t too common today , and a “ buyer beware ” sort of approach , as well as your Creator to everything rather than relying upon the beast to tell you what is safe , healthy or good for you .
This is just 50 more reasons why the FDA should be dissolved .
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

About All Those Hand Sanitizers You Were Told To Use By Government… They Just Recalled 50 More Of Them For Being Toxic
This past Saturday, The Sons of Liberty’s health and wellness expert, Kate Shemirani, and I discussed the issue of hand sanitizers, especially in this era of the COVID hoax. Shemirani warned of the toxicity of hand sanitizers and while some ignored the warning, it seems the criminal and unconstitutional Food and Drug Administration is not recalling 50 hand sanitizers. That’s right, the very ones approving of such things and endangering you as Americans are attempting to cover their corrupt backsides.
In a July 2 post, the FDA wrote:
FDA is warning consumers and health care providers that the agency has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested.
The agency is aware of adults and children ingesting hand sanitizer products contaminated with methanol that has led to recent adverse events including blindness, hospitalizations and death.
Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects. FDA’s investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing. The agency will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning. Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk for methanol poisoning, young children who accidently ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk.
FDA reminds consumers to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one’s nose. If soap and water are not readily available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol (also referred to as ethyl alcohol).
If that wasn’t enough, the FDA said they were “especially concerned” with “dangers of drinking any hand sanitizer under any conditions.”
I kid you not!
If you are drinking hand sanitizer, that is really the least of your concerns. You need to seek some seriously mental health help.
Another thing the FDA said they were concerned with hand sanitizer was, “Products packaged to appear as drinks, candy or liquor bottles, as well as products marketed as drinks or cocktails because their appearance could result in accidental ingestion or encourage ingestion.”
According to the agency, “Children are particularly at risk with these products since ingesting only a small amount of hand sanitizer may be lethal in a young child.”
Again, I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen any hand sanitizer packaged that way and additionally since when are parents encouraging children to drink “hand” sanitizer?
Here’s the thing: The criminal FDA gets immunity on all products that it approves of and this instance of recalls demonstrates that the FDA is complicit in putting into the marketplace items that it now deems dangerous and deadly.
Their own website points to millions of people who have died from drugs they have approved, though they try and sidestep their involvement by claiming that they can’t be sure it was the drugs themselves that led to the deaths.
The New York Post adds:
The Food and Drug Administration has updated its growing list of hand sanitizers that contain methanol, a wood alcohol substance that can be toxic when ingested or absorbed through the skin. And worse yet, sometimes the ingredient may not even be listed on the products.
…
When the agency began maintaining the list in June, all nine brands of potentially toxic hand sanitizer on it were made by the same Mexico-based manufacturer, Eskbiochem SA de CV.
Should consumers realize they’ve unknowingly acquired a hand sanitizer from the warning list, the FDA warns not to “flush or pour these products down the drain,” but instead immediately dispose of them in hazardous-waste containers.
Perhaps, people need to simply use common sense, which isn’t too common today, and a “buyer beware” sort of approach, as well as your Creator to everything rather than relying upon the beast to tell you what is safe, healthy or good for you.
This is just 50 more reasons why the FDA should be dissolved.
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--When the Bully Says Shopping Without a Mask is a Crime…

When the Bully Says Shopping Without a Mask is a Crime… This weekend I went shopping for a tank top for my son at a local retailer .
I walked in the store like a normal human with shoes , shirt , and pants .
While I headed to the men ’ s department , an employee proclaiming my inconsiderate oversight accosted me .
I didn ’ t wear a mask , a mandate given by the governor of my state .
I responded with , “ I have a condition , ” and continued walking .
My son followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same thing as him ” .
Those of you that know me understand the fact that I am rarely uncomfortable , but while I walked around the store to give this retailer my business , I felt the eyes of the entire room on my son and me .
We were depersonalized and ostracized…but we breathed freedom .
During times like these , I am encouraged by Founding Father Patrick Henry : This pandemic is being used by politicians , plain and simple .
Dr. Ron Paul , the former U.S. Presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quoted recently stating : Let ’ s consider this : with no constitutional authority , governors and agencies within the executive branches of state governments have stopped the economy of the country ; they have ruined the livelihood of millions of people ( with more to come ) ; and they have misused the police power of the state to forcibly deny rights and privileges to human beings which were granted to them by God Almighty .
Shouldn ’ t these politicians and supposed experts be right about their predictions and truthful about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been truthful .
He lied about the scientific necessity for mask wearing , among other things , and then admitted it .
Would you tolerate your doctor lying to you ?
There is a term for this…malpractice .
And the governors across the country who have abused the trust of the people by following these flawed policies are no less culpable .
Are these the type of individuals that we trust to lead ?
I seem to remember a story in history class that talked about a small group of 56 men who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader was such a one “ whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant , is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
” I am praying America will snap out of the COVID-coma that has pushed miscalculated factors and flawed models , followed by predictions needing revision and re-revision and re-re-revision .
These “ experts ” many are following , like Fauci , your governors , and your press ( really , your press ?
! )
have proved they are incompetent and disgraced , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential , non-essential decrees and their mandatory mask-wearing nonsense .
Wear a mask if you want , but no one should be bullied , right ?
Sign up for a FREE U.S. Constitution course with Jake MacAulay and the Institute on the Constitution .

This weekend I went shopping for a tank top for my son at a local retailer. I walked in the store like a normal human with shoes, shirt, and pants. While I headed to the men’s department, an employee proclaiming my inconsiderate oversight accosted me. I didn’t wear a mask, a mandate given by the governor of my state. I responded with, “I have a condition,” and continued walking.
My son followed me and said, “I have the same thing as him”.
Those of you that know me understand the fact that I am rarely uncomfortable, but while I walked around the store to give this retailer my business, I felt the eyes of the entire room on my son and me. We were depersonalized and ostracized…but we breathed freedom.
During times like these, I am encouraged by Founding Father Patrick Henry:
“Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.”
This pandemic is being used by politicians, plain and simple.
Dr. Ron Paul, the former U.S. Presidential candidate and 22-year Congressional veteran, was quoted recently stating:
“After so many years in Washington, I thought I was immune to being shocked by what our government does. But the actions that our elected officials… the Fed… even the medical community have taken in the past few weeks have gone beyond anything I could have imagined.”
Let’s consider this: with no constitutional authority, governors and agencies within the executive branches of state governments have stopped the economy of the country; they have ruined the livelihood of millions of people (with more to come); and they have misused the police power of the state to forcibly deny rights and privileges to human beings which were granted to them by God Almighty.
Shouldn’t these politicians and supposed experts be right about their predictions and truthful about their counterfactual outcomes?
Fauci has not been truthful. He lied about the scientific necessity for mask wearing, among other things, and then admitted it. Would you tolerate your doctor lying to you? There is a term for this…malpractice. And the governors across the country who have abused the trust of the people by following these flawed policies are no less culpable.
Are these the type of individuals that we trust to lead? I seem to remember a story in history class that talked about a small group of 56 men who declared independence from their country because their leader was such a one “whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
I am praying America will snap out of the COVID-coma that has pushed miscalculated factors and flawed models, followed by predictions needing revision and re-revision and re-re-revision.
These “experts” many are following, like Fauci, your governors, and your press (really, your press?!) have proved they are incompetent and disgraced, and no one should continue following their essential, non-essential decrees and their mandatory mask-wearing nonsense.
Wear a mask if you want, but no one should be bullied, right?
Sign up for a FREE U.S. Constitution course with Jake MacAulay and the Institute on the Constitution.
Make your tax-deductible donation here!


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--Arkansas:  Cop Who Threatened to “Shoot Protesters Through The Door” Shot & Killed Fellow Cop Throug

Arkansas : Cop Who Threatened to “ Shoot Protesters Through The Door ” Shot & Killed Fellow Cop Through The Door Instead Alexander , AR — After George Floyd ’ s death on Memorial Day , protests encompassed the United States .
During this time , the president himself promised to begin extrajudicially executing those who were suspected of looting .
“ The looting starts , the shooting starts , ” Donald Trump promised .
These comments seemingly empowered the police state to begin similar pushes with one cop going so far as to threaten to shoot peaceful protesters who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the door .
On June 3 , Alexander police officer Calvin Salyers , 33 , shot and killed his colleague , officer Scott Hutton .
He did so through the front door of his own home , just like he ’ d promised to do a few days earlier .
Alexander Training Sgt .
Matt Wharton told investigators that just after the “ riots in Minneapolis , ” Salyers told him that he would “ shoot through the door ” if any protesters showed up at his home , according to a court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ryan Jacks , Arkansas Online reported .
According to the documents , Wharton said he reprimanded Salyers and told him that shooting through the door would be “ reckless and negligent ” and that officers could not shoot anyone without first identifying the person as a threat .
Salyers did not take this advice seriously .
When officer Hutton showed up at Salyers ’ residence on June 3 , just after 7 p.m. , he was there to retrieve a patrol car .
However , a frightened Salyers claimed he saw a dark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and opened fire instead of answering the door — just as he promised to do days before .
Salyers told investigators he transferred his weapon to his other hand and reached for the door handle , accidentally firing a shot through the door and hitting Hutton in the chest , according to state police Special Agent Ryan Jacks .
For over a month , Salyers likely though police bought this explanation , all the while an independent investigation was taking place in the background .
“ There was a complete investigative file , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesman , Bill Sadler said .
“ Everybody who was present was questioned .
Everybody who may have had any knowledge that led up to that one hour before , two hours before , this officer went to that residence.
” During the investigation , officials found that Salyers had expressed his desire to shoot protesters through his door and this was used to help obtain the arrest warrant .
“ I was actually the lead on the internal investigation , and that was part of my investigation was digging into those statements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokeswoman Sgt .
Jessica Burnett said .
The accidental shooting while changing hands appears to be a falsehood as well .
According to the forensics investigation , the powder residue indicated that Salyers fired the gun as he pressed it up against the door .
Burnett said the idea that Salyers accidentally fired a round while switching hands is unlikely given the amount of time police officers spend training on how to handle their firearm .
“ We qualify easily twice a year , ” Burnett said in regard to firearms training .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the officers want , they ’ re able to go to .
We don ’ t turn down for any training.
” Once the facts of the case were determined , Salyers was charged with manslaughter .
This charge is not nearly as serious as a murder charge , but definitely more than we ’ d expect for a police officer .
According to the Arkansas State Code , someone commits manslaughter if the person “ recklessly causes the death of another person.
” Though Salyers acted recklessly , he also allegedly did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressing the gun to the door and firing .
This manslaughter charge should be murder instead .
“ Ultimately it ’ s the prosecuting attorney that makes that decision — what elements of this investigation spell manslaughter , ” Sadler said .
Tragically , officer Hutton was killed by one of his own and now the family of Hutton will watch the blue privilege unfold along the way .
Indeed , with the manslaughter charge , they already have .
What this instance also exemplifies is the trigger happy tendency of police officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest on killing entirely innocent people who walk up to his home .
Unfortunately , he followed through with his intent and now an innocent man is dead .
This example has played out many times before .
In fact , earlier this year , we pointed out how every cop killed in 2019 from the NYPD died at the hands of a fellow cop .
If this doesn ’ t show you there is a problem with police violence , nothing will .

Arkansas: Cop Who Threatened to “Shoot Protesters Through The Door” Shot & Killed Fellow Cop Through The Door Instead
Alexander, AR — After George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, protests encompassed the United States. During this time, the president himself promised to begin extrajudicially executing those who were suspected of looting. “The looting starts, the shooting starts,” Donald Trump promised. These comments seemingly empowered the police state to begin similar pushes with one cop going so far as to threaten to shoot peaceful protesters who showed up to his home — through the door.
On June 3, Alexander police officer Calvin Salyers, 33, shot and killed his colleague, officer Scott Hutton. He did so through the front door of his own home, just like he’d promised to do a few days earlier.
Alexander Training Sgt. Matt Wharton told investigators that just after the “riots in Minneapolis,” Salyers told him that he would “shoot through the door” if any protesters showed up at his home, according to a court document narrative from state police Special Agent Ryan Jacks, Arkansas Online reported.
According to the documents, Wharton said he reprimanded Salyers and told him that shooting through the door would be “reckless and negligent” and that officers could not shoot anyone without first identifying the person as a threat.
Salyers did not take this advice seriously.
When officer Hutton showed up at Salyers’ residence on June 3, just after 7 p.m., he was there to retrieve a patrol car. However, a frightened Salyers claimed he saw a dark figure with a firearm through the peephole and opened fire instead of answering the door — just as he promised to do days before.
Salyers told investigators he transferred his weapon to his other hand and reached for the door handle, accidentally firing a shot through the door and hitting Hutton in the chest, according to state police Special Agent Ryan Jacks.
For over a month, Salyers likely though police bought this explanation, all the while an independent investigation was taking place in the background.
“There was a complete investigative file,” Saline County prosecutor’s office spokesman, Bill Sadler said. “Everybody who was present was questioned. Everybody who may have had any knowledge that led up to that one hour before, two hours before, this officer went to that residence.”
During the investigation, officials found that Salyers had expressed his desire to shoot protesters through his door and this was used to help obtain the arrest warrant.
“I was actually the lead on the internal investigation, and that was part of my investigation was digging into those statements that were made,” Alexander police spokeswoman Sgt. Jessica Burnett said.
The accidental shooting while changing hands appears to be a falsehood as well. According to the forensics investigation, the powder residue indicated that Salyers fired the gun as he pressed it up against the door.
Burnett said the idea that Salyers accidentally fired a round while switching hands is unlikely given the amount of time police officers spend training on how to handle their firearm.
“We qualify easily twice a year,” Burnett said in regard to firearms training. “Pretty much any extra training that the officers want, they’re able to go to. We don’t turn down for any training.”
Once the facts of the case were determined, Salyers was charged with manslaughter. This charge is not nearly as serious as a murder charge, but definitely more than we’d expect for a police officer.
According to the Arkansas State Code, someone commits manslaughter if the person “recklessly causes the death of another person.”
Though Salyers acted recklessly, he also allegedly did so with the intent to kill by pressing the gun to the door and firing. This manslaughter charge should be murder instead.
“Ultimately it’s the prosecuting attorney that makes that decision — what elements of this investigation spell manslaughter,” Sadler said.
Tragically, officer Hutton was killed by one of his own and now the family of Hutton will watch the blue privilege unfold along the way. Indeed, with the manslaughter charge, they already have.
What this instance also exemplifies is the trigger happy tendency of police officers.
Salyers had no problem expressing his interest on killing entirely innocent people who walk up to his home. Unfortunately, he followed through with his intent and now an innocent man is dead.
This example has played out many times before. In fact, earlier this year, we pointed out how every cop killed in 2019 from the NYPD died at the hands of a fellow cop. If this doesn’t show you there is a problem with police violence, nothing will.
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--As Wayfair Conspiracy Distracted, US Government Gave $200 Million To Churches Paying For Child Rapin

As Wayfair Conspiracy Distracted, US Government Gave $200 Million To Churches Paying For Child Raping Priests

Over the past week , a conspiracy theory about Wayfair selling children in cabinets took the internet by storm .
Sadly , without giving it much thought , people took this unfounded claim and ran with it — distracting from actual , provable conspiracies .
Selling expensive cabinets and shower curtains online does not mean one is trafficking children .
What ’ s more , with the dark web available , who in their right mind would openly sell children — to the public — on the internet in storage cabinets .
There is definitely something fishy going on with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it probably has more to do with a money laundering scheme , an internet joke by someone inside Wayfair , or something else besides openly selling children online .
In the meantime , as Wayfair filled the digital airwaves , your taxpayer dollars went to bailing out churches , dozens of which covered up real and provable child sex abuse for decades , and barely anyone noticed .
Despite being tax exempt — meaning they are not required to pay the same taxes other businesses must — the Catholic church has received more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid .
According to a scathing report out of the Associated Press , the total payout could be as high as $ 3.5 billion , making this tax exempt organization one of the largest recipients in the country of the taxpayer-funded pandemic bail out .
Adding to the already corrupt nature of a tax-exempt organization received billions in taxpayer funds is the fact that according to the analysis of federal data , hundreds of millions of dollars are “ going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not pay taxes , institutions of faith are not usually eligible for programs such as these .
However , the Catholic Church ’ s lobbying efforts were unprecedented , according to the report .
They lobbied for an exemption to federal rules and amassed what could amount to nearly 4 billion dollars .
Typically , because the church has over 500 employees , they are disqualified from applying for this SBA bailout .
However , as small businesses failed to receive minuscule loans for tens of thousands of dollars to keep their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations in the world persuaded this administration to grant them a waiver for the 500 employee cap .
“ The government grants special dispensation , and that creates a kind of structural favoritism , ” said Micah Schwartzman , a University of Virginia law professor specializing in constitutional issues and religion who has studied the Paycheck Protection Program .
“ And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars.
” The report found that extremely rich dioceses , who have recently built churches that cost $ 70 million , received funds .
Others , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virginia — where an investigation found that then-Bishop Michael Bransfield embezzled funds and made sexual advances toward young priests — received millions .
But that ’ s not the worst of it .
Dozens of dioceses who have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for decades of child rape — some going into bankruptcy over it — received over $ 200 million in taxpayer funds .
According to the AP : As the church again reckoned with its longtime crisis , abuse reports tripled during the year ending June 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meanwhile , dioceses and religious orders shelled out $ 282 million that year — up from $ 106 million just five years earlier .
Most of that went to settlements , in addition to legal fees and support for offending clergy .
Loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years paying victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings .
AP ’ s review found that these dioceses were approved for about $ 200 million , though the value is likely much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Saint Luke Institute , which is the Catholic treatment center for priests accused of sexual abuse received upwards of a million dollars .
This “ institute ” is essentially a holding station for child raping priests , many of whom are put right back out into churches and abuse again .
Taxpayer dollars are literally funding child raping priests and it is shameful .
The child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church erupted in 2018 in Pennsylvania and quickly reverberated throughout the world .
Some of those dioceses in Pennsylvania and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these taxpayer funds — despite a damning grand jury report that revealed widespread child sex abuse that had been covered up by the church ’ s top brass .
Many have been wondering how it was allowed to go on for so long without anyone getting charged or arrested .
It appears that we have the answer—the separation of church and state is a farce and the state has no problem stealing money from the citizens and doling it out to organizations who protected child rapists for decades .
This should come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police were also complicit in the cover-up .
“ Priests were raping little boys and girls , and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing ; they hid it all , ” according to the report of the Pennsylvania grand jury .
And police went along with it .
During a grand jury report into the child sex abuse by priests in Pennsylvania in 2018 , the state Attorney General , Josh Shapiro provided insight into how priests were allowed to go on for decades preying on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups responsible for covering up the crimes of the church .
One of the groups named by the AG was the Catholic Church hierarchy like the archbishops and cardinals who reacted to allegations of child rape by simply transferring the priest to a new church or failing to act at all .
The other group Shapiro named was law enforcement , who he says acted in tandem with the abusive priests to keep their horrific habits from ever reaching the public eye .
“ The abuse scarred every diocese , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The church protected the institution at all costs.
” It should be noted that not all Catholic institutions sought to suckle from the taxpayer teat .
According to the AP , the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy based in Stamford , Connecticut , told AP that even though its parishes experienced a decline in donations , none of the organizations in its five-state territory submitted applications .

Over the past week, a conspiracy theory about Wayfair selling children in cabinets took the internet by storm. Sadly, without giving it much thought, people took this unfounded claim and ran with it — distracting from actual, provable conspiracies. Selling expensive cabinets and shower curtains online does not mean one is trafficking children. What’s more, with the dark web available, who in their right mind would openly sell children — to the public — on the internet in storage cabinets. There is definitely something fishy going on with the $10,000 shower curtains — but it probably has more to do with a money laundering scheme, an internet joke by someone inside Wayfair, or something else besides openly selling children online. In the meantime, as Wayfair filled the digital airwaves, your taxpayer dollars went to bailing out churches, dozens of which covered up real and provable child sex abuse for decades, and barely anyone noticed.
Despite being tax exempt — meaning they are not required to pay the same taxes other businesses must — the Catholic church has received more than $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid. According to a scathing report out of the Associated Press, the total payout could be as high as $3.5 billion, making this tax exempt organization one of the largest recipients in the country of the taxpayer-funded pandemic bail out.
Adding to the already corrupt nature of a tax-exempt organization received billions in taxpayer funds is the fact that according to the analysis of federal data, hundreds of millions of dollars are “going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.”
Because they do not pay taxes, institutions of faith are not usually eligible for programs such as these. However, the Catholic Church’s lobbying efforts were unprecedented, according to the report. They lobbied for an exemption to federal rules and amassed what could amount to nearly 4 billion dollars.
Typically, because the church has over 500 employees, they are disqualified from applying for this SBA bailout. However, as small businesses failed to receive minuscule loans for tens of thousands of dollars to keep their doors open, one of the richest organizations in the world persuaded this administration to grant them a waiver for the 500 employee cap.
“The government grants special dispensation, and that creates a kind of structural favoritism,” said Micah Schwartzman, a University of Virginia law professor specializing in constitutional issues and religion who has studied the Paycheck Protection Program. “And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars.”
The report found that extremely rich dioceses, who have recently built churches that cost $70 million, received funds. Others, like the diocese covering Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia — where an investigation found that then-Bishop Michael Bransfield embezzled funds and made sexual advances toward young priests — received millions.
But that’s not the worst of it. Dozens of dioceses who have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for decades of child rape — some going into bankruptcy over it — received over $200 million in taxpayer funds.
According to the AP:
As the church again reckoned with its longtime crisis, abuse reports tripled during the year ending June 2019 to a total of nearly 4,500 nationally. Meanwhile, dioceses and religious orders shelled out $282 million that year — up from $106 million just five years earlier. Most of that went to settlements, in addition to legal fees and support for offending clergy. Loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years paying victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings. AP’s review found that these dioceses were approved for about $200 million, though the value is likely much higher.
But it gets worse. The Saint Luke Institute, which is the Catholic treatment center for priests accused of sexual abuse received upwards of a million dollars. This “institute” is essentially a holding station for child raping priests, many of whom are put right back out into churches and abuse again.
Taxpayer dollars are literally funding child raping priests and it is shameful.
The child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church erupted in 2018 in Pennsylvania and quickly reverberated throughout the world. Some of those dioceses in Pennsylvania and other states are on the receiving end of these taxpayer funds — despite a damning grand jury report that revealed widespread child sex abuse that had been covered up by the church’s top brass.
Many have been wondering how it was allowed to go on for so long without anyone getting charged or arrested. It appears that we have the answer—the separation of church and state is a farce and the state has no problem stealing money from the citizens and doling it out to organizations who protected child rapists for decades.
This should come as no surprise given the fact that police were also complicit in the cover-up.
“Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all,” according to the report of the Pennsylvania grand jury. And police went along with it.
During a grand jury report into the child sex abuse by priests in Pennsylvania in 2018, the state Attorney General, Josh Shapiro provided insight into how priests were allowed to go on for decades preying on children. He singled out the two groups responsible for covering up the crimes of the church.
One of the groups named by the AG was the Catholic Church hierarchy like the archbishops and cardinals who reacted to allegations of child rape by simply transferring the priest to a new church or failing to act at all. The other group Shapiro named was law enforcement, who he says acted in tandem with the abusive priests to keep their horrific habits from ever reaching the public eye.
“The abuse scarred every diocese,” he said. “The cover-up was sophisticated. The church protected the institution at all costs.”
It should be noted that not all Catholic institutions sought to suckle from the taxpayer teat. According to the AP, the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy based in Stamford, Connecticut, told AP that even though its parishes experienced a decline in donations, none of the organizations in its five-state territory submitted applications.
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--NYT Editor Scathing Resignation:  “They Have Called Me A Nazi & A Racist”

In a scathing resignation letter , Opinion editor Bari Weiss slams the NYT toxic environment , intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times.
” “ The paper of record is , more and more , the record of those living in a distant galaxy , one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people , ” Weiss wrote .
“ This is a galaxy in which , to choose just a few recent examples , the Soviet space program is lauded for its “ diversity ” ; the doxxing of teenagers in the name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.
” Bari Weiss quits New York Times after bullying by colleagues over views : ‘ They have called me a Nazi and a racist ’ Her resignation letter said ‘ the lessons that ought to have followed the ( 2016 ) election…have not been learned ’ Brian Flood New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the Gray Lady , saying she was bullied by colleagues in an “ illiberal environment , ” weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war ” inside the paper .
Weiss published a scathing resignation letter that she sent to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on her personal website , noting she doesn ’ t understand how toxic behavior is allowed inside the newsroom and “ showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.
” New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the Gray Lady , saying she was bullied by colleagues .
“ It is with sadness that I write to tell you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York Times , ” Weiss wrote .
Weiss then explained that she joined the paper in 2017 to help offer a different perspective , as the Times ’ “ failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn ’ t have a firm grasp of the country it covers , ” and fixing that issue was critical .
“ But the lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans , the necessity of resisting tribalism , and the centrality of the free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not been learned , ” Weiss wrote .
“ Instead , a new consensus has emerged in the press , but perhaps especially at this paper : that truth isn ’ t a process of collective discovery , but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.
” Weiss then wrote that “ Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times , ” but social media acts as the ultimate editor .
Weiss published a scathing resignation letter that she sent to Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , noting she doesn ’ t understand how toxic behavior is allowed inside the newsroom and “ showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.
” NY TIMES ISSUES ‘ MEA CULPA , ’ SAYS TOM COTTON OP-ED ON GEORGE FLOYD RIOTS ‘ RUSHED , ’ FAILED TO MEET STANDARDS “ As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper , the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space .
Stories are chosen and told in a way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions .
I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history , ” she wrote .
“ Now , history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.
” Last month , Weiss offered insight about the internal battle among her colleagues following the publishing of an op-ed written by Sen. Tom Cotton , R-Ark .
that sparked a major backlash from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times offered a mea culpa for running Cotton ’ s piece — which called for troops to be sent in to quell the George Floyd riots — Weiss claimed that a “ civil war ” was brewing within the paper .
NY TIMES REPORT ABOUT TESLA OWNERS DISTURBED BY ELON MUSK ’ S EMBRACE OF ‘ RED PILL ’ SPARKS MOCKERY ON TWITTER In her resignation letter , Weiss noted that her own “ forays into Wrongthink ” have made her the subject of “ constant bullying by colleagues ” who disagree with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me a Nazi and a racist , ” she wrote .
“ I have learned to brush off comments about how I ’ m ‘ writing about the Jews again.
’ Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers , ” Weiss added .
“ My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in.
” Weiss then said she doesn ’ t understand how Sulzberger has allowed such behavior inside the newsroom “ in full view of the paper ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I certainly can ’ t square how you and other Times leaders have stood by while simultaneously praising me in private for my courage .
Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery , ” Weiss wrote .
“ Part of me wishes I could say that my experience was unique .
But the truth is that intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times.
” DEMS TRASH NY TIMES OVER FRONT-PAGE HEADLINE DEEMED TOO FAVORABLE TO TRUMP She continued : “ Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or write something bold only to go through the numbing process of making it ideologically kosher , when we can assure ourselves of job security ( and clicks ) by publishing our 4000th op-ed arguing that Donald Trump is a unique danger to the country and the world ?
And so self-censorship has become the norm.
” “ We appreciate the many contributions that Bari made to Times Opinion .
I ’ m personally committed to ensuring that The Times continues to publish voices , experiences and viewpoints from across the political spectrum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ We see every day how impactful and important that approach is , especially through the outsized influence The Times ’ s opinion journalism has on the national conversation.
” The now-former Times columnist wrote in the scathing letter that rules at the paper “ are applied with extreme selectivity ” and work goes unscrutinized if it aligns with the new orthodoxy .
“ Everyone else lives in fear of the digital thunderdome .
Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily been published just two years ago would now get an editor or a writer in serious trouble , if not fired.
” Brit Hume on the ‘ mutiny ’ at the New York Times over Tom Cotton ’ s op-edVideo She then bashed the process that unfolded over Cotton ’ s op-ed , noting that nobody cared to amend other editorials , such as “ Cheryl Strayed ’ s fawning interview with the writer Alice Walker , a proud anti-Semite who believes in lizard Illuminati.
” “ The paper of record is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those living in a distant galaxy , one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people , ” Weiss wrote .
“ This is a galaxy in which , to choose just a few recent examples , the Soviet space program is lauded for its “ diversity ” ; the doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned ; and the worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.
” Weiss said that despite her struggles to be accepted by colleagues , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold these views .
She speculated that Times employees are playing along and possibly “ believe the ultimate goal is righteous , ” “ believe that they will be granted protection if they nod along , ” “ feel lucky to have a job in a contracting industry ” or know that “ standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits.
” Weiss wrote that the Times ’ culture hurts “ independent-minded young writers and editors paying close attention to what they ’ ll have to do to advance in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be seen by the next generation of journalists .
“ Rule One : Speak your mind at your own peril .
Rule Two : Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative .
Rule Three : Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain .
Eventually , the publisher will cave to the mob , the editor will get fired or reassigned , and you ’ ll be hung out to dry , ” she wrote .
Weiss added that “ America is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” but doesn ’ t feel the Gray Lady is currently providing that .
She complimented some former colleagues , noting that “ some of the most talented journalists in the world don ’ t still labor ” for the paper she is walking away from .
“ Which is what makes the illiberal environment especially heartbreaking , ” Weiss wrote .
“ I can no longer do the work that you brought me here to do—the work that Adolph Ochs described in that famous 1896 statement : ‘ to make of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a forum for the consideration of all questions of public importance , and to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.
’ ” Her last column was published on May 25 , making the case that comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan represents the “ new mainstream media .
”

In a scathing resignation letter, Opinion editor Bari Weiss slams the NYT toxic environment, intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times.”
“The paper of record is, more and more, the record of those living in a distant galaxy, one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people,” Weiss wrote. “This is a galaxy in which, to choose just a few recent examples, the Soviet space program is lauded for its “diversity”; the doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned; and the worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.”
Bari Weiss quits New York Times after bullying by colleagues over views: ‘They have called me a Nazi and a racist’
Her resignation letter said ‘the lessons that ought to have followed the (2016) election…have not been learned’
Brian Flood
By Brian Flood | Fox News
New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the Gray Lady, saying she was bullied by colleagues in an “illiberal environment,” weeks after declaring there was a “civil war” inside the paper.
Weiss published a scathing resignation letter that she sent to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on her personal website, noting she doesn’t understand how toxic behavior is allowed inside the newsroom and “showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.”
New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the Gray Lady, saying she was bullied by colleagues.
“It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times,” Weiss wrote.
Weiss then explained that she joined the paper in 2017 to help offer a different perspective, as the Times’ “failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers,” and fixing that issue was critical.
“But the lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society—have not been learned,” Weiss wrote. “Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.”
Weiss then wrote that “Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times,” but social media acts as the ultimate editor.
Weiss published a scathing resignation letter that she sent to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on her personal website, noting she doesn’t understand how toxic behavior is allowed inside the newsroom and “showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.”
NY TIMES ISSUES ‘MEA CULPA,’ SAYS TOM COTTON OP-ED ON GEORGE FLOYD RIOTS ‘RUSHED,’ FAILED TO MEET STANDARDS
“As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space. Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions. I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history,” she wrote. “Now, history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.”
Last month, Weiss offered insight about the internal battle among her colleagues following the publishing of an op-ed written by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. that sparked a major backlash from its own staff.
Hours before the Times offered a mea culpa for running Cotton’s piece — which called for troops to be sent in to quell the George Floyd riots — Weiss claimed that a “civil war” was brewing within the paper.
NY TIMES REPORT ABOUT TESLA OWNERS DISTURBED BY ELON MUSK’S EMBRACE OF ‘RED PILL’ SPARKS MOCKERY ON TWITTER
In her resignation letter, Weiss noted that her own “forays into Wrongthink” have made her the subject of “constant bullying by colleagues” who disagree with her views.
“They have called me a Nazi and a racist,” she wrote.
“I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m ‘writing about the Jews again.’ Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers,” Weiss added. “My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in.”
Weiss then said she doesn’t understand how Sulzberger has allowed such behavior inside the newsroom “in full view of the paper’s entire staff and the public.”
“I certainly can’t square how you and other Times leaders have stood by while simultaneously praising me in private for my courage. Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery,” Weiss wrote. “Part of me wishes I could say that my experience was unique. But the truth is that intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times.”
DEMS TRASH NY TIMES OVER FRONT-PAGE HEADLINE DEEMED TOO FAVORABLE TO TRUMP
She continued: “Why edit something challenging to our readers, or write something bold only to go through the numbing process of making it ideologically kosher, when we can assure ourselves of job security (and clicks) by publishing our 4000th op-ed arguing that Donald Trump is a unique danger to the country and the world? And so self-censorship has become the norm.”
Acting editorial page editor Kathleen Kingsbury provided a statement to Fox News.
“We appreciate the many contributions that Bari made to Times Opinion. I’m personally committed to ensuring that The Times continues to publish voices, experiences and viewpoints from across the political spectrum in the Opinion report,” Kingsbury said. “We see every day how impactful and important that approach is, especially through the outsized influence The Times’s opinion journalism has on the national conversation.”
The now-former Times columnist wrote in the scathing letter that rules at the paper “are applied with extreme selectivity” and work goes unscrutinized if it aligns with the new orthodoxy.
“Everyone else lives in fear of the digital thunderdome. Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets,” she wrote. “Op-eds that would have easily been published just two years ago would now get an editor or a writer in serious trouble, if not fired.”
Brit Hume on the ‘mutiny’ at the New York Times over Tom Cotton’s op-edVideo
She then bashed the process that unfolded over Cotton’s op-ed, noting that nobody cared to amend other editorials, such as “Cheryl Strayed’s fawning interview with the writer Alice Walker, a proud anti-Semite who believes in lizard Illuminati.”
“The paper of record is, more and more, the record of those living in a distant galaxy, one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people,” Weiss wrote. “This is a galaxy in which, to choose just a few recent examples, the Soviet space program is lauded for its “diversity”; the doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned; and the worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.”
Weiss said that despite her struggles to be accepted by colleagues, she believes they don’t all hold these views. She speculated that Times employees are playing along and possibly “believe the ultimate goal is righteous,” “believe that they will be granted protection if they nod along,” “feel lucky to have a job in a contracting industry” or know that “standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits.”
Weiss wrote that the Times’ culture hurts “independent-minded young writers and editors paying close attention to what they’ll have to do to advance in their careers” and explained how it will be seen by the next generation of journalists.
“Rule One: Speak your mind at your own peril. Rule Two: Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative. Rule Three: Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and you’ll be hung out to dry,” she wrote.
Weiss added that “America is a great country that deserves a great newspaper,” but doesn’t feel the Gray Lady is currently providing that. She complimented some former colleagues, noting that “some of the most talented journalists in the world don’t still labor” for the paper she is walking away from.
“Which is what makes the illiberal environment especially heartbreaking,” Weiss wrote. “I can no longer do the work that you brought me here to do—the work that Adolph Ochs described in that famous 1896 statement: ‘to make of the columns of The New York Times a forum for the consideration of all questions of public importance, and to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.’”
Her last column was published on May 25, making the case that comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan represents the “new mainstream media.”
Article posted with permission from Pamela Geller


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--California Rejected 100,000 Mail-In Ballots Because Of Mistakes

……when government , state governments start adopting these practices like mail-in ballots that open the floodgates of potential fraud , then people ’ s confidence in the outcome of the election is going to be undermined .
And that could take the country to a very dark place , if we lose confidence in the outcomes of our elections .
So , that , the censorship — the censorship has a number of effects .
It also — free speech , being able to get your viewpoint out , is a release .
It takes some of the pressure out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their views , that ’ s where you start getting extremism .
And so the more ventilating of viewpoints we have , the healthier it is for our country .
BARTIROMO : Well , there ’ s a big discussion right now about mail-in voting .
BARR : Well , it absolutely opens the floodgates to fraud .
Those things are delivered into mailboxes .
They can be taken out .
There ’ s questions about whether or not it even denies a secret ballot , because a lot of the states have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So , the person who opens — person who opens the envelope will know how people voted .
There ’ s no — right now , a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots , and be very hard for us to detect which was the right and which was the wrong ballot .
So , I think it can — it can upset and undercut the confidence in the integrity of our elections .
If anything , we should tighten them up right now .
LOS ANGELES @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary , according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state ’ s effort to ensure every vote is counted .
With the coronavirus pandemic raging , California is part of a growing number of states increasing mail-in balloting to avoid crowds at polling places .
President Donald Trump is among those questioning the integrity of vote-by-mail elections while supporters say they are just as reliable as polling places and offer greater flexibility for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers who can assist people who have questions about filling out ballots , a voter doesn ’ t have support at home and so problems can arise .
The California secretary of state ’ s election data obtained by the AP showed 102,428 mail-in ballots were disqualified in the state ’ s 58 counties , about 1.5 % of the nearly 7 million mail-in ballots returned .
That percentage is the highest in a primary since 2014 , and the overall number is the highest in a statewide election since 2010 .
Two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rejected mail ballots in the general election was about 1.4 % and in the 2016 presidential election year it was 1 % , according to a U.S. Election Assistance Commission study .
The most common problem , by far , in California was missing the deadline for the ballot to be mailed and arrive .
To count in the election , ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received within three days afterward .
Statewide , 70,330 ballots missed those marks .
Another 27,525 either didn ’ t have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t match the one on record for the voter .
Kim Alexander , president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation that seeks to improve elections , called the uncounted figure discouraging .
“ The only thing worse than people not voting is people attempting to vote and having their ballot uncounted , ” she said .
The tally of nullified votes “ can make a difference in a close contest.
” The data didn ’ t break down the uncounted ballots by party registration .
While the overall number was large in March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in November it ’ s unlikely to affect the presidential race — Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 4.3 million votes .
But there are expected to be at least several tightly contested U.S. House races where a relatively few votes could tip the balance .
In 2018 , Democrat TJ Cox upset Republican David Valadao by less than 1,000 votes in a Central Valley district .
They have a rematch in November .
Local races sometimes are decided by a handful of votes .
California traditionally has offered mail-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Over time the number has grown to represent more than half of all cast ballots .
In response to the coronavirus outbreak , Democratic Gov .
Gavin Newsom in June signed a law requiring county election officials to mail a ballot to all the state ’ s nearly 21 million registered voters for the November election .
He called mail-in voting safe and secure , pointing to a series of studies that found no evidence of significant fraud .
States across the political spectrum rely solely on mail ballots , including Colorado @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for November , the state is launching a ballot-tracking tool that will quickly alert voters if they need to take action , such as adding a missing signature .
Another change : The state is extending the window for mail ballots to arrive to 17 days after Election Day .

AG Barr explains the dangers of mail-in voting.
……when government, state governments start adopting these practices like mail-in ballots that open the floodgates of potential fraud, then people’s confidence in the outcome of the election is going to be undermined. And that could take the country to a very dark place, if we lose confidence in the outcomes of our elections.
So, that, the censorship — the censorship has a number of effects. It also — free speech, being able to get your viewpoint out, is a release. It takes some of the pressure out.
If people are prevented from expressing their views, that’s where you start getting extremism. And so the more ventilating of viewpoints we have, the healthier it is for our country.
BARTIROMO: Well, there’s a big discussion right now about mail-in voting.
BARR: Well, it absolutely opens the floodgates to fraud. Those things are delivered into mailboxes. They can be taken out.
There’s questions about whether or not it even denies a secret ballot, because a lot of the states have you signing the outside of the envelope. So, the person who opens — person who opens the envelope will know how people voted.
There’s no — right now, a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots, and be very hard for us to detect which was the right and which was the wrong ballot.
So, I think it can — it can upset and undercut the confidence in the integrity of our elections. If anything, we should tighten them up right now.
California rejected 100K mail-in ballots because of mistakes By: Michael Blood, AP, July 13, 2020:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary, according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state’s effort to ensure every vote is counted.
With the coronavirus pandemic raging, California is part of a growing number of states increasing mail-in balloting to avoid crowds at polling places. President Donald Trump is among those questioning the integrity of vote-by-mail elections while supporters say they are just as reliable as polling places and offer greater flexibility for voters.
But while polling places include workers who can assist people who have questions about filling out ballots, a voter doesn’t have support at home and so problems can arise.
The California secretary of state’s election data obtained by the AP showed 102,428 mail-in ballots were disqualified in the state’s 58 counties, about 1.5% of the nearly 7 million mail-in ballots returned. That percentage is the highest in a primary since 2014, and the overall number is the highest in a statewide election since 2010.
Two years ago, the national average of rejected mail ballots in the general election was about 1.4% and in the 2016 presidential election year it was 1%, according to a U.S. Election Assistance Commission study.
The most common problem, by far, in California was missing the deadline for the ballot to be mailed and arrive. To count in the election, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received within three days afterward. Statewide, 70,330 ballots missed those marks.
Another 27,525 either didn’t have a signature, or the signature didn’t match the one on record for the voter.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation that seeks to improve elections, called the uncounted figure discouraging.
“The only thing worse than people not voting is people attempting to vote and having their ballot uncounted,” she said. The tally of nullified votes “can make a difference in a close contest.”
The data didn’t break down the uncounted ballots by party registration. While the overall number was large in March, if it’s the same in November it’s unlikely to affect the presidential race — Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 4.3 million votes.
But there are expected to be at least several tightly contested U.S. House races where a relatively few votes could tip the balance. In 2018, Democrat TJ Cox upset Republican David Valadao by less than 1,000 votes in a Central Valley district. They have a rematch in November.
Local races sometimes are decided by a handful of votes.
California traditionally has offered mail-in voting only to those who request ballots. Over time the number has grown to represent more than half of all cast ballots. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in June signed a law requiring county election officials to mail a ballot to all the state’s nearly 21 million registered voters for the November election.
He called mail-in voting safe and secure, pointing to a series of studies that found no evidence of significant fraud. States across the political spectrum rely solely on mail ballots, including Colorado, Utah and Washington.
In preparation for November, the state is launching a ballot-tracking tool that will quickly alert voters if they need to take action, such as adding a missing signature. Another change: The state is extending the window for mail ballots to arrive to 17 days after Election Day.
Article posted with permission from Pamela Geller


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-14--America, You’ve Been Blacklisted: McCarthyism Refashioned for a New Age

For those old enough to have lived through the McCarthy era , there is a whiff of something in the air that reeks of the heightened paranoia , finger-pointing , fear-mongering , totalitarian tactics that were hallmarks of the 1950s .
Back then , it was the government—spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee—working in tandem with private corporations and individuals to blacklist Americans suspected of being communist sympathizers .
By the time the witch hunts carried out by federal and state investigative agencies drew to a close , thousands of individuals ( the vast majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been accused of communist ties , investigated , subpoenaed and blacklisted .
Regarded as bad risks , the accused were blacklisted , and struggled to secure employment .
The witch hunt ruined careers , resulting in suicides , and tightened immigration to exclude alleged subversives .
Seventy years later , the vitriol , fear-mongering and knee-jerk intolerance associated with McCarthy ’ s tactics are once again being deployed in a free-for-all attack by those on both the political Left and Right against anyone who , in daring to think for themselves , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counter to the government ’ s or mainstream thought .
It doesn ’ t even seem to matter what the issue is anymore ( racism , Confederate monuments , Donald Trump , COVID-19 , etc . )
: modern-day activists are busily tearing down monuments , demonizing historic figures , boycotting corporations for perceived political transgressions , and using their bully pulpit to terrorize the rest of the country into kowtowing to their demands .
All the while , the American police state continues to march inexorably forward .
This is how fascism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevails .
The silence is becoming deafening .
After years of fighting in and out of the courts to keep their 87-year-old name , the NFL ’ s Washington Redskins have bowed to public pressure and will change their name and team logo to avoid causing offense .
The new name , not yet announced , aims to honor both the military and Native Americans .
Eleanor Holmes Norton , a delegate to the House of Representatives who supports the name change , believes the team ’ s move “ reflects the present @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , figments of our past that are racist in nature or otherwise imply racism [ and ] are no longer tolerated.
” Yet it wasn ’ t a heightened racial conscience that caused the Redskins to change their brand .
It was the money .
The team caved after its corporate sponsors including FedEx , PepsiCo , Nike and Bank of America threatened to pull their funding .
So much for that U.S. Supreme Court victory preventing the government from censoring trademarked names it considers distasteful or scandalous .
Who needs a government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing such a great job at censoring themselves and each other , right ?
Now there ’ s a push underway to boycott Goya Foods after its CEO , Robert Unanue , praised President Trump during a press conference to announce Goya ’ s donation of a million cans of Goya chickpeas and a million other food products to American food banks as part of the president ’ s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative .
Mind you , Unanue—whose grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Spain—also praised the Obamas when they were in office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t carry much weight in this climate of intolerance .
Not to be outdone , the censors are also taking aim at To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee ’ s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Atticus Finch , a white lawyer in the Jim Crow South who defends a black man falsely accused of rape .
Sixty years after its debut , the book remains a powerful testament to moral courage in the face of racial bigotry and systemic injustice , told from the point of view of a child growing up in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not enough for the censors .
They want to axe the book—along with —from school reading curriculums because of the presence of racial slurs that could make students feel “ humiliated or marginalized.
” Never mind that the N-word makes a regular appearance in hip-hop songs .
The prevailing attitude seems to be that it ’ s okay to use the N-word as long as the person saying the word is not white .
Rapper Kendrick Lamar “ would like white America to let black people exclusively have the word.
” This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ becomes systemic : it comes about as a result of a combined effort between the populace , the corporations and the government .
McCarthyism worked the same way .
What started with Joseph McCarthy ’ s headline-grabbing scare tactics in the 1950s about Communist infiltrators of American society snowballed into a devastating witch hunt once corporations and the American people caught the fever .
McCarthyism was a contagion , like the plague , spreading like wildfire among people too fearful or weak or gullible or paranoid or greedy or ambitious to denounce it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scare tactic engineered to make the government more powerful .
McCarthy , a young Republican senator , grasped the opportunity to make a name for himself by capitalizing on the Cold War paranoia of the time .
In a speech in February 1950 , McCarthy claimed to have a list of over 200 members of the Communist Party “ working and shaping the policy of the U.S. State Department.
” The speech was picked up by the Associated Press , without substantiating the facts , and within a few days the hysteria began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accusations about Communist infiltration of the American government , particularly the State Department .
He also targeted well-known Hollywood actors and directors , trade unionists and teachers .
Many others were brought before the inquisitional House Committee on Un-American Activities for questioning .
“ McCarthyism ” eventually smeared all the accused with the same broad brush , whether the evidence was good , bad or nonexistent .
The parallels to the present movement can not be understated .
Even now , with modern-day McCarthyism sweeping the nation and America ’ s own history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what this sudden outrage and crisis of conscience is really all about .
Certainly , anyone who believes that the injustices , cruelties and vicious callousness of the U.S. government are unique to the Trump Administration has not been paying attention .
No matter what the team colors might be at any given moment , the playbook remains the same .
The leopard has not changed its spots .
Scrape off the surface layers and you will find that the American police state that is continuing to wreak havoc on the rights of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same police state that wreaked havoc on the rights of the people under every previous administration .
So please spare me the media hysterics and the outrage and the hypocritical double standards of those whose moral conscience appears to be largely dictated by their political loyalties .
While we squabble over which side is winning this losing battle , a tsunami approaches .
While the populace wages war over past injustices , injustice in the here and now continues to trample innocent lives underfoot .
Certainly , little of significance is being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism that has resulted in disproportionate numbers of black Americans who continue to be stopped , frisked , shot at , arrested and jailed .
I ’ ve had enough of the short- and long-term amnesia that allows political sycophants to conveniently forget the duplicity , complicity and mendacity of their own party while casting blame on everyone else .
When you drill right down to the core of things , the policies of a Trump Administration have been no different from an Obama Administration or a Bush Administration , at least not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words , Democrats by any other name have been Republicans , and vice versa .
War has continued .
Surveillance has continued .
Drone killings have continued .
Police shootings have continued .
Highway robbery meted out by government officials has continued .
Corrupt government has continued .
Profit-driven prisons have continued .
Censorship and persecution of anyone who criticizes the government have continued .
The militarization of the police has continued .
The devastating SWAT team raids have continued .
The government ’ s efforts to label dissidents as extremists and terrorists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the more they have stayed the same .
We ’ ve been stuck in this political Groundhog ’ s Day for so long that minor deviations appear to be major developments while obscuring the fact that we ’ re stuck on repeat , unable to see the forest for the trees .
This is what is referred to as creeping normality , or a death by a thousand cuts .
It ’ s a concept invoked by Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist Jared Diamond to describe how major changes , if implemented slowly in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accepted as normal without the shock and resistance that might greet a sudden upheaval .
Diamond ’ s concerns related to Easter Island ’ s now-vanished civilization and the societal decline and environmental degradation that contributed to it , but it ’ s a powerful analogy for the steady erosion of our freedoms and decline of our country right under our noses .
As Diamond explains , “ In just a few centuries , the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest , drove their plants and animals to extinction , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cannibalism… Why didn ’ t they look around , realize what they were doing , and stop before it was too late ?
What were they thinking when they cut down the last palm tree ?
” His answer : “ I suspect that the disaster happened not with a bang but with a whimper.
” Much like America ’ s own colonists , Easter Island ’ s early colonists discovered a new world— “ a pristine paradise ” —teeming with life .
Yet almost 2000 years after its first settlers arrived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they failed to preserve paradise for future generations .
The same could be said of the America today : it , too , is being reduced to a barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they are failing to preserve freedom for future generations .
We ’ ve already torn down the rich forest of liberties established by our founders .
It has vanished slowly , over the decades .
Those who warned against the dangers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surveillance , militarized police , SWAT team raids and the like have been silenced and ignored .
They stopped teaching about freedom in the schools .
Few Americans know their history .
And even fewer seem to care that their fellow Americans are being jailed , muzzled , shot , tasered , and treated as if they have no rights at all .
The erosion of our freedoms happened so incrementally , no one seemed to notice .
Only the older generations , remembering what true freedom was like , recognized the difference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the citizenry became fewer , smaller and less important .
By the time the last freedom falls , no one will know the difference .
This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls : with a thousand cuts , each one justified or ignored or shrugged over as inconsequential enough by itself to bother , but they add up .
Each cut , each attempt to undermine our freedoms , each loss of some critical right—to think freely , to assemble , to speak without fear of being shamed or censored , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to worship or not worship as our conscience dictates , to eat what we want and love who we want , to live as we want—they add up to an immeasurable failure on the part of each and every one of us to stop the descent down that slippery slope .
We are on that downward slope now .
The contagion of fear that McCarthy helped spread with the help of government agencies , corporations and the power elite is still poisoning the well , whitewashing our history , turning citizen against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights .
What we desperately need is the kind of resolve embodied by Edward R. Murrow , the most-respected newsman of his day .
On March 9 , 1954 , Murrow dared to speak truth to power about the damage McCarthy was inflicting on the American people .
His message remains a timely warning for our age .
We will not walk in fear , one of another .
We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason , if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from fearful men .
Not from men who feared to write , to speak , to associate , and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular .
This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy ’ s methods to keep silent , or for those who approve .
We can deny our heritage and our history , but we can not escape responsibility for the result .
There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities .
As a nation we have come into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We proclaim ourselves , as indeed we are , the defenders of freedom , wherever it continues to exist in the world , but we can not defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home .
The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad , and given considerable comfort to our enemies .
And whose fault is that ?
Not really his .
He didn ’ t create this situation of fear ; he merely exploited it—and rather successfully .
Cassius was right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is not in our stars , but in ourselves.
” America is approaching another reckoning right now , one that will pit our commitment to freedom principles against a level of fear-mongering that is being used to wreak havoc on everything in its path .
The outcome rests , as always , with “ we the people.
” As Murrow said to his staff before the historic March 9 broadcast : “ No one can terrorize a whole nation , unless we are all his accomplices.
” As I make clear in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the American People , this may be your last warning .

“If we confuse dissent with disloyalty—if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox—if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.”—Edward R. Murrow
For those old enough to have lived through the McCarthy era, there is a whiff of something in the air that reeks of the heightened paranoia, finger-pointing, fear-mongering, totalitarian tactics that were hallmarks of the 1950s.
Back then, it was the government—spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee—working in tandem with private corporations and individuals to blacklist Americans suspected of being communist sympathizers.
By the time the witch hunts carried out by federal and state investigative agencies drew to a close, thousands of individuals (the vast majority of them innocent any crime whatsoever) had been accused of communist ties, investigated, subpoenaed and blacklisted. Regarded as bad risks, the accused were blacklisted, and struggled to secure employment. The witch hunt ruined careers, resulting in suicides, and tightened immigration to exclude alleged subversives.
Seventy years later, the vitriol, fear-mongering and knee-jerk intolerance associated with McCarthy’s tactics are once again being deployed in a free-for-all attack by those on both the political Left and Right against anyone who, in daring to think for themselves, subscribes to ideas or beliefs that run counter to the government’s or mainstream thought.
It doesn’t even seem to matter what the issue is anymore (racism, Confederate monuments, Donald Trump, COVID-19, etc.): modern-day activists are busily tearing down monuments, demonizing historic figures, boycotting corporations for perceived political transgressions, and using their bully pulpit to terrorize the rest of the country into kowtowing to their demands.
All the while, the American police state continues to march inexorably forward.
This is how fascism, which silences all dissenting views, prevails.
The silence is becoming deafening.
After years of fighting in and out of the courts to keep their 87-year-old name, the NFL’s Washington Redskins have bowed to public pressure and will change their name and team logo to avoid causing offense. The new name, not yet announced, aims to honor both the military and Native Americans.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, a delegate to the House of Representatives who supports the name change, believes the team’s move “reflects the present climate of intolerance to names, statues, figments of our past that are racist in nature or otherwise imply racism [and] are no longer tolerated.”
Present climate of intolerance, indeed.
Yet it wasn’t a heightened racial conscience that caused the Redskins to change their brand. It was the money. The team caved after its corporate sponsors including FedEx, PepsiCo, Nike and Bank of America threatened to pull their funding.
So much for that U.S. Supreme Court victory preventing the government from censoring trademarked names it considers distasteful or scandalous.
Who needs a government censor when the American people are already doing such a great job at censoring themselves and each other, right?
Now there’s a push underway to boycott Goya Foods after its CEO, Robert Unanue, praised President Trump during a press conference to announce Goya’s donation of a million cans of Goya chickpeas and a million other food products to American food banks as part of the president’s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.
Mind you, Unanue—whose grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Spain—also praised the Obamas when they were in office, but that kind of equanimity doesn’t carry much weight in this climate of intolerance.
Not to be outdone, the censors are also taking aim at To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Atticus Finch, a white lawyer in the Jim Crow South who defends a black man falsely accused of rape. Sixty years after its debut, the book remains a powerful testament to moral courage in the face of racial bigotry and systemic injustice, told from the point of view of a child growing up in the South, but that’s not enough for the censors. They want to axe the book—along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn —from school reading curriculums because of the presence of racial slurs that could make students feel “humiliated or marginalized.”
Never mind that the N-word makes a regular appearance in hip-hop songs. The prevailing attitude seems to be that it’s okay to use the N-word as long as the person saying the word is not white. Rapper Kendrick Lamar “would like white America to let black people exclusively have the word.”
Talk about a double standard.
This is also the overlooked part of how oppression becomes systemic: it comes about as a result of a combined effort between the populace, the corporations and the government.
McCarthyism worked the same way.
What started with Joseph McCarthy’s headline-grabbing scare tactics in the 1950s about Communist infiltrators of American society snowballed into a devastating witch hunt once corporations and the American people caught the fever.
McCarthyism was a contagion, like the plague, spreading like wildfire among people too fearful or weak or gullible or paranoid or greedy or ambitious to denounce it for what it was: an opportunistic scare tactic engineered to make the government more powerful.
McCarthy, a young Republican senator, grasped the opportunity to make a name for himself by capitalizing on the Cold War paranoia of the time. In a speech in February 1950, McCarthy claimed to have a list of over 200 members of the Communist Party “working and shaping the policy of the U.S. State Department.” The speech was picked up by the Associated Press, without substantiating the facts, and within a few days the hysteria began.
McCarthy specialized in sensational and unsubstantiated accusations about Communist infiltration of the American government, particularly the State Department. He also targeted well-known Hollywood actors and directors, trade unionists and teachers. Many others were brought before the inquisitional House Committee on Un-American Activities for questioning.
“McCarthyism” eventually smeared all the accused with the same broad brush, whether the evidence was good, bad or nonexistent.
The parallels to the present movement cannot be understated.
Even now, with modern-day McCarthyism sweeping the nation and America’s own history being blacklisted, I have to wonder what this sudden outrage and crisis of conscience is really all about.
Certainly, anyone who believes that the injustices, cruelties and vicious callousness of the U.S. government are unique to the Trump Administration has not been paying attention.
No matter what the team colors might be at any given moment, the playbook remains the same. The leopard has not changed its spots.
Scrape off the surface layers and you will find that the American police state that is continuing to wreak havoc on the rights of the people under the Trump Administration is the same police state that wreaked havoc on the rights of the people under every previous administration.
So please spare me the media hysterics and the outrage and the hypocritical double standards of those whose moral conscience appears to be largely dictated by their political loyalties.
While we squabble over which side is winning this losing battle, a tsunami approaches.
While the populace wages war over past injustices, injustice in the here and now continues to trample innocent lives underfoot. Certainly, little of significance is being done to stem the tide of institutional racism that has resulted in disproportionate numbers of black Americans who continue to be stopped, frisked, shot at, arrested and jailed.
I’ve had enough of the short- and long-term amnesia that allows political sycophants to conveniently forget the duplicity, complicity and mendacity of their own party while casting blame on everyone else.
When you drill right down to the core of things, the policies of a Trump Administration have been no different from an Obama Administration or a Bush Administration, at least not where it really counts.
In other words, Democrats by any other name have been Republicans, and vice versa.
War has continued. Surveillance has continued. Drone killings have continued. Police shootings have continued. Highway robbery meted out by government officials has continued. Corrupt government has continued. Profit-driven prisons have continued. Censorship and persecution of anyone who criticizes the government have continued. The militarization of the police has continued. The devastating SWAT team raids have continued. The government’s efforts to label dissidents as extremists and terrorists has continued.
The more things change, the more they have stayed the same.
We’ve been stuck in this political Groundhog’s Day for so long that minor deviations appear to be major developments while obscuring the fact that we’re stuck on repeat, unable to see the forest for the trees.
This is what is referred to as creeping normality, or a death by a thousand cuts.
It’s a concept invoked by Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist Jared Diamond to describe how major changes, if implemented slowly in small stages over time, can be accepted as normal without the shock and resistance that might greet a sudden upheaval.
Diamond’s concerns related to Easter Island’s now-vanished civilization and the societal decline and environmental degradation that contributed to it, but it’s a powerful analogy for the steady erosion of our freedoms and decline of our country right under our noses.
As Diamond explains, “In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism… Why didn’t they look around, realize what they were doing, and stop before it was too late? What were they thinking when they cut down the last palm tree?”
His answer: “I suspect that the disaster happened not with a bang but with a whimper.”
Much like America’s own colonists, Easter Island’s early colonists discovered a new world—“a pristine paradise”—teeming with life. Yet almost 2000 years after its first settlers arrived, Easter Island was reduced to a barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they failed to preserve paradise for future generations.
The same could be said of the America today: it, too, is being reduced to a barren graveyard by a populace so focused on their immediate needs that they are failing to preserve freedom for future generations.
In Easter Island’s case, as Diamond speculates:
The forest…vanished slowly, over decades. Perhaps war interrupted the moving teams; perhaps by the time the carvers had finished their work, the last rope snapped. In the meantime, any islander who tried to warn about the dangers of progressive deforestation would have been overridden by vested interests of carvers, bureaucrats, and chiefs, whose jobs depended on continued deforestation… The changes in forest cover from year to year would have been hard to detect… Only older people, recollecting their childhoods decades earlier, could have recognized a difference. Gradually trees became fewer, smaller, and less important. By the time the last fruit-bearing adult palm tree was cut, palms had long since ceased to be of economic significance. That left only smaller and smaller palm saplings to clear each year, along with other bushes and treelets. No one would have noticed the felling of the last small palm.”
Sound painfully familiar yet?
We’ve already torn down the rich forest of liberties established by our founders. It has vanished slowly, over the decades. Those who warned against the dangers posed by too many laws, invasive surveillance, militarized police, SWAT team raids and the like have been silenced and ignored. They stopped teaching about freedom in the schools. Few Americans know their history. And even fewer seem to care that their fellow Americans are being jailed, muzzled, shot, tasered, and treated as if they have no rights at all.
The erosion of our freedoms happened so incrementally, no one seemed to notice. Only the older generations, remembering what true freedom was like, recognized the difference. Gradually, the freedoms enjoyed by the citizenry became fewer, smaller and less important. By the time the last freedom falls, no one will know the difference.
This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls: with a thousand cuts, each one justified or ignored or shrugged over as inconsequential enough by itself to bother, but they add up.
Each cut, each attempt to undermine our freedoms, each loss of some critical right—to think freely, to assemble, to speak without fear of being shamed or censored, to raise our children as we see fit, to worship or not worship as our conscience dictates, to eat what we want and love who we want, to live as we want—they add up to an immeasurable failure on the part of each and every one of us to stop the descent down that slippery slope.
We are on that downward slope now.
The contagion of fear that McCarthy helped spread with the help of government agencies, corporations and the power elite is still poisoning the well, whitewashing our history, turning citizen against citizen, and stripping us of our rights.
What we desperately need is the kind of resolve embodied by Edward R. Murrow, the most-respected newsman of his day.
On March 9, 1954, Murrow dared to speak truth to power about the damage McCarthy was inflicting on the American people. His message remains a timely warning for our age.
We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn’t create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it—and rather successfully. Cassius was right. ”The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
America is approaching another reckoning right now, one that will pit our commitment to freedom principles against a level of fear-mongering that is being used to wreak havoc on everything in its path.
The outcome rests, as always, with “we the people.” As Murrow said to his staff before the historic March 9 broadcast: “No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.”
Take heed, America.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, this may be your last warning.
Article posted with permission from John Whitehead