Steve Bannon busted on Fraud Charges

Turns out, Bannon is a straight up crook.

This is from The Justice Department in NY:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 20, 2020

Leaders Of ‘We Build The Wall’ Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors

Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon, and Two Others Alleged to Have Funneled Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars From the Organization to Kolfage; All Four Defendants Allegedly Profited From Their Roles in the Scheme

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging BRIAN KOLFAGE, STEPHEN BANNON, ANDREW BADOLATO, and TIMOTHY SHEA for their roles in defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as “We Build the Wall” that raised more than $25 million.  The defendants were arrested this morning.  KOLFAGE will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon in the Northern District of Florida.  BANNON will be presented today in the Southern District of New York.  BADOLATO will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson in the Middle District of Florida.  SHEA will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix in the District of Colorado.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New York.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As alleged, the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction.  While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle.  We thank the USPIS for their partnership in investigating this case, and we remain dedicated to rooting out and prosecuting fraud wherever we find it.”

Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said:  “The defendants allegedly engaged in fraud when they misrepresented the true use of donated funds.  As alleged, not only did they lie to donors, they schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth.   This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist.”

According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

Starting in approximately December 2018, BRIAN KOLFAGE, STEPHEN BANNON, ANDREW BADOLATO, and TIMOTHY SHEA, and others, orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors, including donors in the Southern District of New York, in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign ultimately known as “We Build The Wall” that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.  In particular, to induce donors to donate to the campaign, KOLFAGE repeatedly and falsely assured the public that he would “not take a penny in salary or compensation” and that “100% of the funds raised . . . will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose” because, as BANNON publicly stated, “we’re a volunteer organization.”

Those representations were false.  In truth, KOLFAGE, BANNON, BADOLATO, and SHEA received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds from We Build the Wall, which they each used in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations.  In particular, KOLFAGE covertly took for his personal use more than $350,000 in funds that donors had given to We Build the Wall, while BANNON, through a non-profit organization under his control (“Non-Profit-1”), received over $1 million from We Build the Wall, at least some of which BANNON used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in BANNON’s personal expenses.  To conceal the payments to KOLFAGE from We Build the Wall, KOLFAGE, BANNON, BADOLATO, and SHEA devised a scheme to route those payments from We Build the Wall to KOLFAGE indirectly through Non-Profit-1 and a shell company under SHEA’s control, among other avenues.  They did so by using fake invoices and sham “vendor” arrangements, among other ways, to ensure, as KOLFAGE noted in a text message to BADOLATO, that his pay arrangement remained “confidential” and kept on a “need to know” basis.

*                *                *

KOLFAGE, 38, of Miramar Beach, Florida, BANNON, 66, of Washington, D.C., BADOLATO, 56, of Sarasota, Florida, and SHEA, 49, of Castle Rock, Colorado, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the USPIS and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  She also thanked the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida for their assistance.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Nicolas Roos, Alison G. Moe, and Robert B. Sobelman are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation.

 

Bannon and his friends. just made a huge mistake and they’ll be looking at serious jail time. You can bet on that.

Related:

Brian Schwartz / CNBC: Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon arrested on charges of defrauding donors in fundraising scheme

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post: Stephen Bannon, three others charged with defrauding donors to online fundraising campaign for border wall

NBC New York: Former Trump Campaign Boss Steve Bannon Indicted for Fraud in NY

Shane Savitsky / Axios: Steve Bannon arrested and charged with fraud

Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal: Steve Bannon Charged in Alleged Border Wall Fundraising Scheme

New York Times: Steve Bannon Is Charged With Fraud in ‘We Build the Wall’ campaign

Fox News: Steve Bannon, ‘We Build The Wall’ organizers arrested, charged with defrauding donors

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Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News anchor and Donald Truck Jr. Girlfriend tests positive for Covid-19

Couldn’t have happened to a better woman, if you ask me.

Via NYT:

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of President Trump’s eldest son and a top fund-raising official for the Trump re-election campaign, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday before a Fourth of July event at Mount Rushmore, a person familiar with her condition said.

Ms. Guilfoyle traveled to South Dakota with Mr. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., in anticipation of attending a huge fireworks display where the president was set to speak. They did not travel aboard Air Force One, according to the person familiar with her condition, and she was the only person in the group who tested positive.

As a routine precaution, people who come in close contact with Mr. Trump are screened for the virus.

Ms. Guilfoyle is the third person in possible proximity to Mr. Trump known to have contracted the virus. A personal valet who served Mr. Trump his food and the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence tested positive for the virus in May.

Ms. Guilfoyle was not experiencing symptoms, the person familiar with her condition said. She and the younger Mr. Trump never met up with the president’s entourage, the person said. Out of caution, the couple plans to drive back from South Dakota to the East Coast, the person said.

Okay, here is why that I am not a big fan of this woman. Because Kim is nothing more that a two-bit gold digger.

Why do I say this? From Wikipedia:

In 2001, Guilfoyle married Gavin Newsom, then a San Francisco city supervisor; Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco in 2003. While married to Newsom, she went by the name Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. In January 2005, citing the strain of a bi-coastal marriage, Guilfoyle and Newsom jointly filed for divorce.[35] Their divorce was finalized on February 28, 2006.[36]

On May 27, 2006, in Barbados, Guilfoyle married furniture heir Eric Villency.[37] Guilfoyle gave birth to their son, Ronan Anthony, on October 4, 2006.[38] In June 2009, Guilfoyle and Villency announced that they were separating;[39] their divorce was finalized later that year.[40]

In May 2018, news leaked that Guilfoyle was dating Donald Trump Jr., after the two attended an event together; Trump was separated from his wife Vanessa Trump at the time.[41] Guilfoyle had been friends with the couple and the Trump family for years.[42]

Notice the people she went after? Men with money. This is why I do not like her. She doesn’t care about the men, all she sees men as, is a means to an end; Wealth. How do I know this? I dated a woman, just like her. We broke up, because I wasn’t a hen-pecked man, and that’s being very g-rated about it.

 

Tucker Carlson 2024? Nope, Won’t happen.

I honestly had to chuckle when I read this…:

Tucker Carlson in 2018

Tucker Carlson’s audience is booming — and so is chatter that the popular Fox News host will parlay his TV perch into a run for president in 2024.

Republican strategists, conservative commentators, and former Trump campaign and administration officials are buzzing about Carlson as the next-generation leader of Donald Trump’s movement — with many believing he would be an immediate frontrunner in a Republican primary.

“He’s a talented communicator with a massive platform. I think if he runs he’d be formidable,” said Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist who worked for Jeb Bush’s super PAC in 2016.

While practically every Republican eyeing a 2024 presidential run is professing loyalty to Trump the person, Carlson has become perhaps the highest-profile proponent of “Trumpism” — a blend of anti-immigrant nationalism, economic populism and America First isolationism that he articulates unapologetically and with some snark. At the same time, he’s shown a rare willingness among Republicans to bluntly criticize Trump when he believes the president is straying from that ideology.

In another twist, Carlson has established a friendship with Donald Trump, Jr., according to a source familiar with their relationship. Trump Jr. has drawn his own share of presidential buzz.“Tucker Carlson Tonight” is currently the most watched cable news program in history, according to the second quarter ratings released this week. And on Fox News’ YouTube channel, Carlson’s segments from the past quarter have drawn well over 60 million views and are among the most popular videos in the eight years since the network began posting on the platform.

His popularity with the base would instigate a debate over the future of the party — essentially whether Trump was an aberration or a party-realigning disrupter — a fight that will be all the fiercer if Trump loses in November.

“Let me put it this way: If Biden wins and Tucker decided to run, he’d be the nominee,” said Sam Nunberg, a former top political aide to Trump who knows Carlson. But Nunberg said he doesn’t believe Carlson will run because “he’s so disgusted with politicians.” — Source: Tucker Carlson 2024? The GOP is buzzing – POLITICO

Now here is why this would never work. Tucker is an ideologue and he is quite hardcore with his beliefs. He would never appeal to anyone ever remotely anywhere near the center. I personally find his commentary and speaking style horrifyingly annoying. Personally, I think he sounds like a smart aleck rich kid, who thinks he knows everything.  Don Imus summed him up, by calling him a “bow tie wearing faggot.”

In reality, Don Imus was not referring to his sexuality, he was referring to what he was, which was and still is, an entitled white rich kid, who is a bit of a smart aleck. The problem with that perception of him is, that the perception of him is rooted in reality. See here from Wikipedia:

Carlson was born Tucker McNear Carlson in San Francisco, California. He is the elder son of Richard Warner Carlson, a former “gonzo reporter[3] who became the director of the Voice of America, president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Seychelles.[4] Carlson’s paternal grandparents were Richard Boynton and Dorothy Anderson, teenagers who placed his father in an orphanage where he was adopted when he was two years old by the Carlsons. Richard Carlson’s adoptive father was a wool broker.[5][3][6]

Carlson’s mother was artist Lisa McNear (née Lombardi). He also has a brother, Buckley Peck Carlson (later, Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson), who is nearly two years younger.[7]

In 1976, Carlson’s parents divorced after the nine-year marriage reportedly “turned sour.”[7][8] Carlson’s father was granted custody of him and his brother. Carlson’s mother left the family when he was six, wanting to pursue a “bohemian” lifestyle.[4][9] She eventually split her time between Beaufort County, South Carolina and Cazac, France, where she had little contact with Carlson’s family and later married artist Michael Vaughn.[10][11][12][13]

Dick Carlson was said to be an active father who had a specific outlook in raising his sons:

I want them to be self-disciplined to the degree that I think is necessary to find satisfaction … you measure a person on how far they go, on how far they’ve sprung. My parents, the Carlsons, they instilled a modesty in me that, at times, gets in my way … I know it’s immodest of me to say it, but it’s difficult sometimes when you want to beat your own drum and say what you really think.

In 1979, Carlson’s father married divorcée Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises. Swanson is the daughter of Gilbert Carl Swanson and the niece of Senator J. William Fulbright.[4][14] This was the third marriage for Swanson, who legally adopted Carlson and his brother.[12][14]

When Carlson was in first grade, his father moved him and his brother to La Jolla, California and raised them there.[15][16] In La Jolla, Carlson attended La Jolla Country Day School and grew up in a home overlooking the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.[17] His father owned property in Nevada, Vermont, and islands in Maine and Nova Scotia.[17][3]

Carlson attained his secondary education at St. George’s School, a boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island. He then went to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he graduated in 1991 with a BA in history.[4] After college, Carlson tried to join the Central Intelligence Agency, but his application was denied, after which he decided to pursue a career in journalism with the encouragement of his father.[18][4]

So, to say that he was typical kid from the city; would be a very bad statement to make. To be absolutely clear, I do not hate Tucker Carlson, I just happen to know that he is simply a product of his environment, as am I. We could have some very different outlooks on life, the World as a whole and so forth.

So, in closing, let me say this; While Trucker Carlson might be good for the Conservative wing of the Republican Party, he would be a disaster in an general election. I just hope that Tucker or some of his people, and someone from the GOP reads this.

Others: (click at own risk) Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alternet.org and Business Insider

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs resigns in protest of Trump’s actions

This is not going to be good for the President at all.

Mary Elizabeth Taylor approaches the lectern before Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch makes a keynote appearance at Trump International Hotel in September 2017 in Washington. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

A senior State Department official who has served in the Trump administration since its first day is resigning over President Trump’s recent handling of racial tensions across the country — saying that the president’s actions “cut sharply against my core values and convictions.”

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, submitted her resignation Thursday. Taylor’s five-paragraph resignation letter, obtained by The Washington Post, serves as an indictment of Trump’s stewardship at a time of national unrest from one of the administration’s highest-ranking African Americans and an aide who was viewed as loyal and effective in serving his presidency.“

Moments of upheaval can change you, shift the trajectory of your life, and mold your character. The President’s comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans cut sharply against my core values and convictions,” Taylor wrote in her resignation letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.” — Source: Top State Department official Mary Elizabeth Taylor resigns in protest of Trump?s response to racial tensions in the country – The Washington

I believe that is quite obvious, that this woman; who by the way, is a lifelong Republican, is basically beginning to feel the same way, that a lot of conservatives probably are feeling or Republicans are feeling about this president… that he is not a Lincoln Republican. But rather someone who has taken the stance of the alt right.

Between this and what John Bolton has published, I believe the president of the United States is going to be soundly defeated in the November election.

It is sad to too, because I honestly thought that this president really had good potential. I thought maybe that his whole ego thing would be shoved aside and the good of the country would be put first and it started out that way; he did promise to get tough on trade, which he did. However, he ended up reneging on the promise and turns out, he was doing it simply for his reelection chances.

So truthfully, the only thing that Donald J trump was honestly interested in doing and that was making himself look good. Which is what happened after the George Boyd protests began. This is why he did the photo op and this is why the peaceful protests in front of the White House were basically gassed, because Donald Trump tried to put an appearance on of being tough to try and salvage his reelection in November.

Of course, this is turned out to be nothing but a futile mistake.

I hope everyone who is a conservative or Republican has enjoyed, especially the trump loyalists — what we got in the past 4 years. But. sadly I think it’s all going to end and it’s going to be sad to watch.

Because, I believe what’s going to happen at the convention is going to be a sad display and it could be like what happened with Richard Nixon or what happened in 1968 at the Democrat party convention

Others: Associated Press, TheGrio, Axios, New York Post, KEYT-TV, The Hill, Raw Story and The Week

WSJ: Bolton Book says Trump pleaded with China’s Xi Jinping for domestic political help

Not going to quote much of this, but this part.

Via WSJ (warning paywall):

One highlight came when Xi said he wanted to work with Trump for six more years, and Trump replied that people were saying that the two-term constitutional limit on presidents should be repealed for him. Xi said the U.S. had too many elections, because he didn’t want to switch away from Trump, who nodded approvingly.

Wow. Just….Wow.

Trump came close, unilaterally offering that U.S. tariffs would remain at 10% rather than rise to 25%, as he had previously threatened. In exchange, Trump asked merely for some increases in Chinese farm-product purchases, to help with the crucial farm-state vote. If that could be agreed, all the U.S. tariffs would be reduced. It was breathtaking.

Then, This:

Trump then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability and pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win. He stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print Trump’s exact words, but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.

I would advise you to go read the rest of this. It is a truly amazing read. This man is going to lose and I mean BAD in November. Subscription to WSJ is required, or there’s always this for firefox and chrome.

Others: The Cook Political Report, New York Times, Bloomberg, CNBC, NBC News, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, The Stranger, The Guardian, The Nation, Washington Post, The Hill, Foreign Policy, Just The News, Redstate, The Last Refuge, Mother Jones, New York Post, Politico, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, Raw Story, Mediaite, National Review, Axios, Fox News and KEYT-TV, more at Techmeme »

Open Question to Black Lives Matter and Antifa

These words are not my words, but those of Baptist Missionary David W. Cloud. Please read this with an open mind and open heart.

Questions for Antifa/Black Lives Matter
June 8, 2020
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org

The demonstrations and rioting following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minnesota policeman represent a diverse group of people, but Antifa and Black Lives Matter are front and center.

Black Lives Matter (BLM), a social media creation by three women in 2013, has grown into “an international human rights movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.” Observe that they are against, but not for. Black Lives Matter claims that “virulent anti-Black racism permeates out society,” that America “continues to thrive on the brutal exploitation of people of color,” that “structural oppression prevents so many from realizing their dreams.” They claim that blacks are routinely “de-humanized” and rendered “powerless at the hands of the state” and targeted for “extrajudicial killings … by police and vigilantes.” They claim that America is a “white supremacist system.” Black Lives Matter is closely aligned with Marxist-Leninist and anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian organizations.

Antifa stands for “anti-fascist,” but it acts like textbook fascism. Merriam-Webster defines fascism as “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that EXALTS NATION AND OFTEN RACE above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and FORCIBLE SUPPRESSION OF OPPOSITION.” That does not describe America, but it describes Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Just try to oppose them in any way and see what happens. Originating in Germany, Antifa’s red and black flag represents anarchism and communism. Anarchy is “the absence of government, a state of lawlessness,” “political disorder and confusion,” “chaos,” “a group of people that totally rejects a set hierarchy,” “ruthless self-help,” “war as normal,” “a situation in which there is no organization and no control.” Antifa’s web site vaguely speaks of “organizing against racial and economic injustice.” Again, they are against but not for, tearing down but not building up. Antifa’s supporters “subscribe to a range of left-wing ideologies such as anarchism, communism, Marxism, social democracy and socialism” (“Antifa,” Wikipedia).

These ill-defined organizations are getting support from high-placed politicians, international corporations, even Christian leaders. Former President Barack Obama has spoken in favor of Black Lives Matter. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer marched with Black Lives Matter in Detroit. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee at a Black Lives Matter rally in Ottawa. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had Black Lives Matter painted onto a street near the White House. Apple replaced its home page with a black screen and a link to a message by CEO Tim Cook, insinuating that America is a racist nation and blaming the problems of the black communities on systemic racism. Joel Osteen, pastor (so-called) of America’s largest church (so-called), marched with Black Lives Matter in Houston. Southern Baptist leader Ed Stetzer, Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, marched with Black Lives Matter in Chicago. Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz proudly posted a video of his daughter screaming rage at police at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New York City.

Do Cook and Trudeau and Whitmer and Osteen and Stetzer and Lentz, et al, know what these people want? Property valued at many millions of dollars has been destroyed. People have been beaten, murdered. Police have been assassinated. They have been forced to stand by while mayhem is committed on communities. Their hands have been tied from effective policing. Violence in black communities has increased.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HELP BLACK PEOPLE IN A POSITIVE WAY?

Antifa and Black Lives Matter, what exactly have you done to build up the black communities? What have you done to stop black people from murdering black people at an unprecedented rate? What have you done to stop Planned Parenthood from murdering 91,000 black babies every year? What have you done to eliminate the drug culture that is devouring black lives like an insatiable monster? What have you done to help single black mothers raise their children? What have you done to build up black families so they don’t continue to produce generation after generation of delinquents? What have you done to stop hate and to help people love one another? What have you done to stop the victimization mentality that has enslaved generations? What have you done to help create order and peace? What have you done to communicate with the police to create better understanding and a better environment for everyone? What have you done to stop violent gangs that prey upon black people? What have you done to lift up the economic prosperity of black communities? How many jobs have you created?

Other than criticize and spew out cursing and bitterness and create mayhem and cause division, what have you done to contribute to man’s plight? You have proven that you can tear down, but what have you built? America’s founding fathers did the hard work of nation building. What nations have you built? What just cities and communities have you built? Where is the showcase community that Antifa and Black Lives Matter have built?

WHY DON’T YOU GIVE AMERICA CREDIT?

Why are you lying about America? Why do you charge America with a systemic racism that clearly doesn’t exist? From its inception, a large percentage of Americans were opposed to slavery. Eventually, America fought a terrible civil war to grant the black man his freedom, and he was granted freedom. England and America were at the forefront of destroying the slave trade and liberating black slaves in an era when it was almost universally accepted. America has passed unprecedented Civil Rights legislation. America has black governors and black congressmen and black judges and black supreme court justices and black mayors and black sheriffs and black police captains and black police by the thousands. America has had a black president who won two terms. American blacks have more than $1 trillion in buying power (blackenterprise.com). America is not the white supremacist nation that you claim. It is a myth. It is a lie. To make such a claim is ridiculous on its very face. There is irrefutable evidence that the vast, vast majority of America’s police forces and courts are not populated by racists who hate black people and are daily itching to oppress them. Why are you lying? Why are slandering America? What is your real agenda?

WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE BLACK COMMUNITY’S OWN RESPONSIBILITY?

Who is to blame for the single mom, absentee father culture, the wife abuse culture, the drug culture, the gang culture, the rape culture, the murder culture, the abortion culture? Black Lives Matter calls for more government spending. Since Lyndon Johnson announced his socialistic “war on poverty” in 1964, America has spent about $45 trillion on welfare, and the largest part of that has gone into black communities. In 2020 alone more than $8 trillion will be spent on welfare (www.usgovernmentspending.com). It is never enough. The problems have increased with the spending. Even when the majority of a city or community government is black, the buck never stops there.

WHY DO YOU HATE BLACK PEOPLE WHO DON’T SUPPORT YOUR AGENDA?

A great many blacks don’t support your agenda, but they are viciously slandered by you. You try to censor and shout down their voices. If Black Lives Matter, why don’t black voices matter? Why are you against freedom of belief and freedom of speech for black people? Why do you support the ridiculous principle that if you don’t vote Democrat you aren’t really black? Why does everyone have to march to your tune?

Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks says the recent violence has set his black community back decades. “We worked tirelessly to turn around the city’s most violent neighborhood, only to see it burned and looted. All of the CVS and Walgreens buildings were looted. The result is that we no longer have a pharmacy in our neighborhood. The grocery stores were also looted, leaving us without options to purchase local food. The question lingers on many of our minds: Will these stores and pharmacies—so essential for daily living here—ever come back? … Liberal politicians in Illinois and across the country have fanned the flames of anger over the past several years. Their policies and worldview emphasize government as the solution to all problems, except, paradoxically, when we need police. Our mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has been unable or unwilling to put a stop to the violence in the streets of our home city, in part because she has been unable to offer a strong defense for good law enforcement agents doing the necessary work of making our neighborhoods livable. Lost in the liberal messaging is the reality that the foundation of our society is the rule of law. The tragic killing of George Floyd reminds us that we need better training and screening for police officers. But the vast majority of the law enforcement agents in our nation advance racial equality, and help black Americans participate in the American dream. … Violence is rampant in Chicago, and it has nothing to do with isolated incidents of police brutality. Over Memorial Day weekend, ten African-Americans were shot and killed in drive-by shootings. … We need justice in the George Floyd case, and we need assurances that these hateful acts will not take place again. At the same time, we need partnerships with the police so they will help us re-establish law and order in our neighborhoods. Democrats, however, cling to wrongheaded rhetoric that does nothing to stop the destruction of our homes. It is no coincidence that the most violent looting and destruction took place this past week in cities heavily controlled by Democrats” (“Chicago Pastor,” The American Conservative, June 4, 2020).

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT FROM AMERICA?

Antifa and Black Lives Matter, what do you want? Do you want no police forces? Black Lives Matters’ web site calls for defunding the police. What exactly does this mean? How do you propose to make people safe in their personal lives, their homes, their businesses? Will Black Lives Matter and Antifa protect them? Will social workers and welfare administrators protect them? Do you want no laws, no courts? Do you want the liberty to commit mayhem without consequence? If you want laws, exactly what laws? Do you believe in the U.S. Constitution? The Bill of Rights? If not, with what would you replace them?

WHAT COUNTRY IS BETTER THAN AMERICA?

You demand a perfectly just nation from people who are inherently selfish and morally corrupt. The Bible is right when it says, “There is none righteous, no, not one,” and, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). That is the man of color and the man of no color. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). That’s every man’s heart.

What nation in ancient history was better than America? The Egyptians? the Babylonians? the Hittites? the Phoenicians, the ancient Chinese? the Greeks? the Assyrians? the Olmecs? the Mayas? the Aztecs? Vedic India? the Bantus or Noks or Yorubas? the Mongols? the Delhi Sultanate? the Mughals? the Persians? the Romans? the Sasanians? the Byzantines? the Berbers? the Umayyad Caliphate? Al-Andalus? the Franks? the Vikings? the Ottomans? Tutor England? the French? the Spanish? Imperial Germany? the Russian Empire? Where in history is that wonderful nation that you are demanding where everyone is treated with perfect justice and equality and the government provides everything for everyone? In most of the ancient nations we have listed, half and more of the inhabitants were pure slaves with zero rights. Their masters could treat them however they pleased, even unto death.

What nation of more recent history is greater than America? If America is so terrible, why have millions upon millions of people flocked there from the far-flung regions of the earth? Why haven’t they flocked to Zimbabwe? Sudan? the Barbary Coast? Ethiopia? Nicaragua? Brazil? Mexico? Denmark? Japan? Egypt? India? the Soviet Union?

How about China? That is a pure socialist nation. It should be an Antifa/BLM hog’s heaven. What about social justice in China? Internet access and social media are strictly censored. Christians and Muslims are oppressed. There is no freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press. Legal rights are non-existent in practice. How does China treat its minorities? Their abuse of the Uighurs is so wretched that it has been labeled genocide. How does China treat the opposition? Do they have plenty of rights? Are they coddled? No, they can be tortured and summarily “disappeared.” Chinese people have only one right, and that is the right to do whatever the government says and to believe whatever the government demands. Do the Chinese police and military treat demonstrators with kid gloves? No, they run over demonstrators with tanks and machine gun them. Estimates of the death toll of the Tiananmen Square Massacre run from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded and imprisoned. Is there economic equality in China? No, it is a land of the grossest inequality. China has 2.3 million millionaires, but 600 million Chinese live on $35 a week (“China’s Premier Acknowledges Serious Economic Crisis,” The Epoch Times, May 30, 2020). Why doesn’t Antifa/BLM have offices in China?

America is deeply imperfect, but what nation is greater in liberty, opportunity, economic prosperity, and justice? I’ve lived half of my 70 years overseas, traveled to 40 nations, and I haven’t found a better one than America. They all have deep problems, because the inhabitants are all sinners like the Bible says.

Millions upon millions of Americans, including millions of blacks, are working hard to make America better. They aren’t crying victimization. They aren’t killing policemen and laughing about it. They aren’t tearing down, they are building up. They are building businesses, manufacturing things, transporting, farming, creating jobs, parenting, grand-parenting, operating America’s great health care system, saving unborn babies, feeding the hungry, working to liberate those in bondage to drugs and alcohol, doing the work of science and invention, working with troubled youth, aiding troubled marriages, helping single moms, adopting orphans, active in politics, educating, governing, manning the courts, policing, protecting the people from thieves, charlatans, rapists, arsonists, and murderers, maintaining safety on the highways, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching God’s Word.

Why are people marching with Antifa and Black Lives Matter and “taking a knee” with them without clear answers to such questions?

Is the GOP becoming the stupid party?

Now, why would I say that? Because of this douche canoe right here:

Ladies and Gents, I present the stupidest woman on the planet — Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott

Via Raw Story:

A Republican state lawmaker compared Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) to Adolf Hitler because she said that stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic are akin to Nazi extermination camps.

During an interview with a Texas podcaster last week, Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott called the economic shutdown “no different than Nazi Germany.”

“And when you have government telling you that your business is essential or non-essential, yours is non-essential and someone else’s is essential, we have a problem there,” Scott explained. “I mean, that’s no different than Nazi Germany where you had government telling people either you were an essential worker or a non-essential worker, and non-essential workers got put on a train.”

“You can’t take away people’s lives and property without compensation, and that’s exactly what he would be doing,” she later added. “I mean, they are already calling him Little Hitler — Gov. Little Hitler.”

“And so I think people will start educating others, and people will be more and more vocal until they will say, ‘Enough of this,’ and put the pressure — hopefully political pressure — on him,” Scott added. “That’s what I would hope for.”

The Video:

Oh Yeah, That’s weapons-grade stupid right there and I believe she will be resigning soon.

Michigan COVID-19 Updates: 337 deaths, 9,334 cases

This is from WXYZ-TV in Detroit:

(WXYZ) — There are now 337 deaths and 9,334 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Michigan, health officials announced on Wednesday afternoon.

That’s up from 259 deaths and 7,615 confirmed cases in the state from Tuesday, which was the largest single-day jump since the outbreak began more than three weeks ago.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the state has received 400 ventilators from FEMA. Both Ford and GM are also working to produce masks, face shields, ventilators and respirators.

The age breakdown is below:

0-19 – 1%
20-29 – 10%
30-39 – 13%
40-49 – 17%
50-59 – 20%
60-69 – 18%
70-79 – 13%
80+ – 8%

Here is President Trump’s update on the situation: