The Intimidation Of Conservative Journalists Continues

On Friday, Blaze Media reported that  investigative journalist Steve Baker has been released from a federal courthouse in Dallas after his arrest earlier Friday over his Jan. 6 reporting.

On Wednesday, The Federalist reported the following:

The FBI is expected to arrest a Blaze Media reporter on Friday for what appears to be his coverage of demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, without informing him of what charges he’s facing.

On Tuesday, investigative reporter Steve Baker revealed that following months of delay, federal authorities informed his legal team there is a signed warrant for his arrest and that he is to self-surrender for “alleged J6 crimes” in Dallas, Texas, on Friday morning. Baker has been at the forefront of reporting on the more questionable aspects of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

According to Baker, he is to turn himself over to the FBI at 7 a.m. on Friday, at which point federal officials will “transport [him] to the Dallas courthouse, where [he] can meet [his] attorney at 9:30 am.” An unnamed federal prosecutor reportedly told Baker’s attorneys that he is to wear “shorts and sandals” during his surrender, representing an effort by the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) to give Baker “a dose of the personal humiliation treatment.”

Steve Baker reported to the FBI dressed in a suit and looking businesslike. The FBI then placed him in handcuffs and shackles. This is disgusting. They later released him, but not before treating him like a common criminal.  Every day America looks more like a banana republic and less like the republic our Founding Fathers founded.

Please follow the link to the article at Blaze Media. It includes a number of Twitter screenshots that are very interesting.

Not All Of What You Are Hearing Is True

Chicken Little is again running around yelling, “The sky is falling!” This time the attempt to induce panic in the general population is related to the fires burning in Brazil in the Amazon rain forest. The panicked extreme environmentalists cry, “The lungs of the earth.” The more rational environmentalists have a different perspective.

Yesterday John Hinderaker at Power Line Blog posted an article that reports some facts and historical perspective on the fires.

The article reports:

It isn’t entirely a fraud–there are indeed fires in the vicinity of the Amazon rain forest. But the hysteria that has been induced by those fires, which occur every year at this time, is ridiculous. Wildly exaggerated claims have been repeated uncritically in the press, and celebrity ignoramuses and politicians have avidly circulated photos of pretty much every forest fire that has occurred anywhere in the world over the last 20 or 30 years, claiming they were taken yesterday in the Amazon region.

The controversy has reached the level of high diplomacy (or rather, low comedy) as European countries have leaned heavily on Brazil to do a better job of controlling fires, threatening among other things trade sanctions, while Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro declined European offers of aid, while pointing out that French president Marcon wasn’t even able to prevent a foreseeable fire at Notre Dame cathedral. Relations between Brazil and France spiraled downward to the point of a Facebook comment by Bolsonaro on the relative pulchritude of the countries’ first ladies.

Yesterday The Tennessee Star posted an article about the fires.

The Tennessee Star reports:

The origin of this Amazon fire crisis traces back to the beginning of August, when Bolsonaro sacked his Space Institute minister for publishing worrisome data about the 2019 fire season. The dry season in Brazil typically runs from August to November, as farmers use these months to burn dried-out timber previously cut during land clearing operations. Ranchers also prepare the land for cattle grazing.

An important point to remember about these fires, however, is that the rainforests themselves are not entirely or uncontrollably ablaze. Natural fire does not typically occur in these tropical forests due to suffocating humidity, wet dense foliage, and daily thunderstorms. What is burning right now is land near the forests where farmers and ranchers have cleared hundreds and hundreds of acres of trees. This is easily seen in satellite imagery, which scientists finally examined and compared to the past two decades.

The New York Times pumped the brakes on the misinformation and published a highly informative map showing the location of the fires on previously cleared land obviously related to farmers and ranchers.

The Brazilian state of Mato Grasso has been transformed into an “ocean of soybeans” the size of Iowa. On the periphery, the land is cleared at the rate of 2,500-square-miles annually.

This deforestation peaked in the 1990s but lessened significantly over the past 10 years. There is evidence, however, to suggest Bolsonaro’s government had cut back on enforcement measures against illegal fires and land-clearing activities. The initial reports about the beginning of fire season sent the international community into a panic, led by the Europeans.

The number of fires and cumulative area burned so far in 2019, on the other hand, is on par with previous years and described as “near average” by NASA.

The farmers are clearing their land for their soybean crops. According to a Reuters article from May 2019:

Soybean trading in Brazil has gained momentum in recent days, driven by a wave of Chinese demand, boosting prices and premiums paid at ports amid a weakening of the Brazilian currency, according to analysts.

An estimated 5.5 million tonnes of soybeans have traded over the past few days, and are slated to leave Brazilian ports in June, July and August, according to estimates by the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) issued on Friday.

The boost in trading has been driven by the failure of the Washington and Beijing to resolve their longstanding trade dispute, which made China turn to Brazil for soybean supplies, the analysts said.

The fires are not extraordinary when viewed through the lens of history. The farmers are clearing their land in order to plant soybeans and graze cattle. The hysteria is unfounded and unproductive.

This Is The Vote On The Omnibus Spending Bill

Taken from The Blaze:

Please remember this vote during the coming election. The people who voted yes voted to increase the budget in every area except one–they cut the retirement benefits of our military.

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Where The Money Goes

The Blaze reported a story today about food stamp use in Texas. Here is the video (also posted at YouTube):

The story is rather simple. A gas station attendant took a payment from someone who used food stamps. The attendant stated that he sees people with large balances on their food stamp accounts (thousands of dollars) who are making large purchases with their food stamps while driving luxury cars.

The article reports:

“One valley man was outraged after finding out how much money some people on government assistance are getting,” reads the report. “Action 4 News uncovers just how many people are on SNAP in the Valley and how much money they are getting.”

The report was helped along by a gas station clerk who had grown tired of seeing customers make enormous purchases with their Lone Star cards. In some cases, he says, people would show up and have a balance of at least $7,000 on their cards.

Our tax dollars at work!

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A Backdoor Approach To Limiting The Right Of Veterans To Own Guns ?

For the past day of so, a number of ‘facebook friends’ have posted links to articles about veterans being denied the right to own guns. I waited to post this article until I saw the letter involved and was able to see who sent it.

The Blaze posted the story on Friday along with a copy of the relevant letter. The letter was written by the Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

One paragraph from the letter states:

“A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?

An article at Red Flag News states:

The letter provides no specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “… be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.

The writer at Red Flag News further asks:

“If you are receiving a Social Security check will you get one of these letters? Will the government declare that you are incompetent because of your age and therefore banned from firearm ownership?” Connelly wrote. “It certainly fits in with the philosophy and plans of the Obama administration. It is also certain that our military veterans don’t deserve this and neither do any other Americans.”

This bears watching.

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The Visit That Occurred After The F-16’s Were Delivered

The Blaze is reporting today Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has visited Egypt and met with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi today. This is the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian leader since the 1979 Iranian revolution. The visit also occurred two days after Egypt received its shipment of F-16’s from America.

The article reports:

Though Egypt’s shifting alliances are unavoidably apparent, the United States is continuing to arm the country.  On Sunday U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson held a ceremony in Cairo to mark the arrival of four F-16 fighter jets from the United States.  Twenty in total are due to be delivered throughout 2013.

“Today’s ceremony demonstrates the firm belief of the United States that a strong Egypt is in the interest of the U.S., the region, and the world,” she declared.

According to the United States Embassy website, the U.S. has delivered 224 F-16 aircraft to Egypt.

It is interesting to me that the visit occurred after the planes were shipped. I really do question the wisdom of arming the present Egyptian government. This may easily be something we will regret later.

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A New Low In Media Reporting

The Blaze posted two videos on Thursday of a Romney-Ryan rally in Ohio. The first video was played by MSNBC host Martin Bashir to illustrate his point that Paul Ryan was overshadowing Mitt Romney in the presidential campaign. A similar video had been played on “Morning Joe” the day before. I am not posting that video, if you would like to see it, follow the link to “The Blaze” above.

The unedited (untampered with) clip is at the bottom of the article at “The Blaze.” Here it is:

The article also provides an eyewitness account of the events. The eyewitness account and the unedited video clearly show that the crowd was not shouting “Ryan”–they were shouting “Romney,” and Mitt Romney encouraged them to change the shout to “Romney-Ryan.”  It is very discouraging to see videotape edited to fit the picture the mainstream media is trying to paint of this presidential campaign. This altered video clearly shows the reason we need the Internet as an alternative news source.

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With Friends Like This…

One of the problems with the Obama Administration’s foreign policy is that for the past three years it seems as if we have watched our country reward our enemies and dis our friends. It’s getting worse–particularly in the case of our friend Israel.

The Blaze reported yesterday that a planned U. S. and Israel joint military exercise has been greatly scaled back.

The article reports:

Instead of the approximately 5,000 U.S. troops originally trumpeted for Austere Challenge 12…the Pentagon will send only 1,500 service members, and perhaps as few as 1,200.  Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, but the crews to operate them will not.  Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships being dispatched to Israeli waters, the new plan is to send one, though even the remaining vessel is listed as a “maybe,” according to officials in both militaries.

“Basically what the Americans are saying is, ‘We don’t trust you,’” a unnamed senior Israeli military official told Time.

The U. S. of course is denying that it is a matter of trust. It really does not matter what the actual reason is–this is no way to treat our allies.

Meanwhile, Breitbart.com is reporting:

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of U.S. armed forces, said on Thursday that he does not wish to be “complicit” in any Israeli strike on Iran.

…We compare intelligence, we discuss regional implications, and we’ve admitted to each other that our clocks are turning at different rates … Israel is living with an existential concern that we are not living with.

Dempsey then said that he didn’t know Iran’s nuclear intentions.

That’s the same kind of thinking that gave Hitler Czechoslovakia.

 

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The Only Way To End This Type Of Campaign Ad Is To Vote For The Person Being Attacked

The Blaze reported yesterday on a video campaign ad put up by the American Sunrise PAC.

The article reports:

The American Sunrise PAC is responsible for the video.  The group was incidentally founded by the father of Congressman West’s general election opponent, Democrat Patrick Murphy, who has funneled $250,000 into the PAC. 

UPDATE: The group responsible for the West advertisement has disabled all comments and ratings on their video page.  The immense distaste for the ad may have pressured this move.  As Blaze reporter Jason Howerton noted: The video on YouTube currently has more than 12,000 views, with 252 “dislikes” and just 16 “likes.”  The move is ironic since the group responsible for the ad claims to work for “thoughtful”, “more open”, “brighter future” in politics.

What is the problem with the ad? It shows a caricature of Allen West wearing boxing gloves punching an old woman, a young lady and seemingly a family with children. He is then shown taking money from the family and laughing like a gremlin.

The only way to stop this sort of foolishness is to render it ineffective. If you live in Florida, please vote for Allen West.

 

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When You Lie Down With Dogs You Get Up With Fleas

Many leaders in the Democrat Party have been quick to endorse the ‘values’ expressed in the Occupy Wall Street protests. The Occupy protests were supposed to be the balance to the Tea Party. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

There were significant differences between Occupy and the Tea Party from the start. The demographic on Occupy tended to be under the age of 30 and unemployed. There were exceptions, but generally, that is the age group involved. The Tea Party tended to be over the age of 45 and often of retirement age. The Tea Party appeared in response to the vote on Obamacare when many citizens felt their wishes were totally ignored. I am not sure if there was a specific event that spawned Occupy.

A website called Anguished Repose illustrates one other difference:

That difference was also evident in Oakland, California, last night. The Blaze reported today that:

Between 100 and 200 Occupy protesters marched through downtown Oakland, Calif. Friday night, smashing several car windows and the glass front of President Barack Obama’s local campaign office, according to media reports.

I thought Occupy and the Democrats were on the same side. It is possible that the anarchists that make up Occupy simply enjoy destroying things?

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Sometimes Don’t You Wish Someone Would Just Admit They Made A Mistake

Today The Blaze posted a story about a young Florida lifeguard, Tommy Lopez, who saved someone’s life on Monday and was fired for his efforts. Mr. Lopez rescued a person drowning on a part of the beach he was not hired to patrol. He was fired.

There is, however, an update to the story. It states:

“This event caught me by surprise just as much as it did everyone else,” Ellis said (Jeff Ellis, head of the lifeguard company involved). “We’re reviewing everything that has occurred, and we will either concur with that or we will override what happened based on what we find out.”

“If he left his chair and we had a beach full of people and they were left unprotected, that would be one thing,” he added. “If he left his beach and another guard immediately took over and covered so that the beach was protected, that would be an entirely different thing.”

This is the video from ABC News

I just have a simple question, “If he left his part of the beach and no one drowned during the time he left, is it more important to save the life of an actual drowning person or to stay at your post in case someone might drown?”

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The Beginning Of “No-Go Zones” In America

The Blaze posted a video today showing Muslim-Americans throwing objects (including stones) at Christians in Dearborn, Michigan. During the 2012 Arab International Festival, a group of Christians who were unhappy with the Muslim character of the event protested by carrying signs The video shows what happened next. The video was also posted at Gateway Pundit. It is a rather long video (about 20 minutes), but please watch the entire video. Remember that in America protesting is allowed under the First Amendment.

The video below of the incident is posted at Gateway Pundit. The throwing of objects begins early in the video.

This is not acceptable behavior. The obvious questions is, “Where was the policeman who was so concerned about the Christians using a megaphone when the Muslims started throwing things at the Christians?” It seems to me that a police officer should have detained the people throwing things quickly in order to end the incident.

The Christians were escorted away for having provocative signs. No mention was made of the behaviour of the people throwing things at them. This is entirely backwards, and I hope there will be a lawsuit against the city. Otherwise, we are in danger of creating a “no-go zone” where Sharia law reigns and American law enforcement personnel are not allowed to enter or do their jobs. It seems to me that a few arrests of the people throwing objects would have solved the problem–they were the ones breaking the law.

This is a very disturbing video. It represents a foothold for Sharia law in America.

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Today is “Everybody blog about Brett Kimberlin day”

You ask, “Who is Brett Kimberlin, and what is all this about?”

The two best sources for information on what this is about are The Blaze and Datechguy’s Blog. Both sites will give you all the details. I am just going to give you the general overview.

This is the description of Brett Kimberlin from The Blaze:

  • Drug dealer, alleged child molester, and convicted perjurer, forger and Indiana Speedway Bomber (who is also believed to have played a role in the assassination of a grandmother), Brett Kimberlin, spent 17 years in prison before his ultimate re-absorption into American society
  • He started a non-profit dubbed “Justice Through Music (JTM)” that has, since at least 2005, been funded by George SorosTides Foundation and Barbara Streisand among other leftists
  • Along with his associate, Kimberlin also started an organization called “Velvet Revolution” that supports the Occupy movement 
  • JTM’s goal is to use music to foster “social justice” and fight Republican “voter fraud” (like the kind George Bush allegedly used to “steal” the Florida election)
  • Any blogger — conservative and liberal alike — who has written the truth about Kimberlin has come under vicious attack by either Kimberlin or his minions, suffering death threats (veiled and unveiled), multiple lawsuits, loss of jobs and worse
  • He has filed over 100 frivolous lawsuits against anything that isn’t nailed down and somehow is being allowed to continue unchecked 
  • This story has never been reported on in the mainstream media

Datechguy adds some recent perspective:

With all due deference to Stacy McCain and Lee I immediately recognize this as newsworthy and the bloggers inaction and the MSM’s inaction are the story today, much more than Brett Kimberlin himself. Think about it:

An American Reporter living in America has been forced to relocate himself and his family for their own safety and nobody wants to cover it except conservative bloggers despite great physical & financial risk.

It’s as if the entire right side of the blogosphere has become Pam Geller & Robert Spencer for a day.

To me this is story #1. It goes beyond political considerations. The Story of Stacy McCain’s flight, like the Molly Norris story, is a tale that has never failed to outrage the average American when I tell them face to face and would outrage the nation, yet thanks to the MSM inaction nobody has heard it.

To be sure there are other questions worth asking after today:

  • Will the organizations of the left that have funded Mr. Kimberlin continue to do so?
  • Will the online left back Mr. Kimberlin?
  • Will Brad Friedman of the Brad Blog continue to work with him?
  • And just how many bloggers will participate (and will there be any conspicuous by their absence)?

These stories are all newsworthy but none of them in my mind surpass what I am about to type:

At the start of the Memorial day weekend, when we celebrate and remember those who have died to protect our constitutional freedoms as elaborated in the Bill of Rights, an American Journalist and his family are in hiding for their own safety for daring to exercising those rights the men and women we honor died for.

That’s the bottom line.

Please read the articles at The Blaze and Datechguy’s blog for the entire story. It is chilling. It is time all Americans stood up and denouced thuggery in all of its forms.

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I Can’t Believe He Said That

 My source for this article is The Blaze yesterday. I have seen it other places. On Wednesday Senator Harry Reid, in making a plea to pass a Post Office reform bill, stated that,  “And when talking about seniors, seniors love to get junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world.” I am a senior citizen. I shred all of my junk mail that has my name on it. It is a pain in the neck. I would gladly give all of my junk mail to any senior who likes reading it on the condition that they would shred it afterward. What is this man talking about?

 

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We Let These People Vote?

I am not for denying anyone the right to vote, but sometimes I do wonder about the wisdom of some of the people who do vote. A story posted in The Blaze yesterday underscored that thought.

According to The Blaze:

Responding to a local rumor, people are standing in line for hours, turning over valuable personal information and expecting to receive a government handout in New York City. If this sounds familiar, it is. Back in the fall of 2009, thousands of people stood in line in Michigan expecting to be given some Obama money. It never arrived.

My concern here is the concept of “Obama money.” Where do these people think Obama money comes from? Is it simply manufactured out of thin air? Does it grow on trees?

The story goes on to explain that E & M Multi-Services, a tax preparation service that operates out of the back of a “dollar store” in the Fordham section of the Bronx, is collecting copies of Social Security cards, state ID cards and in exchange people are given a debit card from First California Bank. Unfortunately, the debit cards do not have money on them from President Obama or any bank. Surprised?

The article states the obvious:

Considering the massive problem of identity theft, handing over your Social Security card, state issued ID cards and other personal information to a business housed in the back of a dollar store is probably not a good idea.

And these people vote?

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The Evolution Of A Story

Yesterday The Blaze posted an example of how a story can be changed after it is posted on the Internet so it does not hurt the Obama Administration. The story in question was posted at CNN Money.

The original story stated:

“As Kermit knows, it’s not easy being green,” the story began. “There were only 3.1 million green jobs in the U.S. in 2010.”

Later, after the revisions, the story stated:

“Kermit has more company lately.

“There were 3.1 million green jobs in the U. S. in 2010, or about 2.4% of the nation’s employment.”

The information has not changed–the slant has.

The Blaze concludes:

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its first tally of jobs associated with producing green goods and services,” the story says (take these numbers with a grain of salt; the administration uses an extraordinarily loose definition for the term “green job“).

“The utilities industry — which includes nuclear and hydroelectric power generation — has the highest share of green jobs, at nearly 12 percent, while the construction industry comes in second at 6.8 percent. Some 5.3 percent of federal government jobs are green,” it adds.

In fact, as reported yesterday on The Blaze, the federal government has invested billions of taxpayer dollars in agency-related “green” energy initiatives.

Which brings us back to the original point: for the amount of money that has been poured into “green” energy, 2.4 percent of the nation’s workforce hardly seems like a fair return on investment.

The whole thing makes me want to see a real definition of a ‘green job.’

 

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Something To Think About If You Like The Song “American Pie”

On Thursday, Glenn Beck posted on The Blaze his interpretation of the song “American Pie” better known as “The Day The Music Died.” As someone who was twelve at the time of the notorious plane crash that took Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper, I had always assumed that the song was simply about that day. Glenn Beck has a deeper take on it.

Follow the link above and watch the two video clips of his interpretation. What he says makes perfect sense and explains all the odd references in the song. I still love the song, I just have a whole lot more appreciation of it after hearing Glenn Beck’s analysis!

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Letting A Situation Get Out Of Hand

Wash convention center

Image via Wikipedia

Today’s Daily Caller posted a story on some of the events surrounding an Americans For Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream Summit” at the Washington Convention Center on Friday night.

Videos from various news sources and people at the event are posted at The Blaze. A video posted by the Media Research Council at The Blaze showed a group of protesters fighting with convention center security guards and placing two children in the center of the scuffle. There is a lot of yelling and the children can be heard crying.

The people inside the Convention Center called 911 and asked for more police at the site. The 911 operators hung up on them four times.

The article reports:

“Last evening when we were in our dinner session, we actually noticed that there were protesters outside, and lined up on each corner,” (AFP’s director of Human Resources, Heather) de la Riva
said. “We were getting ready to dismiss activists and let out for the evening. So, I did place a call to 911 just giving them a heads-up that we were going to be leaving the convention area and that there were protesters outside. I did understand that there was already a police presence, but I was hoping that they would be able to calm the situation so that we didn’t run into any altercations. And, they [911] hung up.”

AFP volunteer Melissa Ortiz, who is wheelchair-bound, said she also called 911 to ask for help leaving the convention center. “I personally called 911,” Ortiz told TheDC. “They said, ‘are the police there?’ I said, ‘yes they are.’ Then, click.” They hung up on her too, she said.

This series of events does not reflect well on the District police department.

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