leftandslightlydownward

[leftandslightlydownward]

Shooting the Messenger, Part 2: Hunting Grounds

There are entire websites devoted to blaming the media for anything and anything, and furthermore, with an extremely partisan slant. These websites are given names that make them appear neutral and that make them appear to be working for a noble cause: names such as “Accuracy in Media”, “Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting”, “Media Matters”, and “NewsBusters”. (Well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point.) Let’s investigate them one by one and see whether they hold any merit.

First up: Accuracy in Media.

“Accuracy In Media is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage.” OK, seems pretty neutral. Let’s go to the front page.

OK, we’re obviously looking at a conservative site here. Let’s go to the first article and see what “scandals” they’re referring to. They specify the Clinton email scandal, which received plenty of coverage in the media, and the Laureate Education “scandal”, which has been proven false by The Fact Checker. Two others mention Obama, who isn’t the media, and another mentions Megyn Kelly’s move to NBC. What’s their implication? That Megyn Kelly is a closet liberal? One is someone saying the media is biased, which is hardly evidence the media is biased. Another talks about supposed media bias in the election in general. 

Trump’s “false assertions” have generally been fairly minor and petty—or exaggerated by the media. For example, the linked Washington Post article claims that “anyone could find that the majority of Mexican immigrants are not, in fact, criminals and rapists.” But as James Simpson exposed in a special report for Accuracy in Media, illegal immigrants are committing disproportionately large numbers of crimes, including homicide and rape.

Still not a majority. It was Trump doing the exaggerations. And linked report tracks arrests, not convictions. A greater number of arrests could simply mean that police profile illegal immigrants. And while (according to PolitiFact) 69% of Trump’s tracked statements were lies, only 26% of Clinton’s tracked statements were lies. NEXT!

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.

FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information. Uniquely, FAIR works with both activists and journalists. We maintain a regular dialogue with reporters at news outlets across the country, providing constructive critiques when called for and applauding exceptional, hard-hitting journalism. We also encourage the public to contact media with their concerns, to become media activists rather than passive consumers of news.

censorship

“Come and see the bias inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”

As a progressive group

At least they admit their bias, unlike AIM. Doesn’t excuse their less-than-reputable activities which I shall chronicle shortly.

We also encourage the public to contact media with their concerns

“Hey everyone! Harass the media with calls! What could possibly go wrong?”

On the front page:

WaPo, Organ of Extreme Center, Calls MLK ‘True Conservative’

The article does not even bother to specify what “extreme center” the Washington Post is supposedly an “organ” of, so we can outright dismiss that claim.

The article states that WaPo “lumped [MLK] in the same ideological category as William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater.” Giving Barry Goldwater as an example of the average conservative shows you just how skewed these people’s mindsets are. Additionally, the article FAIR is criticizing is an editorial, showing FAIR’s desperation at the lack of actual news articles with a pro-conservative bias.

Another article praising an NYT editorial critical of Jeff Sessions frequently slams the “corporate media” for treating him too lightly while failing to provide any evidence or examples. The article on the dossier fails to note any media bias and appears to be pure liberal advocacy. Yet another article talks of “New McCarthyism”, but makes no mention of media bias.

Another article is entitled “In Absence of Evidence, Media Evoke ISIS in Jerusalem Attack.” Three of the five articles mentioned simply quote Netanyahu and make no allegations of their own; another calls the attack “ISIS-like”, which it was. The CNN chyron pictured states “ISIS suspect” - simply repeating the (true) statement that the attacker was suspected to be a member of ISIS by some. The only news source that jumped the gun (no pun intended) was The Daily Beast, which, as a liberal publication, would have no motive of pleasing conservatives.

The lone two good articles are the article about Fox News’s pro-Trump bias and a repudiation of the Washington Post’s “fact-check” of Assange’s claims that the source of WikiLeaks emails damaging to Hillary Clinton was not Russian, an indicator of liberal bias on the Washington Post’s behalf (in that one article).

Let’s move on to Media Matters.

About Us Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

“Misinformation,” eh? You’re not fooling anyone with that wording.

The cover story, so to speak, talks about an adviser violating... the Logan Act. Looking up the Logan Act, I find the text of what would constitute an incriminating act.

§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

1 Stat. 613, January 30, 1799, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 953 (2004).

OK, let’s read the story now.

The meat of the article is:

Neither reporter asked Trump about reports that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had spoken with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. about Russian sanctions prior to Trump’s inauguration, which Trump aides had previously denied.

This raises questions such as “how far prior?” Looking at the original NYT story, the conduct occurred over Christmas week - a period when Trump was indeed in an official governmental office, the Office of the President-Elect, and thus Flynn was working in an official article. But of course, Media Matters left out this crucial detail in their article. Because facts don’t matter when you have an agenda to push. The reason the outlets are ignoring this story is because it can be decimated in all of two minutes.

One other article is irrelevant to media bias - a legal scholar thinking “Trump is a threat to democracy”. Another discusses Rush Limbaugh’s possible inclusion on a climate change panel. Disturbing, but irrelevant to media bias. Another article is titled “Most morning shows ignore Trump adviser’s possibly illegal communications with Russia.” I click on it expecting to see a bombshell. I get... another article about Flynn’s supposed violation of the Logan Act, and whining about how the mainstream media isn’t gullible enough to fall for this fairy tale.

Another article is talking about how a columnist said something objectionable in an editorial. Editorials are, of course, going to be biased - and cannot be relied upon for facts. I thought it was media bias we were looking for, not allegedly unhinged editorials.

Speaking of being unhinged, another article describes Chris Matthews being “unhinged” in a defense of Trump’s travel ban. Watching the video shows... not Matthews being unhinged. Not even Matthews defending the ban. Matthews simply states the courts should not be declaring it in violation of law/the Constitution - a view with which I admittedly disagree, but far from the one Media Matters blared with their clickbait headline. 

About the only good article on this website is one about Trump’s administration gaslighting everyone.

Now to the next one...

NewsBusters, a project of the Media Research Center.

Welcome to NewsBusters, a project of the Media Research Center (MRC), America’s leading media watchdog in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.

Well, they pretty much state their position upfront.

Let’s take a closer look.

We have a story declaring that someone on ABC thinks people will die because the ACA will be repealed. And apparently she is “go[ing] off the rails” about it. I have to give them points on this one, because the person talking before her was actually talking about the need to focus MORE on replacement.

Another story talks about a CNN panel expressing concern about Trump’s muted response to a North Korean missile launch - which is indeed concerning! The Obama administration condemned North Korea every tine they fired a missile, so why not the Trump administration? Yet NewsBusters laughs it off with no evidence to support its dismissal whatsover.

Another article talks about the media blaming others for everything, while it blames the media for everything.

Another story talks about Slate’s admittedly silly reporting that compares Trump to Hitler. Admittedly, Slate can be unhinged sometimes. But this website seems to be tarnished on the whole - just like the other three.

[leftandslightlydownward]

Pizzagate

The same has taken place in reference to videos recorded inside Comet Ping Pong by people that frequent their establishment as well as video referencing Comet Ping Pong positively from the exterior. You may have heard of the conspiracy theory propagated by Trump supporters called Pizzagate. In brief, it postulates that the Clinton campaign is running a pedophile ring out of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria known as Comet Ping Pong. Due to the ongoing nature of Pizzagate, it would be impossible to debunk all of it. However, Pizzagate was originally formed into a coherent theory in a post on Reddit’s /r/The_Donald, and I will be debunking the allegations made in that post.

Here goes.

Comet Pizza is a pizza place owned by James Alefantis, who is the former gay boyfriend of David Brock, the CEO of Correct The Record. It has been the venue for dozens of events for the Hillary campaign staff. John Podesta has had campaign fundraisers there for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. John's brother and business partner Tony Podesta has his birthday party there every year. 

True enough; no pedophile accusations yet.

It's also a dive that according to reviews and photos has hidden bathroom doors and creepy murals. The bathrooms in particular have murals exclusively of nude women, as well as a great deal of graffiti relating to sex. Reviews of the restaurant are bizarrely polarized. Websites describing it positively note that there are regularly "unsupervised children running around".

No sources for any of this.

Their menu include a pedophilic symbol, as do the signs and decorations of other neighboring businesses.

To support this claim, the post links to a picture of a supposed pedophilic symbol on the Comet Ping Pong menu. However, the logo looks nothing like the symbol it is claimed to be, and indeed in the minds of anyone but a conspiracy theorist is simply two ping pong paddles.

The music acts and the posters promoting same acts are bizarre in their presentation, content, and lyrical focus, but are still promoted as being "for all ages". The overtly sexual content would suggest otherwise.

The acts were being held at 9-10 PM - times when there obviously would be no children in the restaurant.

The same has taken place in reference to videos recorded inside Comet Ping Pong by people that frequent their establishment as well as video referencing Comet Ping Pong positively from the exterior.

Source?

While initially not the central focus of the investigation at the onset, Comet Ping Pong is a much more overt and much more disturbing hub of coincidences. Everyone associated with the business is making semi-overt, semi-tongue-in-cheek, and semi-sarcastic inferences towards sex with minors. The artists that work for and with the business also generate nothing but cultish imagery of disembodiment, blood, beheadings, sex, and of course pizza.

OK, show me the evidence now - or what you call evidence, at any rate.

Comet Ping Pong owned by James Alefantis, once listed 49th "most influential" person in DC by GQ:

http://www.gq.com/gallery/50-most-powerful-people-in-washington-dc#slide=49

Backup: https://i.sli.mg/h6EHML.jpg

James Alefantis cought in love triangle with chief of Media Matters, David Brock; Allegations of blackmail and a payout amounting to $850,000. Brock and Alefantis were co-defendents in a suit filed by William Gray.

http://archive.is/xSXjk

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/30428

**George Soros Controlled Super PAC has distributed a sizeable amount of funds to PACs chaired by James Alefantis.

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/5bkvaw/soros_has_been_linked_to_comet_ping_pong/

This is all true.

NSFW content ahead. Nothing illegal though, despite what the conspiracy theorists may claim.

http://archive.is/9FN8n - Girl, striped, taped to table

This seems to me more of a joke about fidgety children than anything else.

http://archive.is/r93DT - Michelle Obama playing Ping Pong

http://archive.is/vSqri - Girl, drinking milk

All these perfectly ordinary pictures of children indicate nothing more than that lots of cildren visit Comet Ping Pong.

http://archive.is/vaDfJ - Girl, standing in basket

http://archive.is/jXWrG - Photo of refrigerated meat locker, weird comments

The joke is that it looks like a kill room, not that it’s some sort of basement for sex slaves. It is also not at Comet Ping Pong.

http://archive.is/0Az6u - Baby eating pizza "oh my god. Stop it" comment

http://archive.is/sSzEZ - "Boum Boum" Room (euphemism for brothel)

The “La Boum Boum Room” is not at Comet Ping Pong. Even the Pizzagate Wiki realizes that this is a load of bunk.

http://archive.is/qPJWe - Close up of an eye of a dead pig

Remind me again what dead pigs have to do with pedophilia?

http://archive.is/k0YJ3 - Close up of toddler boy

http://archive.is/NaP2M - Girl in yellow dress running on grass

http://archive.is/S742A - "Long Dong Pizza Shop"

This is obviously a joke.

http://archive.is/8xQIo - Marina Abramovic

Nothing to do with pedophilia.

http://archive.is/ayA91 - Someone holding girl, #chickenlover hastag (euphemism for gay pedophilia)

I’ll take “Meanings Pulled Out of Thin Air” for $400, Alex.

http://archive.is/ZwwUn - Girl and newborn

http://archive.is/Pw7Fq - "French kissing" a taxidermied dog

Nothing to do with pedophilia.

http://archive.is/S6jzu - Topless model

Some conspiacy theorists claims he is underage; she is in fact model Kate Mosss, who is not 14, not 16, not 17, but 42 years old!

http://archive.is/hPsLM - Girl in striped shirt, at park

http://archive.is/dJoiL - Screencapture of Child Beauty pageant show episode, subtitle about pizza

This gives off more of a “stupid pizza advert” vibe.

http://archive.is/mKH6M - Painting of 69 position sex on-top of slice a huge of pizza.

Not posted by Alefantis.

http://archive.is/5UecO - "German Baby: $1200" photo of doll

This is a joke about German people - besides, what pedophile ring would have “DO NOT TOUCH” inscribed next to one of its victims?

http://archive.is/aiiUE - Two individuals staring at hole in foundation of Comet Ping Pong

http://archive.is/4uB5R - Photo of Ping Pong being played between Obama and young boy at WH Christmas Party

Some conspiracy theorists claim this picture was taken at Comet Ping Pong, but it was not - it was at the White House.

http://archive.is/8Bq8e - Letter Alefantis received from Hillary Clinton

https://archive.is/TS5mj - Trenching work in basement of Comet Ping Pong

This is not in any sort of basement, as can be evidenced by the open door to the outside.

https://i.sli.mg/ljC4qF.png - "Ping pong in London sounds fun" $$$$ and Xanax bottles

The money could be for anything, and Xanax is not a rape drug.

https://i.sli.mg/wGsp3j.png - "I LOVE KIDS" T-Shirt with two shirtless men

The shirt does not say “I love kids” - it would not even be gramatically correct in French - but rather is referring to the name of the restaurant they are at  - L’Enfant.

https://i.sli.mg/zF3Ofm.png - Yet another photo of an infant, no name

https://i.sli.mg/2FyXrV.png - Infant described as a #hotard, a portmanteau of "whore" and "retard"

“Ho” is often used as a general-purpose insult.

https://i.sli.mg/Vus1NK.jpg - NSFW from Jeff Koons and Cicciolina exhibit.

Some conspiracy theorists claim the woman depicted is underage, but in fat she is the artist’s porn star wife.

https://archive.is/FMLbx - Foursquare post with a child's face (in striped shirt) censored with pizza slice clip-art

https://i.sli.mg/caECVY.png - #cumpanda presumably artist Matt Sesow

This is indeed a joke sexual in nature, but I see no children.

A guy named ARUN RAO was caught liking a bunch of James Alefantis's creepy toddler insta posts.

Guess what area Arun Rao's actual job is? ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY, DOJ Supervisor of the Southern Division office for the DOJ's DISTRICT OF MARYLAND.

Comet Pizza is technically in Washington DC, but is practically on the border of Chevy Chase, Maryland, which is Rao's jurisdiction.

GUESS WHAT SORT OF CRIMES HIS OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROSECUTING

https://i.sli.mg/bqusSP.png

Violent crime prosecution priorities in Greenbelt include using FEDERAL RACKETEERING, CONSPIRACY and firearms statutes to disrupt violent gangs and reduce gang activity. The scope of these gang prosecutions ranges from local to national and INTERNATIONAL.

Greenbelt prosecutors also investigate and prosecute SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC CORRUPTION AND FRAUD CASES. Public corruption cases involve state and local government officials and employees of the many federal agencies located in the Southern Division.

Like the Major Crimes Section in Baltimore, the Greenbelt office prosecutes a wide array of other federal offenses, including CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, bank robberies, immigration violations, and counterfeiting.

The Southern Division office also handles thousands of misdemeanor cases that occur on areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction such as the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the National Institutes of Health, and MILITARY BASES."

In 2010, Arun Rao was on the prosecution team that helped to convict Cecil M. Graham for possession of Child Pornography.

https://i.sli.mg/5FsTdm.jpg

Does not accuse Rao of doing anything besides liking the aforementioned benign Instagram posts.

I figured out who some of the kids that James Alefantis posts about are. The photos with identical children are tagged with or liked by @ccwoolman. One of those posts, her instagram profile photo, and linked in profile excerpt are included above.

She was the Event planner for Comet Ping Pong in the time frame the instagram posts were made (2012 i.e. 206 weeks ago). She now lives in Portland. She would be an important person to interview as a character witness for James Alefantis.

There are four other unique children amongst the photos posted that I do not know the identities of.

More Instagram-connected people. *yawns*

Susan Alefantis

Sister of James Alefantis. Wrote a letter in support of Christopher Kloman

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/835178/kloman-letter-writers.pdf

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/835134-kloman-letters.html

http://www.gloriaallred.com/Gloria-s-Videos-and-Statements/Potomac-School-Victims-Statements-10-18-2013.pdf

Backup: http://docdro.id/ZBW35kS

Christopher Kloman was sentenced to 43 years in prison for mutliple counts of child molestation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/former-potomac-school-teacher-to-be-sentenced-in-decades-old-molestations/2013/10/17/b41ba620-3743-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

Backup: http://archive.is/XlqMZ

Also on the list is Kenneth Starr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Starr#Investigation_of_the_death_of_Vince_Foster

Arguing for a lighter sentence =/= support

John Podesta

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/48897

File attachment includes and embedded file. It is now suspected that multiple e-mails with file attachments are likely to contain either embedded files or steganographic data. Work to remove these embedded files is underway.

Nothing more than an email about sauce.

Tony Podesta, John Podesta's brother and the guy who has a "pasta" obsession according to many e-mails did a 3 to 4 month trip to Japan with Dennis Hastert where they both taught students.

In his first year of graduate school, Hastert spent three months in Japan as part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program.[29] One of Hastert's fellow group members was Tony Podesta (then the president of the Young Democrats at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hastert

Hastert admitted to molesting kids when he did work as a teacher.

http://archive.is/h6Xwl

Tony Podesta still keeps in regular contact with Hastert.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/48488

This was before Hastert was convicted.

Tony Podesta has a "Huge" vault underneath his house

They are known for purchasing "awkward" works, such as video installations, that many other private collectors will not consider. "It's easy to store them, but difficult to display them," says Podesta. To get round the problem, he and his wife have excavated a huge subterranean vault beneath their house outside Washington - a white space 5m square and 4m high in which it will be possible to show "very complicated video pieces" on all four walls.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/apr/20/usa.world

A vault for art.

Tony and Heather Podesta's art collection contains a wide assortment of things that disturb the author of this Washington Post article. Which recently was deleted from Washington Post's website.

https://archive.fo/vddrO

One shows a boy seemingly born from a sewing machine. Another finds a young girl knitting her own hair. A third has a naked woman immersed in blood-red liquid.

Folks attending a house tour in the Lake Barcroft neighborhood in Falls Church earlier this year got an eyeful when they walked into a bedroom at the Podesta residence hung with multiple color pictures by Katy Grannan, a photographer known for documentary-style pictures of naked teenagers in their parents' suburban homes.

"They were horrified," Heather recalls, a grin spreading across her face

The article was not deleted from the Post’s website, and the photos are not consiered child pornography because of their artistic, non-sexual nature.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/56859 - "Going to see Rachel Rose"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0vrpV5n4Ps Pause at 0:10, attendee wearing counterclockwise spiral ring.

Literally just a spiral - and it looks nothing like the pedophile spiral symbol either.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/37543

Podesta e-mails make mention of Comet Ping Pong, "family-friendly" restaurant/venue with ping-pong for kids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GOluiqWYHU

https://search.wikileaks.org/?query=comet+ping+pong&exact_phrase=&any_of=&exclude_words=&document_date_start=&document_date_end=&released_date_start=&released_date_end=&publication_type%5B%5D=46&new_search=False&order_by=most_relevant#results

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/19761

http://www.sashalordpresents.com/comet/

Backup: http://archive.is/XVDy7

MANAGER OF COMET PING PONG PIZZA IN VIDEO PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 5TH, 2015

"THE SECRET IS IT'S AN EMPOWERMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT BY DEFINITION IS TRUST, SO LIKE, I TRUST THAT THE RELATIONSHIP THAT I HAVE WITH THE CUSTOMERS IS THAT THEY UNDERSTAND I LOOK OUT FOR THEM, AND IN RESPONSE, THEY LOOK OUT FOR US"

https://youtu.be/FXczVfgt7HY?t=1m36s

Backup: https://vimeo.com/190495825

Video recorded during Sasha Lord's birthday party at Comet Ping Pong. Individual with the microphone wearing a wig and ski mask is Amanda Kleinman (aka Majestic ape). Words used are very strange, video was deleted within an hour of it being found on youtube and had to be archived and reuploaded. She uploaded it a second time (as unlisted) and after a day or two switched it to private. Any remaining copies on youtube are reuploads and may or may not get taken down with DMCA notices.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=93f_1478801482

Seems to be more of a sick form of humor than anything else.

Here's Kleinman in the same outfit.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/heavy-breathing-s-release-of-airtight#/

Backup: http://archive.is/UQOby

In the party video, Amanda Kleinman references "secret pizza". This same term comes up in the description of a film about a "private island" that was produced by Jame Alefantis.

On a whim, Eve, a young Swedish traveler, accepts an invitation from Peter to vacation on his family's private island off the coast of New England. As a series of unexpected delays prevent other guests from arriving, Eve discovers that she has little in common with the increasingly erratic Peter. Gradually the idyllic natural beauty of the island gives way and Eve finds herself trapped in a state of surreality punctuated by bizarre visions, dimensional shifting and secret pizza.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4169074/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

Amanda Kleinman's band "Heavy Breathing" has a music video that references pedophilia. Most of the "Schtick" for her band is intentionally being provocative, weird, and awkward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo_euND7Acs

Backup: https://vimeo.com/190587695

Live performance in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX8xI6TPFnI

“Get served at Comet Ping Pong, a hipster-heavy pizza parlor in the Upper Northwest with rough concrete walls, bathrooms hidden behind secret panels, and table tennis galore. Thin crust pies from the wood-burning oven are as much of an attraction as the regularly scheduled live bands.”

DO NOT look at the following image if you want to sleep anytime soon.

https://i.sli.mg/MFH99K.jpg

Looked at silly drawn-on mask, slept. What does the occult have to do with pedophilia?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-tiu325HYQk

From the above, Amanda Kleinman might have some familiarity with "Eli" and may have been to the one to make his costume. Anything beyond those two things is supposition, but extremely creepy supposition.

https://i.sli.mg/Rg6dO9.jpg

Podesta's invitation to an AFTER party at David Brock home (pic related, was attached in email)

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/28538

David Brock is described as "batshit crazy" by Neera Tanden. His work history also shows temperamental behavior and volatility.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/43904

NY Times article being discussed is this one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/us/politics/emerging-clinton-team-shows-signs-of-disquiet.html

The company that planned the event has a long roster.

http://archive.is/XWQpi

http://archive.is/zNfpP

"Here’s a party tip: If you’re hosting an impromptu dinner and want guests to show up, have Academy Award-winner Mira Sorvino as your guest of honor.

That’s exactly what Kimball Stroud did after Sorvino attended a briefing on child trafficking on Capitol Hill with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.), filmmaker Libby Spears (“Playground”) and several survivors of child trafficking."

http://archive.is/wFgnK

"An Open Secret" documentary on Hollywood pedos revealed that several major Hollywood pedos had mansion pedophile parties called "after parties".

And “afterparty” is also a very common term in everyday speech.

45:09 - Mansion talk begins 45:55 - Brock Pierce is mentioned as the ringleader of the parties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq6PYA7ceKk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brock_Pierce

Backup: http://archive.is/gQ5WC

Pierce supports non-profit and advocacy efforts, and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

From what I’ve read about this whole brouhaha online, Brock Pierce was not actually convicted of anything.

https://www.wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/37543 https://www.wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/19761

Podesta e-mail with HRC pizza logo (Design provided by James Alefantis) says to donate to "PizzaPAC.com" registered to one JZ Drizin;

There's more on JZ Drizin here: https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/5bl3ny/more_research_on_comet_ping_pong_and_potential/

Itchie gross is friends with the Drizin family, but I don't believe Joel Zev Drizin has a facebook account. The person Podesta said to donate the money in the comet ping pong pizza email was @JZDRIZIN. His latest Retweet was from @PIZZAPACKET.

If you type JZDRIZIN into google you will find this link http://vin.place/vin/jz-drizin.18395059.html

When searching his number you will get http://www.tzachlist.com/search/?t=2&location=Florida&page=12 He goes by Zev Drizin, Zalmi Drizin, but mostly Joel Zev Drizin which explains his twitter handle.

http://www.breakout.today/the-stories/2016/2/2/sheida This article mentions Joel Zev Drizin and this lady who worked for him. Sheida Jafari worked for pizza packet and in this article it mentions work they did at the burning man occult festival if that's what you want to call it.

https://burners.me/2016/10/19/breaking-burning-man-in-latest-wikileaks-data-dump/

Burning man was brought up in Wikileaks as well.

Joel Zev Dizin work experience: Director at Map Financial Group, Inc., Member at Swanson Gentleman Hart, Inc., Member at Flatbush Patio LLC, Founder/CEO at Merchants For Charity and Founder, Board of Directors at Jewish Community Watch. (I need to find the link)

http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=13326 3rd picture from bottom is Itchie Gross who is the one who was UNFOLLOWED by the Angel of Love Adoption Agency Inc TODAY which is extremely suspicious. (follow up on the Angel of love story in a previous post so you understand) Also, Itchie gross is the same guy who DELETED his Linkedln when someone exposed his jet 4 days ago. THIS IS BEYOND SUSPICIOUS which is why I dug into these people.

However, Pizza Packet is owned by "Itchie Gross"; His wife Jane Gross has comes up several times in the podesta e-mails. A few of her e-mails are referencing trips to Hawaii, based on wording at the same time as John Podesta, his brother Tony, or others linked with the DNC itself.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/?q=Jane+Gross&mfrom=gross914%40gmail.com&mto=&title=&notitle=&date_from=&date_to=&nofrom=&noto=&count=50&sort=6#searchresult

Most recent tweet is retweet from Pizza Packet, company that sells and delivers nothing but seasoning packets for pizza.

pizzapacket.com is a legit business and there products do get used by many pizza chains. HOWEVER...

Address printed on the products they sell is just: Brooklyn, NY 11215

Searching for Pizza Packet LLC the only address that matches that zip code is: Pizza Packet LLC, PO Box 150084, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

http://weblink.ibrooklyn.com/food-products-%28manufacturersdistributors%29/pizza-packet-llc-172101

Checking other chamber of commerce sites we get another address.

https://www.chamberofcommerce.com/brooklyn-ny/46799237-pizza-spice-packet-llc

http://archive.is/GlWyl

This is a residential address, so that's likely where he lives. However from the podesta e-mails their their previous home address was: 181 East 93rd St. Apt. 2A NYC, NY 10128

Address listed for Pizza Packet on their website goes to a different post office box in Boca Raton, Florida (30 minutes from the Epstein mansion though). Also owns Frapes LLC.

http://archive.is/EgCwX

Address listed for a sponsor of a Pizza Packet contest (762 Park Place, NYC, NY);

https://i.sli.mg/4uH0eR.png

Streetview of this address shows a business name of "AR medical & Dental Supply Corp and a website address. That domain is inactive, but was crawled by the wayback machine successfully a few times.

https://web.archive.org/web/20040525172103/http://www.ardentalsupply.com/

The phone number if googled indicates that the business moved to a new location, and the owner of that business probably failed to remove the awning before relocating, so that lead is a dead end. The ownership of the 762 park place address is currently unknown and cannot be confirmed as legitimately associated with Pizza Packet.

There was a legal battle over ownership of that address.

http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20NYCO%2020150501667/762%20PARK%20PLACE%20REALTY,%20LLC%20v.%20LEHRER

Property changed ownership on 10/27/2014

http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentSearch/DocumentDetail?doc_id=2014102901146001

Currently scheduled for demolition, to be replaced by condominiums.

http://streeteasy.com/building/762-park-place

This address is a dead end. It cannot be proven to have any relationship to Mr. Gross.

This is indeed suspicious, but there  is absolutely no evidence of pedophilia.

Richard "Itchie" Gross LinkedIn profile has picture of a commercial jet.

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/richard-%22itchie%22-gross/6/611/456 (Account page deleted 11-3-16)

https://i.sli.mg/5KHjDf.jpg

Color scheme appears very similar to Jeffrey Epstein's personal 727.

We’re going by colors now, eh? This is when you know you’re out of “evidence”.

"Besta Pizza", which is located right next to BOTH COMET PING PONG and "Buck's Fishing & Camping" (which is the the other business James Alefantis owns) is using a pedophilia symbol as their logo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/5beuza/not_a_drill_pedo_ring_busted_right_the_fuck_open/

https://i.sli.mg/SjWSAu.png

UPDATE 11/10/16: They just changed their logo on their website and on their social media accounts. http://archive.is/V2XBu They have not however changed the logo on their online menu.

Might as well declare Avery part of the pedophile ring as well. Seriously, coincidences happen.

He has also served as legislative adviser to the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. I have been unable to find any links between Andrew Kline and Comet Ping Pong or the Clinton Foundation aside from proximity.

Wow, it’s not too often that a post debunks itself.

Has a very long history in Washington D.C. It is currently owned by Bradley Graham and his wife, Lissa Muscatine. Muscatine has been the official speechwriter for Hillary Clinton for over 20 years.

Sign out front has a counterclockwise spiral in the ampersand.

https://i.sli.mg/mP83Pa.jpg

This does not match the older logo for the business that is still used for letterhead and advertising.

Looks nothing like the pedophile spiral.

Wikileaks has tons of e-mails with very bizarre wordings and coded meanings. This one is the least coded and the weirdest even in its provided context.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/10052

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/47943

Talks about children staying over? Check. Doesn’t talk about sex with them? Check.

Hillary's Catholic liaison was busted running a prostitution ring. Here are some articles:

http://archive.is/ytkrx

Robert Eric McFadden, who also helped co-found the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, was arrested Wednesday in suburban Dublin, Ohio. He has been charged with seven felonies, including pandering obscenities involving a minor, promoting prostitution and compelling prostitution, according to a Columbus Police Department spokesman. Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Weiner confirmed that the 46-year-old McFadden is the same person who worked for Strickland.

http://archive.is/pjiD8

Eric McFadden, 46, the former head of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives for Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, was arrested this morning and faces two counts of promoting prostitution, two counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, two counts of pandering obscenity involving a nude minor and one count of compelling prostitution, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told the Springfield News-Sun.

Charged - not convicted.

Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter, women who planned to start an orphanage, New Life Children's Refuge, in the Dominican Republic; Arrested with several children in Haiti; Huma e-mailed HRC with regular updates; Silsby represented by attorney convicted of sex trafficking; Allowed to leave the country of Haiti after being arrested there for 33 counts of trafficking children.

Some conspiracy theorists claim that Clinton personally let Silsby free, but there is no evidence that this is the case.

https://archive.fo/mA7TI#selection-1075.0-1185.108

Former Georgia State Senator, Nancy Schaefer was an outspoken opponent of Child Protective Services (CPS). Schaefer authored an investigation in which, among other findings, revealed the following: “…the separation of families is growing as a business because local governments have grown accustomed to having taxpayer dollars to balance their ever-expanding budgets. The Adoption and the Safe Families Act, set in motion by President Bill Clinton, offered cash “bonuses” to the states for every child they adopted out of foster care. In order to receive the “adoption incentive bonuses” local child protective services need more children. They must have merchandise (children) that sell and you must have plenty of them so the buyer can choose. Some counties are known to give a $4,000 bonus for each child adopted and an additional $2,000 for a “special needs” child. In this document, Schaefer makes it clear that organizations, such as The Second Mile, procure their underage victims by making children wards of the State. CPS has unchecked legal authority to remove children, with or without cause. Subsequently, CPS and their partners, the corrupt juvenile court judges can place these children wherever they see fit (e.g. The Franklin House, Boys Town, Elm House, The Second Mile Foundation) where unimaginable horrors take place.

Schaefer and her husband died under very mysterious circumstances at their home in Georgia in March of 2010.

https://archive.fo/o/mA7TI/fightcps.com/pdf/TheCorruptBusinessOfChildProtectiveServices.pdf

“Died under very mysterious circumstances” = “obviously the Clintons did it.” Got it.

https://i.sli.mg/6Xlkkw.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackOps/comments/4fs7a8/question_why_would_there_be_30ish_wifi_networks/

Dave Flintstone describes himself as a "poobah" in multiple profiles. The term "Grand Poobah" was used recurringly on the television show The Flintstones as the name of a high-ranking elected position in a secret society.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Poobah

"Cheesybay" is run by "Bif Skipman" and sells "faulty Hard drives" on eBay. All the reviews are GLOWING in ways that are bizarre given that he's self-reportedly selling "junk".

Compound in Hawaii has vats/barrels with what looks like the remain of rendering processes (dissolving tissues). The residue does not look at all similar to what would normally be associated with distilling or byproducts of a mash.

There's weak wifi signals coming from underneath the shed that indicate there's something underneath it.

"Dave Flintstone" runs a "distillery" business at that address. David Stone/Dave Flintstone is "Bif Skipman" according to the g-mail cross authentication for both gmail accounts. David Stone also has used and e-mailed the same avatar photo for other pursposes. daveflintstone.com and islanddistillers.com whois lookup lists a home address in Honolulu. An address not used on their website or associated with the processing facility.

http://archive.is/JZOZs http://archive.is/Ea3Nh

DAVE FLINSTONE's electrical contractor is RICHARD LOWTHER aka "Mamata das",

https://i.sli.mg/oiZQm2.jpg

a Film Maker (stage32.com) and member of the Science of Identity cult of Chris Butler, the same cult Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) was in.

E-mails dug out of the "Dave Flintstone" and "Bif Skipman" gmail accounts reference a "Richard Windsor" Pseudonym that Lisa P. Jackson was caught using.

She works for the Clinton Foundation. The e-mail is possibly from the Music booker at Comet Ping Pong pizza.

I looked up the property owners on Pakala through the tax assessor's office (someone's paying tax on the property). From the old wifi post, both the property with the concrete pad (577 Pakala) and the wealthy property next door with the building that off-the-book power lines go into (563 Pakala) are both owned by the same organization - B P BISHOP TRUST ESTATE - the wealthiest charity in the state worth $10B and has a 10% stake in Goldman Sachs.

In a 3 year period the estate lost an unaccounted for $241 million and operating costs increased by $19 million, maybe accounting for the underground construction. This was in the late 90s though, and the WiFi OP said he was doing construction there recently.

...quantity of available financial information about KS/BE (the trust) is amazingly limited. Even the court-appointed master compared his attempts to get information from these trustees to trying to get it from the CIA. The usually mild mannered master was "outraged" by the trustees' "specious rationale" for not properly disclosing vital information. He called their excuses "so pathetic as to border on the ludicrous."

http://archive.is/OfpTF

Really recommend reading the overview of BP Bishop Trust linked in that quote, it's plagued by scandal like everything else even tangentially associated with the Clintons.

The Pizzagate Wiki itself confirms that these two people are not the same.

http://pastebin.com/nzEDKy0Q

https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/12/1223066_re-get-ready-for-chicago-hot-dog-friday-.html

Obama spent about $65,000 of the tax-payers money flying in pizza/dogs from Chicago for a private party at the White House

Note: NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR BEVERAGES ARE PERMITTED IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Ever. Not even pre-prepared sauces. Everything has to be cooked from scratch in the White House kitchen from screened vendors.

“No outside food” is the rule for visitors - not Washington insiders.

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/55433

“Map” was probably an autocorrect slipup - “mark“ swould fit much better in the sentence.

https://i.sli.mg/PZJEzM.jpg

Artists of paintings is Kim Noble. I do not recommend looking at the full sets.

http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/the-world-of-mind-control-through-the-eyes-of-an-artist-with-13-alter-personas/

The Pizzagate Wiki itself debunks the notion that Kim Noble made the Comet Ping Pong paintings.

Well, there you go. The entire foundation of Pizzagate has been debunked, despite so mny pompous conspiracy theorists insisting it coudn’t be debunked.

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Shooting the Messenger, Part 1: “Dear Media”

Many people, enveloped in their own biases, decide that anything that does not inmerse them only in facts sympathetic to their own viewpoint must also be biased. By far the biggest target of this worrying trend is the mainstream media. During the campaign, Trump and his supporters claimed that a large number of media outlets from the New York Times and Washington Post to CNN were covering him unfairly. More recently, some prominent Clinton supporters have begun to claim the media in general was biased against them throughout the election.  John Podesta claimed the media “covered Trump who was someone who was entertaining and sort of gave him a pass”. Even Obama is claiming that “Donald Trump says stuff everyday that used to be considered as disqualifying for being president. And yet because he says it over and over and over again the press just gives up and they just say, well, yeah, OK.”

But just because you believe his actions are disqualifying does not make it a fact. It is an opinion, and facts are what the press reports. In the same speech, Obama said that Trump’s scandals are worse than Clinton’s and that Clinton was more “fit” than Trump for the Presidency, and implied that the media should have reflected that. Similar reasoning - that certain events are more troubling than other events - is prevalent among many who believe the mainstream media is biased.  But that one event is more troubling than another is an opinion - an opinion which you may believe is justified, but an opinion nonetheless. It is important for the press to report on every development in the election that is significant or attracts controversy - such that consumers of the media can decide which are more important.

In addition, many consider coverage of controversies involving their candidate or people sharing their ideology to be biased coverage of their candidate or people sharing their ideology. However, the media stories they consider to be negative almost always include people and organizations defending the target of the controversy. Coverage causing the public to reflect negatively upon a candidate is not the same as the coverage itself being skewed.

The most absurd part of declaring the mainstream media is biased is treating it with a broad brush stroke. Many media outlets indeed are biased, and many news stories are biased. Overall, though, the mainstream media is not biased in one direction or the other. However, many treat it as a monolithic entity within which every outlet must act as others do. This can be evidenced by the many opinion pieces and blog posts that begin “Dear Media.” A Google search brings up “Dear Media: Clinton has skeletons too”, “Dear Media: Please Stop Normalizing the Alt-Right”, “Dear Media: Stop Pretending Hillary Clinton is Witty”, “Dear Media: Stop Trying to Psychoanalyze Obama”, “Dear media: Only liberals can call for a political revolution?”, and “Dear Media Elites: Stop Calling Donald Trump a Populist” - and those are only a few of the multitude of articles treating the media as a single entity! But indeed the media outlets are separate and distinct, and there is no evidence of collusion among them, nor of a general bias.

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Don't ever hesitate. Reblog this. TUMBLR RULE. When you see it, REBLOG IT.

The original post only has US helplines. I've added UK helplines underneath. It would be great if people could add numbers from everywhere in the world.

Depression Hotline: 1-630-482-9696

Suicide Hotline: 1-800-784-8433

LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255

Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743

Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438

Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673

Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272

Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000

Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-4394253

Child Abuse: 1-800-422-4453

UK Helplines:

Samaritans (for any problem): 08457909090 e-mail jo@samaritans.org

Childline (for anyone under 18 with any problem): 08001111

Mind infoline (mental health information): 0300 123 3393 e-mail: info@mind.org.uk

Mind legal advice (for people who need mental-health related legal advice): 0300 466 6463 legal@mind.org.uk

b-eat eating disorder support: 0845 634 14 14 (only open Mon-Fri 10.30am-8.30pm and Saturday 1pm-4.30pm) e-mail: help@b-eat.co.uk

b-eat youthline (for under 25's with eating disorders): 08456347650 (open Mon-Fri 4.30pm - 8.30pm, Saturday 1pm-4.30pm)

Cruse Bereavement Care: 08444779400 e-mail: helpline@cruse.org.uk

Frank (information and advice on drugs): 0800776600

Drinkline: 0800 9178282

Rape Crisis England & Wales: 0808 802 9999 1(open 2 - 2.30pm 7 - 9.30pm) e-mail info@rapecrisis.org.uk

Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 every day, 6pm to midnight

India Self Harm Hotline: 00 08001006614

India Suicide Helpline: 022-27546669

Kids Help Phone (Canada): 1-800-668-6868, Free and available 24/7

suicide hotlines;

Argentina: 54-0223-493-0430

Australia: 13-11-14

Austria: 01-713-3374

Barbados: 429-9999

Belgium: 106

Botswana: 391-1270

Brazil: 21-233-9191

China: 852-2382-0000

(Hong Kong: 2389-2222)

Costa Rica: 606-253-5439

Croatia: 01-4833-888

Cyprus: 357-77-77-72-67

Czech Republic: 222-580-697, 476-701-908

Denmark: 70-201-201

Egypt: 762-1602

Estonia: 6-558-088

Finland: 040-5032199

France: 01-45-39-4000

Germany: 0800-181-0721

Greece: 1018

Guatemala: 502-234-1239

Holland: 0900-0767

Honduras: 504-237-3623

Hungary: 06-80-820-111

Iceland: 44-0-8457-90-90-90

Israel: 09-8892333

Italy: 06-705-4444

Japan: 3-5286-9090

Latvia: 6722-2922, 2772-2292

Malaysia: 03-756-8144

(Singapore: 1-800-221-4444)

Mexico: 525-510-2550

Netherlands: 0900-0767

New Zealand: 4-473-9739

New Guinea: 675-326-0011

Nicaragua: 505-268-6171

Norway: 47-815-33-300

Philippines: 02-896-9191

Poland: 52-70-000

Portugal: 239-72-10-10

Russia: 8-20-222-82-10

Spain: 91-459-00-50

South Africa: 0861-322-322

South Korea: 2-715-8600

Sweden: 031-711-2400

Switzerland: 143

Taiwan: 0800-788-995

Thailand: 02-249-9977

Trinidad and Tobago: 868-645-2800

Ukraine: 0487-327715

I reblogged it. I hope I helped any in need who came to my blog. :)

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My Views on the Electoral College Vote and the Recount

Hello, readers of Left and Slightly Downward. I apologize for my hiatus (it was because I was very busy with classes). Thankfully, since the Christmas break has started, I should now find many opportunities to post. And I have a multitude of topics on my mind.

You probably know by now that the Electoral College will be voting in two days. Some people have started a movement for electors slated for Trump to vote for Clinton instead: you can see the petition at http://bit.ly/ec-petition. It appears to be fairly successful too: four electors whose votes were allocated for Trump have publicly stated that they will vote for Clinton, and some estimate that as many as twenty are privately planning to vote for Clinton. In fact, fifty-eight electors drafted a letter to Congress inquiring about Russian interference in the election. 

I support this movement. I would not support it most times, since I generally would consider it an outrageous machination to overturn the will of the people. However, in this case, the “will of the people” is Clinton: she won the popular vote by a margin of nearly three million votes. In addition, as many of you know, I have argued against the Electoral College in the past. If the Electoral College votes for Clinton, the result will annoy Republicans (most of whom support Trump) because the Electoral College did not vote how they intended it to vote. Thus, Democrats annoyed by Bush’s victory in 2000 and Republicans annoyed by Clinton’s victory in 2016 can join together and once and for all eliminate this undemocratic machine.

You probably also know by now that recounts initiated by Jill Stein are underway in several states. The reason that proponents of the recount have given is that Russia supposedly interfered with the final vote numbers. But there is absolutely no evidence for this. Even a review conducted by the Clinton campaign, who would have every reason to bias their data, found no evidence. Now, I know some of you may inquire, Didn’t the Clinton campaign later join in the recount? Yes, they did - but it was only to ensure fairness; other campaigns frequently join in recounts initiated by other campaigns for this very reason. Interestingly, the Trump campaign, who have asserted baselessly [^1] that millions of illegal immigrants voted, did not join. Sore winners maybe?

[^1] Trump’s source for his information was a tweet from votestand.com, who claimed to have found three million illegal immigrants who voted out of a database of 180 million registered voters. However, there were only 146.7 million registered voters in the election, calling the claim into question.

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Yeah, you especially get this feeling when your alarm clock goes off. Getting up feels like the worst thing in the world when you have it.

i mostly need sleep right after i wake up

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A shower thought with regards to Trump

Despite Donald Trump’s perpetual misogyny, because of what he has done a woman will (probably) finally become president. His constant discrimination and offensive comments have turned off so many people that America would rather elect the female Hillary Clinton rather than yet another white male.

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For the record, how many different ethnic, political, religious and sexual identities has the Trump campaign targeted negatively?

Oh Trump, how do I deem thee racist, let me count the ways!

-Black people: Trump said that a black protestor “maybe deserved to get roughed up.”

-Latinos: “Hispanic outreach” was eating a taco.

-Latino immigrants, specifically: Said they were generally “rapists”, and “bringing crime” and “bringing drugs”.

-Jews: Trump once tweeted an image with a Star of David and Hillary Clinton. While he tried to deny it was an anti-Semitic gesture and attempted to cover his tracks by replacing the star with a circle, it was soon discovered that the image originally came from a Neo-Nazi website.

-Native Americans: Called part-Cherokee Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas.”

-Pretty much everyone except white people, for that matter: Trump frequently retweets Nazis and white supremacists.

Muslims: He proposed the complete “temporary” deportation of them all. Also frequently characterized Islam as a hateful religion.

-Gay people: Admittedly, Trump did support a bill that would give gay people more rights, but he once said that the US was “going to hell” because the NFL fined a homophobe on one of its teams, and in 2011, Trump outright said he opposed gay marriage.

-Democratic Party: Frequently called it corrupt and broken.

-Moderate Republicans: Trump has frequently denigrated moderates, calling them “low-energy” among many other things.

If anyone finds more, I will gladly add it in an edit to this post.

[leftandslightlydownward]

Fun fact: Donald Trump has less “appeal to black voters” than David Duke. If he is actually elected, he claims that he will win 95% of the black vote  when he stands for re-election. Fat chance.

how’s trump’s “appeal to black voters” going? well, he’s currently in 4th place

follow @the-movemnt

[leftandslightlydownward]

A Solution to Washington’s Perpetual Gridlock

Gridlock has been a major problem in Congress for decades, but in the past six or so years it has decisively escalated. A combination of polarized opinions and a troubling refusal to compromise that has created two debt ceiling crises and one government shutdown continues to wreck havoc upon America’s legislative branch, bringing the number of laws passed to a record low. While Republicans have been significantly more unyielding, Democrats have also oftentimes refused to nudge even a little in their bills. Bottom line: this is a national problem that is not limited to one party. The American political system in general led to the turbulent yet (ultimately) sessile state of modern politics.

Specifically, the US’s two-party system is to blame. With only two available positions to side with in order to have even a remote chance of being elected, the two parties have become more and more distinct over the years as adherence to the party line becomes a greater and greater priority. You can see this happening right now as most Congressional Republicans support Trump: not because they think he will be a good president, but out of an inflated sense of party loyalty. And one can hardly blame them: if they deviated even a hair’s breadth from the positions of the Republican Party, voters would probably give them the axe in today’s polarized political environment. Additionally, conflict between not only the two parties in general, but between Congress and the President which due to the aforementioned polarization typically have essentially mirrored viewpoints nowadays, only aggravates the perpetual tension. If the president vetoes a bill - which he does with frequency - it is virtually impossible for Congress to garner a two-thirds majority to overturn the veto, posing yet another obstacle to a bill being passed.

A solution to this would be to raise the prominence of minor parties and, specifically, to abolish the electoral college.. While minor parties (with much more nuanced opinions) do exist, they are so obscure that they are given very little, if any, coverage by mainstream politicians or the media. Were they to be given more coverage and obtain actual seats in the house, this would encourage less closed-minded political discussion and would help government officials to recognize that there are a variety of viewpoints, not just two, and be more compromising. Luckily, progression toward this goal appears to be already occurring, with many Republicans this election season gravitating toward Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, and many Democrats inclining toward Jill Stein of the Green Party. More specifically, the electoral college does not account for different proportions of voting (typically preferring instead a winner-takes-all method). You could have a candidate literally winning by one vote and he’d be given the same number of delegates in a state as someone who won literally every single vote. Thus, third-parties are almost never represented in the electoral college.

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This blog expresses my political views perfectly. I have a democratic view and was very pleased with the strong evidence provided. I also disagree with some of the actions of Hillary Clinton, but would much rather support her over a racist, sexist, unprepared businessman.

I’m glad you appreciate my blog so much and it’s cool that you agree with me!

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PLEASE UPDATE THIS BLOG.

Real-life stuff has been getting in the way lately, but I will update it as soon as I can.

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Why Trump and Hillary are Both Bad (And Why You Should Vote for Hillary Anyway)

I get it, I get it, Hillary is corrupt and dishonest. And by all means, she is! She withheld information from her fellow cabinet members regarding Benghazi. She mishandled classified information and then actually lied about it, claiming that the server malfunctioned and the emails disappeared. But then she later released the supposedly erased emails, and lowered the American public’s level of trust regarding her. As if that wasn’t enough, she was paid $675000 by Goldman Sachs by a speech that some described as “glowing”. The last kind of president we need is one who is afraid of punishing banks if they turn corrupt.

In any other election, I would recommend that by all means, you not vote for her. But let’s face it. She’s running against a candidate who would be much, much more disastrous for the country: a candidate by the name of Donald J. Trump. This man might not be corrupt, but he might very well wreck America for years to come. While Hillary may not be a very good candidate, voting for her over Trump is a no-brainer.

Donald Trump is extremely discriminatory. He is fulled to the brim with sexism - he frequently describes women with demeaning terms. We all remember when he said of Carly Fiorina, “Look at that face! Who would vote for that?” and Fiorina’s rebuke caused her to surge in the polls, ultimately to no avail. And while whether his comment about blood coming out of Megyn Kelly’s “whatever” was truly a reference to menstruation, we can all agree that he called Megyn Kelly a “bimbo” on Twitter. Similarly, the amount of racism in his campaign is truly appalling. From saying a black protestor at a rally “deserved to get roughed up” to his “Hispanic outreach” consisting of eating a taco, it becomes no great mystery why Neo-Nazis and other prominent racists are supporting him, and why blacks literally support him less than David Duke. And his hatred of all things Islam and Muslim  has practically defined his campaign. From the very start he supported not letting any Muslims into the US, as a “temporary” measure. He frequently demeaned Muslims as a whole afterward, often offering proposals that were clearly unconstitutional. It was indeed a situation that called for Khizr Khan’s famous act of holding up a pocket Constitution and saying, “Have you read a word of this?” Not even to mention what he said about the Khans afterward.

Trump has no political experience whatsoever. Sure, he has business expertise, but the differences between a business where the sole goal is to make profits and a country where the goal is to provide for the well-being of one’s citizens is so massive that experience in one area is practically worthless in the other, beyond the common attribute of a leadership role. Imagine if you were on the board of a company and someone picked a random guy off the street with no experience in the company whatsoever and said, “Hey, this guy would make a good CEO!” Would you vote for him? Of course not! It would be a disaster for the company if the others voted to make him CEO.

Honestly, I could go on and on. There are so many bad things about Donald Trump that listing them all might fill up a book. In fact, I might make another post about them someday. In the face of all the evidence, it becomes clear that despite her major faults, Hillary Clinton is still a far better candidate than Donald Trump.

[leftandslightlydownward]

Welcome to Left and Slightly Downward!

For many years I have been an avid follower of and participant in American politics. Ever since I was 11, I have read the news frequently, formed my own opinions on matters and expressed them and debated them, and have loved to discuss politics with others. It seemed innately natural, therefore, to start a (mostly) political blog. Of course, there will sometimes be other content, but primarily I will stick to politics. 

Why Tumblr? you may ask. First and foremost, many of my friends had been posting on Tumblr for some time. Secondly, I appreciated Tumblr’s unique feature of easily reblogging and distributing your content to a mass audience rather than a closely knit circle. The ability to make many different kinds of posts with ease was also a major factor.

The name “Left and Slightly Downward” refers to my political orientation according to iSideWith - moderately left-wing and slightly authoritarian (which they symbolized as being left and slightly downward.) I chose not to base the name off the Political Compass results because many have called into question the Political Compass’s methods and have said it has a libertarian bias. (But if you wish to know anyway, my coordinates are: -4.63, -4.0.)

As a reader, you are free to ask me any questions you wish through the “Ask Left and Slightly Downward - My Views, Debates, and More!” tab. Just make sure they are relevant to either politics or gaming. Additionally, I will be glad to engage in debate with other users, either after you reblog or comment on a post or (perhaps more commonly) after you engage a debate in “Ask Left and Slightly Downward”. You may also submit posts through the relevant link (just to the right of the link to the “Ask Left and Slightly Downward” page). Of course, they will need to be approved by me following their submission, but I will gladly feature your submitted post if I judge it to be of high enough quality. (Of course, that does not exclude any specific type of post per se. For instance, images can still be approved providing that they are of high quality.)