#jussie smollett sexuality

[cyarskj1899]

Men have to do better.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Fragile Male Ego Scorned

Tory Lanez's conviction, Kanye West's cancellation and Andrew Tate's arrest prove the ego is one of the male body's most undeveloped and underworked organisms.

Chris Rock hilariously, if simplistically, summed up the perceived social edict on manhood: We’re valued primarily by the provisions we bring to the table. Financial sustainability, sexual prowess, viability as a Spades card game partner... we all harbor some degree of insecurity in our ability to perform. 

Blame the patriarchy, if you will, but no man I know makes it to or through adulthood without some degree of pressure to be, well, a man. Anyone who suggests otherwise is lying — a form of insecurity itself. 

But there’s a difference between having insecurities — as does every human with a pulse — and being an insecure human being. Unfortunately, men like Daystar “Tory Lanez” Peterson fit the latter bill, wearing their all-consuming insecurity like a pleather trench coat on a humid summer day. 

Often, when insecurity and fragility permeate every fiber of a man’s being, it manifests itself in relatively benign behavior, like anonymously arguing with strangers in a comments section or contributing money to Candace Owens. But, in Lanez’s case, someone got shot. 

The two-plus-year case of “who shot Megan Thee Stallion?” seemingly reached its denouement, at least legally, on Dec. 23 when Lanez was ultimately convicted on three felony charges because, per Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta’s closing argument, he shot Meg for attacking his fragile male ego. 

“(Megan) disrespected his rapping. She’s insulting him as a rapper, and that pissed him off,” Ta said. “He had a massive ego, and he could not handle being disrespected. And how dare she have the audacity to walk away from him. So he reasserted his dominance. He was going to show her.”

It would appear that the proverbial smoking gun, which many believe sealed his conviction, was a just-released call between Lanez and Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris, just a few hours after the Houston rapper was shot. His quotes are loaded with profanity, but let’s just say that you’d have to have attended the Jussie Smollett Academy of Quantum Leaps to hear it and still believe Lanez isn’t guilty. 

You could’ve passively followed this case, as I did, and still witnessed Lanez’s wee baby energy sprinkled all over it, especially with the 2020 release of his ”DAYSTAR″ album. It at once attempted to profit from the shooting and absolve him of it. Fortunately, many music critics saw right through the desperate musical effort. 

Let’s say that you, along with your former high-school classmate who went full-tilt Black Hebrew Israelite in his 20s and all the vloggers who’ve apparently been hiding their forensic science degree this whole time, started caring about Lanez out of nowhere and are still convinced that, somehow, that bullet willed itself into Megan’s foot. Try to excuse that nice thread over on Twitter with several examples of Lanez behaving like a violent little man. 

Speaking of the big Smurf in the room: Lanez is, according to his arrest report, 5-foot-3. This makes him about 7 inches shorter than Meg and a likely prime candidate for lying on his online dating profile. He’s like every angry, diminutive dude you remember from school, except he managed to build a career creating bops instead of going on to get his “life revenge” on employees as a middle manager somewhere. 

Indeed, it would appear that money, fame and success don’t do much to mitigate the issues of truly fragile men (see: every time DJ Akademiks gets caught on video). Lanez’s music is unlikely ever to be entered into the Library of Congress, but his career is not insignificant — he’s made Billboard Top 10 as a guest on a Jack Harlow track, along with a few joints that squeaked into the Top 50. Unfortunately, most pop star aspirants will never achieve what he has.

Musical achievements aside, Lanez’s admonishments outside his talents have done enough to damage his career and send him to the pokey. He’s now put a permanent asterisk next to his accolades that will forever read, “here is the little man who shot a woman that bruised his ego.”

Andrew Tate is another recent example of a “successful” man whose elephantine ego put him in a bad way. Best described as the noxious lovechild of Kevin Samuels and Archie Bunker, Tate has made a living commodifying rank misogyny and becoming a patron saint to incels, to the degree that dude was bounced from most social medialast year. 

The 36-year-old decided to pick a Twitter fight with activist Greta Thunberg, who just stopped being a teenager on Wednesday. Tate’s tweet, in which he brags about his luxury cars and their emissions, reads like a 7-year-old running at full speed on the playground to impress a girl he likes. In what could be Twitter’s most liked clapback ever, Thunberg suggested that Tate should aspire to be a “motion in the ocean” type. 

His ungodly ridiculous video response to that tweet, in which he receives pizza boxes that allegedly alerted Romanian law enforcement to his location and led to his arrest on charges of human trafficking, among other things, provides all the schadenfreude we needed to kick off a new year. 

Perhaps the most egregious example I’ve seen of an unchecked fragile male ego is that of Kanye West, who now goes by Ye. We’re talking about a man considered by many to be one of hip-hop’s greatest and most influential creators; and the creator of a clothing brand that, at one point, had him rich enough to buy off Jesus. Yet he still managed to get into a public tiff with a dude 16 years his junior over dating his ex-wife. Then, when that wasn’t enough, Ye topped off his toxic behavior by spewing his antisemitic views on and off social media. 

Ye’s “I never get the respect I deserve” bit was cute when he was on the come-up two decades ago, but the petulance rings tragically when you have more money and fame than 99% and a few decimal points of humans, and you’re still clawing for the imprimatur of rich, white conservatives who don’t give a damn about your Black ass. 

The tragedy of it all is made even more Grecian in scope by all the folks (mostly men, but not always) who view the consequences these men receive for acting on behalf of their egos and still manage to make excuses for them. 

“Everyone’s always trying to tear down a Black man!” “She shot herself!” “His mama died… his ain’t-rightness ain’t his fault!”

Yes, there’s a ton of context as to why much of this male fragility exists, especially in the Black community. Many of us came up in households and environments where we’re imbued with troubling ideas of “masculinity,” in which we’re told to solve problems with violence or negativity. Too many of us carry that into adulthood and take folks like Dr. Umar Johnson with his “alpha male” tomfoolery to heart. 

I won’t pretend that the male ego is easy to check, even among the best of us. For example, my crew of best friends are all successful, formally-educated Black men with little left to prove to the world in our early 40s. But despite being emotionally self-aware and open with each other, there’s always this patina of macho male bullshit that creeps into our interactions, especially as a group. 

But the thing about being a grown-ass man is the importance of taking accountability for one’s actions. Mental health and the “system” are no excuses for bad behavior. I believe therapy separates a man from his fragile ego and toxic behavior. We in the Black community are still coming around to therapy in general… especially the men. My septuagenarian Black dad from rural Louisiana was never about that therapy life, so it took me reaching my late 30s to get there. 

My hope is that, as more Black Millennials birth and raise children, they will do so with less focus on antiquated modes of “masculinity,” creating fewer fragile male egos and healthier approaches to problem-solving. And I hope that, while Tory Lanez sits his dumb ass down for a few years, he can have sincere conversations with an objective professional and become a more humble, enlightened man willing to spread a new message to the masses. 

Again, it’s not necessarily easy to check the male ego, but it’s never too late to try.

[dankusner]

Illinois Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from actor Jussie Smollett after an appellate court upheld his conviction for lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime in a staged attack.

The high court announced Wednesday it would hear Smollett’s case, but a date for arguments has not been set.

In December, a state appeals court upheld the actor’s conviction and sentence in a split decision.

Justices David Navarro and Mary Ellen Coghlan affirmed the conviction and said they did not find his sentence unreasonable.

But Justice Freddrenna Lyle dissented, saying she would have overturned the conviction.

The charges stemmed from Smollett’s claim that he was attacked by two men who made remarks indicating they were supporters of President Donald Trump while beating him, dousing him with a bleach-like substance and hanging a thin rope noose around his neck as he walked to his Streeterville apartment in January 2019.

At the time, Smollett was a rising star on the cast of the hit television show “Empire” and was attempting to launch a music career.

Word of the attack spread quickly, but his story quickly fell apart as police investigated, and he was charged with lying.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx later said she was recusing herself from the case after it was revealed she had helped facilitate conversations between Smollett’s family and the Chicago Police Department.

Months later, her office decided to drop the charges, saying it reached an agreement with the actor to forfeit his bond and perform community service.

However, he was indicted on new charges after a judge appointed special prosecutor Dan Webb to review the decision.

Webb’s report stated the state’s attorney office had committed “substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures.”

A Cook County jury found Smollett guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021, and he was sentenced to 30 months of probation, with the first 150 days to be served at Cook County Jail.

Smollett appealed the conviction and was released after spending six days of the sentence behind bars.

Smollett’s attorneys argued that the second round of charges against the actor violated an agreement reached with Cook County prosecutors to drop the case if he performed community service and forfeited his bond.

Writing for the majority, Justice Navarro stated that “The record does not establish that Smollett entered into a nonprosecution agreement … in exchange for his performance of community service and the forfeiture of his bond.”

Lyle disagreed, saying that although Smollett had not entered into a plea agreement, “a bilateral agreement took place, which bound the state, nonetheless.

“The majority contends that there is no evidence in the state’s agreement that the parties intended for the agreement to be tantamount to a dismissal with prejudice,” Lyle said. “I disagree.”

Richard Kling, a professor at Chicago–Kent College of Law, told the Sun-Times after the ruling that he believed the high court would pick up the case.

He pointed to the overturning of actor Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction by Pennsylvania’s highest court on similar arguments.

“I think that’s [Smollett’s] strongest argument and best chance,” Kling said.

[my-weird-news]

👀 Shocking: 30 Celebs Who Totally Lost Their Fan Respect 😱

#CelebCrashAndBurn: A Comedic Look at Fallen Stars 😅 You know what they say, folks: the celebrity lifestyle is like a rollercoaster made of admiration and respect, but it seems like the only way down is through a trapdoor labeled "canceled." Let's take a look at some former darlings who've been knocked off their pedestals and left clutching their metaphorical canceling blankets. 🎢 Chris Brown: Remember when Chris Brown was known for his hits, not for hitting Rihanna? 🎵 It was 2009, the Grammy Awards were just around the corner, and Chris decided it was the perfect time to introduce the world to his impressive array of fists. 👊 Now, some folks might argue that his punishment – probation, community service, and counseling – was about as effective as using a feather to stop a hurricane. 🌪️ Ellen DeGeneres: Ellen, Ellen, Ellen. For years, we thought she was the friendliest talk show host since Mr. Rogers. But guess what? Behind the scenes, she was more like the Grinch on a power trip. 👀 Apparently, she was running a workplace more toxic than a laboratory experiment gone wrong. ☢️ Don't worry, though – we still have reruns of "Finding Nemo" to remind us of her better days. Kanye West: Just when you thought Kanye had exhausted his ability to shock, he unleashed a barrage of anti-Semitic tweets that left us all scratching our heads. 🤯 It's like he went to the "How to Ruin Your Reputation in 140 Characters or Less" school of social media. But hey, at least Adidas saved us from ever having to worry about Yeezy fashion again. Roman Polanski: Roman Polanski has mastered the art of being the poster child for bad decisions. Accused of everything from non-consensual sexual intercourse to perversion (yes, perversion – as if the other stuff wasn't enough), he somehow found a way to make things worse. During his trial, he decided it was a great idea to pose with young girls, as if the court were auditioning for his next horror film. 🎥 Jussie Smollett: Remember Jussie Smollett's grand performance? No, not on "Empire," but in the world's most bizarre self-inflicted PR nightmare. He hired actors to play his attackers, staged a hate crime, and then seemed genuinely shocked when the police figured it out. 🕵️‍♂️ It's like he took the saying "fake it till you make it" a little too literally. Amber Heard: Amber Heard's got a lot of nerve. She went from accusing Johnny Depp of abuse to being accused of it herself. Talk about a plot twist. 🎬 It's like a poorly written daytime soap opera, except with real-life consequences. Deitrick Haddon: Deitrick Haddon, the gospel singer turned relationship expert – oh wait, wrong kind of expert. Turns out he's an expert at marital infidelity. 👼 Just when you thought his choir singing was impressive, he added cheating to his repertoire. 🎤 R. Kelly: Ah, R. Kelly – the man who managed to turn "I Believe I Can Fly" into a song about escaping jail. If only he'd put that energy into making better life choices. From sex trafficking to child pornography, he managed to hit every bad note imaginable. 🎵 J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling took a magical dive into the realm of controversy when she shared some controversial views about transgender individuals. 🧙‍♂️ Suddenly, the author who brought us the enchanting world of Harry Potter was waving around a wand of divisiveness. Expelliarmus, indeed! Oprah Winfrey: Oprah may have the Midas touch, but she also has a knack for questionable associations. First, she boosted Dr. Oz's profile, a man who's as reliable as a diet pill sold out of the back of a van. Then she threw her support behind a politician who was facing off against someone she'd previously promoted. 🎙️ It's like she's using her talk show powers for political puppetry. Elon Musk: Elon Musk has gone from the genius behind Tesla to the guy who tweets like he's composing haikus while sleepwalking. 👾 His support for certain political figures and his online escapades have us all wondering if he's building rockets to space or just trying to escape Earth's collective facepalm. Kylie Jenner: Kylie Jenner, once a billionaire, now accused of not paying her factory workers. It's like her financial sense is inversely proportional to the number of zeroes in her net worth. Maybe she's just preparing for her next reality show: "Kylie's Quest for Basic Human Decency." Bill Cosby: And finally, there's Bill Cosby – once the beloved "America's Dad," now the poster child for lost legacies. With more allegations of sexual misconduct than a soap opera has plot twists, he went from pudding pops to prison bars. 🍮 So there you have it, folks. Celebrities: they're just like us, except with more money and more public humiliation. Just remember, the next time someone's star crashes, they're probably just one tweet away from becoming a cautionary tale in the annals of pop culture history. ✨#CelebCrashAndBurn: A Comedic Look at Fallen Stars 😅 You know what they say, folks: the celebrity lifestyle is like a rollercoaster made of admiration and respect, but it seems like the only way down is through a trapdoor labeled "canceled." Let's take a look at some former darlings who've been knocked off their pedestals and left clutching their metaphorical canceling blankets. 🎢 Chris Brown: Remember when Chris Brown was known for his hits, not for hitting Rihanna? 🎵 It was 2009, the Grammy Awards were just around the corner, and Chris decided it was the perfect time to introduce the world to his impressive array of fists. 👊 Now, some folks might argue that his punishment – probation, community service, and counseling – was about as effective as using a feather to stop a hurricane. 🌪️ Ellen DeGeneres: Ellen, Ellen, Ellen. For years, we thought she was the friendliest talk show host since Mr. Rogers. But guess what? Behind the scenes, she was more like the Grinch on a power trip. 👀 Apparently, she was running a workplace more toxic than a laboratory experiment gone wrong. ☢️ Don't worry, though – we still have reruns of "Finding Nemo" to remind us of her better days. Kanye West: Just when you thought Kanye had exhausted his ability to shock, he unleashed a barrage of anti-Semitic tweets that left us all scratching our heads. 🤯 It's like he went to the "How to Ruin Your Reputation in 140 Characters or Less" school of social media. But hey, at least Adidas saved us from ever having to worry about Yeezy fashion again. Roman Polanski: Roman Polanski has mastered the art of being the poster child for bad decisions. Accused of everything from non-consensual sexual intercourse to perversion (yes, perversion – as if the other stuff wasn't enough), he somehow found a way to make things worse. During his trial, he decided it was a great idea to pose with young girls, as if the court were auditioning for his next horror film. 🎥 Jussie Smollett: Remember Jussie Smollett's grand performance? No, not on "Empire," but in the world's most bizarre self-inflicted PR nightmare. He hired actors to play his attackers, staged a hate crime, and then seemed genuinely shocked when the police figured it out. 🕵️‍♂️ It's like he took the saying "fake it till you make it" a little too literally. Amber Heard: Amber Heard's got a lot of nerve. She went from accusing Johnny Depp of abuse to being accused of it herself. Talk about a plot twist. 🎬 It's like a poorly written daytime soap opera, except with real-life consequences. Deitrick Haddon: Deitrick Haddon, the gospel singer turned relationship expert – oh wait, wrong kind of expert. Turns out he's an expert at marital infidelity. 👼 Just when you thought his choir singing was impressive, he added cheating to his repertoire. 🎤 R. Kelly: Ah, R. Kelly – the man who managed to turn "I Believe I Can Fly" into a song about escaping jail. If only he'd put that energy into making better life choices. From sex trafficking to child pornography, he managed to hit every bad note imaginable. 🎵 J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling took a magical dive into the realm of controversy when she shared some controversial views about transgender individuals. 🧙‍♂️ Suddenly, the author who brought us the enchanting world of Harry Potter was waving around a wand of divisiveness. Expelliarmus, indeed! Oprah Winfrey: Oprah may have the Midas touch, but she also has a knack for questionable associations. First, she boosted Dr. Oz's profile, a man who's as reliable as a diet pill sold out of the back of a van. Then she threw her support behind a politician who was facing off against someone she'd previously promoted. 🎙️ It's like she's using her talk show powers for political puppetry. Elon Musk: Elon Musk has gone from the genius behind Tesla to the guy who tweets like he's composing haikus while sleepwalking. 👾 His support for certain political figures and his online escapades have us all wondering if he's building rockets to space or just trying to escape Earth's collective facepalm. Kylie Jenner: Kylie Jenner, once a billionaire, now accused of not paying her factory workers. It's like her financial sense is inversely proportional to the number of zeroes in her net worth. Maybe she's just preparing for her next reality show: "Kylie's Quest for Basic Human Decency." Bill Cosby: And finally, there's Bill Cosby – once the beloved "America's Dad," now the poster child for lost legacies. With more allegations of sexual misconduct than a soap opera has plot twists, he went from pudding pops to prison bars. 🍮 So there you have it, folks. Celebrities: they're just like us, except with more money and more public humiliation. Just remember, the next time someone's star crashes, they're probably just one tweet away from becoming a cautionary tale in the annals of pop culture history. ✨ Read the full article

[cyarsk52-20]

12 Celebrities Who Actually Faced Lasting Consequences For Their Bad Behavior, And 12 Who Got Backlash They Either Didn't Deserve Or Grew From

BuzzFeed Staff

Backlash against a celebrity who gets called out for bad behavior doesn't always have a lasting impact on their career, but sometimes, they actually face lasting consequences. On the other hand, however, some celebs are treated horribly by the public and the media, only for those same people to later realize the backlash was unfair.

Here are 12 celebrities who rightfully had their careers ended for bad and criminal behavior:

Warning: mentions of sexual assault.

1. Following multiple allegations of sexual assault and the leaking of several alleged DMs where he said he was "100% a cannibal," Armie Hammer was dropped by his publicist, dropped by his agent, and dropped out of multiple projects. As of 2022, he was reportedly working as a timeshare salesperson in the Cayman Islands.

Discovery+ made a documentary about Hammer and his family called House of Hammer.

2. Throughout his YouTube career, Shane Dawson has apologized for jokes he made about animal abuse, pedophilia, and race. However, after he released an apology video for several resurfaced videos in 2020, YouTube demonetized all three of his channels.

3. After Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet about former presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, ABC canceled the successful Roseanne reboot, killed off her character, then retooled the show into a spin-off so the rest of the cast and crew could keep their jobs.

4. Director David O. Russell has a history of alleged verbally and physically abusive behavior toward actors on set and admitted to sexually harassing his own niece. The star-studded cast of Amsterdam — his first film in several years — drew online backlash for their involvement, and the movie absolutely tanked at the box office, losing nearly $100 million.

5. In response to the many allegations of sexual abuse women have made against R. Kelly, Time's Up called for a boycott of his music in 2018. Soon after, Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora all stopped promoting his music, and his record label reportedly dropped him within a year. In 2022, he was convicted of federal sex crimes and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

6. Following many allegations of sexual assault, Bill Cosby was stripped of his honorary Navy title, had an endowed professorship he funded at Spelman College suspended, and resigned from the Temple University Board of Trustees.

Though his criminal conviction was overturned due to an agreement he made with a previous prosecutor to prevent them from filing charges, he was found guilty and sued in his first civil trial. 

7. After Chris Noth was accused of sexual assault, his Peloton ad was taken down, his cameo was cut from the And Just Like That... finale, and he was fired from The Equalizer.

8. After Jussie Smollett was accused of staging a hate crime against himself, he was written off of Empire. He was later found guilty and sentenced to five months in jail, but he was released pending his appeal.

9. Following reports that her "be kind" mantra was a facade to cover a toxic workplace (including allegations of sexual assault and harassment made against executive producers), Ellen DeGeneres's talk show ratings declined. Within a year, she announced her decision to end the show.

10. In 2017, Kevin Spacey was accused of sexually assaulting actor Anthony Rapp when he was 14. More allegations followed, and Netflix suspended production on House of Cards , then later filmed the final season without Spacey.

Rapp lost his civil suit against Spacey, but Spacey is still set to be tried in London on five other counts.

11. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and several of his teammates alleged they were robbed at gunpoint during the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, after Brazilian police proved their story to be false, Lochte received a 10-month suspension from national and international swimming competitions, which included a withholding of his monthly stipend from USA Swimming. He was also dropped by all four of his sponsors.

12. And finally, cyclist Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999 to 2005, but in 2012, he was stripped of all seven titles and banned for life after the US Anti-Doping Agency found evidence that he'd used performance-enhancing drugs.

And now, here are 12 celebrities who faced backlash they either didn't deserve or actually changed from:

13. In 2018, Brendan Fraser faced backlash (and believes he was blacklisted) within the entertainment industry after alleging that Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, sexually assaulted him in 2003. However, his fans stayed by his side, getting his name trending on Twitter in 2021 simply by praising him for being wonderful. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, he received a standing ovation for The Whale , which brought him to tears.

14. In 2017, Terry Crews alleged that he'd been sexually assaulted by Hollywood agent Adam Venit a year prior. He was mocked by rapper 50 Cent. A producer from The Expendables franchise pressured him to drop the allegations, but he refused and dropped out of the films instead. TIME named Crews one of its Silence Breakers, the group that became the 2017 Person of the Year.

15. In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America, but she was forced to resign after Penthouse magazine published nude photos of her without her permission. However, she pivoted to music and acting, earning multiple nominations from prestigious awards shows, including the Grammys, the Emmys, and the Tonys. In 2015, the Miss America organization officially apologized to her.

16. In 2003, The Chicks faced intense backlash after addressing the Iraq War onstage. Natalie Maines told a London audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." The band was banned from many country music radio stations, and the members received death threats. In response, they posed nude for an Entertainment Weekly cover with the cruel messages people had sent them written on their skin. They continued to stand their ground, helping open the door for other women in music to speak up about what they believe in.

17. In 2016, Taylor Swift faced intense backlash after Kim Kardashian leaked an edited version of a recorded phone call as "proof" that the singer had given Kanye West permission to use an offensive lyric about her, which she denied. Taylor took a break from public life before returning with her album Reputation , then, the full version of the call leaked in 2020, revealing she'd been telling the truth all along.

Taylor used the attention from the leak to direct her followers toward "what really matters," encouraging them to donate to the World Health Organization and Feeding America.

18. In 2008, then-15-year-old Miley Cyrus faced backlash from the public and Disney for posing backless for Vanity Fair. At the time, she released an apology statement, but 10 years later, she took it back, tweeting, "I'M NOT SORRY. Fuck YOU."

19. After Justin Timberlake ripped fabric from Janet Jackson's outfit and exposed her breast during their 2004 Super Bowl performance, his career remained virtually unscathed while hers suffered greatly due to the scandal. She was banned from the Grammys, MTV stopped promoting her music, and she was forced to apologize publicly. However, the situation was widely reexamined following the release of a New York Times documentary in 2021 and Jackson's own documentary in 2022.

Her fans rallied around her in support.

20. After Laura Dern played a lesbian character who helped Ellen come out on Ellen , she wasn't able to get any work for a year. She also had to have a full security detail for the first time in her life. However, the following year, she made her return with a Golden Globe-nominated performance in The Baby Dance.

21. In 2009, Megan Fox was fired from the Transformers franchise after a Wonderland interview in which she called director Michael Bay "a nightmare to work for." She was also heavily criticized for speaking out against him. Discussing the way her career was reexamined by the public in 2020, she told Refinery29, "Of course, I look back and think — it would have been nice if any of you had seen this at that time that there was a bandwagon of absolute toxicity being spewed at me for years. But, I appreciate the reversal of it."

22. In 2008, Britney Spears faced intense media scrutiny while she was experiencing a mental health crisis in the public eye. She was placed under a conservatorship with her father as guardian until 2021, when the court granted her freedom to make her own decisions about work, money, and communication. Fans who were part of the #FreeBritney movement celebrated with her.

23. In 2001, Winona Ryder was caught shoplifting from the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue. In the aftermath, she lost out on a role because the director couldn't get insurance on her for the film. She took a hiatus from acting before returning to independent films in 2006.

In 2007, she revealed that, at the time of her arrest, she'd been in a bad place and had been taking painkillers that left her in a state of "confusion."

24. And finally, following a series of arrests on drug-related charges in the late '90s and early '00s, Robert Downey Jr. lost several roles. After he completed rehab, some studios were still hesitant to cast him, including Marvel Studios — but director Jon Favreau fought to cast him in Iron Man. After Downey's screen test, the studio relented, and the movie launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In 2015, the California governor granted him a full pardon. On the governor's website, it said, "He has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen."

[dan6085]

Top 20 controversial social media viral news stories and some reasons why they sparked controversy:

1. "Me Too" Movement - This viral hashtag brought attention to the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and sparked a national conversation about these issues.

2. "Covington Catholic School" Incident - This news story involved a viral video showing a confrontation between students from a Catholic high school and a Native American activist, which sparked controversy about racism and cultural appropriation.

3. "Kony 2012" Campaign - This viral video brought attention to the atrocities committed by Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, but also faced criticism for oversimplification and lack of context.

4. "Ice Bucket Challenge" - This viral campaign raised awareness and funds for ALS research, but also faced criticism for "slacktivism" and not doing enough to address the underlying issues.

5. "Charlie Hebdo" Attack - This terrorist attack on a French satirical magazine sparked controversy about free speech and the limits of expression.

6. "Black Lives Matter" Movement - This viral hashtag and movement brought attention to police brutality and systemic racism towards black people in the US, but also faced criticism for being divisive and anti-police.

7. "Gamergate" Controversy - This online movement involved harassment and threats towards women in the video game industry and sparked controversy about sexism and misogyny in the gaming community.

8. "Harvey Weinstein" Scandal - This news story involved allegations of sexual misconduct and assault by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, sparking a national conversation about sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry.

9. "Caitlyn Jenner" Transition - This news story involved the public transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner and sparked controversy about trans rights and visibility.

10. "Brett Kavanaugh" Confirmation - This news story involved allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and sparked controversy about sexual assault and the confirmation process.

11. "Alex Jones" Ban - This social media personality was banned from multiple platforms for spreading conspiracy theories and hate speech, sparking controversy about free speech and censorship.

12. "David Dao" United Airlines Incident - This viral video showed a passenger being forcibly dragged off a United Airlines flight, sparking controversy about airline policies and customer service.

13. "Pulse Nightclub" Shooting - This terrorist attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando sparked controversy about gun control and homophobia.

14. "Jussie Smollett" Scandal - This news story involved allegations of a hate crime against actor Jussie Smollett, which later turned out to be a hoax, sparking controversy about racism and media bias.

15. "Brexit" Referendum - This political event involved the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union, sparking controversy about nationalism and globalism.

16. "Charlottesville" Rally - This white nationalist rally in Virginia sparked controversy about racism and hate speech.

17. "Net Neutrality" Repeal - This decision by the Federal Communications Commission to repeal net neutrality rules sparked controversy about internet access and corporate control.

18. "Parkland" Shooting - This school shooting in Florida sparked controversy about gun control and school safety.

19. "George Floyd" Killing - This news story involved the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis and sparked controversy about police brutality and systemic racism.

20. "COVID-19" Pandemic - This global health crisis sparked controversy about government response, misinformation, and vaccine hesitancy.

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Dan Price(I’m not familiar with him), but he was a successful ceo guy who unsurprisingly was accused of sexual abuse. I don’t know if he’s guilty or not, but NYT’s expose of it reminds me of how they did Ryan Adams. Adams was clearly guilty of being an asshole, but not a criminal. W/what happened with Bob Dylan, Depp, Ricky Martin etc, I wouldn’t be surprised if Price is innocent. Like 90% of rich men falsely accused since 2017, this is where we are now.

I've never heard of the guy but yeah, I can't really blame you. The greatest achievement of the #MeToo movement has probably been to make everyone doubt all sexual abuse accusations, since so many of them have turned out to be false. I know that when I hear of a prominent man being accused of beating his wife, or raping his ex, or diddling his kids - unless there is some really clear, hard evidence backing it up - my first impulse now is to think he most likely didn't do it, and that someone is just trying to game the legal system to get more money, or attention, a book deal, or custody of their kids. It sucks, because I'd really like not to have to think things like that about the human race, but it's hard to do when so many of them have been caught out perjuring themselves on the witness stand.

#MeToo did for sexual assault what Jussie Smollett did for hate crimes.

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Submitted:

Plant, anytime someone comes out and makes an allegation, there is naturally an initial shocking reaction until the other party refutes it. The reaction we are seeing on Twitter for instance is the normal reaction I expected. It's in the coming days and weeks when things have settled that one by one, the lies would be dismantled and her inconsistences will be dissected. It happens every single rime

Someone comes and makes an earth shattering revelation and everyone takes up arms, then later on, the real truth emerges and people turn on the first liar.

Remember the late Anthony Bourdain's partner. At the height of me too, she was at the forefront of leading the campaign against Weinstein until few weeks after, she was accused of sexual assault by a young man and she didn't recover from it till now.

See what is happening to Andrew Cuomo. He was the exemplary governor just few weeks ago and many were already touting him for president.

Remember the democratic candidate for the last Florida election, the dark handsome family man who was an upcoming star in the democratic party and his opponent was painted as a racist. Few weeks after the election, he was outed after he was found unconscious with a gay escort and drugs. That was the end of his political career.

Don't also forget how Jussie Smollett came on air to claim he was targeted by racists and was even crying. He had the entire US sympathetic to him only for it to emerge few days later that he set the whole thing up so that he won't be written off from empire.

Just wait for the furore to die down in the next few days and people will start noticing the inconsistences in their tale. The BRF will survive not because they have a competent crisis management team( they are useless at that and very inefficient).

____________________________________________________________________

Very good points. We are all shocked right now, but this is just a snapshot and it’s not clear what the whole movie will look like.

I liked Chris Ship’s reaction, btw.

[uncloseted]

Why is it that so many famous people turn out to be horrible people? I feel like most of the time irl I meet people and they are fairly normal, albeit flawed but not dangerous. However, I feel like a majority of actors, musicians, and famous influencers regularly are exposed for doing really heinous illegal things. Is there some kind of correlation between fame and feeling more inclined to do wrong? Are morally flawed people more likely to gain fame and notoriety because of the way they are?

I think the premise you're starting with here is a little flawed. Of course, some actors, musicians, or influencers do illegal things, but I definitely don't think it's "a majority", or even a sizable minority. And I'm not convinced that famous people are statistically more likely to commit a crime than normal people. I mean, think about it- the majority of criminals are totally random individuals. And even amongst celebrities who have been arrested for a crime, they're mostly drug related or DUIs, which I wouldn't describe as "really heinous".

We can actually run some (unscientific) math on this. As of 2013, about 0.00041% of all English-speaking people worldwide are famous enough to have a Wikipedia page. That includes all celebrities- scientists, fashion designers, news presenters, social thinkers, sportspeople, tattoo artists, etc. If we assume all of those people are American (which we know they aren't), that would work out to about 41 celebrities being arrested each year.

Now let's look at a list of celebrities who were arrested in 2021 and what they were arrested for:

Yella Beezy: weapon possession, sexual assault

Fetty Wap: drug trafficking

Alyssa Milano: protesting outside the White House

Flavor Flav: domestic battery

Hayes Grier: violent robbery

Andy Dick: assault with a deadly weapon

Alex Caruso: possession of marijuana

Polo G: battery on a police officer

Drake Bell: endangerment of children

Bonnie Somerville: DUI

Joshua Duggar: child porn

Jen Shah: telemarketing scam

Johnny Damon: DUI

Adam Jones: misdemeanor assault

Silento: murder

Chad Wheeler: domestic violence

Trey Songz: assaulting a police officer

Jussie Smollett: disorderly conduct

Joanne Horowitz: assaulting a police officer

Cecil Ray Baker: burglary

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro: domestic violence

Bill Hutchison: sexual assault

T.I.: texting while biking in Amsterdam

Nicholas Brendon: prescription fraud

Luke Petitgout: assault

Jason Alexander: security violation

Joe Don Rooney: DUI

Jason London: public intoxication

G-Eazy: assault

Tyga: domestic violence

Matthew Gwynne: breaking and entering

DaBaby: gun possession

Pooh Shiesty: armed robberty, battery, theft

Zack Scott: DWI (asleep behind the wheel while stopped at a traffick light)

Norman Reedus: assault

Marcus Maye: DUI

Danny Carey: assault

That's only 37 celebrities that I could find who were arrested (not necessarily changed with a crime) in 2021, which is actually a few less than we would expect. And of those arrests, at least a few aren't really what I would call "heinous", although some definitely are.

Which kind of lines up with what I expected. My experience with the celebrities I've met in real life are mostly like the experiences you've had with people in real life. They're fairly normal people just kind of living their lives. If anything, Most of them are nicer than they need to be given how many random people they interact with every day.

That said, there are a few reasons why celebrities may seem more likely to be bad people, or to commit crimes that are more high profile.

I think the largest factor is just that celebrities are being scrutinized all the time by everyone. If you or I have a bad day where we yell at someone, it's likely that nobody will see it. But if you're a celebrity, the chance that someone will record you yelling is much higher, and that moment in your life becomes very hard to erase. Every time you do something else that people deem "bad", that moment will also resurface. And if you're a celebrity, you're disproportionately likely to have frustrating interactions with other people, because people are constantly approaching you all day long and treating you like a commodity instead of a person.

The same goes for social media posts- I think most of us have probably posted a bad take online, or complained about something out of frustration without thinking it through. Those tweets are unlikely to resurface for someone who isn't famous. But if you're famous and someone is looking to "cancel" you, they'll dig through tweets from before you were famous, looking for "evidence" of your wrongdoings. So any "bad take" is impossible to erase, even if you delete it from your account. These types of celebrity scandals are also more likely to be reported on in the media, to be commented on by everyone you know, and to be taken out of their original context, sometimes making the celebrity look worse than they actually are.

The type of person who can become a celebrity may also contribute to their behaviors. Many famous people come from famous families, which both provides them a certain amount of privilege when it comes to the consequences of their actions but also makes them more likely to come from a situation that's in some way dysfunctional. The combination of those two factors may make them more likely to act out without believing that their actions have real-world consequences. Some celebrities develop a condition called "acquired situation narcissism", where they develop traits of narcissistic personality disorder as a result of the lack of social norms and controls in their lives, as well as continually being told how special or important they are and being surrounded by "yes men". For celebrities who became famous as children, I think this is especially true because they've never really known a world where they can't do whatever they want, but they also often have the pressure of being the breadwinner for their families. The type of pressure that comes along with being famous is also too much for people sometimes, which can lead them to developing mental health issues. When every action of yours is monitored, reported on, and criticized by the world, it makes sense how you might act in desperate ways to deal (or to get people to stop paying attention to you, or to regain control of your life).

Coupled with that, much of the time, celebrities are also people with other levels of privilege- they're beautiful, wealthy, connected, etc. - which means that they are more protected from consequences in certain situations. And I think there's also a personality type at play; entertainment is a very competitive industry, so many of the people who make it have a certain amount of ruthlessness to them, which can manifest in bad behavior in other ways.

Finally, I think it's just power. People who have enough fame, money, and connections can get access to pretty much anything they want, legal or illegal, and I think some of them are curious how far that can be pushed. And I think others are kind of on a version of the hedonic treadmill, where they can get whatever they want at all times, so the things that are novel or interesting to them become increasingly dangerous or difficult to obtain.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events St Paddy's Day 2022

The Justice Department is investigating Hunter Biden for foreign lobbying violations related to his overseas business dealings — likely in places such as China, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan — in addition to scrutinizing his taxes, according to a new report.

Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss is known to be leading a federal investigation into President Joe Biden's adult son, who denies any wrongdoing, and the New York Times reported Wednesday that the investigation, which began as “a tax inquiry” during the Obama administration, then “widened” in 2018 to encompass “possible criminal violations of tax laws, as well as foreign lobbying and money laundering rules, according to the people familiar with the inquiry.”*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doj-inspecting-hunter-biden-for-potential-foreign-lobbying-violations-report

***

Happiest place on earth?

The Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced 108 arrests Wednesday, with charges ranging from lewd battery and soliciting prostitution to the transmission of harmful material to a minor, among others.

Three Disney Parks employees, a FunSpot employee, and a retired judge were among those arrested after a six-day effort involving multiple law enforcement agencies, which police dubbed "Operation March Sadness II." The operation began March 8. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/operation-march-sadness-more-than-100-people-arrested-in-human-trafficking-sting

Sheriff's news release.

***

Speaking of privileges

SARCOXIE, Mo. — The Jasper County prosecutor on Thursday charged a 23-year-old English teacher at Sarcoxie High School with having sexual contact with a student.

Baylee A. Turner, of rural Carthage, was arrested Wednesday night after an investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff's Department. She remained in custody Thursday with her bond set at $10,000 with a 10 percent cash requirement. The court also has ordered that she have no contact with anyone younger than 16 if she makes bond.

A probable-cause affidavit filed with the charge alleges that Turner had sexual intercourse with a student during the week of Jan. 14-21. The document provides neither the age nor gender of the student but states that the student acknowledged the act during that time frame.

The affidavit further alleges that Turner admitted to having sexual intercourse with the student at a residence.*** https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/updated-sarcoxie-high-school-teacher-charged-with-having-sex-with-student/article_9f8c71ea-3084-11e9-b2ed-b31dcaa09976.html

+++

***the charge against Ms Turner was dismissed after she married the student. Ms Dally said marital or spousal privilege means that the student cannot be compelled to testify against Ms Turner, making it very difficult to prove the case in court.

Ms Dally said Ms Turner had surrendered her teaching licence, which was the top concern for the office of the prosecutor.*** https://www.indiannation.in/female-teacher-has-charges-of-abuse-of-student-dismissed-by-marrying-him/

***

The divide in our CJ system isn't black/white, it's $$$/$0

An appeals court ordered actor Jussie Smollett's release from jail Wednesday, just one week after being sentenced for making false police reports claiming he was the victim of a hate crime in 2019.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled to release Smollett on a $150,000 personal recognizance bond while awaiting an appeal of his conviction. The former actor was sentenced to 150 days in jail.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/jussie-smollett-to-be-released-from-jail-pending-appeal

***

Sen Josh Hawley of Missouri had noted that SCt nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson has been easy on child pr0n and molesters.

One example Hawley referenced of Jackson's "pattern" toward sexual offenders was in the case United States v. Hawkins, involving a defendant who had "multiple images of child porn."

"He was over 18," Hawley wrote. "The Sentencing Guidelines called for a sentence of up to 10 years. Judge Jackson sentenced the perpetrator to only 3 months in prison. Three months."

Another instance raised by Hawley was in United States v. Cooper, in which the guidelines suggested a sentence of "151-188" months for the defendant. "Judge Jackson settled on 60 months, the lowest possible sentence allowed by law," Hawley added.

Hawley also claimed that Jackson, who previously served as commissioner of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014 before her career as a federal judge, "advocated for drastic change in how the law treats sex offenders by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn."*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hawley-cites-alarming-pattern-in-supreme-court-picks-treatment-of-sex-offenders

If you've taken 201 from me, you know that cpr0n is the most while male crime in the federal system. Not even dumping toxic waste is as predominantly white male. Moreover, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found

A majority of child pornography production offenders, however, received a variance below the applicable guideline range (57.2% of the 512 cases).***

More than one-third (36.1%) of offenders received a nongovernment sponsored variance below the guideline range, compared to roughly one-fifth (21.1%) that were government-sponsored. Relatively few child pornography production offenders (1.2%) received a variance above the guideline range.*** Federal Sentencing of Child Pornography: Production Offenses. (Oct. 2021)

***

Irony? What's that?

More than 100 students at Yale Law School attempted to shout down a bipartisan panel on civil liberties, intimidating attendees and causing so much chaos that police were eventually called to escort panelists out of the building.

The March 10 panel, which was hosted by the Yale Federalist Society, featured Monica Miller of the progressive American Humanist Association and Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative nonprofit that promotes religious liberty. Both groups had taken the same side in a 2021 Supreme Court case involving legal remedies for First Amendment violations. The purpose of the panel, a member of the Federalist Society said, was to illustrate that a liberal atheist and a conservative Christian could find common ground on free speech issues.***

As they stood up, the protesters began to antagonize members of the Federalist Society, forcing Stith to pause her remarks. One protester told a member of the conservative group she would "literally fight you, bitch," according to audio and video obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

With the fracas intensifying, Stith reminded the students of Yale's free speech policies, which bar any protest that "interferes with speakers' ability to be heard and of community members to listen." When the protesters heckled her in response—several with their middle fingers raised—she told them to "grow up," according to video of the event obtained by the Free Beacon.***

The comment elicited jeers from the protesters, who began shouting at the panelists and insisting that the disturbance was "free speech." Eventually, Stith told them that if the noise continued, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or help you leave."

The protesters proceeded to exit the event—one of them yelled "Fuck you, FedSoc" on his way out—but congregated in the hall just outside. Then they began to stomp, shout, clap, sing, and pound the walls, making it difficult to hear the panel. Chants of "protect trans kids" and "shame, shame" reverberated throughout the law school. The din was so loud that it disrupted nearby classes, exams, and faculty meetings, according to students and a professor who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Ellen Cosgrove, the associate dean of the law school, was present at the panel the entire time. Though the cacophony clearly violated Yale's free speech policies, she did not confront any of the protesters.*** https://freebeacon.com/campus/hundreds-of-yale-law-students-disrupt-bipartisan-free-speech-event/

Video of the event.

***

Should have been charged w/ capital espionage

The potential client country to which a Maryland couple attempted to sell U.S. nuclear submarine secrets has been revealed in a new report.

Prosecutors kept the identity of the country under wraps for months, but a report Tuesday from the New York Times disclosed Brazil as the nation at the center of the case, and unfortunately for the duo, Brasilia went straight to the FBI after it was approached.

“It’s not morally defensible either. We convince ourselves it is fine, but really isn’t either,” Jonathan Toebbe wrote in a text to his wife about the prospects of selling the secrets, according to the outlet. She responded, “I have no problem with any of it. I feel no loyalty to abstractions.”

The duo pleaded guilty to espionage charges last month. The husband faces up to 17 years in prison, with the wife facing up to three, the Justice Department announced last October.

Prosecutors allege that the couple began ruminating about plans to sell U.S. nuclear submarine secrets to a foreign country in 2018. After mulling over the decision for months, they decided to search for a country to sell the secrets to in exchange for as much as $5 million in cryptocurrency. They planned to leave the United States after sealing the deal, prosecutors alleged. Jonathan Toebbe was serving as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy at the time.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/brazil-revealed-as-country-to-which-spy-couple-tried-to-sell-nuclear-secrets

***

https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/annual-reports-and-sourcebooks/2021/2021_Annual_Report_and_Sourcebook.pdf

In fiscal year 2021, the courts reported 57,287 felony and Class A misdemeanor cases to the Commission. This represents a decrease of 7,278 cases from fiscal year 2020.

The race of federal offenders remained largely unchanged from prior years. In fiscal year 2021, 50.0 percent of all offenders were Hispanic, 23.1 percent were Black, 22.6 percent were White, and 4.3 percent were of another race. Non-U.S. citizens accounted for 33.6 percent of all offenders, a decrease of 13 percentage points from the prior year.

Drug offenses accounted for the largest single group of offenses in fiscal year 2021, comprising 31.3 percent of all reported cases. Immigration cases accounted for the next largest group, at 29.6 percent, but decreased by more than one-third from the total number of those cases in fiscal year 2020. Cases involving firearms, and fraud were the next most common types of offenses after immigration cases. Together these four types of offenses accounted for 83.1 percent of all cases reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2021.

Among drug cases, offenses involving methamphetamine were most common, accounting for 48.0 percent of all drug cases

***

Louisiana-based company Power Performance Enterprises Inc. (PPEI) and its President and owner, Kory B. Willis, pleaded guilty to criminal charges [Tues, 15mar22] in federal court in Sacramento, California. Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and to violating the Clean Air Act by tampering with the monitoring devices of emissions control systems of diesel trucks.***

Willis and PPEI reached the top of the illegal delete tuning market, tuning over 175,000 vehicles according to Willis. Willis also stated that PPEI was the biggest custom tuning company in the world, had over 100,000 customers, and tuned more than 500 vehicles a week. According to internal PPEI records, PPEI typically sold well over $1 million dollars of product a month. According to EPA calculations of the estimated emissions impact, PPEI’s sales of delete tunes between 2013 and 2018 alone are anticipated to cause over 100 million excess pounds of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions over the life of the diesel trucks equipped with those products.

Deleting a diesel truck causes its emissions to increase dramatically. For example, for a fully deleted truck, which has had all emissions equipment removed or disabled, EPA testing quantified the increased emissions as follows: NOx increased 310 times, non-methane hydrocarbons increased 1,400 times, carbon monoxide increased 120 times, and particulate matter increased 40 times. EPA’s Air Enforcement Division released a report in November 2020 finding that more than half a million diesel pickup trucks in the United States — approximately 15% of U.S. diesel trucks that were originally certified with emissions controls — have been illegally deleted.

Diesel emissions include multiple hazardous compounds and harm human health and the environment. Diesel emissions have been found to cause and worsen respiratory ailments such as asthma and lung cancer. One study indicated that 21,000 American deaths annually are attributable to diesel particulate matter. Exposure to polluted air in utero also has been associated with a host of problems with lifelong ramifications including low birth weight, preterm birth, autism, brain/memory disorders and asthma.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ppei-and-president-kory-willis-plead-guilty-and-agree-pay-31-million-criminal-fines-and-civil

***

Only LWOP?

A federal judge sentenced a Texas man today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for child exploitation offenses involving an 11-year-old, including sex trafficking, production and possession of child pornography, and committing a felony involving a minor while registered as a sex offender.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Martin Renteria, 52, of Midland, who had committed similar crimes in the past, enticed an 11-year-old into engaging in sexual acts on multiple occasions. Renteria purchased expensive gifts for the child in exchange for the sexual acts, and at least one occasion, he also recorded a video of one of the sexual acts.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/serial-child-sex-offender-sentenced-life-prison-child-exploitation-offenses

***

[personal-blog243]

It’s both heartbreaking and infuriating that 90% of white people will jump at the chance to believe a politically motivated conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton, Beyoncé, and the pope are sexually abusing children but refuse to believe a fully grown adult woman who has been through a traumatic event or been sexually abused. (Like the 26 women who have accused trump of rape)

As I type this I can hear my mom call her friend and compare AOC to jussie smollett 😡and I’m so terrified and angry at the same time because now I know if something happened to me she wouldn’t believe me 😢

(My mom is not a qanon person that I know of but she has friends who are)

[magaden]

Why Are Progressives So Illiberal?

By Victor Davis Hanson January 31, 2021

Progressives adopted identity politics and rejected class considerations because solidarity with elite minorities excuses them from concern for, or experience with, the middle classes of all races.

One common theme in the abject madness and tragedies of the past 12 months is that progressive ideology now permeates almost all of our major institutions—even as the majority of Americans resist the leftist agenda. Its reach resembles the manner in which the pre-Renaissance church had absorbed the economic, cultural, social, artistic, and political life of Europe, or perhaps how Islamic doctrine was the foundation for all public and private life under the Ottoman Sultanate—or even how all Russian institutions of the 1930s exuded tenets of Soviet Marxism. 

Pan-progressivism

To be a Silicon Valley executive, a prominent Wall Street player, the head of a prestigious publishing house, a university president, a network or PBS anchor, a major Hollywood actress, a retired general or admiral on a corporate board, or a NBA superstar requires either progressive fides or careful suppression of all political affinities.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 98 percent of Big Tech political donations went to Democrats in 2020. Censorship and deplatforming on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies is decidedly one-way. When Mark Zuckerberg and others in Silicon Valley donate $500 million to help officials “get out the vote” in particular precincts, it is not to help candidates of both parties.

Google calibrates the order of its search results with a progressive, not a conservative, bent. Grandees from the Clinton or Obama Administration find sinecures in Silicon Valley, not Republicans or conservatives.

The $4-5 trillion market-capitalized Big Tech cartels, run by self-described progressives, aimed to extinguish conservative brands like Parler. Ironically, they now apply ideological force multipliers to the very strategies and tactics of 19th-century robber-baron trusts and monopolies. Poor Jack Dorsey has never been able to explain why Twitter deplatforms and cancels conservatives for the same supposed uncouthness that leftists routinely employ.

Silicon Valley apparently does not believe in either the letter or the spirit of the First Amendment. It exercises a monopoly over the public airwaves, and resists regulations and antitrust legislation of the sort that liberals once championed to break up trusts in the late 19th and early 20th century. As payback, it assumes that Democrats don’t see Big Tech in the same manner that they claim to see Big Pharma in their rants against it.

Wall Street donated markedly in favor of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden in their respective presidential races. Whereas conservative administrations and congressional majorities are seen as natural supporters of free-market capitalism, their Democratic opponents, not long ago, were not—and thus drew special investor attention and support from Wall Street realists.

The insurrectionist GameStop stock debacle revealed how “liberals” on Wall Street reacted when a less connected group of investors sought to do what Wall Street grandees routinely do to others: ambush and swarm a vulnerable company’s stock in unison either to buy or sell it en masse and thus to profit from predictable, artificially huge fluctuations in the price.

When small investors at Reddit drove the pedestrian GameStop price up to well over a hundred times its worth, forcing big Wall Street investment companies to lose billions of dollars, progressives on Wall Street and the business media cried foul. They compared the Reddit buyers to the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6.

One subtext was: Why would nobodies dare question the mega-profit making monopolies of the Wall Street establishments? The point that neither the Reddit day-traders nor the hedge-fund connivers were necessarily healthy for investment was completely lost.

Surveys of “diverse” university faculty show overwhelming left-wing support, reified by asymmetrical contributions of 95-1 to Democratic candidates. The dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. to make race incidental to our characters no longer exists on campuses. Appearance is now essential. More ironic, class considerations are mostly ignored in favor of identity politics. “Equity” applies to race not class. The general education curricula is one-sided and mostly focused on deductive -studies courses, and in particular race/class/gender zealotry that is anti-Enlightenment in the sense that predetermined conclusions are established and selected evidence is assembled to prove them.

We are also currently witnessing the greatest assault on free speech and expression, and due process, in the last 70 years. And the challenges to the First and Fifth Amendments are centered on college campuses, where non-progressive speakers are disinvited, shouted down, and occasionally roughed up for their supposedly reactionary views—and by those who have little fear of punishment.

Students charged with “sexual harassment” or “assault” are routinely denied the right to face their accusers, cross examine witnesses, or bring in counterevidence. They usually find redress for their suspensions or expulsions only in the courts. What was thematic in the Duke Lacrosse fiasco and the University of Virginia sorority rape hoax was the absence of any real individual punishment for those who promulgated the myths.

Indeed in these cases many argued that false allegations in effect were not so important in comparison to bringing attention to supposedly systemic racism and sexism. In Jussie Smollett fashion, what did not happen at least drew attention to what could have happened and thus was valuable. It was as if those who did not commit any actual crime had still committed a thought crime.

Almost all media surveys of the last four years reflect a clear journalistic bias against conservatives in general. Harvard’s liberal Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy famously reported slanted coverage against Trump and his supporters among major television and news outlets at near astronomical rates, in some cases exhibiting over 90 percent negative bias during Trump’s first few months in office. Liberal editors can now be routinely fired or forced to retire from major progressives newspapers if they are not seen as sufficiently woke.

No major journalist or reporter has been reprimanded for promoting the fictional “Russian collusion” hoax—and certainly not in the manner the media has called for punishment, backlisting, and deplatforming for any who championed “stop the steal” protests over the November 2020 elections. The CNN Newsroom put their hands up and chanted “hands up, don’t shoot”—a myth surrounding the Michael Brown Ferguson shooting that was thoroughly refuted. Infamous now is the CNN reporter’s characterization of arsonist flames shooting up in the background of a BLM/Antifa riot as a “largely peaceful” demonstration. BLM, of course, has been nominated for a Nobel “Peace” Prize. After the summer rioting, one could better cite Tacitus’s Calgacus, “Where they make a desert, they call it peace”.

A George W. Bush or Donald Trump press conference was often a free-for-all, blood-in-the-water feeding frenzy. A Barack Obama or Joe Biden version devolves into banalities about pets, fashion, and food. The fusion media credo is why embarrass a progressive government and thus put millions and the planet itself at risk?

Andrew Cuomo’s policies of sending COVID-19 patients into rest homes led to thousands of unnecessary deaths. Still, the media gave him an Emmy award for his self-inflated and bombastic press conferences, many of which were little more than unhinged rants against the Trump Administration. Anthony Fauci’s initial pronouncements about the origins of the COVID-19 virus, its risks and severity, travel bans, masks, herd immunity, vaccination rollout dates—and almost everything about the pandemic—were wildly off. Yet he was canonized by the media due to his wink-and-nod assurances that he was the medical adult in the Trump Administration room.

It would be difficult for a prominently conservative actor or actress to win an Oscar these days, or to produce a major conservative-themed film. Bankable actors/directors/producers like Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson operate as mavericks, whose films’ huge profits win them some exemption. But they came into prominence and power 30 years ago during a different age. And they will likely have no immediate successors.

Ars gratis doctrinae is the new Hollywood and it will continue until it bottoms out in financial nihilism. When such ideological spasms contort a society, the second-rate emerge most prominently as the loudest accusers of the Salem Witches—as if correct zeal can reboot careers stalled in mediocrity. Hollywood’s mediocre celebrities from Alec Baldwin to Noah Cyrus have sought attention for their careers by voicing sensational racist, homophobic, and misogynist slurs—on the correct assumption their attention-grabbing left-wing fides prevents career cancellation.

Hollywood, we learn, has been selecting some actors on the basis of lighter skin color to accommodate racist Beijing’s demands to distribute widely their films in the enormous Chinese market. Yet note well that Hollywood has recently created racial quotas for particular Oscar categories, even as it reverses its racial obsessions to punish rather than empower people of color on the prompt of Chinese paymasters.

Ditto the political warping in professional sports. Endorsements, media face time, and cultural resonance often hinge on athletes either being woke—or entirely politically somnolent. A few stars may exist as known conservatives, but again they are the rare exceptions. For most athletes, it is wisest to keep mum and either support, condone, or ignore the Black Lives Matter rituals of taking a knee, not standing for the flag, or ritually denouncing conservative politicians. Those who are offended and turn the channel can be replaced by far more new viewers in China, who appreciate such criticism directed at the proper target.

Again, what is common to all the tentacles of this progressive octopus is illiberalism. Of course, progressivism, dating back to late 19th-century advocacy for “updating” the Constitution, always smiled upon authoritarianism. It promoted the “science” of eugenics and forced race-based sterilization, and the messianic idea that enlightened elites can use the increased powers of government to manage better the personal lives of its subjects (enslaved to religious dogma or mired in ignorance), according to supposed pure reason and humanistic intent.

Many progressives professed early admiration for the supposed efficiency of Benito Mussolini’s public works programs spurred on by his Depression-era fascism, and his enlistment of a self-described expert class to implement by fiat what was necessary for “progress.”

Even contemporary progressives have voiced admiration for the communist Chinese ability to override “obstructionists” to create mass transit, high-density urban living, and solar power. Early on in the pandemic Bill Gates defended China’s conduct surrounding the COVID-19 disaster. Suggesting the virus did not originate in a “wet” market was “conspiratorial”; travel bans were “racist” and “xenophobic.” In contrast, had SARS-CoV-2 possibly escaped by accident from a Russian lab, in our hysterias we might have been on the brink of war.

So it is understandable that progressivism can end up as an enemy of the First Amendment and intellectual diversity to bulldoze impediments to needed progress. To save us, sometimes leftists must become advocates of monopolies and cartels, of censorship, or of the militarization of our capital.

The new Left sorts, rewards, and punishes people by their race. And some progressives are the most likely appeasers of a racist and authoritarian Chinese government and advocates of Trotskyizing our past through iconoclasm, erasing, renaming, and cancelling out. San Francisco’s school board recently voted to rename over 40 schools, largely due to the pressure of a few poorly educated teachers who claimed on the basis of half-baked Wikipedia research that icons such as Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington were unfit for such recognition.

Absolute Power for Absolute Good

There are various explanations for unprogressive progressivism. None are necessarily mutually exclusive. Much of the latest totalitarianism is simple hula-hoop groupthink, a fad, or even a wise career move. Loud progressivism has become for some professionals, an insurance policy—or perhaps a deterrent high wall to ensure the mob bypasses one for easier prey elsewhere. Were Hunter Biden and his family grifting cartel not loud liberals and connected to Joe Biden, they all might have ended up like Jack Abramoff.

More commonly, progressivism offers the elite, the rich, and the well-connected Medieval penance, a vicarious way to alleviate their transitory guilt over privilege such as a $20,000 ice cream freezer or a carbon-spewing Gulfstream by abstract self-indictment of the very system that they have mastered so well.

Progressives also believe in natural hierarchies. They see themselves as an elite certified by their degrees, their resumes, and their correct ideologies, our version of Platonic Guardians, practitioners of the “noble lie” to do us good. In its condescending modern form, the creed is devoted to expanding the administrative state, and the expert class that runs it, and revolves in and out from its government hierarchies to privileged counterparts in the corporate and academic world.

Progressivism patronizes the poor and champions them at a distance, but despises the middle class, the traditionally hated bourgeoise without the romance of the distant impoverished or the taste and culture of the rich. The venom explains the wide array of epithets that Obama, Clinton, and Biden have so casually employed—clingers, deplorables, irredeemables, dregs, ugly folk, chumps, and so on. “Occupy Wall Street” was prepped by the media as a romance. The Tea Party was derided as Klan-like. The rioters who stormed the Capitol were rightly dubbed lawbreakers; those who besieged and torched a Minneapolis federal courthouse were romanticized or contextualized.

Abstract humanitarian progressives assume that their superior intelligence and training properly should exempt them from the bothersome ramifications of their own ideologies. They promote high taxes and mock material indulgences. But some have made a science out of tax evasion and embrace the tasteful good life and its material attractions. They prefer private schooling and Ivy League education for their offspring, while opposing charter schools for others.

There is no dichotomy in insisting on more race-based admissions and yet calling a dean or provost to help leverage a now tougher admission for one’s gifted daughter. Sometimes the liberal Hollywood celebrity effort to get offspring stamped with the proper university credentials becomes felonious. Walls are retrograde but can be tastefully integrated into a gated estate. They like static class differences and likely resent the middle class for its supposedly grasping effort to become rich—like themselves.

The working classes can always make solar panels, the billionaire John Kerry tells those thousands whom his boss had just thrown out of work by the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is as if the Yale man was back to the old days when the multimillionaire and promoter of higher taxes moved his yacht to avoid sales and excise taxes and lectured JC students, “You study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

There is no such thing as “dark” money or the pernicious role of cash in warping politics when Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and Mark Zuckerberg, both through direct donations and through various PACs and foundations—channeled nearly $1 billion to left-wing candidates, activists, and political groups throughout the 2020 campaign year.

In sum, the new tribal progressivism is the career ideology foremost of the wealthy and elite—a truth that many skeptical poor and middle-class minorities are now so often pilloried for pointing out. Progressives have adopted identity politics and rejected class considerations, largely because solidarity with elite minorities of similar tastes and politics excuses them from any concrete concern for, or experience with, the middle classes of all races. The Left finally proved right in its boilerplate warning that the “plutocracy” and the “special interests” run America: “If you can’t beat them, outdo them.”

Self-righteous progressives believe they put up with and suffer on behalf of us—and thus their irrational fury and hate for the irredeemables and conservative minorities springs from being utterly unappreciated by clueless serfs who should properly worship their betters.

https://amgreatness.com/2021/01/31/why-are-progressives-so-illiberal/

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[loudlytransparenttrash]

Goodbye 2019: A review of the lies that shaped the year

January

One Twitter user posted this thread, describing how there were “50-70 white men” wearing MAGA apparel who “surrounded us” and “sought to intimidate, mock and scare us” by “chanting ‘build the wall’ and “other trumpisms.” “The group was clearly looking for ANY opportunity to get violent,” they were “bumping into us and daring us to get physical.” Video was then clipped and shared on social media, the mainstream media spread the edited footage and within hours the story about “racist white MAGA hat wearing teens cornered an innocent Native elder while chanting build the wall” consumed the country.

Slate wrote an article comparing the student’s “cruelty” to Jim Crow mobs and neo-Nazis. BuzzFeed’s Anne Petersen tweeted how the students and Brett Kavanaugh are the epitome of “white patriarchy.” Kathy Griffin called for doxing the kids and Stormy Daniels in a now-deleted tweet fantasized about putting these children behind electrocuted walls. New York Times author Kurt Eichenwald wished that these kids should be doxed and denied work for the rest of their lives. Headlines included, “White students in MAGA hats taunt Native American elders,” “Covington Catholic High Student's White Privilege Didn't Win,” “White America, come get your children,” “White victimology, white privilege and the Covington Catholic rules of race,” “Boys Will Be Boys. Covington's Showed Yet Again Why Only White Boys Can Smirk Through That.”

The students and their families were doxed, harassed and threatened for weeks after. Covington Catholic High School was forced to close over security concerns. Then the original video was released that provided context: A group of Covington Catholic High School students went to the March for Life during a field trip to Washington, DC. While there, the students were confronted by the radical black supremacy group, Black Hebrew Israelites, where they were verbally harassed and racially abused, calling them crackers, fa*gots and told them to go find a school to shoot up. A black student was berated as a race-traitor and told his white classmates were going to harvest his organs. A Native activist later approached the kids and started continually banging a drum inches from their face. One student, Nick Sandmann, stood calmly in typical teenage bemusement. That’s it. That’s the story. Once it was realized not a single accusation made by the original poster or the media who spread it was true, everyone went silent, and despite many retractions, no apologies.

February

Empire actor Jussie Smollett was approached by two white men wearing Trump’s Make America Great Again caps and yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him before attacking him, dousing him with bleach and tying a noose around his neck, all while chanting, “This MAGA country!” Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Al Sharpton were among those calling it a modern-day lynching and evidence of the fear and hate black people live with. Harris and Booker even wrote an “anti-lynching bill.” Everybody gobbled this story up and quickly used it to push their idea that it said something more important about the state of race in the United States. Essentially they argued that Trump and his supporters are agitating for this kind of violence and, well, here it is.

Afterwards, Smollett proudly bragged how he had fought off his attackers to the loud cheers of a crowd, a true badass. He then appeared in an ABC interview where his eyes welled with tears as he recounted his traumatic experience and how defiant and inspirational he’s gotta be now. When asked why he thinks he was targeted, Smollett blamed Trump and his evil supporters.

But then some red flags started. 1. He held onto his sandwich during the attack and waited 45 minutes to call police. 2. When police arrived to take a report, Smollett asked that the officers turn off their body cameras. 3. He was still wearing the noose around his neck and wore it “like a tie” throughout their entire 40-minute interview. 4. He said he was on the phone with his manager when the attack happened but he refused to show his phone log to police. 5. He supposedly received a threatening letter a week prior to the “attack” which had child-like writing and drawings on it of his name and the word MAGA, and cliche magazine cutouts of letters pieced together to spell out “black fag.” In summary, we were supposed to believe white Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats were roaming around Chicago, carrying a noose, they saw Smollett, knew who he was, knew his show, his sexuality and singled him out for a lynching. 

As the police connected the dots, they found the whole thing was a giant hoax plotted by Smollett himself. When the “black fag” serial killer letter stunt failed to receive national attention, Smollett orchestrated the attack by paying two Nigerian brothers he worked with $3,500 to stage the attack on him while getting Subway. Chicago police spent days and worked overtime poring over security footage and devoting resources that could have been put toward real victims. On February 20, Smollett was charged with a class 4 felony for filing a false police report and was later indicted on 16 felony counts of false reporting. Smollett joined a long list of hate crime hoaxes since Trump took office. I can only assume because reality isn’t at all matching their delusion of the gloomy Nazi “MAGA country” they keep going on about, they’re forced to create these endless hate crime hoaxes to validate the delusion.  

March

After spending two years perpetuating allegations that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election from Hillary and wet dreams of Trump being removed from office and even imprisoned, the entire left, every Democrat and the mainstream media were visibly shaken by Mueller’s investigation ending with zilch. When the news broke that there would be no indictments against Trump nor anyone associated with his campaign, and Attorney General William Barr had exonerated him, those who were so certain of victory and so locked into their conspiracy, were once again forced into utter meltdown mode. Mueller spent tens of millions of dollars, employed 19 prosecutors, more than three dozen FBI agents and an analyst and issued 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, 280 demands for phone and email records and interviewed 500 witnesses throughout the course of the investigation. No evidence was found.

There was however a major abuse of the rule of law by Obama administration officials and Department of Justice and FBI employees, a shameful politicization of the Russia investigation by Democrats and an end of journalistic integrity by many members of the media who all did their best to delegitimize and undermine the election. The DOJ and FBI used unverified research to obtain a court order to surveil the Trump campaign, and thereby obtain access to past campaign communications. In applying for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order, the DOJ and FBI did not disclose to the secret surveillance court that the debunked Christopher Steele dossier (Trump/pissing prostitutes) was funded by the DNC and Clinton, the whole basis for the probe. The FISA application also did not inform the court of Steele’s bias and his desperation to keep Trump out of the White House. It was all a setup.

Since Election Day 2016, the Trump-hating political and media establishment have been in a cute relationship to achieve their desired end of destroying Trump. Their shared hatred of the man is indisputable. But the idea of them colluding in this information operation to maximum political and legal effect is altogether more disturbing. Russiagate put Trump’s presidency under a cloud of suspicion for more than half of his days in office, delaying his agenda through forcing the administration to expend valuable time and resources defending itself from the constant hounding. The Five F’s seems to be the Democrat’s only tactic, all they can do is deceive, degrade, deny, disrupt and hope that it all will eventually wear Trump down enough to ultimately destroy him.

April

On Easter Day, churches across Sri Lanka were targeted by radical Islamist suicide bombers. The Muslim terrorists walked into several crowded churches and murdered masses of people. They also targeted international hotels popular with Western travelers. The bombings marked the country’s deadliest violence in a decade, leaving 290 dead and over 500 injured. After the quick condemnation of white supremacy and Islamophobia after the Christchurch shootings a few weeks prior, the media and Democrats avoided at all costs condemning Islamic terrorism and recognizing the victims as Christians. A host of politicians such as Obama, Hillary Clinton and Julian Castro all refused to condemn Islamic terrorism and none called the victims Christians, while others such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Portland mayor Ted Wheeler stayed silent altogether. Christians being killed at the hands of Islamists goes against the entire left-wing doctrine, despite it happening all over the world. 

It’s not the only time we’ve seen the media and politicians cover for Islamic extremism. Under Obama, officials were so afraid of the phrase “Islamic terrorism” that they redacted the very mention of Islam and even Islamic State from the Orlando gay nightclub massacre transcripts, despite 49 people being killed and 50 others injured by a Muslim terrorist who had pledged allegiance to ISIS. In the UK, police and child protection workers were so afraid of the phrase “Islamophobia” that they ignored and refused to investigate Muslim human trafficking and child rape rings, allowing 1,400 young British girls to be raped with knives, bottles and their tongues nailed to tables. In Sweden, the police and media were so scared of “anti-immigration sentiment,” they covered up dozens of sexual assaults against teenage girls. Not wanting to make their new waves of Muslim refugees look bad, German media and the government also covered up mass sexual abuse across the country where 1,200 women were sexually assaulted and raped in just one night. Who exactly are we protecting by refusing to tell the truth and call something what it is?

May

Alyssa Milano, an actress who has been a valiant fighter for progressive causes, demanded for American women to undertake a “sex strike.” The idea is that women should not risk pregnancy until they have an insurance policy. Uh, so like exactly what Christian conservatives already believe in. There’s something funny about Milano embracing the banner of Christian conservatives in order to own Christian conservatives. Just like when Janelle Monáe advocated for women to go on a sex strike, saying that “people need to start respecting the vagina.” Once again, that’s what conservatives have already been screaming, respecting your vagina, respecting yourself, respecting sex and the good and bad product of sex. 

In championing this “revolutionary” concept of women withholding sex in order to attain bodily autonomy, Milano and her blue-check buddies unwittingly preached the same message you often hear during Sunday sermons, especially in youth groups. The Christian perspective posits that the way for women to attain bodily autonomy is to have self-control over your body and choices, to not give away your body so carelessly and to be aware of the consequences of sexual activity outside of committed relationships. Most Christians embrace Milano’s message, not just because the only women who’d participate and use sex as a political bargaining chip in the first place are those who probably need to reevaluate their sex lives anyway, but it also places greater meaning on sex and the power and responsibility of it, which again is another Christian view.

Milano, like many others, also referred to abortion as “reproductive rights,” which is a pretty new term that replaces abortion and is also much catchier on picket signs when used alongside “human rights.” The problem is the term isn’t even close to being accurate. Abortion has nothing to do with reproductive rights. By the time abortion is even a possibility, post-fertilization has already created a tiny human and the mother has discovered that she is pregnant. In other words, reproduction is already complete. That “right” to reproduction was already exercised when you gave it up, literally and figuratively.  

June

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried her best to compare Trump to Hitler by comparing illegal migrant detention centers to actual concentration camps: “This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying,” she tweeted. Ocasio-Cortez continued this claim during an Instagram Live video, where she said, “The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border. That is what they are. The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing.” 

Of course, the claim that conditions at U.S. border facilities are anything like Nazi concentration camps or Japanese American internment camps is absurd. Detainees are not subjected to forced labor, malnutrition or executions. They also chose to enter these facilities by willingly coming to the United States and either illegally crossing or turning themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol, while obviously concentration camp inmates were forced to be there. Let’s not forget the little detail that any of the migrants may opt for voluntary departure at any time. I don’t remember concentration camps ever having that policy. Concentration camps detained and persecuted their own citizens because of who they were, not temporarily detained people who chose to illegally break into a different country. I don’t think there were many Jewish people trying to sneak into Nazi Germany. Even the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum released a statement rejecting such ridiculous comparisons.

But it’s not just AOC driving this rhetoric. MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough showed photos of border officers escorting kids to showers and compared it to Nazi officers marching Jews into gas chambers. Former CIA chief Michael Hayden posted photos of the Auschwitz death camp, also comparing it to the temporary housing policy at the border. The New York Times published an article that called for U.S. Border Patrol agents to be doxed so they can be “publicly shamed" and “held accountable.” Almost the entire Democrat Party and mainstream media have made similar comparisons. Yet the CBP detention centers are not operating any differently today than they were during the Obama administration. The famous photos of caged kids are from Obama’s time in office. Even when the most anti-Trump news network CNN went to investigate, the kids had full bellies, they were watching soccer, playing video games on big flat-screen TVs, sleeping in comfy beds and participating in tai chi classes, rather than ya know, being caged, gassed and worked to death.

July

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal held a hearing on complaints from Jessica Yaniv, a man formerly called Jonathan who now identifies as a woman, after multiple small business beauticians refused to wax Yaniv’s penis and testicles. The defendant in the case was a young mother who operates in her family home, but there were also 12 other female beauticians Yaniv filed human rights complaints against which put some of them out of business while others paid settlements to save further legal action. Up until July 17, Yaniv’s name was fiercely protected by the Canadian government, as well as technology platforms like Twitter, which banned numerous women and some men who’d tried to warn others about his predations. But once the ban was lifted, it was revealed Yaniv had used “connections” to a band to help solicit advice from both women and teenagers on how to approach young girls and talk to them about tampons and menstruation in female washrooms. You can read the whole thing here.

Yaniv also recently tweeted shock to be turned away from a gynecologist. “So a gynaecologist office that I got referred to literally told me today that ‘we don’t serve transgender patients. And me, being me, I’m shocked... and confused… and hurt. Are they allowed to do that, legally?" I’m sure Yaniv will be taking gynecologists to human rights courts next for refusing to inspect anuses. We have to be careful to not misgender Yaniv as several journalists have been banned from Twitter for this crime against Yaniv. Any concerns about women being forced to touch male genitalia or biological men being allowed into women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, rape crisis shelters and prisons, you’re done for. This whole story resembles a new trend forming, such as the Christian cake shop owner who was sued for not wanting to bake a cake for a same-sex marriage: An individual from a politically designated victim class seeks out a service, intentionally from a small business owner who they know they can exploit, and the moment the businessperson declines - voila! A movement is born with a slew of lawsuits, powerful interest groups and media backing. 

August

Dave Chappelle’s newest Netflix special was only uploaded for a few hours before the PC grievance mob went to work trying to sink it. Buzzfeed lectured Chappelle for his “truly vile” jokes and instructed him “to be more thoughtful.”  Salon spoke out against “the cruelty” and Slate compared him to that "uncle who doesn’t know, or doesn’t care, how much he’s disappointing you.” While “Uncle Dave” was once cool, they say, his jokes in 2019 make you “wince.” Vice went a step further and gave a total trigger warning to its audience, writing "you can definitely skip” it altogether. As of today, “Sticks & Stones” shows a 38 percent score from media critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while 39,881 of viewers have given it a 99 percent audience score, reflecting the massive disconnect between the media and the general public and proving the only ones who are “out of touch” are themselves. This same pattern can be seen with “woke” movies too. Media critics sing their praises and hail their progressive activist messaging and pandering, yet in reality, these movies completely bomb.

Hollywood wants to water down comedy as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but in doing so quickly turns into telling people what’s funny and what’s not and who can laugh and who can’t. Even the most devoted left-wing activist surely can see the problem. But a comedian like Dave Chappelle makes fun of everyone and doesn’t believe in a protected class during a stand up routine, as it should be. He also made fun of things that the right cares about, yet they still applauded the special as a celebration of comedy. But no, because Chappelle didn’t obey by their rules, because he didn’t stand on stage and call Trump a Cheeto (the pinnacle of left-wing comedy), he too must be one of those Nazis we keep hearing about. Chappelle isn’t running for public office. He’s a comic, and we’re not meant to seek the ultimate answers from him. It’s his job to talk about and then joke about current events, trends, what’s going on in the world, his only sin was talking about them a little too honestly. 

September

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the United Nations through teary eyes and gritted teeth, claiming that the world is about to end and how unfair it is that she has to save it. Throughout the melodramatic speech warning of “mass extinction” and attacking capitalism, Thunberg repeatedly declared “how dare you!” and “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood!” Sadly, she’s right. How dare a child from one of the most healthiest, progressive, wealthiest, safest and most peaceful countries known to man be indoctrinated to believe adults have failed her and the weight of the world is on her shoulders to save mankind from apocalypse. It’s not her fault.

It’s the fault of the schools who pile on the panic-stricken talk of environmental disaster starting from kindergarten. It’s the fault of the ideologues who obsess over every weather event as if it were Armageddon, whether it’s hot or cold, rain, sun or snow, it’s all evidence of the end looming. And it’s the fault of the politicians, too cowardly and desperate for votes to tell people that utopian visions of a world run on windmills is a pipe dream. And why the hell isn’t China being lectured by the Swedish teenager? Their emissions from aviation and maritime trade alone are twice that of the United States, and more than the entire emissions of most nations in the world, but we’re the ones being told to ban straws, stop eating meat, roller skate to work and stop having kids? Really? Then again, it’s easier to go after countries which roll out the red carpet, gives her a platform and awards her with prizes in return for her criticisms. The real pollution culprits aren’t nearly as accommodating.

Climate activists could learn something from Thunberg’s honesty, though. She argues that “money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth” have to come to an end. Thunberg’s dream for the future means technocratic regimes will have to displace capitalistic societies. We can see this future in the radical environmentalist plans of AOC’s Green New Deal, one supported by leading Democratic Party candidates. It’s authoritarianism. There is no other way to describe a regulatory regime that dictates exactly what Americans can consume, sell, drive, eat and do in their personal lives. As Hawaii Democrat senator and climate change enthusiast encouraged fellow activists to think of climate change as a religion rather than a science, we can only hope that most Americans will continue to reject these regressive ideas. One reason we should is so that Greta Thunberg’s generation, including her army of schoolchildren, can continue not having to suffer needlessly.

October 

Media outlets responded to Trump’s announcement of the U.S. military’s successful mission against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was not met with much praise and excitement that the world’s most wanted terrorist leader had been stopped, but with anger and snark. Many media outlets, the Washington Post for one example, worked hard to spin the killing of Baghdadi into, somehow, a negative story for Trump, beginning with a look at Baghdadi as not as a brutal terrorist and murderer, but as an “austere religious scholar.” 

The Washington Post followed it up with a chain of negative stories: “Three ways the Baghdadi raid undermines Trump’s chaotic policy,” “Despite the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, some analysts question U.S. ability to prevent ISIS resurgence,” “The U.S. kills an ISIS leader. But Trump is giving the group a new lease on life.” They even complained how long Trump talked for and how using words such as “dog” and “coward” weren’t as presidential as Obama. Oh, and a Washington Post and CNN journalist tweeted how wrong it was for Trump to call al-Baghdadi a coward because it takes guts to blow yourself up rather than allow yourself to be captured...

If only it ended there. The Washington Post joined other media outlets including the New York Times in debunking the “doctored” and “faked” photo Trump tweeted of himself giving a Medal of Honor to the dog that chased down al-Baghdadi. White House reporter Steve Herman also debunked the meme by breaking news on Twitter, "I've requested details on this photo! There was no such a canine event on today's schedule!" He later confirmed in a tweet after speaking to a White House official that the meme was indeed Photoshopped. Jim Acosta of CNN also made sure everyone was aware, "The dog is not at the White House." The Huffington Post wrote, “A photo tweeted by Donald Trump is getting dogged by accusations that the pic is the very definition of fake news. The photo didn’t really happen,” then proceeded to show side-by-side photos to prove it was photoshopped. Everywhere the meme was called “fake news.”

Once the media confirmed that the very clearly photoshopped dog was not at the White House after all, and the meme was just a meme, they moved onto asserting the meme was insulting and disrespectful to the original recipient of the Medal of Honor, James McCloughan, which the photo was taken from. Yet when the meme was shown to McCloughan, he laughed and said he wasn’t offended and he liked it. Now that another outrage had fizzled out, the only thing that was left for them to complain about was... Trump hates dogs because he used the term negatively to describe the ISIS leader. Yep. 

November

Nine American Mexican family members were slaughtered in broad daylight in an ambush by a drug cartel in Northern Mexico, less than a hundred miles from the Arizona border. The family were traveling to visit family when they were attacked by the cartel which left three women and six children dead, including a pair of infant twins. As Trump voiced outrage over the attacks, condemning the violence and offering the Mexican government help to come down harder on the cartels, not a single one of the seventeen Democrats in the race issued a statement on the attacks. 

That’s probably because they’ve already established it’s racist and bigoted to point out that some Mexicans can do bad things and there’s gonna be some bad eggs illegally crossing the southern border, despite leading Democrats including Clinton and Obama holding the same view just a few years ago. Let’s forget those behind most illegal border crossings are actually rapists or in just one city, over just a few weeks, seven illegal immigrants were convicted of rape. For the record, Trump never called all Mexicans rapists. He said there are rapists among those being sent over, along with drugs and MS-13 members, all true. He also said in the very next breath that there’s also good people crossing. Now, it’s also racist to call MS-13 gang members “animals” despite them being known for beheadings, dismemberments and cutting out hearts. And now we know we’re not even allowed to talk about the epidemic of terrorism and violence along the border, even when nine American women and children are massacred as it runs counter to the new, insane Democrat narrative mocking the need for stronger border security or the need for borders at all. 

This is the latest incident that has shined a spotlight on Mexico’s growing crime problem as drug cartels have launched an insurgency in the failing country.  A month earlier, hundreds of gunmen stormed the city of Culiacan after Mexican National Guards arrested one of the sons drug kingpin “El Chapo.” In a stunning display, the Mexican president told his National Guards to surrender to the cartel and release El Chapo’s son. The day after the family massacre, more murders and bus burnings were unleashed on the city of Juarez. The mayor of Juarez said the chaos was the cartel’s response to police arresting suspects involved in an ongoing drug turf war. We’ll have to wait and see if the new Mexican president’s policy of “hugs not bullets” will end the endless territory being controlled by different armed groups, similar to the Middle East and Africa. Maybe love and giving into cartel demands will bring law and order back.

December

Democrats finally did what they’ve been promising to do since Trump won the election, they impeached their mortal enemy. The obsession with impeachment has little to do with anything Trump did, and everything to do with who he is. Democrats never expected to lose the 2016 election, especially not to Donald Trump, which humiliated them even more. And ever since, they have been trying every trick in the book to prove what a horrible mistake voters have made. Democrats have floated the idea of impeachment over fake Russian collusion conspiracy theories, drivel about porn stars and even the president’s criticism of his critics. All of them bombed. With time running out before the 2020 presidential race gets into full swing, they seized on the only thing they had left: bogus “concerns” with a phone call to the newly elected Ukrainian president.

The evidence Democrats have rallied on makes for the weakest impeachment ever launched in American history, highlighting gross abuse of congressional power and serving as a national embarrassment. The impeachment inquiry was kicked off by an unknown person during a phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. An unredacted transcript of the phone call was quickly released to the public, putting the conversation between the two leaders in plain sight for all to see in an unprecedented move. There was nothing to hide. Democrats and media outlets took slices from the transcript and came up with a story about Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family in exchange for nearly $400 million in military aid. Yet when Trump mentioned “do us a favor,” in the very next sentence, he referred to Ukraine looking into the 2016 election meddling after Mueller did such a poor job, it had nothing to do with Biden. Zelensky himself said there was no pressure and he didn’t even know about the military aid being delayed. 

But House Democrats still held four weeks of impeachment hearings and not a single piece of incriminating evidence to impeach the president of any kind of crime was found, whether it be a “quid pro quo,” “bribery,” or “extortion. In fact, to the contrary, witnesses called by Democrats actually exonerated the president of any wrongdoing. Ousted former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich blatantly admitted that Trump committed no crime. “Do you have any information regarding any criminal activity that the president of the United States has been involved with at all?” “No,” Yovanovitch said. Former State Department Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker was asked, “In no way, shape or form did you receive any indication whatsoever, or anything that resembled a quid pro quo, is that correct?” “That’s correct,” Volker said.

Despite clearly having no case against the president, Democrats still voted to deliver their promise, it was now or never. Unlike other impeachment cases, it wasn’t at all bipartisan, the House’s impeachment inquiry passed without a single Republican vote. In fact two Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in voting against the resolution, ironically making opposition to impeachment the more bipartisan vote. One Democrat even switched parties after he was pressured by his Democrat colleagues to vote against his will. Now, Pelosi is refusing to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. She knows Trump will be swiftly exonerated and claim another monumental victory, so let’s savor in the impeachment juices that nobody cares about for as long as we can. At least until the next “existential threat” or “constitutional crisis” they can whip up. 

[jewish-privilege]

...Yes, I admit that the details of the story seemed extreme, but so, too, are the details of our current political situation in America.

...For Black LGBTQ people, the times are even more difficult. Just last month, Timothy Dean, a black gay man was found dead in the West Hollywood home of white Democratic political donor Ed Buck. He is Buck’s second victim in two years. The first victim, Gemmel Moore, was found dead in Buck’s apartment in July 2017. And Buck has still not been charged with a crime. This happened in “progressive” Los Angeles. And even before Ed Buck, I had seen many other examples of Black LGBTQ lives taken and devalued with little media attention.

In my previous job as president of the board of the National Black Justice Coalition, I saw these cases far too often. A black gay man named Marc Carson was shot and killed in “progressive” New York City, in the heart of the “gay” West Village, because of his sexual orientation. Another black gay man, Rashawn Brazell, was murdered and his body dismembered and strewn across the subways of Brooklyn in trash bags. Before that, I remember sitting in the living room of the family of 15-year-old Sakia Gunn, a young black lesbian who was murdered on the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Given that background, it’s not far-fetched to think a hate crime could take place in a “safe” neighborhood in downtown Chicago.

Perhaps the biggest and largely unreported tragedy in recent years is that dozens of black trans women have been killed in cities across the country, and very few people in the media, even in our own communities, seem to be aware of it.

Yes, some people argue that Jussie’s story, if it is proven false, will make it harder for future victims to be believed. That actually says more about America than it does about Jussie. Many Americans apparently are looking for excuses to deny the reality of hate crimes and violence in this country. Even when presented with video evidence, as we’ve seen in case after case after case on social media, some will try to deny what the rest of us see right in front of our eyes.

The truth is no woman or person or color or oppressed minority should ever have to bear the burden of representation for an entire community. When was the last time America blamed all white men when a white male shot up a school or a concert? But many Americans quickly jump to group assumptions in cases involving non white males...

[wilwheaton]

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson blasted Jussie Smollett in an emotional press conference on Thursday in which he said that Smollett's alleged staging of a hoax attack was a "publicity stunt...to promote his career." "Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," a visibly angry Johnson said. “I am left hanging my head asking ‘why?’. Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? ... How can an individual who's been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in the city in the face with these false claims?"

Jussie Smollett staged hoax attack as 'publicity stunt...to promote his career': Police

I have been reluctant to say anything about this, because the victory laps the right wing trolls are taking right now are sickening, but this is too important to ignore.

I want to be very clear. I don’t write this to appease the MAGA trolls who have been flooding my mentions all over the Internet with their self-righteous demands for comment. I write this because truth and honesty matters, and because I feel a responsibility to hold myself accountable when new evidence emerges that calls a narrative that I helped amplify into doubt. 

I stood with Jussie Smollett because he described a hate crime, perpetrated by assailants who attacked him because of his race and sexual orientation. I stood with him the way I stand with anyone who is the victim of a hate crime, because we must do everything we can to end hate crimes. We must create a world where hate crimes are rare, where their victims feel safe and supported when they speak out, and the people who perpetrate them are held accountable.

As reports began to emerge that called his story into question, I've been reluctant to say anything, because I hoped against hope that he wasn't lying. I didn't want to believe it for a lot of reasons, chief among them being if he turned out to be lying, it would hurt and potentially revictimize the survivors of actual violence, who will now have their stories and experiences cast into doubt by the whataboutists online and elsewhere who don't seek truth, but seek to hurt and minimize victims and their experiences.

With each passing hour, it becomes clear that he staged this entire thing to get more money (apparently nearly 80K a week wasn't enough for him) and sympathetic publicity. If this is true, he should be punished to the full extent of the law. He has hurt people who were *actual* victims of hate crimes, and he has given the whataboutists something to latch onto for *years* to come.

I don't regret standing with someone who we believed was a victim of a hate crime. In fact, I am proud to stand with victims and to hold their abusers accountable. But I am disgusted with Jussie Smollett for lying about something so serious, for such a petty and selfish reason. I hope that his selfish and indefensible actions don't bring any renewed pain to survivors, and I hope his dishonesty doesn't allow America to paper over and excuse the violence and hate that people of color and our LGBTQI brothers and sisters have to endure every day.

Shame on Jussie Smolett. He stood on the broken and shattered lives of every victim of racial and homophobic violence going back over a century, and he did it for selfish and despicable reasons. He should be held accountable for his lies, and I hope that he spends a significant portion of the rest of his life making amends to the assault victims, now and in the future, who will be hurt by his lies.

[melaboveall]

I noticed all of you are rubbing it in peoples face that those of us actually believed Jussie Smollett and was ready to defend him? So rub it in peoples face that black people were ready to defend another black person who we thought was beaten by his sexuality and the color of his skin. Yeah I was disappointed but I'm not going to regret that I was defending him or any other black, gay/lesbian person being discriminated against. Because it still happens even if one person lied. Nor am I'm going to take back what i said how I wish Sandra Bland, Kendrick Johnson, the missing black girls here in Illinois was furthered investigated too or how I wish white people got the same treatment they get away with everyday pulling off stuff like this that they don't