Month: August 2018

D’Souza reflected on parallels between the economic policies of Nazism and contemporary socialists among Democrats.

“What did the Nazis campaign on [in the early 1930s]?” asked D’Souza. “Why did people vote for them? What were they seen as promoting? So the Nazis had this 25-point platform. Most of it is about economics, and they laid it out. Amazingly, when you read through the Nazi platform, point by point by point, yes, there are some points that deal with Jews, but the economic thrust of the platform [was] state control of banks, state control of education, state control of health care, confiscation of war profits, redistribution of income, redistribution of land, and down and down the list you go, and you suddenly realize … this is not a surprise, these were national socialists, and so this is a socialist agenda, and large parts of it are eerily similar to themes that Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], all the stuff that they talk about is hauntingly present, right there, in the Nazi 25-point program.”

D’Souza drew parallels between the political climates following the elections of Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump in explaining the cover of his latest book and the similar poster of his latest film.

“I’m not saying that Trump and Lincoln are the same person,” said D’Souza. “Temperamentally, they’re kind of opposites. Lincoln was brooding. He was philosophical. He was melancholy. Trump is not any of that. But, their situations are actually quite similar.”

D’Souza continued, “In 1860 an outsider, a Republican wins the presidency very narrowly, and the moment he does, all hell breaks loose. The other party, which happens to be the Democratic Party, refuses to accept the results. There was all this craziness going on, and it all hinged on the failure of a major party to accept the results of a lawful election.

D’Souza added, “Here we are again in 2016, and now two years later, the same craziness is going on in this party. The same party, the Democratic party, won’t accept the fact that Trump won a lawful election. THey’re trying to get rid of him by any means necessary. … Will they stop at nothing? Is there a line beyond which they won’t go? We don’t really know.”

On its website, the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence posted a list of some of the professionals who provided support to Torbick and excerpts of their testimony:

In some cases these professionals submitted letters of support that contained views we consider to be even more alarming than those expressed by the two counselors who spoke at the sentencing hearing.

For instance, a sex offender treatment provider wrote to the court:
“Kristie takes full responsibility for her actions with her ‘victim.’ I put this in parentheses because I am aware that her ‘victim’ was truly the pursuer in this case.”

A pediatrician in Concord who worked with Kristie at a children’s camp, but was not involved in this case and therefore did not ever evaluate or interview the child, wrote: “She is not a threat to others or to society.”

And a friend of Kristie’s who is an attorney who worked with her at the same children’s camp writes: “Although I know it is now impossible, I would not hesitate for a moment to welcome her back to camp in her capacity as a cabin counselor; she was a treasure.”

“Students, parents, and administrators are appropriately demanding accountability for the two guidance counselors who crossed serious boundaries in the defense of their friend,” the coalition asserted. “Their actions not only re-victimized the young survivor in this case but also threatened the safety of the children in their own districts.”

Among those who lent support to Torbick was Nancy Strapko, Ph.D., a Plymouth State University professor and sex offender treatment provider who provided counseling to Torbick. As noted by the coalition, Strapko wrote a letter in support of Torbick, asserting that she was not the predator, but that the 14-year-old victim “was truly the pursuer.”

Subsequently, Strapko was fired for publicly portraying Torbick as the victim. University president Donald Birx and provost Robin Dorff told the Associated Press Strapko’s depiction is “legally wrong and morally reprehensible.”

Professors of Counselor Education at Plymouth State University Michael Fischler, Ed.D. and Gary Goodnough, Ph.D. also wrote in defense of Torbick.

Goodnough, who supervised Torbick during her internship and served as her adviser, wrote, “No benefit to society would be served by incarcerating her.”