Month: January 2019

In the aftermath of the shocking 2016 presidential election, countless elected Democrats, liberal media outlets and leftists in general indignantly decried alleged Russian interference in the election via the deliberate spread of disinformation and “fake news” on social media with an intent to manipulate voters and undermine the integrity of American democratic processes.

However, it has now been revealed that some cynical liberals adapted the exact same tactics and techniques attributed to the Russians for their own purposes in the 2017 special Senate election in Alabama, which resulted in Democrat Doug Jones narrowly defeating Republican Roy Moore to fill the seat vacated by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

It had been previously reported that a liberal-aligned cybersecurity research firm — with financial backing from a power player in Silicon Valley — had deceptively engaged in a secretive social media campaign against Moore, one that sought to drive a wedge among his supporters with false stories about alleged Russian support for the candidate and purposeful leaks to the media designed to sow discord and depress turnout among Moore supporters.

Now, The New York Times — which broke the initial story of the first deceptive scheme to defeat Moore — has dropped another surprising bombshell that is quite similar in nature, with a story Monday that revealed a second social media scheme purposefully designed to suppress support for the Republican candidate.

The second deceptive scheme sprang up in the final weeks of the special election in Alabama and involved the use of a fake Facebook page and Twitter account known as “Dry Alabama,” which was purported to be managed by Moore-supporting Baptist prohibitionists who wanted to ban the sale of alcohol across the entirety of the state.

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The intent of the scheme was to drive a wedge between the more moderate and business-friendly Republicans who supported Moore and were favorable to alcohol sales, as opposed to the more socially-conservative Republican supporters of the candidate who generally look disfavorably upon alcohol sales and consumption.

A progressive activist, consultant and writer in Alabama named Matt Osborne admitted to The Times that he had been involved in the “Dry Alabama” fakery, but sought to excuse the underhanded and deceptive manipulation by accusing Republicans — without evidence — of doing similar things online.

“If you don’t do it, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back,” said Osborne. “You have a moral imperative to do this — to do whatever it takes.”

While the first scheme to manipulate and depress Moore supporters was funded by billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, the second scheme was funded by two anonymous individuals in Virginia.

Both of the projects received $100,000 each, coincidentally funneled to the leftist operatives through a progressive financial support group known as Investing In Us.

That group is managed by a man named Dmitri Mehlhorn, who declined to comment to The Times on the operations, but said in a separate Medium post that he held “concern that our tactics might cause us to become like those we are fighting,” and had declared that “some tactics are beyond the pale” in a renunciation of disinformation schemes.

Other participants in the “Dry Alabama” project were named, but also declined to share any specific insight into the operation. One woman involved, identified as Beth Becker, cited a non-disclosure agreement to explain the silence surrounding the project, but did tell The Times, “I don’t think anything this group did crossed any lines.”

Technically, with respect to federal and state laws and regulations, Becker is probably correct that no lines were crossed.

However, as was the case with the first scheme — which resulted in the suspension of five associated Facebook users after it was exposed — the scheme quite likely violated the social media platform’s terms of service, which expressly prohibit “misrepresentation” and coordinated efforts to “mislead people about the origin of content.” That, of course, is precisely what both of the anti-Moore operations did.

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The Times hinted toward there being at least two other deceptive social media operations designed to support Jones’ campaign that were separate from the first two, but declined to provide much in the way of specifics … though perhaps those will be exposed in future articles.

In the end, Jones defeated Moore by the slim margin of just 22,000 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast. While it is impossible to quantify the impact of the subversive and deceptive social media campaigns on Moore’s supporters, it is likewise impossible to dismiss them as having no effect in terms of depressing Moore voters from turning out on Election Day while encouraging Jones voters to do exactly that.

The left screamed bloody murder in 2016 when liberals hought Russians had tampered with the U.S. election by way of deceptive and manipulative social media practices, but liberals had no problem quietly adopting those same tactics as their own when they thought it would be politically useful.

That’s pretty much the height of liberal hypocrisy.

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In 1948, the Jewish people secured sovereignty over their ancestral homeland for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. Once again, they could thrive—religiously, economically, culturally—in the home their ancestors were forced to flee.

But more than 70 years after the rebirth of the Jewish nation, enemies of her very existence are using boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) to economically harm and morally impugn one of our closest allies. Unfortunately, several newly elected members of Congress are vocal advocates of BDS—particularly Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

Following her election victory, Tlaib said, “Americans should not be aiding any country that doesn’t support human rights. I’ve been very clear. I will not support racist countries that pick and choose who gets access to justice.” She further claims that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pursuing “apartheid policies.”

During Israel’s 2012 war against Hamas (an entity designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization), Omar claimed, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” She has also claimed that Israel is an “apartheid … regime.” Following her election victory in November 2018, her campaign said she “believes in and supports the BDS movement.”

These peddlers of hate hurl false allegations against Israel of apartheid and minority oppression in an attempt to generate public support for BDS.

In reality, Israel is the Mideast’s only true democracy—one in which minority rights are protected. The right to vote, access to public health care, public education, freedom of speech, and protection of legal rights are enjoyed by all citizens, regardless of race and irrespective of religion.

As testament to this, in 2015—the most recent general election—voters elected 17 Arabs to serve in the 120-member Knesset. Arabs also comprise a growing proportion—more than 16 percent—of undergraduate students, a long-term goal of the Israeli government. In fact, the number of Arab university students soared more than 78 percent in just seven years. And many Arabs serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Israeli government also protects the freedom of religion. Across Jerusalem—the capital of Israel—Muslims, Christians, and Jews (and others) are free to practice their faith. Mosques, churches, and synagogues operate within yards of each other. From the Western Wall bordering the holiest site of the Jewish faith, the Muslim call to prayer can be heard throughout the day.

For nearly 700 years, Jewish people were denied entry to the burial place in Hebron of Abraham, their patriarch. Now, under Israeli control, both Muslims and Jews pray at this site. Across the nation, the Israeli government ensures these three great monotheistic faiths can be practiced more freely than at any other time in history.

Contrary to Tlaib’s “apartheid” claim, the Israeli government does not impose ethnic segregation on communities. Arab and Jewish Israelis are free to buy and sell homes and land within areas that fall under Israeli administration.

On the other hand, Jews are precluded from living in zones controlled by the Palestinian Authority, which manages Palestinian civil affairs. In fact, a fatwa—a ruling under Islamic law—forbids Arabs from selling real estate to Jews in those areas, under penalty of death. A top judge of the Palestinian Authority warned that acting contrary to this order qualifies as “high treason.”

The charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization—technically considered the “sole official representative of the Palestinian people”—continues to call for the violent destruction of Israel. Schools and television stations operated by the Palestinian Authority poison residents with an endless diet of anti-Semitism. The Palestinian Authority government routinely names streets, public buildings, and parks in honor of terrorists. Even worse, it bestows millions of dollars annually as compensation to families of these same terrorists.

In past years, the political leadership in both U.S. political parties recognized and spoke out against the bigotry inherent in attempting to destroy the Middle East’s only bastion of liberty. It is time once again for these leaders to boldly condemn the bigotry of these newly elected BDS advocates.

Indeed, the BDS movement exemplifies contemporary anti-Semitism. How disappointing and appalling that a growing number of U.S. members of Congress join in the chorus of Israel’s enemies under the guise of human rights concerns.

Ed Buck is a Democratic donor who has given money to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Kyrsten Sinema, Ted Lieu, and others. Yesterday a man was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in Buck’s West Hollywood home. That would be news in itself but what’s really shocking is that this is the second time a man has been found dead in Buck’s home in two years. From CNN:

It’s the second death of an adult male at Buck’s home in the last couple years. In July 2017 a man identified as Gemmel Moore was determined to have fatally overdosed at the same location, authorities said. Buck, 64, was present at the time of both incidents…

CNN has reached out to Buck’s attorney, Seymour Amster, for comment.

Amster told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS that the man who died was one of Buck’s longtime friends and that Buck was sober and did not give the victim any drugs.

“This is not a situation where Mr. Buck has caused a death. This is a situation where Mr. Buck has longtime friends who unfortunately do not handle their life well,” Amster said.

The CNN story mentions that the death of Gemmel Moore was determined to be an accidental overdose, but it leaves out all the gory details. Here, from the Advocate, is a story published last July noting what Gemmel Moore wrote in his diary before he died:

Since Moore’s death was classified as an accidental methamphetamine overdose, numerous young black gay men have alleged that Buck has a fetish for shooting drugs into youthful black men he picks up off the street or on hookup sites. Moore had written about Buck injecting him with dangerous drugs before his death.

“I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that,” Moore wrote in his journal in December 2016. “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of crystal meth.”

“I ended up back at Buck [sic] house again and got munipulated [sic] into slamming again. I even went to the point where I was forced to doing 4 within a 2day [sic] period. This man is crazy and its [sic] sad. Will I ever get help?” he continued.

So this man, Buck, who allegedly has a fetish for drugging black men has now had a second black man die at his home from drugs. His explanation is, once again, that he had nothing to do with it. It’s just a complete coincidence that this keeps happening to him. I wonder if the LA County District Attorney’s office will agree…again?

President Donald Trump has more public support for his argument that the nation is facing a border crisis than Democrats have for their claim that the nation is merely facing a “problem” on the border, according to a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday evening.

Forty-two percent of voters say the “U.S. is facing a crisis,” while only 37 percent say the “U.S. is facing a problem,” according to the poll of 1,989 registered voters, which was conducted with Politico.

Amid the flows of migrants and drugs from Central America, 12 percent say the U.S. “isn’t facing a problem or crisis,” according to the poll, which was conducted January 4 to 6.

Trump’s “crisis” argument is backed by 72 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents, and 19 percent of Democrats.

The Democrats’ “problem” rhetoric is backed by 19 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents, and 52 percent of Democrats.

Twenty-one percent of Democrats — but just four percent of Republicans and ten percent of independents — say the cross-border flow of cheap labor and drug-smuggling is neither a problem nor a crisis.

The poll is bad news for Democrats, who are increasingly claiming there is no border crisis that President Trump can cite to declare a national emergency and then build a border wall with unspent funds.

Just to be clear: there is no basis to declare a national emergency. https://t.co/ZrfjzqdZR6

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) January 8, 2019

However, a series of lawyers admitted to establishment media outlets that existing laws provide Trump with the legal authority to build a wall after declaring a national emergency.

Left-lawyers admit past Congresses gave Trump emergency powers which he can use to build a wall with federal funds. Ooops. Next: Dems will argue that migrant/drug crisis is not a real crisis b/c Dems & biz are OK with it. https://t.co/sNoDj7Qc1w

— Neil Munro (@NeilMunroDC) January 8, 2019

The poll also showed 44 percent support for a border wall and 47 percent opposition to a border wall. Eighty-three percent of Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats support the wall, while 83 percent of Democrats and 14 percent of Republicans oppose the wall.

However, the poll also shows lopsided opposition to government shutdowns. Sixty-five percent of voters say “Presidents should take all necessary steps to avoid a government shutdown. They should achieve their policy goals another way,” while 22 percent said, “Presidents should allow a temporary government shutdown if it helps them achieve their policy goals.”

Twenty-nine percent said Trump has done enough to foster agreement, while 52 percent said he has not done enough to avert a shutdown.

If Mitt Romney wanted to pick a fight in Washington with his op-ed criticizing Donald Trump, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. His new colleagues didn’t see the point, and now they’re going on the record to express their displeasure. Politico gathered up quite a few attributed quotes suggesting that Romney would do better to shut up and learn the job before launching op-eds that distract from their agenda.

In other words, Mitt Romney’s the GOP’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I kid, I kid … kinda:

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, a close Trump ally, dismissed Romney’s op-ed as an “attempted character assassination” and “deeply disappointing,” dubbing Romney a potential “Jeff Flake on steroids” in his own Washington Post op-ed. Most Senate Republicans won’t go that far, but they aren’t particularly happy about how Romney chose to enter office.

“Everybody’s got their strategy and their tactic. Mine is going to be to try and help the president and our country be successful. Mitt’s got a different take,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a fellow freshman, said. “I haven’t talked to anybody that’s encouraged by” his approach.

“The timing was kind of curious,” said new Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, who said Romney’s gravitas as a former GOP presidential nominee gives everything he says extra weight. “I wouldn’t have advised him to do it right now.”

Not all of the quotes from Romney’s colleagues were on the record. One Senator told Politico’s reporters on background that his strange timing for the op-ed and its regurgitation of Romney’s campaign messaging made them suspicious of Romney’s motives. “If you’re in the room,” the unnamed member said about caucus strategizing, “it will cause you to go back just a little, ‘What’s he thinking?’”

That’s still the question at hand. The column would have made sense if Romney planned to launch a primary campaign against Trump in this cycle, which would have to begin in the next few months. Romney insists that he won’t do that, however. It might have made sense if Romney had focused on a particular policy for his dissent, but other than the dismissal of James Mattis, there was nothing pressing or specific about Romney’s attack. Most of the complaints were old news and more about Trump’s personal qualities rather than policies, on which Romney professed broad agreement with Trump. So what was the point?

If it was just to reinforce the idea that politicians should refrain from unnecessary personal attacks, James Lankford thinks Romney himself missed the point — and the irony:

“It kind of felt like the same thing Trump does to everybody, Romney does to Trump. Smack you, and then want to negotiate,” said Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma. “It is funny to me that while he was complaining about President Trump’s personal attacks, he was personally attacking President Trump. I don’t know if he sees the irony in it.”

Trump does that for self-promotion, mainly. Romney’s new colleagues seem to think Romney had the same motives, and at their expense. Small wonder they’re not exactly rolling out the welcome wagon this week.

Another burden on the taxpayers.

Via Fox News:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced plans to launch “the largest, most comprehensive plan in the nation” to guarantee health care coverage for all city residents, including those in the country illegally.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it,” de Blasio said in a statement. “While the federal government works to gut health care for millions of Americans, New York City is leading the way by guaranteeing that every New Yorker has access to quality, comprehensive access to care, regardless of immigration status or their ability to pay.”

The liberal mayor said the plan will serve the 600,000 New Yorkers who don’t have insurance by strengthening NYC’s public health insurance option, MetroPlus.

It will also guarantee health care access to those ineligible for insurance, including illegal immigrants who live in New York. That program, NYC Care, will launch this summer and will cost at least $100 million annually at full scale, the city said.

In a tweet, de Blasio said the plan will “ensure the first stop for people isn’t the emergency room.” He argued that preventative care and access to primary care doctors will cut down on emergency room visits.

But it’s unclear how the program will be funded, and Republicans swiftly objected to using taxpayer dollars to pay for health care for those in the country illegally.

“Our citizens have hard enough time covering their own healthcare costs,” Nicole Malliotakis, a member of the New York State Assembly who represents Brooklyn and Staten Island, tweeted. “Now, @nycmayor also wants them to pay for healthcare of 300,000 citizens of other countries. He must stop abusing the middle class and treating us like his personal ATM.”

Keep reading…

Parents that should be in the audience at tonight’s address by President Trump. Update to this story.

Via Fox News:

The parents of a 22-year-old Tennessee man who was killed after a suspected illegal immigrant allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic spoke to Fox News Monday night about their grief and desire for stronger border security in America.

“It’s been the hardest thing of our lives, I can’t even explain it,” Wendy Corcoran said on “Hannity,” noting border security isn’t being taken seriously enough. Pierce Kennedy Corcoran, the son of Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran, was killed in a head-on car crash last month.

Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo, 44, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license or insurance, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

He is set for a preliminary hearing Thursday, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

The mom told Sean Hannity she and her husband taught their children to be responsible, and the alleged negligent suspect didn’t abide by the same responsibility that Pierce did.

His obituary noted her son was a promising, well-rounded man: “In his 22 years, he tried his hand at every sport possible, developing a love of golf, soccer, tennis and running 2 marathons in 2017. He became an advocate for eating healthy and exercising daily. He was in the process of completing his personal trainer certification.”

Hannity read a letter she wrote that said her son deserved better than a senseless death, and that immigrants who come to the U.S. ought to come legally and become responsible citizens.

Her husband, Capt. Corcoran, added: “We are not a hating people. We love, and we rally behind people — the underdogs who come here to America and succeed legally, and that’s what we want.”

Keep reading…

The Angel Parents of 22-year-old Pierce Corcoran of Knoxville, Tennessee are speaking out after their son was killed in a head-on collision allegedly caused by an illegal alien.

As Breitbart News reported, Pierce Corcoran — an aspiring personal trainer — was killed in a head-on car crash allegedly caused by 44-year-old illegal alien Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo days before New Year’s Eve.

The illegal alien, police said, was driving without a license and without proper registration for his vehicle. He has been charged with negligent homicide and driving without a license.

In interviews with Fox News and WATE 6, Wendy and DJ Corcoran said their son’s life “meant something,” but that the government has made it seem as though it did not.

“Absolutely, [the government is] to blame. You cannot come here and not … I mean we are re-victimized by the system and we’ve just learned that,” Wendy told Fox News. “We’ve seen other people deal with this and felt for them … much more tragic in some ways. And it’s just, it’s injust. Our son’s life meant something and our government makes us feel as if it didn’t. That somebody that had no right to be here matters more.”

22-year-old Pierce Corcoran — an aspiring personal trainer — was killed in a head-on car crash allegedly caused by 44-year-old illegal alien Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo days before New Year’s Eve. (KPD)

“We aren’t taking [illegal immigration] seriously,” she continued. “We’ve taught our children to be responsible and we don’t feel like anyone else is being expected the same thing. He was 22-years-old and the man that was negligent in this case, he didn’t abide by the same responsibility that our son did. And he’s still not expected to.”

A border wall, Wendy said, is a sign of hope for Americans that illegal immigration will be ended.

“A lot of talk about the wall, I think as Americans, the wall is a symbol to them that something is being done,” Wendy told WATE 6.

Family members of Pierce have create a Facebook and Twitter account in his memory, both titled “Justice for Pierce Corcoran.” In a viral online post, Piece’s older brother remembers him and said he hopes to share his story.

My baby brother Pierce was tragically killed in a wreck in Knoxville,TN on Saturday, December 29th, 2018 at 6:33pm.He was hit head on by an illegal immigrant who had no American citizenship, no license and no insurance.
I am making this profile in the hopes of sharing his story. pic.twitter.com/5tyoz9RIkD

— Justice For Pierce Corcoran (@Justice4Pierce) January 4, 2019

Francisco-Eduardo’s first court date is set for January 10, and he is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The passenger in the car with Pierce, 21-year-old Jade Damecia Adams, remains in recovery.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.