The Return of Jailbreak Liberalism

prison

Defund the police, abolish prisons, use welfare to fight crime: These ideas and more are increasingly the rallying cries of prominent Democrats eager for a revolution in America’s criminal justice system.

Criminal justice "reform" has also been embraced on the right, from the Koch brothers to Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner in an effort to buy political cover from bad-faith charges of prejudice.

As municipal leaders dismantle police departments, progressives are preparing to make a grand experiment of jailbreak liberalism. What they would like you to forget is that we tried it before, with disastrous consequences.

The reformers’ view is anchored in the belief that crime is ultimately caused by social conditions, and that the only way to fight it is to target "root causes" through social welfare and rehabilitation. The criminal justice system is dismissed as useless and racist.

That framework should be familiar to anybody who lived through the decades following World War II, when rehabilitationist thinking was the consensus among academics, policy makers, and the public. "If in 1960 one had been asked what steps society might take to prevent a sharp increase in the crime rate," the influential criminologist James Q. Wilson wrote, the popular answer would be "reducing poverty, increasing educational attainment, eliminating dilapidated housing, encouraging community organization, and providing troubled or delinquent youth with counseling services."

This mindset drove policy changes. Prisons shrunk and police were treated with suspicion. The incarceration rate declined between 1961 and 1976, and as late as 1981, murderers served an average of just five years. Rapists got 3.4. President Lyndon Johnson’s Kerner Commission derided the cops as a symbol of "white power, white racism, and white repression," and the Warren Court shackled them at every turn.

The results rolled in. Between 1960 and 1991, the violent crime rate rose 370 percent. There were more than 20,000 homicides a year for much of the ’80s and ’90s; at its peak, New York City alone saw over 2,600 murders annually. The weight of this violence fell disproportionately on poor and black Americans, the same groups jailbreak liberalism meant to help.

A change in governing philosophy saved America from the crime wave. More violent offenders were sent away for longer sentences; more police funding and better tactics helped to clean up streets, famously transforming New York City’s Times Square.

Proponents of criminal justice reform routinely omit these facts because the reality undercuts their narrative. Jailbreak liberalism was meant to end crime but instead prompted a wave of violence.

Today’s progressives, many of whom didn’t live through it, may not remember that. Enabled by their allies on the "right," they are embracing policies that will beget a 21st century crime wave. Americans have watched in horror as our cities are rocked by violent shootings, while cowed cops vanish from the streets. Expect more of this bloody tragedy, especially for the poor and oppressed that criminal justice reformers claim to help.

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INSANITY: 2021 Rose Parade Cancelled Over Coronavirus Concerns

Pasadena, California – The 2021 Rose Parade has been cancelled due to concerns over the Coronavirus.

NBC News reported:

The 2021 Rose Parade has been canceled because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on planning for the New Year’s Day tradition and the risk of spreading infections among its huge audience and participants, organizers said Wednesday.

The Pasadena, California, Tournament of Roses Association said the decision was put off until organizers were certain that safety restrictions would prevent staging of the 132nd parade.

Planning for the Rose Bowl college football game that traditionally follows the parade is continuing, the association said.

Since its inception in 1891, the parade has only not occurred during the wartime years of 1942, 1943 and 1945, the association said.

“The health and well-being of our parade participants and guests, as well as that of our volunteer members, professional staff and partners, is our number one priority,” Bob Miller, the 2021 president of the association, said in a statement.

Tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter militants were out in full force in Los Angeles last month, but the Rose Parade, which was scheduled for January 1, 2021 has been cancelled.

BLM militants were not social distancing and not everyone was wearing a mask.

WATCH:

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Liberty University Files $10 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times Over Covid Fearmongering Story

Drone photos are taken as students move in on Thursday August 15, 2019. (Photo by KJ Jugar)

Gateway Pundit readers may recall the covfefe that ensued after Liberty University announced they would be re-opening for spring classes as normal, in spite of Covid-19 fears. This of course sparked controversy throughout the leftist media, including an article by the New York Times which *allegedly* made several false and defamatory claims about the university and students that may or may not have gotten sick.

Liberty University and its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., have now announced a $10 Million defamation suit against the formerly reputable newspaper. The 94 page complaint includes 171 points of argument and 9 exhibits, which consists largely of the NYT’s own articles. Liberty is represented by attorneys from Gentry Locke in Roanoke and Brown Rudnick in New York.

The official Liberty University press release reads:

On July 15, Liberty University filed suit against The New York Times, its reporter Elizabeth Williamson, and a photographer alleging defamation and other claims arising from their intentionally false reporting that, among other things, misrepresented that (a) Liberty University suffered a COVID-19 outbreak when it “re-open[ed]” its campus after spring break; (b) it had “nearly a dozen” students sick with COVID symptoms; and (c) it had ignored government guidelines in reopening. These intentionally false and defamatory claims were unmistakable and reflected in The New York Times’ headlines, including “Liberty Brings Back its Students, and Coronavirus, Too” and “A University Reopened, and Students Got Sick.”

The facts, however, were just the opposite and the defendants knew this because they were told that there were no known cases of COVID-19 at the University and there were not “nearly a dozen” students with COVID-19 symptoms, and they knew Liberty University was in full compliance with all government directives, as evidenced by two publicly disclosed inspections. Indeed, ultimately, even by the close of the school year, not a single resident student had contracted COVID-19, and Liberty University’s response to the pandemic stands as a model for other institutions to follow in balancing the needs of protecting and educating their student bodies.

The complaint presents overwhelming evidence that the New York Times and reporter Williamson intentionally published their false and defamatory claims. This evidence includes them misrepresenting that their only medical source had stated that nearly 12 students had COVID-19 symptoms when he said the opposite, misrepresenting this source’s position and knowledge, and avoiding contacting the medical personnel at the school who actually had direct knowledge of the facts despite being told to do so by the sole source they misrepresented instead.

Furthermore, the New York Times prevented Liberty University from offering the facts about their reporting before rushing to publish the news story originally titled, “Liberty Brings Back its Students, and Coronavirus too” on March 29, 2020. The damages caused by that story and an opinion article published on March 30, 2020, titled “This Land of Death and Denial” – which claimed Liberty University’s President “creat[ed] his own personal viral hotspot” – expanded exponentially as those published stories went viral online, were republished hundreds of times by other news outlets, and as the New York Times and Williamson shared them from their social media accounts.

The complaint points out that the targeting of Liberty University matches the new business model at the New York Times of creating false and sensational stories and headlines against conservatives to go viral and enhance their revenues.

The university announced that net proceeds awarded through this lawsuit will be contributed by Liberty University to nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting people and businesses recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic lockdowns.

In announcing the lawsuit, President Jerry Falwell, Jr. said, “When there were no reported cases of COVID-19 in the Lynchburg area yet, the New York Times sent a reporter and photographer from actual virus hotspots to violate our campus containment zone and make up a completely false claim that we had created a hotspot on campus. They target us because the University is a conservative and Christian institution. While this fulfilled their ‘clickbait’ business model, it also violated the law in many ways. Therefore, we are holding the New York Times accountable for their malicious and false reporting and their violation of the measures we took to protect our students. Politically-motivated attacks by the mainstream news media that defame and libel conservatives and Christians should not be allowed in the United States of America and will not be tolerated by Liberty University.”

Fallwell appeared on Sean Hannity to discuss the matter:

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Josh Hawley Requests Federal Probe of St. Louis DA’s Mark McCloskey Case


Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is asking Attorney General Bill Barr to open an investigation into the prosecution of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple seen on video protecting their home with guns on June 28.

On June 30, Breitbart News reported an investigation had been opened against the McCloskeys.

New York Post quoted St. Louis Prosecutor Kimberly Gardner saying, “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.” Gardner said her office was “currently working with the public and police to investigate these events. Make no mistake: we will not tolerate the use of force against those exercising their First Amendment rights, and will use the full power of Missouri law to hold people accountable.”

Fox News reported that Hawley is now asking AG Barr to investigate Gardner’s investigation into the McCloskeys.

Hawley described Gardner’s investigation as “an unacceptable abuse of power,” claiming it poses a “threat to the Second Amendment.”

Hawley added, “There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound. The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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Goya Continues Good Deeds with 220,000 Pounds of Food Donation to Ease Coronavirus Burden in Venezuela 


The Hispanic food company Goya has been in the spotlight in recent days after its president Bob Unanue praised President Donald Trump while at the White House for the launch of the Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, but critics of his remarks have been overshadowed by those who have supported the company, including a “buycott” movement that has seen products flying off grocery shelves.

On Thursday the company announced its latest effort to use it products to fight hunger in the United States and abroad with a donation of 220,000 pounds of food to Venezuela to aid the country in its battle against the coronavirus.

Unanue said in an announcement of the donation:

Our #GoyaGivesGlobal campaign extends our hand to our neighboring countries who are in desperate need of nourishing food and demonstrates Goya’s history of giving critical assistance to people who need it the most, not just here in the United States, but around the globe. Venezuela has long suffered from shortages of food and we will do whatever we can to help.

In times of desperate need, Goya has always been at the forefront of disaster and humanitarian relief efforts, providing millions of pounds of food worldwide. In September of 2019, in response to the outcries of starving children and families in Venezuela, Goya committed to a donation of 400,000 pounds of which only 180,000 pounds safely reached the people with the help of non-profits, churches, and charitable organizations located in Venezuela.

Carlos Vecchio, Chargé d’Affaires of the Government of Venezuela to the United States, said about the donation:

We thank Goya Foods, and its President Bob Unanue for this important humanitarian donation of food to the Venezuelan people. We thank them for their donation last year, we thank them for their donation this year and we look forward to their donation next year.

“It is a profoundly humane and social demonstration of how the international private sector can actively help to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Venezuela,” Vecchio said, adding: 

This humanitarian support will be transparently channeled through the protocols that the Interim Government of President Juan Guaidó has coordinated with national and international agencies to address the emergency that affects millions of Venezuelan families.

Unanue’s announcement said:

Since the start of the pandemic, the company has donated a total of 2.5 million pounds of food and 20,000 protective masks. During Hurricane Maria Goya donated over 1 million pounds of food to the people of Puerto Rico, in addition to the starving people of Venezuela during governmental unrest, to the people of Haiti during the earthquake, and at home during Superstorm Sandy, and Hurricanes Isaac, Harvey, and Irene.

“We’re all truly blessed … to have leader like President Trump because he’s a builder,” Unanue said at the White House, adding that his grandfather’s food business was founded with the same goals — “to build, to grow, to prosper.”

Unanue has not apologized for his remarks and said on Fox and Friends he backs Trump’s efforts to help the Hispanic community.

“We were part of a commission called the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative and they called on us to be there to see how we could help opportunities within the economic and educational realm for prosperity among Hispanics and among the United States,” Unanue said.

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Pompeo: C.C.P. Hid Human-to-Human Transmission of COVID, W.H.O. ‘Co-Opted’


On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Bill Hemmer Reports,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the Chinese Communist Party knew of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus before they told the rest of the world about it and that the World Health Organization “was co-opted” into the effort to hide needed knowledge from the rest of the world.

Pompeo said, “[I]t is the case that the Chinese Communist Party was aware of human-to-human transmission before they shared this with the world. And that the World Health Organization itself was co-opted into the same effort to deny the world the knowledge it needed to respond to this threat, to this threat from the virus that emanated from Wuhan, China.”

Pompeo also stated that the world is currently taking steps to hold China accountable by changing their economic and territorial relationships with China, and stated that, for the past 40 years, American policy, under administrations of both parties, has been to look the other way and ignore China’s bad behavior. He also predicted that the world will unite to hold China’s government accountable for covering up the coronavirus, “when they could have prevented so much of this tragedy.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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Yesterday’s Slave Owners and Today’s Statues are Not Killing 3000 Black and White Humans per Day

BabiesDefending righteous causes is one thing, but becoming a moral hypocrite is quite another.

Roe V. Wade landed on  Planet Earth in 1973 and declared that it would be one small step for moral reprobates and liars, and one giant leap for hypocrites.

Planned Parenthood and an army of selfish women, indifferent men and politically twisted advocates of slaughter, have since stormed the congress for cash to keep the purge alive, while wasting  babies at a rate of almost 3,000 a day.

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Time to Act – Part 2: Actions Christians Must Take Now to Save the Nation

This is the second article from a Gateway Pundit reader who earlier provided information for the post:

Time to Act: Debunking Christian Excuses for Inaction in the Face of Evil

As you read, please keep in mind the warning issued in the previous article, Time to Act: Debunking Christian Excuses for Inaction in the Face of Evil:

WARNING: God did not build this nation just for us; He built it for the world. Since its founding, our nation has been a beacon of hope and help to the lost and vulnerable around the globe. If America falls, our freedom to provide that hope and help falls with her.

As can be seen from this week’s news, those who would destroy our nation and its founding principles have no intention of backing down. They will take as much ideological and physical territory as we are willing to cede. We have already ceded too much. The time for complaining, hand wringing, and debating is over. It is time to act. Christians who are currently on the sidelines need to assess the times, understand what is at stake, and join those who have already taken to the battlefield.

The previous article offered a general list of actions we should all be taking. An updated version is provided below. Given the mood of the country, these actions appear tame. However, when undertaken by millions of concerned citizens, they are much more effective than they appear. The combined impact becomes exponential. Thus, it is important not only to vote, but also to register others to vote. It is important not only to contact your representatives, but also to encourage and organize others to contact their representatives. It is important not only to march, but also to encourage and organize others to march. That act of bringing others on board increases your impact from just one person, i.e. yourself, to potentially millions of people, as the people you have influenced influence others. So, rather than think, “I’m just one person,” think instead, “I am one person, plus the people I influence, plus the people they influence, and so on.”

You are more powerful than you realize, which is why those who want to destroy our nation want to silence you. Do not let them. Pick a minimum of three actions from the list below, step onto the battlefield, and start defending our nation:

In order to provide examples of how the above actions can be utilized, as well as to provide information on specific organizations and people that can help get results, four major issues are addressed below: Church Closings, Mandatory Masks, Voter Fraud, and Lost Freedom.

Church Closings:

It is time to fight back against the unconstitutional closing of churches. Churches are essential services. Not because we say so, but because God Himself says so (Hebrews 10:24-25). Both the saved and seeking are suffering due to forced isolation. The love and support they would normally receive by attending church services is now missing. New Christians are wandering away from the faith because they are unable to be discipled through the preaching and teaching of the Word. Seekers, who would have answered an invitation to attend church by a family or friend, are unable to do so now. Those who would have been comforted and strengthened by time in worship and prayer are turning to alcohol and drugs instead, and even suicide. Child abuse and domestic abuse have both increased as tension runs high in homes – tension that would be alleviated by spending time with the Body of Christ in worship.

Even first century churches continued to meet when the governing authorities outlawed such meetings. There is no excuse today for churches to close for extended periods. For a week or two? Fine. For months at a time or indefinitely? Unacceptable. We have a mandate from God to continue to meet. God has blessed us with a Constitution that protects that mandate. It is time to obey God, rather than “men.” For help with legal options and questions, the following organizations represent individuals and churches free of charge:

For examples of individual and class action lawsuits related to COVID-19 actions, see here, here, here, here and here.

Mandatory Masks:

Edicts on mask-wearing have also crossed a constitutional line. Our rights and freedoms are being trampled. The constitutional issues alone would be enough to demand push back; however, the fact that the science is questionable, the edicts are not equally applied and enforced (e.g. churches vs protestors), mask-wearing entails its own health risks, and many of those who are issuing these edicts do not abide by them also demands push back. Thus, it is time to stand up and demand that these unconstitutional edicts be ended. Things you can do:

Comments: 202-456-1111

Switchboard: 202-456-1414

TTY/TTD: 202-456-6213

https://whitehouse.gov/contact/

  • Organize and participate in a peaceful protest or march, and encourage others to do so, as well. Learn from organizations that already organize successful protests or marches. Don’t expect others to protest or march on your behalf. Do it yourself. If there was ever a time to protest and march, it is now.

Voter Fraud:

One of the best ways to defeat voter fraud is to become involved in the election process. Voting is not enough. Conservatives need to become involved at every step: registering new voters, becoming poll workers and poll judges, and more. See below for numerous suggestions on how you can become involved and have a personal impact on stopping voter fraud in its tracks.

Worried about voter fraud?

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, start registering new voters today. Of the 60 million committed Christians in our nation, only half of them vote. That is 30 million Christians who could be helping to save our Republic, who are not doing so. Turning these inactive voters into active voters will overwhelm and override any voter fraud attempts. So, get out there this week and start registering people to vote.
  • Register every single voting-age person in your congregation. Check out Vote Under God for helpful ideas, materials, and step-by-step guidance. Get your pastor on board, and set up a voter registration table in your church lobby or parking lot. Vote Under God even has a pre-written letter that you can give your pastor that explains the importance of registering every member of your congregation. If there are naysayers, or people worried about tax implications, give them a copy of the previous Time to Act article, as well as the link to the Vote Under God legal information page, and encourage them to consider the consequences of letting our nation fall, which will undoubtedly include churches losing tax exempt status.
  • Visit Scott Presler’s website for additional information on registering new voters. Or, invite him to your community for a training session. You can also donate to and volunteer for his organization.
  • Don’t just register new voters yourself; also encourage others to register new voters.
  • Start a monthly reminder effort to alert people of upcoming elections, and organize transportation to the polls during elections.
  • Make sure you and your new voters know where the candidates stand. Examples of helpful sites are https://www.christianvoterguide.com and https://ivoterguide.com (Example: Utah).

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, verify your voter registration. Some voters have arrived at the polls to learn that their party affiliation was changed without them knowing it. As a result, they were denied their right to vote in the primaries. So, make sure you are registered correctly, including party affiliation and current address.

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, contact your local Board of Elections to sign up to be an Election Poll Worker. Cheating is easier when no one is watching. Be a watcher.
  • Contact your Secretary of State or country clerk office to register to become an Election Poll Judge.
  • Don’t just become an Election Poll Worker or Poll Judge yourself; also encourage other honest people you know to become Election Poll Workers and Poll Judges.
  • Learn what it takes to become a member of your state’s Canvassing Board, and do it.
  • Contact your state election office and learn other ways that you can get involved with the election process.

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, call your representatives and demand Voter ID. Don’t stop calling until you get it.
  • Don’t just call your representatives yourself; also encourage others to call.
  • Organize a call-in effort. Divide participants into groups, one group for each day of the work week. Monday Group calls on Monday, Tuesday Group calls on Tuesday, etc.

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, call your county clerk’s office to make sure your town, city, or county will have enough polling stations. Many locations are quietly reducing the number of polling stations, using COVID-19 as an excuse. Don’t let that happen. Organize an effort to ensure that your location has ample polling stations.
  • Contact your local Republican Party office and enlist their help in ensuring that there will be enough polling stations.
  • Don’t just call the county clerk’s office and Republican Party office yourself; also encourage others to call.

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, start investigating now what legal actions can be taken if you suspect an election is stolen. We citizens have a constitutional right to honest and fair elections. Provided sufficient evidence of election fraud, courts have ordered new elections in the past.

Still worried about voter fraud?

  • Then, turn that worry into action. Use it to spur yourself to act when you don’t feel like it or when you’re discouraged. Instead of worrying, take action. Given the amount of worrying going on across our nation right now, if it is turned into action, there will be a sea change in the direction of our country.

And, finally, provide this article to others, so that they too know what they can do and what resources are available to help them get it done.

Lost Freedom:

We have forgotten who we are. We are We the People, the ones charged with maintaining and protecting this great nation that we have been given. We are the free and the brave of the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” It is way past time for us to stand up and act like it. The governing authorities established to uphold and protect our God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution can no longer be trusted to do so. As a result, our freedoms are being eroded at an ever-faster rate. It is time for We the People to put an end to this onslaught, and retake lost ground.

Although it is likely that more drastic measures will be required, it is worth considering the possibility that this goal might be achieved by a massive, united effort in the courts against every government entity and official that is failing to fulfill their responsibility to uphold and protect our freedoms. Such an effort would involve either millions of individual lawsuits or a handful of class action lawsuits joined by millions of citizens, or both. However, if lawsuits are not the answer, then other massive, united efforts are going to need to be considered. Those committed to saving America need to be exploring all options now while there is still time and means to put them into action.

In the meantime, the actions provided throughout this article can achieve significant headway in turning the tide in our nation, especially if undertaken by millions of committed patriots.

Start today. We are fast approaching a point of no return. No more excuses. No more delays. Just as the Founders of this nation were confronted with a moment of decision, so are we. The only question that remains is “Will we answer the call?”

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