Month: June 2020

The expression that “truth is the first casualty in (or of) war” traces back to Aeschylus, but became popular in the early 20th century. As the past few days’ riots show, that expression is on steroids now, with many of the worst lies coming directly from the media. This post catalogs some of the lies that swirled around, along with the facts that the media couldn’t be bothered to check lest they interfere with the narrative.

The most consequential lies, as always, are about President Trump. Yesterday, holding his mother’s Bible, Trump walked out of the White House, crossed through Lafayette Park, and headed to St. John’s church, the historic church (founded in 1815) that the rioters had set aflame.

The media and other leftists were not upset about the burnt church. Instead, they asserted that Trump had ordered the military to use tear gas on protesters so that he could cross the street. (New York Times: “Protesters dispersed with tear gas so Trump could pose at church.”) Additionally, an internet rumor started that Trump’s pose, with his mother’s Bible, perfectly matched a pose Hitler had struck with a Bible in the lead-up to his planned world domination and genocide. Both stories, of course, were lies.

Acting Chief Gregory T. Monahan of the United States Park Police corrected the misinformation about teargas – information any half-competent reporter could have and should have found with a small effort (emphasis added):

On Monday, June 1, the USPP worked with the United States Secret Service to have temporary fencing installed inside Lafayette Park.  At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids. The protestors also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior. Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.

To curtail the violence that was underway, the USPP, following established policy, issued three warnings over a loudspeaker to alert demonstrators on H Street to evacuate the area. Horse mounted patrol, Civil Disturbance Units and additional personnel were used to clear the area. As many of the protestors became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls. No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park. Subsequently, the fence was installed.

Then there’s the “Hitler’s Bible” story. Here’s a post both explaining what swept the internet and debunking the story:

A lot of people are sharing an image that appears to show Trump and Hitler holding a bible in the same way. The Trump pic is from June 1, but the Hitler pic was photoshopped to add the bible. pic.twitter.com/hmaxYfXCxt

— Craig Silverman (@CraigSilverman) June 2, 2020

One blue-checked leftist admitted falling for the hoax, but gave the Donald Trump version of “fake but accurate” – namely, that Trump is so like Hitler that it was easy to believe Hitler would be like Trump:

PS
The Hitler/Bible going around is Photoshopped. That so many people (including me initially) fell for it, is itself an indictment of Trump and all he stands for.

— Greg Olear (@gregolear) June 2, 2020

It wasn’t only Trump who was a victim of the war on truth. Reuters alleged that a truck driver deliberately “drove into a throng of protesters” on Highway 35W in Minneapolis, at which point the crowd dragged the driver out of the truck and administered rough justice. What’s so bizarre is that the video Reuters posted in the tweet shows that the driver didn’t deliberately ram anyone. He was on the freeway which was shut down after he got on it and he stopped for the protesters:

A tanker truck drove into a throng of protesters on a closed interstate near Minneapolis. The driver was pulled from his rig and beaten https://t.co/4LLbkxtgIL pic.twitter.com/oJjgZ79mvT

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 1, 2020

The lies about that poor man continued afterward because he donated to Trump. In fact, Bogdan Verchirko is a brave and decent man, something Reuters couldn’t be bothered to find out:

Hinting at political motives, other posts pointed out Vechirko had contributed to President Trump’s campaign. Still others mistakenly pointed to a Facebook account showing photos of a different man with the same name wearing Ukrainian military gear.

But some people who know Vechirko quickly came to his defense.

“He’s a great guy. That’s it,” said Lonnie McQuirten, owner of 36 LYN Refuel Station – a BP gas station on Lyndale Avenue in South Minneapolis.

McQuirten says Vechirko has just made a badly needed fuel delivery to his black-owned station – one of only a few stations still open.

The misinformation can cut in other directions if one assumes that the extraordinarily biased Twitter, which incorrectly censored President Trump, is telling the truth here:

A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national “antifa” organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the account violated the company’s platform manipulation and spam policy, specifically the creation of fake accounts. Twitter suspended the account after a tweet that incited violence.

As protests were taking place in multiple states across the U.S. Sunday night, the newly created account, @ANTIFA_US, tweeted, “Tonight’s the night, Comrades,” with a brown raised fist emoji and “Tonight we say ‘F— The City’ and we move into the residential areas… the white hoods…. and we take what’s ours …”

(In the above report, which comes from Yahoo News, did you catch the scare quotes around the word “antifa,” as if the organization’s existence is questionable?)

 President Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor is one of the vilest creatures ever to crawl out of the primordial ooze. Still, he was right about one thing (emphasis added):

The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”

What’s happening now is a war, and the truth is on the line. We have to be very vigilant to ensure that what we believe and what we say is based upon accurate information, something that’s hard when you can’t trust our institutions anymore for reliable information.

The expression that “truth is the first casualty in (or of) war” traces back to Aeschylus, but became popular in the early 20th century. As the past few days’ riots show, that expression is on steroids now, with many of the worst lies coming directly from the media. This post catalogs some of the lies that swirled around, along with the facts that the media couldn’t be bothered to check lest they interfere with the narrative.

The most consequential lies, as always, are about President Trump. Yesterday, holding his mother’s Bible, Trump walked out of the White House, crossed through Lafayette Park, and headed to St. John’s church, the historic church (founded in 1815) that the rioters had set aflame.

The media and other leftists were not upset about the burnt church. Instead, they asserted that Trump had ordered the military to use tear gas on protesters so that he could cross the street. (New York Times: “Protesters dispersed with tear gas so Trump could pose at church.”) Additionally, an internet rumor started that Trump’s pose, with his mother’s Bible, perfectly matched a pose Hitler had struck with a Bible in the lead-up to his planned world domination and genocide. Both stories, of course, were lies.

Acting Chief Gregory T. Monahan of the United States Park Police corrected the misinformation about teargas – information any half-competent reporter could have and should have found with a small effort (emphasis added):

On Monday, June 1, the USPP worked with the United States Secret Service to have temporary fencing installed inside Lafayette Park.  At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids. The protestors also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior. Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.

To curtail the violence that was underway, the USPP, following established policy, issued three warnings over a loudspeaker to alert demonstrators on H Street to evacuate the area. Horse mounted patrol, Civil Disturbance Units and additional personnel were used to clear the area. As many of the protestors became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls. No tear gas was used by USPP officers or other assisting law enforcement partners to close the area at Lafayette Park. Subsequently, the fence was installed.

Then there’s the “Hitler’s Bible” story. Here’s a post both explaining what swept the internet and debunking the story:

A lot of people are sharing an image that appears to show Trump and Hitler holding a bible in the same way. The Trump pic is from June 1, but the Hitler pic was photoshopped to add the bible. pic.twitter.com/hmaxYfXCxt

— Craig Silverman (@CraigSilverman) June 2, 2020

One blue-checked leftist admitted falling for the hoax, but gave the Donald Trump version of “fake but accurate” – namely, that Trump is so like Hitler that it was easy to believe Hitler would be like Trump:

PS
The Hitler/Bible going around is Photoshopped. That so many people (including me initially) fell for it, is itself an indictment of Trump and all he stands for.

— Greg Olear (@gregolear) June 2, 2020

It wasn’t only Trump who was a victim of the war on truth. Reuters alleged that a truck driver deliberately “drove into a throng of protesters” on Highway 35W in Minneapolis, at which point the crowd dragged the driver out of the truck and administered rough justice. What’s so bizarre is that the video Reuters posted in the tweet shows that the driver didn’t deliberately ram anyone. He was on the freeway which was shut down after he got on it and he stopped for the protesters:

A tanker truck drove into a throng of protesters on a closed interstate near Minneapolis. The driver was pulled from his rig and beaten https://t.co/4LLbkxtgIL pic.twitter.com/oJjgZ79mvT

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 1, 2020

The lies about that poor man continued afterward because he donated to Trump. In fact, Bogdan Verchirko is a brave and decent man, something Reuters couldn’t be bothered to find out:

Hinting at political motives, other posts pointed out Vechirko had contributed to President Trump’s campaign. Still others mistakenly pointed to a Facebook account showing photos of a different man with the same name wearing Ukrainian military gear.

But some people who know Vechirko quickly came to his defense.

“He’s a great guy. That’s it,” said Lonnie McQuirten, owner of 36 LYN Refuel Station – a BP gas station on Lyndale Avenue in South Minneapolis.

McQuirten says Vechirko has just made a badly needed fuel delivery to his black-owned station – one of only a few stations still open.

The misinformation can cut in other directions if one assumes that the extraordinarily biased Twitter, which incorrectly censored President Trump, is telling the truth here:

A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national “antifa” organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the account violated the company’s platform manipulation and spam policy, specifically the creation of fake accounts. Twitter suspended the account after a tweet that incited violence.

As protests were taking place in multiple states across the U.S. Sunday night, the newly created account, @ANTIFA_US, tweeted, “Tonight’s the night, Comrades,” with a brown raised fist emoji and “Tonight we say ‘F— The City’ and we move into the residential areas… the white hoods…. and we take what’s ours …”

(In the above report, which comes from Yahoo News, did you catch the scare quotes around the word “antifa,” as if the organization’s existence is questionable?)

 President Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor is one of the vilest creatures ever to crawl out of the primordial ooze. Still, he was right about one thing (emphasis added):

The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”

What’s happening now is a war, and the truth is on the line. We have to be very vigilant to ensure that what we believe and what we say is based upon accurate information, something that’s hard when you can’t trust our institutions anymore for reliable information.

Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Morning with Maria,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) emphasized the importance of enforcement of the law, especially as Americans have taken to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Kennedy told FBN’s Maria Bartiromo it was not “racist” to enforce the law, noting that in some places it did not appear the law was being enforced, as the destruction of private property and vandalism was taking place.

“It is important, Maria, to remember that most Americans get up every day, go to work, obey the law — they go to work when they’re allowed to — obey the law and try to do the right thing by their kids,” Kennedy said. “And this is what those Americans are hearing the mayors and the governors say in these states where the looting and the burning is taking place. They are hearing these public officials say, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, opening up your business is illegal, but burning it down and looting it is not. And the American people are appalled. And these governors and these mayors need to get control of their cities or get out of the way and let the federal government do it. It is not racist to enforce the law. The law knows no color.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

Why is anybody surprised to see the racial extortion, lawless rioting, and selfish looting in the streets of America’s big cities today — all in the name of an unarmed black man named George Floyd, who died in police custody last week?

There is a whole political party in America today that is entirely built upon such racial exploitation.

Democratic Party leaders in Washington do not actually care about the hardships of blacks in America today. They simply want to weaponize those hardships into votes year after year after year.

Or, as one major Democrat in South Carolina famously said: “I don’t want to buy the black vote. I just want to rent it for a day.” That “day” being Election Day. They can all go back to their misery all the other days of the year.

Like President Trump said: “What have you got to lose?”

Lawless rioting? That is but a mere extension of the bald dishonesty and unhinged lawlessness that defines the Democratic Party today. Take their lawless pursuit of Mr. Trump, for instance. Ever since he got elected, Democrats have accused him of everything under the sun from colluding with Russians to steal the election to bribing the Ukrainian government to sparking the Chinese pandemic.

All of it has been exhaustively investigated to no end. Some Democrats in Washington are actually still defending the secret evidence they claim to have proving that Mr. Trump has committed all sorts of their invented crimes.

It’s all lies. Their trumped-up, manufactured charges against the president expose the profound lawlessness that even many of their own supporters now realize were nothing more than fantasies.

So, really, is it any wonder that you would have roving bands of lawless thugs in masks thronging the streets, torching police cars, smashing windows and burning churches? They learned it from the best.

 

And what about the rampant looting? I mean, why not? As President Obama’s chief of staff — who later became the mayor of Chicago — openly preached: Never let a crisis go to waste.

You need a 60-inch high definition, plasma TV? Well, just grab a red cart, smash the windows at Target and load up as many as you can wheel out the door. All in the name of George Floyd.

Want a free case of liquor? Take a tire iron and pry open the steel door from the alley and grab all the booze you can carry. All in the name of George Floyd.

Truth is, these people don’t care about George Floyd. Or anybody else, for that matter. They are worthless criminals who belong in jail for the rest of their lives. They do not belong in civilized society.

But is it any different than the example set by Democratic politicians in Washington today?

When the pandemic hit earlier this year, Washington Democrats in the House used it as an opportunity to loot the American treasury for all manner of ill-gotten booty for all their various special interests.

At the height of the global emergency, Democrats passed smash-and-grab legislation to pay off all their constituencies, including labor unions, the U.S. Postal Service, illegal aliens, and universities. They also decided to hijack all future American elections to make it easier to commit election fraud.

All in the name of the coronavirus pandemic that was on its way to killing more than 100,000 Americans.

So, is it any surprise that the looters and rioters burning American cities today would do the same thing?

The really sad part of all this is that George Floyd deserves better.

Now, we don’t know everything that led up to his unfortunate death. But certainly, he did not deserve to die.

At a time when very few things unify America, Mr. Floyd’s death unified the country. But that spark of hope was quickly doused. Soon, lawless looters and violent thugs decided to exploit Mr. Floyd’s death for their own gain.

Like the man said, never let a crisis go to waste.

• Charles Hurt is opinion editor of The Washington Times. He can be reached at churt@washingtontimes.com or @charleshurt on Twitter.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday announced 24 hours of “largely peaceful” demonstrations in Florida and “no significant law enforcement or civilian injuries or deaths” following his decision to deploy the state’s National Guard to help maintain peace and restore law and order.

DeSantis reported “no significant civilian or law enforcement injuries and no widespread property damage” as part of a greater statement, thanking local officials, the Florida National Guard, and the Florida Highway Patrol for all of their work in calming civil unrest.

“Additionally, FDLE has not received reports of widespread property damage, commercial or residential,” DeSantis’s press release read:

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of local officials, law enforcement, @FLGuard, and Florida Highway Patrol @FLHSMV, over the past 24 hours @fdlepio reports no significant civilian or law enforcement injuries and no widespread property damage. My full statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/40bZPIvH52

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 2, 2020

He said in part:

I appreciate all the hard work being done by our local officials, the Florida National Guard, the Florida Highway Patrol and our law enforcement to help ensure the safety of residents and visitors, as well as those who are engaging in peaceful First Amendment activity.

“Over the past 24 hours, demonstrations have remained largely peaceful thanks to these collaborative efforts,” DeSantis continued. “We will remain vigilant and stand ready in the event something changes.”

“Florida will not tolerate rioting, looting, or violence. We encourage all residents and visitors to continue abiding by local curfews and directives and thank everyone for their cooperation,” he concluded.

The Florida governor and Trump ally activated the state’s National Guard over the weekend as violent protests erupted in the Tampa Bay area, resulting in the destruction of property and burglary of dozens of businesses:

Yesterday, @GovDeSantis activated the @FLGuard. Currently there are 150 guardsmen in Miramar,150 in Camp Blanding & 100 arrived in Tampa.These specially trained units support law enforcement in many ways i.e. traffic & crowd control, all to preserve the peace & public safety.

— Helen Aguirre Ferré (@helenaguirrefer) May 31, 2020

DeSantis on Monday also announced the “mobilization of 700 Florida National Guard soldiers who are specially trained to support law enforcement.”

“I have also worked with FHP to coordinate more than 1,300 sworn Florida Highway Patrol troopers to support local law enforcement efforts. We will continue to do everything necessary to keep residents safe,” he announced:

Florida has zero tolerance for violence, rioting & looting. George Floyd’s murder was appalling & the MN perpetrators need to be brought to justice, but this cannot be used as a pretext for violence in our communities.

I thank local leaders for their efforts to keep FL safe. pic.twitter.com/tQmFoKgFT2

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 1, 2020

DeSantis is largely following the call of the president, who on Monday urged state leaders to deploy the National Guard “in sufficient numbers.”

“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” Trump stated.

A recent Morning Consult poll found that 71 percent of American voters — including a majority of Democrats — support activating the National Guard to address the “protests and demonstrations,” as Breitbart News detailed.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Monday rejected a request from the Trump administration to send his state’s National Guard to help quell heated protesters and riots in Washington, D.C., sparked by the death of George Floyd.

“I am not going to send our men and women in uniform of a very proud National Guard to Washington for a photo-op,” Northam said during a Tuesday press conference in Richmond.

Northam reportedly refused a request for troops in a Monday call with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, citing concern that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was unaware of the matter, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Pentagon reportedly asked Virginia to deploy between 3,000 and 5,000 National Guard members to the nation’s capital.

“When this request came in, we quickly learned it had not been made at Mayor Bower’s request or coordinated with her, and we have heightened concern based on the President’s remarks that the Administration is looking to use the Guard to escalate — not deescalate — the situation,” said Northam chief of staff Clark Mercer.

On Monday evening, the streets of D.C. were largely under control after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to the city. There were only minor instances of violence, with several shop windows smashed on 14th Street. A CVS store was also reportedly raided by looters. Police arrested dozens of protesters in the city for violating the city’s 7:00 p.m. curfew.

Earlier Monday, President Trump delivered a stern statement in the Rose Garden about his administration’s next steps to prevent further unrest in D.C. and across the U.S.

“My first and highest duty as president is to defend our great country and the American people,” the president said. “I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation and that is exactly what I will do.”

“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” he added.

Earlier Tuesday, the Pentagon said 1,500 more National Guard troops from other states would be sent tonight to D.C.