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home of the deplorables, despicables, & disgusting americans
a shithole's FINEST trash
february 15, 2019
It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.
James A. Baldwin
David Cross: “At least 25% of America has always been ignorant, racist, xenophobic and backwards, people prone to demagoguery. That’s not a surprise,” he says. “The surprise is that there’s this loud, brash, arrogant narcissist giving these people a voice and making them feel proud.”
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Mark Twain: “How much longer are we going to think it necessary to be ‘American’ before (or in contradistinction to) being cultivated, being enlightened, being humane, & having the same intellectual discipline as other civilized countries? It is really too easy a disguise for our shortcomings to dress them up as a form of patriotism!”
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Courage is the goal of cowards.
Alan Watts
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President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was a son of the South, said: “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
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white trash's america
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
...white Americans have lived in a country where the celerity with which they mask their racism matters as much as the color of their skin. One might look forward, unhappily, to white conservatives disassociating themselves from this massacre by claiming, in effect, that they're not "white trash"—meaning, in effect, that they've profited enough from their racism that they can afford to dress it up better; or look forward to white liberals disassociating themselves by claiming, in effect, that they're not "white conservative" hypocrites—meaning, in effect, that they've profited enough from their racism that they can afford to dress it up better still; or to white leftists disassociating themselves by claiming, in effect, that they're not "white liberal" hypocrites.
Why Are White Racists Always Called “White Trash"?
By Frank Guan
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Headlines: ignorance, racism, and stupidity america's trinity
of the bottom 70%
the people who make-up the shithole
(sources: raw story, politicus usa, daily kos)
*‘Ugly, poor and subhuman!’ White woman subjects mom and son to shocking racist meltdown
*Rep. Steve King Tweets Racist Snark From Grocery Flyer: 'Heaven Has A Wall'
It is a mystery as to why Iowa Representative Steve King is still in Congress, but now that he doesn't have committee assignments, he doesn't have much to lose, perhaps?
*Trump pastor: Christians who don’t support this president are like Nazi enablers during WWII
A Baptist pastor close to Donald Trump claimed on a right-wing radio show that evangelicals who don’t support the president are as bad as Christians who aided and abetted Nazis during World War II.
*Virginia Capitol Police officer placed on leave after being accused of white supremacist ties
Sgt. Robert Stamm was outed as a possible white nationalist by the Antifa Seven Hills group, which examined his social media history.
*TX Lawmaker Says Ban Abortion So Women Will Be 'Responsible' About Having Sex
Texas State Rep. Tony Tinderholt's bill banning all abortions is so extreme even forced-birth zealots can't get behind it, but his reasons for banning it are even more bizarre.
Police: Houston Man Upset Over Mother’s Dating Choice Goes Out and Attacks a Random 92-Year-Old Black Man
By Tanasia Kenney - atlanta black star
February 15, 2019
Police in Houston, Texas, have arrested a man they say has been targeting African-Americans because his mother is dating a Black man.
Albert Gallegos, 21, is charged with injury to the elderly after brutally attacking a 92-year-old Black man at a METRO bus stop near the Taqueria Reyes restaurant on Jan. 7, local station KHOU 11 reported.Witnesses told police the attack was unprovoked and left the elderly man unconscious.
Another witness said she saw Gallegos hurling large rocks at the man.
An investigator with the Houston METRO Police Department wrote in a probable cause affidavit that Gallegos was “obviously a violent person and has hatred towards African Americans” because his mom is in a relationship with a Black man. A responding officer told the investigator he was “certain” Gallegos was the suspect in the case, after which authorities learned he had a active warrant for assault against a relative.
In the affidavit, the investigator noted that witnesses who work at Taqueria Reyes said that Gallegos “only attacks African-Americans.” Court documents also show that he threatened to kill his mom and her boyfriend because he didn’t approve of their relationship.
“After reading these reports about the suspect’s history, I can clearly see the suspect is picking his victims on the basis of their skin color,” the investigator wrote. “The victim in (the officer’s) case is a 92-year-old black male who’s never dealt with or had any type of interaction with the suspect.”
“I believe the suspect’s vicious attack against the complainant is a hate crime,” he added.
On Thursday, Gallegos appeared in court for the family assault charge. A judge set his bail at $20,000.
Albert Gallegos, 21, is charged with injury to the elderly after brutally attacking a 92-year-old Black man at a METRO bus stop near the Taqueria Reyes restaurant on Jan. 7, local station KHOU 11 reported.Witnesses told police the attack was unprovoked and left the elderly man unconscious.
Another witness said she saw Gallegos hurling large rocks at the man.
An investigator with the Houston METRO Police Department wrote in a probable cause affidavit that Gallegos was “obviously a violent person and has hatred towards African Americans” because his mom is in a relationship with a Black man. A responding officer told the investigator he was “certain” Gallegos was the suspect in the case, after which authorities learned he had a active warrant for assault against a relative.
In the affidavit, the investigator noted that witnesses who work at Taqueria Reyes said that Gallegos “only attacks African-Americans.” Court documents also show that he threatened to kill his mom and her boyfriend because he didn’t approve of their relationship.
“After reading these reports about the suspect’s history, I can clearly see the suspect is picking his victims on the basis of their skin color,” the investigator wrote. “The victim in (the officer’s) case is a 92-year-old black male who’s never dealt with or had any type of interaction with the suspect.”
“I believe the suspect’s vicious attack against the complainant is a hate crime,” he added.
On Thursday, Gallegos appeared in court for the family assault charge. A judge set his bail at $20,000.
anyone surprised???
Georgia Republican busted for displaying white supremacist book in congressional office: ‘It enraged me’
Travis Gettys - raw story
13 FEB 2019 AT 05:35 ET
Rep. Drew Ferguson (Facebook)
A federal labor union has asked for a formal apology from a Georgia Republican after spotting a historical book in his office that promoted Confederate ideology.
Six members of the American Federation of Government Employees stopped by the office of Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) and found the 1897 book “General Robert Edward Lee: Soldier, Citizen and Christian Patriot,” open to a page advocating white supremacy, reported WRAL-TV.
The open book displayed this passage: “The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things.”
Octavius Miller, who works with the Transportation Security Administration, said he noticed the book in a glass case in the reception area, and he was shocked by what he read as he waited to meet Ferguson.
“The fact that this passage feels that me and my ancestors of color are immeasurably better off in the United States of America being slaves than we were in Africa, that is so disrespectful,” Miller said. “My first reaction was to flip this little case upside down, and I had to think about why I was there, what I do for a living, but the disrespect and the inattention to everything that people who are colored like myself and the pigmentation of my skin had to deal with … it enraged me.”
The union members had gone to Ferguson’s office to discuss TSA workers’ rights, and Miller decided to photograph the pages because he couldn’t believe what he saw, and he later shared the photos with CNN.
Ferguson, who was a dentist before entering politics in 2016, is Miller’s congressional representative.
Shekina Givens, the union local president, asked a Ferguson staffer about the book, but the aide said he wasn’t aware of it or the passage the visitors cited, but said they also had a section of George Washington’s hair on display in the office.
A scheduling mixup ended up preventing Ferguson from meeting with the union members, and they contacted his office later to ask for an apology and seeking to have the book removed.
Ferguson’s chief of staff, Bobby Sararow, called Miller Tuesday to apologize and report the book had been removed.
“He said he wasn’t aware the book was there,” Miller said. “He apologized maybe 15 times on the phone. It seemed as if they just said what was necessary to try to mitigate the situation.”
The union still wants a public apology from the congressman himself.
Six members of the American Federation of Government Employees stopped by the office of Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) and found the 1897 book “General Robert Edward Lee: Soldier, Citizen and Christian Patriot,” open to a page advocating white supremacy, reported WRAL-TV.
The open book displayed this passage: “The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things.”
Octavius Miller, who works with the Transportation Security Administration, said he noticed the book in a glass case in the reception area, and he was shocked by what he read as he waited to meet Ferguson.
“The fact that this passage feels that me and my ancestors of color are immeasurably better off in the United States of America being slaves than we were in Africa, that is so disrespectful,” Miller said. “My first reaction was to flip this little case upside down, and I had to think about why I was there, what I do for a living, but the disrespect and the inattention to everything that people who are colored like myself and the pigmentation of my skin had to deal with … it enraged me.”
The union members had gone to Ferguson’s office to discuss TSA workers’ rights, and Miller decided to photograph the pages because he couldn’t believe what he saw, and he later shared the photos with CNN.
Ferguson, who was a dentist before entering politics in 2016, is Miller’s congressional representative.
Shekina Givens, the union local president, asked a Ferguson staffer about the book, but the aide said he wasn’t aware of it or the passage the visitors cited, but said they also had a section of George Washington’s hair on display in the office.
A scheduling mixup ended up preventing Ferguson from meeting with the union members, and they contacted his office later to ask for an apology and seeking to have the book removed.
Ferguson’s chief of staff, Bobby Sararow, called Miller Tuesday to apologize and report the book had been removed.
“He said he wasn’t aware the book was there,” Miller said. “He apologized maybe 15 times on the phone. It seemed as if they just said what was necessary to try to mitigate the situation.”
The union still wants a public apology from the congressman himself.
White woman tells black cop he’ll get a visit from the KKK after he busts her for drunk driving
Brad Reed - raw story
11 FEB 2019 AT 13:11 ET
53-year-old Julie Edwards, who yelled racial slurs at a police officer who arrested her on suspected drunk driving
A white woman in Florida last week allegedly told a black police officer that the KKK would visit his house and burn crosses on his lawn after he confronted her on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Local news station WFTV reports that police officers last week were asked to respond to a late-night disturbance around South Montgomery Street in Deland, Florida.
When they arrived on the scene, they found a 53-year-old woman named Julie Edwards driving her car in reverse. Upon approaching the car, the officers detected a strong odor of alcohol.
Edwards refused to submit to a breath test, at which point the officers handcuffed her. She then flopped to the ground and refused to get back up when the officers commanded her to stand.
While a black deputy was filling out paperwork, Edwards told him that the “Ku Klux Klan would be seeing him and burning crosses on his property,” according to WFTV. She also used a racial slur to describe the officer.
She was subsequently arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, prior refusal to submit to testing, threat against an officer, and resisting an officer without violence.
Local news station WFTV reports that police officers last week were asked to respond to a late-night disturbance around South Montgomery Street in Deland, Florida.
When they arrived on the scene, they found a 53-year-old woman named Julie Edwards driving her car in reverse. Upon approaching the car, the officers detected a strong odor of alcohol.
Edwards refused to submit to a breath test, at which point the officers handcuffed her. She then flopped to the ground and refused to get back up when the officers commanded her to stand.
While a black deputy was filling out paperwork, Edwards told him that the “Ku Klux Klan would be seeing him and burning crosses on his property,” according to WFTV. She also used a racial slur to describe the officer.
She was subsequently arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, prior refusal to submit to testing, threat against an officer, and resisting an officer without violence.
West Virginia GOP lawmaker compares gays to the Ku Klux Klan after using ‘faggot’ on the House floor
Noor Al-Sibai - raw story
09 FEB 2019 AT 08:30 ET
West Virginia GOP delegate Eric Porterfield. Image via Porterfield's campaign.
A West Virginia Republican delegate compared gay people to the KKK — and drew ire for making homophobic remarks for the second time last week.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that WV House of Delegates member Eric Porterfield (R-Porterfield) told a reporter Friday morning that the gay community is akin to a hate group.
“The LGBTQ [sic] is a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan,” Porterfield said, “without wearing hoods with their antics of hate.”
The Republican’s comments came just days after he used the term “faggot” in House session and claimed that an anti-LGBT discrimination bill was “bigoted,”“discriminatory” and would somehow hurt gay people.
“The LGBT is the most socialist group in this country,” he said during a House session Wednesday. “They do not protect gays. There are many gays they persecute if they do not line up with their social ideology.”
Porterfield went on to claim that the bill was discriminatory to religious people. According to a Gazette-Mail article from Thursday about his first homophobic comments, the delegate used the anti-gay slur when referring to conservative gay provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ 2017 speaking tour that used it.
The bill Porterfield was condemning came in response to another that would have made LGBTQ discrimination legal in cities that passed ordinances against it. As the Gazette-Mail noted, the GOP delegate supported the first amendment.
Porterfield’s first anti-gay comments drew condemnation from his Democratic colleagues in the House of Delegates.
After the KKK comments, Republican House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay said he had not yet spoken to the delegate personally and had not discussed removing him from his committee assignments, the Friday report noted.
“I hope that no one would make those kind of statements,” Hanshaw told the Gazette-Mail. “That sounds like nothing I would certainly ever agree with, but I would want to talk to him before I comment on what he said.”
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that WV House of Delegates member Eric Porterfield (R-Porterfield) told a reporter Friday morning that the gay community is akin to a hate group.
“The LGBTQ [sic] is a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan,” Porterfield said, “without wearing hoods with their antics of hate.”
The Republican’s comments came just days after he used the term “faggot” in House session and claimed that an anti-LGBT discrimination bill was “bigoted,”“discriminatory” and would somehow hurt gay people.
“The LGBT is the most socialist group in this country,” he said during a House session Wednesday. “They do not protect gays. There are many gays they persecute if they do not line up with their social ideology.”
Porterfield went on to claim that the bill was discriminatory to religious people. According to a Gazette-Mail article from Thursday about his first homophobic comments, the delegate used the anti-gay slur when referring to conservative gay provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ 2017 speaking tour that used it.
The bill Porterfield was condemning came in response to another that would have made LGBTQ discrimination legal in cities that passed ordinances against it. As the Gazette-Mail noted, the GOP delegate supported the first amendment.
Porterfield’s first anti-gay comments drew condemnation from his Democratic colleagues in the House of Delegates.
After the KKK comments, Republican House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay said he had not yet spoken to the delegate personally and had not discussed removing him from his committee assignments, the Friday report noted.
“I hope that no one would make those kind of statements,” Hanshaw told the Gazette-Mail. “That sounds like nothing I would certainly ever agree with, but I would want to talk to him before I comment on what he said.”
the enemy within!!!
Turning Point USA’s Candace Owens says Hitler’s nationalism was OK in cringeworthy appearance
The conservative group's UK branch is having a completely normal one.
LUKE BARNES - thinkprogress
FEB 8, 2019, 2:46 PM
OWENS IN LONDON, GIVING HER WELL-INFORMED OPINIONS ON BREXIT (CREDIT: SCREENSHOT)
It’s been a rough week online for the newest branch of Turning Point USA.
Last week, the pro-Trump non-profit unveiled its first overseas chapter in the U.K.. Almost immediately, parody accounts sprang up and multiplied on Twitter, including, but not limited to, Turning Point Glasgow, Turning Point Belfast, Turning Point Kurdistan and (this author’s personal favorite) Turning Point Albania.
The group’s posturing as a grassroots effort to combat the threat of dreaded socialist indoctrination among the young has also quickly fallen on its face. Media outlets, including ThinkProgress, were quick to point out that the father of the chapter’s leader, George Farmer, is also a multi-millionaire Conservative Party donor who paid for his son’s initiation into the notorious Bullingdon Club (somewhat akin to Yale’s Skull & Bones club, but with even more blue-blooded aristocratic “banter”).
Farmer is also engaged to Candace Owens, the communications director for Turning Point USA. During her remarks from the chapter’s introductory event in December, a video of which resurfaced online this week, Owens managed to add fuel to the dumpster fire already in progress.
“I actually don’t have any problems at all with the world ‘nationalism’,” Owens said, echoing similar comments made by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) last year which led to his own party stripping him of his committee appointments. “Whenever we say ‘nationalism,’ the first thing we think about — at least in America — is Hitler. He was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine.”
“The problem is, he had dreams outside of Germany,” Owens continued. “He wanted to globalize, he wanted everyone to be German, everyone to be speaking German… to me that’s not nationalism. In thinking about how it can go bad down the line I don’t really have an issue with nationalism.”
If one were to abide by Owens’ timeline of events, the persecution of Jews in Germany would be “OK, fine” by her, as they began as early as 1933, well before Hitler began “globalizing” beyond Germany’s borders. The Nuremberg Race Laws, which deprived German Jews of citizenship rights, were introduced in 1935. Kristallnacht, the horrific night of extreme and deliberate violence towards Jews, was in November 1938, nearly a year before the official declaration of World War 2 in September 1939. The first concentration camp in Dachau had been operational for more than five years before Hitler ran afoul of Candace Owen’s moral compass.
In the UK, meanwhile, nationalism also has a rich history. Take the case of Thomas Mair, a former member of the British Nationalist Party who attended English nationalist events and who, on June 2016, murdered Labour MP and mother-of-two Jo Cox by repeatedly stabbing and shooting her while yelling “Britain First.”
Or what about the British group National Action, a neo-Nazi terrorist organization which is described by the British Home Office as “virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic,” which “implicitly endorses violence against ethnic minorities and perceived ‘race traitors’.”
In fairness, it would be unreasonable to suddenly hold Owens to even the most basic standards of fact-checking, since she has a well-established pattern of far-right grifting. She made a name for herself on Alex Jones’ Infowars — before the channel was repeatedly banned for hate speech — and famously bungled an attempt to use Kanye West to advance her failed “Blexit” campaign, an effort to persuade black voters to leave the Democratic Party. Last October, Kanye said that “he never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it.” Owens later publicly apologized to him.
But even for someone who has made a home for herself in the gutter of American politics, the outrage over her remarks was so swift and universal, Owens attempted to do some damage control via Twitter.
The Brexit campaigners who, as Buzzfeed News notes, helped front Turning Point UK are also doing a bang-up job of helping Britain stride towards a future free of the evil globalists in the European Union. Prime Minister Theresa May still doesn’t have a deal with the EU and has been repeatedly rebuffed in her negotiations, increasing the chance of a calamitous no-deal Brexit. But that’s OK for Turning Point U.K., since the people who would be most affected are poor, and thus, to them, don’t really matter anyway.
Last week, the pro-Trump non-profit unveiled its first overseas chapter in the U.K.. Almost immediately, parody accounts sprang up and multiplied on Twitter, including, but not limited to, Turning Point Glasgow, Turning Point Belfast, Turning Point Kurdistan and (this author’s personal favorite) Turning Point Albania.
The group’s posturing as a grassroots effort to combat the threat of dreaded socialist indoctrination among the young has also quickly fallen on its face. Media outlets, including ThinkProgress, were quick to point out that the father of the chapter’s leader, George Farmer, is also a multi-millionaire Conservative Party donor who paid for his son’s initiation into the notorious Bullingdon Club (somewhat akin to Yale’s Skull & Bones club, but with even more blue-blooded aristocratic “banter”).
Farmer is also engaged to Candace Owens, the communications director for Turning Point USA. During her remarks from the chapter’s introductory event in December, a video of which resurfaced online this week, Owens managed to add fuel to the dumpster fire already in progress.
“I actually don’t have any problems at all with the world ‘nationalism’,” Owens said, echoing similar comments made by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) last year which led to his own party stripping him of his committee appointments. “Whenever we say ‘nationalism,’ the first thing we think about — at least in America — is Hitler. He was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine.”
“The problem is, he had dreams outside of Germany,” Owens continued. “He wanted to globalize, he wanted everyone to be German, everyone to be speaking German… to me that’s not nationalism. In thinking about how it can go bad down the line I don’t really have an issue with nationalism.”
If one were to abide by Owens’ timeline of events, the persecution of Jews in Germany would be “OK, fine” by her, as they began as early as 1933, well before Hitler began “globalizing” beyond Germany’s borders. The Nuremberg Race Laws, which deprived German Jews of citizenship rights, were introduced in 1935. Kristallnacht, the horrific night of extreme and deliberate violence towards Jews, was in November 1938, nearly a year before the official declaration of World War 2 in September 1939. The first concentration camp in Dachau had been operational for more than five years before Hitler ran afoul of Candace Owen’s moral compass.
In the UK, meanwhile, nationalism also has a rich history. Take the case of Thomas Mair, a former member of the British Nationalist Party who attended English nationalist events and who, on June 2016, murdered Labour MP and mother-of-two Jo Cox by repeatedly stabbing and shooting her while yelling “Britain First.”
Or what about the British group National Action, a neo-Nazi terrorist organization which is described by the British Home Office as “virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic,” which “implicitly endorses violence against ethnic minorities and perceived ‘race traitors’.”
In fairness, it would be unreasonable to suddenly hold Owens to even the most basic standards of fact-checking, since she has a well-established pattern of far-right grifting. She made a name for herself on Alex Jones’ Infowars — before the channel was repeatedly banned for hate speech — and famously bungled an attempt to use Kanye West to advance her failed “Blexit” campaign, an effort to persuade black voters to leave the Democratic Party. Last October, Kanye said that “he never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it.” Owens later publicly apologized to him.
But even for someone who has made a home for herself in the gutter of American politics, the outrage over her remarks was so swift and universal, Owens attempted to do some damage control via Twitter.
The Brexit campaigners who, as Buzzfeed News notes, helped front Turning Point UK are also doing a bang-up job of helping Britain stride towards a future free of the evil globalists in the European Union. Prime Minister Theresa May still doesn’t have a deal with the EU and has been repeatedly rebuffed in her negotiations, increasing the chance of a calamitous no-deal Brexit. But that’s OK for Turning Point U.K., since the people who would be most affected are poor, and thus, to them, don’t really matter anyway.
well-funded traitors!!!
Hacked emails list right-wing fundraiser partying with Russian fascists and oligarchs
A new database of hacked emails reveals attendance at a 2014 gala in Russia.
CASEY MICHEL - thinkprogress
JAN 30, 2019, 8:00 AM
Last month, a new leak site called Distributed Denial of Secrets went live, compiling a cache of hacked emails and documents of Russian officials, confidants of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, and those steering Russian interference efforts.
Among the revelations: A higher-up at the Bradley Foundation, one of the main financiers of right-wing groups in the U.S. — including the Daily Caller News Foundation and anti-immigrant organizations — apparently attended a notorious “pro-family” conference in Russia in 2014, held shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Dan Schmidt, who worked for decades at the Bradley Foundation, was serving as one of the foundation’s vice presidents in 2014. That same year, according to leaked emails, Russian operatives involved in cultivating the American religious right listed him as attending a swanky gala alongside Russian fascists like Alexander Dugin and now-sanctioned Russian oligarchs like Konstantin Malofeev. The emails indicate the gala also included Igor Shchegolev, who was then working as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sergei Rudov, who helped host leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the gun group’s notorious 2015 trip to Russia.
Neither Schmidt nor the Bradley Foundation responded to ThinkProgress’ questions.
Far-right friends
The emails are part of a larger package of internal communications between those close to the Kremlin, those charged with spreading Russian interference efforts, and sanctioned Russian oligarchs and officials. Some of the emails involving the 2014 conference, originally unearthed by the Russian hacking outfit Shaltai Boltai, had been previously reported by BuzzFeed in 2014.
While some of the stolen emails deal with Russian security concerns, some of the emails also discuss the 2014 “pro-family” conference in Russia. According to experts like scholar Chris Stroop, who received a doctorate from Stanford in Russian history.and has focused on links between the Kremlin and America’s religious right, that conference was a turning point in how Western Christian fundamentalists viewed the Kremlin.
The conference was originally sponsored by the World Congress of Families (WCF), a group that is itself the primary bridge between America’s religious right and sanctioned Russians. The event brought some of the most vociferous, bigoted anti-LGBTQ voices in Russia in close contact with sympathetic ears in the U.S.
The WCF pulled its sponsorship of the conference after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014. (The WCF has reportedly received funding from both Malofeev and sanctioned Russian oligarch Vladimir Yakunin, a close confidant of Putin; a representative for Yakunin denied to ThinkProgress that Yakunin has funded the group.) Some conservative groups also pulled out of the conference entirely, such as the Concerned Women for America, which said they didn’t want to “appear to be giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin.”
But a number of other Americans apparently participated in the conference, which happened just a few months after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine and began supplying the pro-Russian separatists who are believed to have shot down Malaysian Air Flight MH17.
One of the Americans in attendance at the conference was a representative from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), the most influential right-wing homeschooling group in the U.S.
And another, according to the emails, was the Bradley Foundation’s Schmidt, then working as one of the Bradley Foundation’s vice presidents.
The Bradley Foundation describes itself as an organization whose mission is “to restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.” It’s also one of the most noteworthy funders for a number of conservative organizations; as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described a few years ago, the group has built a “conservative empire.” Among its funding efforts, according to its most recent annual report, are grants to the Daily Caller News Foundation (totaling $100,000) and American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC (totaling $250,000).
The most recent annual report indicates that the Bradley Foundation has nearly $1 billion in total assets. Much of that growth, according to one analyst, is due to Schmidt’s efforts.
Russian partners
The emails listing Schmidt’s attendance at both the conference and gala came from Alexey Komov, the WCF’s official Russian representative. Komov has deep ties with the American far-right: He helped oversee the 2014 conference and helped organize a homeschooling conference in 2018. For the latter event, the HSLDA partnered with an organization run by the sanctioned Malofeev, and the event featured yet another sanctioned Russian official, Yelena Mizulina, as a speaker. (The HSLDA denied that it funded the 2018 conference.)
But Komov isn’t merely interested in U.S.-Russian efforts to promote homeschooling or religious conservatism. He reportedly works directly for Malofeev, a Russian billionaire known as “God’s oligarch.” The Obama administration sanctioned Malofeev in 2014 for his role in allegedly sending aid to pro-Russian “separatists” in Ukraine. The Trump administration has upheld those sanctions.
The leaked emails show that while Komov publicly presents himself as a booster for homeschooling and religious freedom, he has spoken favorably about well-known anti-Semites and fascists. One email from Komov, for instance, described Russia Insider — an anti-Semitic outlet run by Charles Bausman — as a “good site.” Komov further described Bausman as someone with a “stellar resume.” (Earlier this month, Bausman described Komov as his “good friend.”) In another email, Komov referred to Italian neo-fascist Roberto Fiore as a “friend.”
Komov did not respond to ThinkProgress’ request for an interview. Regarding the emails, he has previously said that the “information in the attachments does not properly reflect reality.”
Party to a party
As the emails show, Komov emailed Georgy Gavrish, a one-time Russian official at Moscow’s embassy in Greece, about a gala coinciding with the 2014 conference. The subject line of one email indicated that it was the “final list” for a planned gala, hosted at Moscow’s President Hotel.
“Georgy, I’m sending the list,” Komov wrote. He included a roster of just under 140 names. Among them: Americans like Schmidt, and now-sanctioned Russians like Malofeev and Dugin.
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The inclusion of Dugin’s name on the guest list stands out: His American acquaintances include white supremacists like Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach. Dugin is perhaps Russia’s highest-profile fascist, who has not only called for Ukrainians to be “cleansed” but has also called for the killing of antiwar demonstrators in Russia. (The Southern Poverty Law Center has described Malofeev as “close to Dugin.”)
Dugin was also sanctioned by the Obama and Trump administrations.
Schmidt declined ThinkProgress’ request for an interview. Michael Hartmann, a senior fellow with the conservative think tank Capital Research Center and someone who has co-authored pieces as recently as last September with Schmidt, told ThinkProgress via email that Schmidt “thinks it would be more appropriate” to direct questions to the Bradley Foundation itself, but the foundation did not respond to ThinkProgress’ questions.
Schmidt may have been the most notable American listed as an attendee, but he was not alone. Among others on the list are Ted Baehr, the chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, and anti-trans agitator Miriam Grossman. (Grossman told ThinkProgress via email that she “didn’t end up going” to Russia for the conference.) Baehr has previously partnered with Komov to expand Baehr’s network of Christian movie reviewers.
Komov also specifically pointed to the attendance of Janice Crouse, who was a speechwriter for President George H. W. Bush.
Neither Crouse nor Baehr responded to ThinkProgress’ request for comment.
It’s unclear what Schmidt’s interest in attending the gala or the conference was, although previous WCF press releases indicate that Schmidt took part in other meetings with notable Russian figures, such as Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. But his inclusion among the list of Americans attending the 2014 conference and gala fits a broader patterns of efforts to build bridges between sanctioned Russians and prominent figures on the American right.
Thus far, Schmidt hasn’t commented publicly on his trip to Russia, or his views on Russian interference efforts. But in 2017, Hartmann described Schmidt as someone who “believes in paying attention to the essence of things.” Schmidt, according to Hartmann, “believes in and speaks of identity — of us as human beings, in families; of us as Americans, in the West; of us as conservatives, in a tradition worthy of respect as we apply it in current circumstances.”
He is, concluded Hartmann, a “hero of conservative philosophy.” And as he told ThinkProgress, Schmidt is also a “Russophile.”
Among the revelations: A higher-up at the Bradley Foundation, one of the main financiers of right-wing groups in the U.S. — including the Daily Caller News Foundation and anti-immigrant organizations — apparently attended a notorious “pro-family” conference in Russia in 2014, held shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Dan Schmidt, who worked for decades at the Bradley Foundation, was serving as one of the foundation’s vice presidents in 2014. That same year, according to leaked emails, Russian operatives involved in cultivating the American religious right listed him as attending a swanky gala alongside Russian fascists like Alexander Dugin and now-sanctioned Russian oligarchs like Konstantin Malofeev. The emails indicate the gala also included Igor Shchegolev, who was then working as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sergei Rudov, who helped host leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the gun group’s notorious 2015 trip to Russia.
Neither Schmidt nor the Bradley Foundation responded to ThinkProgress’ questions.
Far-right friends
The emails are part of a larger package of internal communications between those close to the Kremlin, those charged with spreading Russian interference efforts, and sanctioned Russian oligarchs and officials. Some of the emails involving the 2014 conference, originally unearthed by the Russian hacking outfit Shaltai Boltai, had been previously reported by BuzzFeed in 2014.
While some of the stolen emails deal with Russian security concerns, some of the emails also discuss the 2014 “pro-family” conference in Russia. According to experts like scholar Chris Stroop, who received a doctorate from Stanford in Russian history.and has focused on links between the Kremlin and America’s religious right, that conference was a turning point in how Western Christian fundamentalists viewed the Kremlin.
The conference was originally sponsored by the World Congress of Families (WCF), a group that is itself the primary bridge between America’s religious right and sanctioned Russians. The event brought some of the most vociferous, bigoted anti-LGBTQ voices in Russia in close contact with sympathetic ears in the U.S.
The WCF pulled its sponsorship of the conference after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014. (The WCF has reportedly received funding from both Malofeev and sanctioned Russian oligarch Vladimir Yakunin, a close confidant of Putin; a representative for Yakunin denied to ThinkProgress that Yakunin has funded the group.) Some conservative groups also pulled out of the conference entirely, such as the Concerned Women for America, which said they didn’t want to “appear to be giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin.”
But a number of other Americans apparently participated in the conference, which happened just a few months after the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine and began supplying the pro-Russian separatists who are believed to have shot down Malaysian Air Flight MH17.
One of the Americans in attendance at the conference was a representative from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), the most influential right-wing homeschooling group in the U.S.
And another, according to the emails, was the Bradley Foundation’s Schmidt, then working as one of the Bradley Foundation’s vice presidents.
The Bradley Foundation describes itself as an organization whose mission is “to restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.” It’s also one of the most noteworthy funders for a number of conservative organizations; as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described a few years ago, the group has built a “conservative empire.” Among its funding efforts, according to its most recent annual report, are grants to the Daily Caller News Foundation (totaling $100,000) and American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC (totaling $250,000).
The most recent annual report indicates that the Bradley Foundation has nearly $1 billion in total assets. Much of that growth, according to one analyst, is due to Schmidt’s efforts.
Russian partners
The emails listing Schmidt’s attendance at both the conference and gala came from Alexey Komov, the WCF’s official Russian representative. Komov has deep ties with the American far-right: He helped oversee the 2014 conference and helped organize a homeschooling conference in 2018. For the latter event, the HSLDA partnered with an organization run by the sanctioned Malofeev, and the event featured yet another sanctioned Russian official, Yelena Mizulina, as a speaker. (The HSLDA denied that it funded the 2018 conference.)
But Komov isn’t merely interested in U.S.-Russian efforts to promote homeschooling or religious conservatism. He reportedly works directly for Malofeev, a Russian billionaire known as “God’s oligarch.” The Obama administration sanctioned Malofeev in 2014 for his role in allegedly sending aid to pro-Russian “separatists” in Ukraine. The Trump administration has upheld those sanctions.
The leaked emails show that while Komov publicly presents himself as a booster for homeschooling and religious freedom, he has spoken favorably about well-known anti-Semites and fascists. One email from Komov, for instance, described Russia Insider — an anti-Semitic outlet run by Charles Bausman — as a “good site.” Komov further described Bausman as someone with a “stellar resume.” (Earlier this month, Bausman described Komov as his “good friend.”) In another email, Komov referred to Italian neo-fascist Roberto Fiore as a “friend.”
Komov did not respond to ThinkProgress’ request for an interview. Regarding the emails, he has previously said that the “information in the attachments does not properly reflect reality.”
Party to a party
As the emails show, Komov emailed Georgy Gavrish, a one-time Russian official at Moscow’s embassy in Greece, about a gala coinciding with the 2014 conference. The subject line of one email indicated that it was the “final list” for a planned gala, hosted at Moscow’s President Hotel.
“Georgy, I’m sending the list,” Komov wrote. He included a roster of just under 140 names. Among them: Americans like Schmidt, and now-sanctioned Russians like Malofeev and Dugin.
---
The inclusion of Dugin’s name on the guest list stands out: His American acquaintances include white supremacists like Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach. Dugin is perhaps Russia’s highest-profile fascist, who has not only called for Ukrainians to be “cleansed” but has also called for the killing of antiwar demonstrators in Russia. (The Southern Poverty Law Center has described Malofeev as “close to Dugin.”)
Dugin was also sanctioned by the Obama and Trump administrations.
Schmidt declined ThinkProgress’ request for an interview. Michael Hartmann, a senior fellow with the conservative think tank Capital Research Center and someone who has co-authored pieces as recently as last September with Schmidt, told ThinkProgress via email that Schmidt “thinks it would be more appropriate” to direct questions to the Bradley Foundation itself, but the foundation did not respond to ThinkProgress’ questions.
Schmidt may have been the most notable American listed as an attendee, but he was not alone. Among others on the list are Ted Baehr, the chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, and anti-trans agitator Miriam Grossman. (Grossman told ThinkProgress via email that she “didn’t end up going” to Russia for the conference.) Baehr has previously partnered with Komov to expand Baehr’s network of Christian movie reviewers.
Komov also specifically pointed to the attendance of Janice Crouse, who was a speechwriter for President George H. W. Bush.
Neither Crouse nor Baehr responded to ThinkProgress’ request for comment.
It’s unclear what Schmidt’s interest in attending the gala or the conference was, although previous WCF press releases indicate that Schmidt took part in other meetings with notable Russian figures, such as Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. But his inclusion among the list of Americans attending the 2014 conference and gala fits a broader patterns of efforts to build bridges between sanctioned Russians and prominent figures on the American right.
Thus far, Schmidt hasn’t commented publicly on his trip to Russia, or his views on Russian interference efforts. But in 2017, Hartmann described Schmidt as someone who “believes in paying attention to the essence of things.” Schmidt, according to Hartmann, “believes in and speaks of identity — of us as human beings, in families; of us as Americans, in the West; of us as conservatives, in a tradition worthy of respect as we apply it in current circumstances.”
He is, concluded Hartmann, a “hero of conservative philosophy.” And as he told ThinkProgress, Schmidt is also a “Russophile.”
‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett brutally attacked by anti-gay Trump supporters who put noose around his neck: TMZ
Tom Boggioni - raw story
29 JAN 2019 AT 11:54 ET
Empire star Jussie Smollett is the victim of an apparent hate crime in Chicago. The star of television show “Empire” was reportedly beaten overnight by two men who yelled “This is MAGA country,” reports TMZ.
They then put a noose around his neck, according to police, who described the attack as a “racially-charged assault and battery.”
According to the TMZ report, “Sources directly connected to Jussie tell TMZ, the actor arrived in Chicago from New York late Monday, and at around 2 AM he was hungry and went to a Subway. We’re told when he walked out, someone yelled, ‘Aren’t you that faggot ‘Empire’ nigger?'”
The reports states that both the men were white and wearing ski masks and attacked the actor. “Jussie as he fought back, but they beat him badly and fractured a rib. They put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him and as they left they yelled, ‘This is MAGA country,'” TMZ reported.
Afterward, he was taken to a local hospital. He is reportedly in good condition.
Audio of the emergency call can be heard here.
They then put a noose around his neck, according to police, who described the attack as a “racially-charged assault and battery.”
According to the TMZ report, “Sources directly connected to Jussie tell TMZ, the actor arrived in Chicago from New York late Monday, and at around 2 AM he was hungry and went to a Subway. We’re told when he walked out, someone yelled, ‘Aren’t you that faggot ‘Empire’ nigger?'”
The reports states that both the men were white and wearing ski masks and attacked the actor. “Jussie as he fought back, but they beat him badly and fractured a rib. They put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him and as they left they yelled, ‘This is MAGA country,'” TMZ reported.
Afterward, he was taken to a local hospital. He is reportedly in good condition.
Audio of the emergency call can be heard here.
Christopher McDonald: ‘God Is Using President Trump to Liberate This Country From Spiritual Slavery’
By Kyle Mantyla | right wing watch
January 28, 2019 2:03 pm
Right-wing commentator Christopher McDonald streamed a video on Periscope yesterday in which he grew increasingly emotional as he discussed what he believes is God’s plan to use President Trump to deliver this nation from “spiritual slavery.”
“This nation is in trouble,” McDonald wept. “It’s in spiritual trouble. When you have a governor in New York sign a bill into law killing babies up to the ninth month, we’re in trouble. When you have a sitting congresswoman in Congress that blasphemes God when she does it, when she tells the world that it’s OK that these three individuals that just got arrested in Michigan this week and they’re ISIS sympathizers and she comes out and she says, ‘Well, we need to have sympathy for these men, we need to have mercy for these men because they’re misunderstood.’ It’s blasphemy! It’s blasphemy! It’s blasphemy!”
McDonald is presumably referencing a letter that Rep. Ilhan Omar signed back in 2015 when she was a state representatives in Minnesota, asking a judge to show leniency to several men who had been convicted of attempting to join ISIS, which argued that imposing harsh penalties on them could radicalize others and “create an environment in which extremism can flourish.” McDonald apparently confused that letter with a recent arrest of three men in Michigan for allegedly conspiring to support ISIS.
“Everything godly, everything conservative, everything that is right with God, everything that is lined up with the word of God, everything that is lined up with the scriptures is rebuked today and it is blasphemed by the left and it is blasphemed by God-haters, it’s blasphemed by those who don’t know God,” he continued. “Their argument is not with me and you, their argument is against God.”
McDonald declared that just as God ordained Abraham Lincoln “to liberate this nation from slavery,” he has likewise “ordained Donald Trump” to “liberate this country from spiritual slavery.”
“This nation is in trouble,” McDonald wept. “It’s in spiritual trouble. When you have a governor in New York sign a bill into law killing babies up to the ninth month, we’re in trouble. When you have a sitting congresswoman in Congress that blasphemes God when she does it, when she tells the world that it’s OK that these three individuals that just got arrested in Michigan this week and they’re ISIS sympathizers and she comes out and she says, ‘Well, we need to have sympathy for these men, we need to have mercy for these men because they’re misunderstood.’ It’s blasphemy! It’s blasphemy! It’s blasphemy!”
McDonald is presumably referencing a letter that Rep. Ilhan Omar signed back in 2015 when she was a state representatives in Minnesota, asking a judge to show leniency to several men who had been convicted of attempting to join ISIS, which argued that imposing harsh penalties on them could radicalize others and “create an environment in which extremism can flourish.” McDonald apparently confused that letter with a recent arrest of three men in Michigan for allegedly conspiring to support ISIS.
“Everything godly, everything conservative, everything that is right with God, everything that is lined up with the word of God, everything that is lined up with the scriptures is rebuked today and it is blasphemed by the left and it is blasphemed by God-haters, it’s blasphemed by those who don’t know God,” he continued. “Their argument is not with me and you, their argument is against God.”
McDonald declared that just as God ordained Abraham Lincoln “to liberate this nation from slavery,” he has likewise “ordained Donald Trump” to “liberate this country from spiritual slavery.”
Texas Republicans use Holocaust Remembrance Day to bash leftism – and it quickly backfires
Tana Ganeva - raw story
28 JAN 2019 AT 10:39 ET
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Republican Party of Harris County, Texas, published a post blaming the genocide of European Jews during the Third Reich on leftism, reports the Houston Chronicle.
“Leftism kills,” the group wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post published on Sunday. “In memory of the 6 million Jews lost to Nazi hatred in the name of National Socialism. We will never forget.”
The post did not got over well. The Anti-Defamation League weighed in with history lesson.
“The Holocaust should never be used for political purposes,” wrote spokeswoman Dena Marks in a statement to the Chronicle. “It’s unfortunate that someone at the Harris County Republican Party thought that would be an appropriate message for Holocaust Remembrance Day. It wasn’t leftism that killed in the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism and blind hatred led to the deaths of millions.”
“We are glad the Harris County GOP replaced the offensive post,” she added.
At first, the communications director defended the posted, noting the similarity between the words “National Socialists” and “socialism.”
“The Nazis identified themselves as National Socialists. The name of the party was the National Socialist Workers party,” he said.
Although they eventually removed the post, they maintained their position that they were correct in drawing the comparison—even though socialist and right-wing self-described Nazis have historically opposed each other.
Communists, socialists and Nazis fought in the streets of Germany before Adolph Hitler consolidated power and communists and socialists were among first targets for extermination of the Nazi regime.
“Leftism kills,” the group wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post published on Sunday. “In memory of the 6 million Jews lost to Nazi hatred in the name of National Socialism. We will never forget.”
The post did not got over well. The Anti-Defamation League weighed in with history lesson.
“The Holocaust should never be used for political purposes,” wrote spokeswoman Dena Marks in a statement to the Chronicle. “It’s unfortunate that someone at the Harris County Republican Party thought that would be an appropriate message for Holocaust Remembrance Day. It wasn’t leftism that killed in the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism and blind hatred led to the deaths of millions.”
“We are glad the Harris County GOP replaced the offensive post,” she added.
At first, the communications director defended the posted, noting the similarity between the words “National Socialists” and “socialism.”
“The Nazis identified themselves as National Socialists. The name of the party was the National Socialist Workers party,” he said.
Although they eventually removed the post, they maintained their position that they were correct in drawing the comparison—even though socialist and right-wing self-described Nazis have historically opposed each other.
Communists, socialists and Nazis fought in the streets of Germany before Adolph Hitler consolidated power and communists and socialists were among first targets for extermination of the Nazi regime.
Republican claims blacks and whites were lynched at equal rates in MLK Day message
Tana Ganeva - raw story
21 JAN 2019 AT 17:16 ET
A Colorado representative chose Martin Luther King Jr. day to promote a blatant and racist falsehood.
The Greeley Tribune reports that Rep. Lori Saine claimed blacks and whites were lynched for being Republican in similar numbers.
Saine made the statements Friday on the floor of the Colorado House. She posted footage of her speech to Facebook Monday, and noted that it was meant to bolster House District 49 Rep. Perry Buck, who tried to introduce a resolution honoring King.
“How could I honor Martin Luther King today without shining a light on injustice myself?” Saine said. “My colleagues, how can you redeem your marginalized voice by marginalizing ours? Our march toward justice is not over when a colleague of ours is barred from introducing a resolution on this floor because of the color of her skin.”
The Greeley Tribune reports that Rep. Lori Saine claimed blacks and whites were lynched for being Republican in similar numbers.
Saine made the statements Friday on the floor of the Colorado House. She posted footage of her speech to Facebook Monday, and noted that it was meant to bolster House District 49 Rep. Perry Buck, who tried to introduce a resolution honoring King.
“How could I honor Martin Luther King today without shining a light on injustice myself?” Saine said. “My colleagues, how can you redeem your marginalized voice by marginalizing ours? Our march toward justice is not over when a colleague of ours is barred from introducing a resolution on this floor because of the color of her skin.”
Faith-healing Idaho woman claims religion forbid her from reporting husband’s sex abuse of kids
Travis Gettys - raw story
17 JAN 2019 AT 11:14 ET
Sarah and Lester Kester
An Idaho woman faces a possible prison term for failing to report her husband’s sex abuse and instead praying and trying to keep him too busy to molest children.
Sarah Kester was charged with felony injury to a child, and her husband Lester Kester pleaded guilty in November to molesting five children over two decades, reported the Idaho Statesman.
The 48-year-old husband faces a possible life term when he is sentenced next week on five counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 years old.
His 50-year-old wife entered an Alford plea, which does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.
Sarah Kester told detectives she learned of the abuse about 17 years ago and was confronted by the victims about three years ago.
Instead of notifying authorities, Sarah Kester said she prayed for the “demon” to leave her husband and tried to keep him busy with other tasks.
She told authorities her religion forbid her from involving them in what she described as a personal matter.
The Kesters are members of the Followers of Christ Church, a faith-healing sect in Canyon County that believes pharmaceuticals are the product of Satan and children who take medicine will sent to hell.
Church members also avoid contact with law enforcement, according to former followers.
State law currently leaves an exemption to the crime Sarah Kester was charged with in cases where religiously motivated medical neglect results in death or injury to a child, although Idaho lawmakers have repeatedly tried to close that exemption.
Sarah Kester was charged with felony injury to a child, and her husband Lester Kester pleaded guilty in November to molesting five children over two decades, reported the Idaho Statesman.
The 48-year-old husband faces a possible life term when he is sentenced next week on five counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 years old.
His 50-year-old wife entered an Alford plea, which does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.
Sarah Kester told detectives she learned of the abuse about 17 years ago and was confronted by the victims about three years ago.
Instead of notifying authorities, Sarah Kester said she prayed for the “demon” to leave her husband and tried to keep him busy with other tasks.
She told authorities her religion forbid her from involving them in what she described as a personal matter.
The Kesters are members of the Followers of Christ Church, a faith-healing sect in Canyon County that believes pharmaceuticals are the product of Satan and children who take medicine will sent to hell.
Church members also avoid contact with law enforcement, according to former followers.
State law currently leaves an exemption to the crime Sarah Kester was charged with in cases where religiously motivated medical neglect results in death or injury to a child, although Idaho lawmakers have repeatedly tried to close that exemption.
why is this former Daily Caller editor helping Texas secede — with Russian help?
The Texas Nationalist Movement is one of the secession groups that made multiple trips to Russia since 2014.
CASEY MICHEL - thinkprogress
JAN 8, 2019, 8:00 AM
Former Daily Caller editor John Griffing has a new project: Texas independence. He recently joined the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) as the organization’s communications director. The Texas secessionist group has some murky ties to Russia: members representing TNM have made multiple trips to Russia over the past few years, including with members of separatist movements from other Western allies.
Griffing also previously worked as the executive director of Texas’ Harris County GOP.
Griffing, who did not respond to ThinkProgress’ request for an interview, says he worked as an “associate editor” with the Daily Caller. “He was with the [Daily Caller News Foundation], but he didn’t make it six months before we parted ways if I remember correctly,” Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll told ThinkProgress via email.
Griffing is also no longer involved with the Harris County GOP, the local Republican party that covers much of Houston. “I believe he served [as executive director] about five or six years ago,” Harris County GOP spokesperson Vlad Davidiuk told ThinkProgress. “The last time I saw him was around that time.”
TNM didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ questions, but the group has sent representatives to Russia multiple times over the past few years, mainly to network with other Western secessionists flocking to Moscow. Russia’s foreign interference efforts include fostering secessionist movements inside the U.S. and its allies.
These groups and their representatives — all of whom sought to break up their countries, whether in the U.S. or Europe — found a welcome audience in Russia at multiple conferences since 2015.
The Russian group bringing the Texas secessionists — as well as secessionists from California and Hawaii — wasn’t a grassroots force. The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR) received funding from the Kremlin. The office of the AGMR’s head even featured a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanking the group for working “to strengthen friendship between peoples[.]”
As ThinkProgress has previously reported:
TNM accepted funding from the Moscow-backed AGMR to travel back to Russia. As TNM head Daniel Miller later related in an interview with Salon, AGMR — which had taken tens of thousands of dollars from the Kremlin— had helped fund the Texans’ latest voyage to Russia. (According to Ionov, about one-third of his group’s budget came directly from the Kremlin, while private donors in “Texas and other countries” provided the rest.) Miller confirmed the funding in a December 2016 interview with KQED, but “declined to say how much money the Kremlin gave” to the Texas Nationalist Movement.
At the height of Russia’s disinformation campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, Texas secession was one of the most popular themes carried on fake Russian social media pages, from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. The Russian “Heart of Texas” page even pledged to pass on supporter information to TNM, although TNM denied ever working with Russian trolls.
Griffing apparently isn’t shy about TNM’s association with ongoing Russian disinformation efforts. Just last month, Griffing appeared on Russian propaganda outlet RT, which identified him as a “Republican official in Texas.”
Nor is TNM isn’t shy about promoting Griffing’s efforts. In a recent post, the Texas secession group claimed that Griffing was recently “able to network” with Nigel Farage, one of the masterminds of the push for Brexit, as well as former British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.
The post doesn’t actually offer any proof that Griffing managed “to network” with these British politicos — nor does it mention any of TNM’s previous international outreach in Russia.
Griffing also previously worked as the executive director of Texas’ Harris County GOP.
Griffing, who did not respond to ThinkProgress’ request for an interview, says he worked as an “associate editor” with the Daily Caller. “He was with the [Daily Caller News Foundation], but he didn’t make it six months before we parted ways if I remember correctly,” Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll told ThinkProgress via email.
Griffing is also no longer involved with the Harris County GOP, the local Republican party that covers much of Houston. “I believe he served [as executive director] about five or six years ago,” Harris County GOP spokesperson Vlad Davidiuk told ThinkProgress. “The last time I saw him was around that time.”
TNM didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ questions, but the group has sent representatives to Russia multiple times over the past few years, mainly to network with other Western secessionists flocking to Moscow. Russia’s foreign interference efforts include fostering secessionist movements inside the U.S. and its allies.
These groups and their representatives — all of whom sought to break up their countries, whether in the U.S. or Europe — found a welcome audience in Russia at multiple conferences since 2015.
The Russian group bringing the Texas secessionists — as well as secessionists from California and Hawaii — wasn’t a grassroots force. The Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR) received funding from the Kremlin. The office of the AGMR’s head even featured a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanking the group for working “to strengthen friendship between peoples[.]”
As ThinkProgress has previously reported:
TNM accepted funding from the Moscow-backed AGMR to travel back to Russia. As TNM head Daniel Miller later related in an interview with Salon, AGMR — which had taken tens of thousands of dollars from the Kremlin— had helped fund the Texans’ latest voyage to Russia. (According to Ionov, about one-third of his group’s budget came directly from the Kremlin, while private donors in “Texas and other countries” provided the rest.) Miller confirmed the funding in a December 2016 interview with KQED, but “declined to say how much money the Kremlin gave” to the Texas Nationalist Movement.
At the height of Russia’s disinformation campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, Texas secession was one of the most popular themes carried on fake Russian social media pages, from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. The Russian “Heart of Texas” page even pledged to pass on supporter information to TNM, although TNM denied ever working with Russian trolls.
Griffing apparently isn’t shy about TNM’s association with ongoing Russian disinformation efforts. Just last month, Griffing appeared on Russian propaganda outlet RT, which identified him as a “Republican official in Texas.”
Nor is TNM isn’t shy about promoting Griffing’s efforts. In a recent post, the Texas secession group claimed that Griffing was recently “able to network” with Nigel Farage, one of the masterminds of the push for Brexit, as well as former British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.
The post doesn’t actually offer any proof that Griffing managed “to network” with these British politicos — nor does it mention any of TNM’s previous international outreach in Russia.
Lawsuit Reveals More Details About Georgia Superintendent Who Lost $300K Salary Over Violent Rants Against Black Workers
By Tanasia Kenney - atlanta black star
January 4, 2019
The lawsuit accuses Geye Hamby of going on a racist rant against Black construction workers, threatening to kill them. (Photo by Jason Getz / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
The former superintendent of a Georgia school district accused of using racist language often displayed “irrational and volatile” behavior and even threatened to kill employees, according to a recent court filing.
The filing, included as part of a racial discrimination suit, claims former Buford, Ga., schools chief Geye Hamby routinely used foul language and used racial slurs on occasion when referring to Black employees, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The accusations came to light during a pretrial deposition by Banks Bitterman, the former principal of Buford High School.
“He’d lose his temper in a heartbeat and yell, ‘I’m going to kill that [expletive],'” Bitterman said of Hamby. “I’m going to kill this. I’m going to kill, kill, kill. I’m going to [expletive] that person, [expletive] this person.”
Hamby stepped down as Buford’s superintendent last summer when he was caught on tape ranting about wanting to kill Black construction workers who had angered him. The secret recordings were attached to a lawsuit filed by Mary Ingram, a former Buford school system employee.
“[Expletive] that [n-word]. I’ll kill these [expletive] — shoot that [expletive)] if they let me,” the person, who the complaint identified as Hamby, is heard saying. “Alright. Well, check out what’s going on with all these (n-word) out here.”
Hamby then proceeds to refer to Black people as “deadbeat [n-words].”
The allegations didn’t stop there, however.
Ingram, who filed the discrimination suit against Hamby in August 2018, argued that she was fired from the district in June 2017 in the culmination of a retaliation campaign that began after her 2014 suggestion that gold — the color of Buford’s all-Black school before the district was integrated — be included in the school system’s colors.
Bitterman, who resigned from Buford High in June 2017, says in the lawsuit that Hamby would become agitated when Ingram showed up to school board meetings with petitions asking that the school system’s colors be updated.
“I don’t know what the hell her problem is,” the superintendent said of Ingram, according to Bitterman. He testified that Hamby once said “f–ck her,” referring to Ingram.
Moreover, Bitterman recalled an instance where Hamby referred to an assistant principal, who is African-American, as a “black sow” and called another Black woman “a black crack [whore], or something like that.”
“He truly led by fear and intimidation,” Bitterman said of Hamby, who earned a $308,000 salary. “Heck, anybody in that central office can tell you.”
Ingram’s lawsuit is currently headed to trial.
The filing, included as part of a racial discrimination suit, claims former Buford, Ga., schools chief Geye Hamby routinely used foul language and used racial slurs on occasion when referring to Black employees, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The accusations came to light during a pretrial deposition by Banks Bitterman, the former principal of Buford High School.
“He’d lose his temper in a heartbeat and yell, ‘I’m going to kill that [expletive],'” Bitterman said of Hamby. “I’m going to kill this. I’m going to kill, kill, kill. I’m going to [expletive] that person, [expletive] this person.”
Hamby stepped down as Buford’s superintendent last summer when he was caught on tape ranting about wanting to kill Black construction workers who had angered him. The secret recordings were attached to a lawsuit filed by Mary Ingram, a former Buford school system employee.
“[Expletive] that [n-word]. I’ll kill these [expletive] — shoot that [expletive)] if they let me,” the person, who the complaint identified as Hamby, is heard saying. “Alright. Well, check out what’s going on with all these (n-word) out here.”
Hamby then proceeds to refer to Black people as “deadbeat [n-words].”
The allegations didn’t stop there, however.
Ingram, who filed the discrimination suit against Hamby in August 2018, argued that she was fired from the district in June 2017 in the culmination of a retaliation campaign that began after her 2014 suggestion that gold — the color of Buford’s all-Black school before the district was integrated — be included in the school system’s colors.
Bitterman, who resigned from Buford High in June 2017, says in the lawsuit that Hamby would become agitated when Ingram showed up to school board meetings with petitions asking that the school system’s colors be updated.
“I don’t know what the hell her problem is,” the superintendent said of Ingram, according to Bitterman. He testified that Hamby once said “f–ck her,” referring to Ingram.
Moreover, Bitterman recalled an instance where Hamby referred to an assistant principal, who is African-American, as a “black sow” and called another Black woman “a black crack [whore], or something like that.”
“He truly led by fear and intimidation,” Bitterman said of Hamby, who earned a $308,000 salary. “Heck, anybody in that central office can tell you.”
Ingram’s lawsuit is currently headed to trial.
Jerry Falwell Jr. slams homeless in bonkers interview praising Trump: ‘A poor person never gave anyone a job’
Brad Reed- raw story
01 JAN 2019 AT 14:01 ET
Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. on Tuesday gave an interview to the Washington Post about the relationship between evangelical Christians and President Donald Trump — and it’s loaded with logical howlers, factual inaccuracies, and just plain gibberish.
Below are some of the craziest quotes from Fallwell Jr.’s interview.
1.) Among other things, Falwell claims that he doesn’t care about Trump’s rampant immorality because he was elected to help trim the national debt — even though the deficit has actually exploded under Trump’s watch.
“What earns him my support is his business acumen,” Falwell tells the Post. “Our country was so deep in debt and so mismanaged by career politicians that we needed someone who was not a career politician, but someone who’d been successful in business to run the country like a business. That’s the reason I supported him.”
Reporter Joe Heim then pointed out that the deficit had gone up in each of Trump’s first two years — and Falwell simply brushed it off by saying that “he had no choice because Obama had decimated the military, and it had to be rebuilt.”
2.) Falwell says that there is literally nothing Trump can do that will make him drop his support.
When asked by Heim if there are any red lines — such as, say, shooting someone in the head out in public — that would make him drop Trump, Falwell simply said, “No.”
When Heim pressed Falwell to elaborate, the Libery University president said, “I can’t imagine him doing anything that’s not good for the country.”
3.) Falwell explains that rich people are the people doing the most to enact God’s will on Earth because they create jobs..
“Why have Americans been able to do more to help people in need around the world than any other country in history?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s because of free enterprise, freedom, ingenuity, entrepreneurism and wealth. A poor person never gave anyone a job.”
4.) Falwell says that evangelicals who don’t support Trump are the real immoral ones.
“It may be immoral for them not to support him, because he’s got African American employment to record highs, Hispanic employment to record highs,” Falwell said. “They need to look at what the president did for the poor.”
During his first two years, Trump championed legislation that would have stripped health insurance from tens of millions of Americans, and has also signed off on work requirements for Medicaid that have blocked otherwise eligible people from getting access to health care. The president’s administration is also rolling back environmental protections to allow coal plants to pump more mercury into the air.
Below are some of the craziest quotes from Fallwell Jr.’s interview.
1.) Among other things, Falwell claims that he doesn’t care about Trump’s rampant immorality because he was elected to help trim the national debt — even though the deficit has actually exploded under Trump’s watch.
“What earns him my support is his business acumen,” Falwell tells the Post. “Our country was so deep in debt and so mismanaged by career politicians that we needed someone who was not a career politician, but someone who’d been successful in business to run the country like a business. That’s the reason I supported him.”
Reporter Joe Heim then pointed out that the deficit had gone up in each of Trump’s first two years — and Falwell simply brushed it off by saying that “he had no choice because Obama had decimated the military, and it had to be rebuilt.”
2.) Falwell says that there is literally nothing Trump can do that will make him drop his support.
When asked by Heim if there are any red lines — such as, say, shooting someone in the head out in public — that would make him drop Trump, Falwell simply said, “No.”
When Heim pressed Falwell to elaborate, the Libery University president said, “I can’t imagine him doing anything that’s not good for the country.”
3.) Falwell explains that rich people are the people doing the most to enact God’s will on Earth because they create jobs..
“Why have Americans been able to do more to help people in need around the world than any other country in history?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s because of free enterprise, freedom, ingenuity, entrepreneurism and wealth. A poor person never gave anyone a job.”
4.) Falwell says that evangelicals who don’t support Trump are the real immoral ones.
“It may be immoral for them not to support him, because he’s got African American employment to record highs, Hispanic employment to record highs,” Falwell said. “They need to look at what the president did for the poor.”
During his first two years, Trump championed legislation that would have stripped health insurance from tens of millions of Americans, and has also signed off on work requirements for Medicaid that have blocked otherwise eligible people from getting access to health care. The president’s administration is also rolling back environmental protections to allow coal plants to pump more mercury into the air.
Man kicks black toddler and yells racial slurs at Kansas supermarket
Sarah K. Burris - raw story
26 DEC 2018 AT 23:06 ET
Mother Lashantai Whitaker and her toddler were shopping at a Wichita, Kansas supermarket early Sunday morning when a 31-year-old man kicked the child while yelling racist comments.
According to KWCH, police have arrested Riff Trace for “battery that was bias and racially motivated” as well as resisting arrest.
“Through the investigation, it was learned Trace walked into the Dillons store and kicked a 1-year-old victim in the back, causing the child to fall on the floor,” police told the local news. They described it as a “racially motivated bias crime.”
Riff was “being held on (the) ground by citizens” when police arrived.
“We were barely in the store and [Trace] kicked him in his back,” Whitaker said about her baby. “All I heard was a loud thud and my daughter screaming.”
The man attempted to run away but another customer tackled him, she told KWCH.
The boy wasn’t seriously injured but she fears he could have been.
“What grown person, I mean, even if you do have that much hate for someone,” she said. “I mean, why would you attack a boy?”
According to KWCH, police have arrested Riff Trace for “battery that was bias and racially motivated” as well as resisting arrest.
“Through the investigation, it was learned Trace walked into the Dillons store and kicked a 1-year-old victim in the back, causing the child to fall on the floor,” police told the local news. They described it as a “racially motivated bias crime.”
Riff was “being held on (the) ground by citizens” when police arrived.
“We were barely in the store and [Trace] kicked him in his back,” Whitaker said about her baby. “All I heard was a loud thud and my daughter screaming.”
The man attempted to run away but another customer tackled him, she told KWCH.
The boy wasn’t seriously injured but she fears he could have been.
“What grown person, I mean, even if you do have that much hate for someone,” she said. “I mean, why would you attack a boy?”
Megachurch volunteer caught on film molesting a toddler at church may have hurt 13 other kids — in the last 3 months
Noor Al-Sibai- raw story
03 DEC 2018 AT 21:31 ET
A volunteer at a megachurch in South Carolina has been accused of abusing at least 13 other children in a three-month timespan — and was caught on camera molesting a three-year-old inside the church.
The Christian Post reported that officials at Charleston, SC’s NewSpring Church were “gutted” to learn about the sexual abuse allegations against 28-year-old volunteer chaperone and daycare worker Jacop Hazlett.
“We want our NewSpring family to know that as the leaders of this church we are gutted by these events,” a statement provided by NewSpring communications director Suzanne Swift said. “We know this happened on our watch, and though we have taken great measures over the years to protect our children, evil found a way to breach our best efforts.”
The report noted that during his Sunday sermon, Teaching Pastor Brad Cooper referenced Satan when discussing the Hazlett allegations.
“We will not let the enemy cause us to back up, to cower, to insulate ourselves,” he said the Sunday after the allegations came to light.
Joshua Slavin, the lawyer who represents the family of the three-year-old Hazlett was reportedly filmed abusing, said there may be more victims than they’re aware of.
“There could be countless victims out there,” he said. “We only know of 14 from the last 90 days.”
When the news was first reported, Charleston’s Post-Courier newspaper reported that news of Hazlett’s alleged abuse came soon after NewSpring associate Caleb Lide Jordan was charged with soliciting sex with a minor.
The Christian Post reported that officials at Charleston, SC’s NewSpring Church were “gutted” to learn about the sexual abuse allegations against 28-year-old volunteer chaperone and daycare worker Jacop Hazlett.
“We want our NewSpring family to know that as the leaders of this church we are gutted by these events,” a statement provided by NewSpring communications director Suzanne Swift said. “We know this happened on our watch, and though we have taken great measures over the years to protect our children, evil found a way to breach our best efforts.”
The report noted that during his Sunday sermon, Teaching Pastor Brad Cooper referenced Satan when discussing the Hazlett allegations.
“We will not let the enemy cause us to back up, to cower, to insulate ourselves,” he said the Sunday after the allegations came to light.
Joshua Slavin, the lawyer who represents the family of the three-year-old Hazlett was reportedly filmed abusing, said there may be more victims than they’re aware of.
“There could be countless victims out there,” he said. “We only know of 14 from the last 90 days.”
When the news was first reported, Charleston’s Post-Courier newspaper reported that news of Hazlett’s alleged abuse came soon after NewSpring associate Caleb Lide Jordan was charged with soliciting sex with a minor.
‘Damn straight I support white pride’: Far-right organizer Haley Adams embraces white nationalism in exclusive interview
Arun Gupta - raw story
20 NOV 2018 AT 05:24 ET
During the latest gathering of far-right extremists in Portland, Oregon, Haley Adams, a member of the violence-prone Patriot Prayer, revealed her white-nationalist leanings in an interview.
Adams organized the “#HimToo” rally on November 17 in downtown Portland that drew a few dozen supporters and more than 300 anti-fascist counter-protesters. She announced the event in the wake of nomination hearings for Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Adams says the Him Too movement started because “There’s a war on men” who are being “falsely accused, slandered, attacked and harassed at their homes.”
Adams says she is a “civil rights activist.” At the rally, she rejected gender equality. She told the gathering, “Men and women are different. We have different roles.”
After the rally, Adams was asked about comments she’s made on social media in support of “white pride.” She embraced it, saying, “Damn straight I support white pride. I support my race.” When she was described as a supporter of white nationalism, Adams didn’t dispute it, saying, “Everyone should be supportive of their own race.”
Adams was interviewed while walking through Portland with a small contingent of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. The FBI considers the Proud Boys to be “an extremist group with ties to white nationalism,” according to newly revealed documents.
The far-right groups are intertwined in the Pacific Northwest. They overlap with andattract neo-Nazi, white supremacist and neo-Confederate groups — some responsible for deadly political violence. Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys use violence to recruit members. They’ve staged more than a dozen rallies in Portland since 2017, many ending in massive brawls with anti-fascists.
Violence was minimal this time, beyond a few bottles and smoke bombs hurled from the anti-fascist side. Portland police and Mayor Ted Wheeler have been slammed for failing to arrest far-right brawlers despite them openly vowing, committing, and bragging of violence.
The protest came days after Wheeler and the police brass backed a city ordinance to limit protests that was rejected by the City Council. A heavy police deployment separated the competing rallies, but fragmented once they began a cat-and-mouse game in the streets. Anti-fascists came face-to-face with the far-right groups repeatedly, mostly limiting themselves to chants such as “Nazis go home.” Six people were arrested.
Adams’s method of claiming universal values while spouting bigotry is lifted from Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson. He says the group can’t be racist because he is half-Japanese. Gibson frequently references Martin Luther King, Jr., to mainstream the group’s extremism.
Participants, when asked why they were there, said they were supporting “free speech.” The rally was not billed as a free-speech event, however. It’s aim was to highlight how men are supposedly victimized. More than 80 percent of attendees were men.
One older army veteran with a cane stood on the fringes. He said the #MeToo movement was “really touchy” for him because “There’s a lot of things that happen to men that shouldn’t happen. And there’s a lot of things that men do that shouldn’t happen.” He said, “I have complex PTSD. I had it in the army. I had it when I was growing up. People in my family were very abusive, mentally, physically.” Unable to continue talking, he apologized and walked away.
#MeToo is premised on men understanding the nature of sexual assault and harassment and taking responsibility for ending it. It includes prominent male celebrities such as Terry Crews who speak out against toxic masculinity and have told of being sexually abused themselves, and the ensuing humiliation and lack of accountability by perpetrators.
However, #HimToo was mostly about belittling #MeToo, women and sexual minorities. One speaker said, “The Me Too movement doesn’t represent us men. They force victimhood on women and castrate men who speak out against them.”
Participants decried, “The culture that’s being taught in universities about the toxic masculinity and trying to take the patriarchy down.” They favored “men as the head of the household, the way it’s been traditionally” and government regulating women’s bodies “if it would prevent abortion.”
Billy Sessions, who attended the deadly Unite the Right rally last year in Charlottesville along with his neo-Confederate group, the Hiwaymen, was invited from Arkansas to speak at #HimToo. He opposes same-sex couples because of his “Christian values. I believe in the Bible.” When asked what his opinion would be if a majority of voters in Oklahoma approved the killing of homosexuals according to biblical values, Sessions said, “Well, state’s rights, tenth amendment, if the people of the state of Oklahoma vote for it, it’s theirs.”
Gibson’s right-hand man, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, a street fighter who has been filmed repeatedly assaulting counter-protesters in Portland but walks the streets there untouched, sneered at the LGBTQ community. He said, “You do whatever the hell you want to do, just don’t try to force me to respect that B.S., okay?”
The bigotry flowed in the park behind metal barriers guarded by scores of DHS and local police in riot gear and equipped with less-lethal weapons. Out in the streets, the far-right extremists were unnerved. They marched around confused whether to choose fight or flight as anti-fascists taunted them. Pointing at counter-protesters, Gibson screamed at them eight times, “You raped me.”
After a glass bottle smashed near the far-right group, Tiny yelled at police, “What do you want us to do?”
The police said, “Go home.”
Adams organized the “#HimToo” rally on November 17 in downtown Portland that drew a few dozen supporters and more than 300 anti-fascist counter-protesters. She announced the event in the wake of nomination hearings for Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Adams says the Him Too movement started because “There’s a war on men” who are being “falsely accused, slandered, attacked and harassed at their homes.”
Adams says she is a “civil rights activist.” At the rally, she rejected gender equality. She told the gathering, “Men and women are different. We have different roles.”
After the rally, Adams was asked about comments she’s made on social media in support of “white pride.” She embraced it, saying, “Damn straight I support white pride. I support my race.” When she was described as a supporter of white nationalism, Adams didn’t dispute it, saying, “Everyone should be supportive of their own race.”
Adams was interviewed while walking through Portland with a small contingent of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. The FBI considers the Proud Boys to be “an extremist group with ties to white nationalism,” according to newly revealed documents.
The far-right groups are intertwined in the Pacific Northwest. They overlap with andattract neo-Nazi, white supremacist and neo-Confederate groups — some responsible for deadly political violence. Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys use violence to recruit members. They’ve staged more than a dozen rallies in Portland since 2017, many ending in massive brawls with anti-fascists.
Violence was minimal this time, beyond a few bottles and smoke bombs hurled from the anti-fascist side. Portland police and Mayor Ted Wheeler have been slammed for failing to arrest far-right brawlers despite them openly vowing, committing, and bragging of violence.
The protest came days after Wheeler and the police brass backed a city ordinance to limit protests that was rejected by the City Council. A heavy police deployment separated the competing rallies, but fragmented once they began a cat-and-mouse game in the streets. Anti-fascists came face-to-face with the far-right groups repeatedly, mostly limiting themselves to chants such as “Nazis go home.” Six people were arrested.
Adams’s method of claiming universal values while spouting bigotry is lifted from Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson. He says the group can’t be racist because he is half-Japanese. Gibson frequently references Martin Luther King, Jr., to mainstream the group’s extremism.
Participants, when asked why they were there, said they were supporting “free speech.” The rally was not billed as a free-speech event, however. It’s aim was to highlight how men are supposedly victimized. More than 80 percent of attendees were men.
One older army veteran with a cane stood on the fringes. He said the #MeToo movement was “really touchy” for him because “There’s a lot of things that happen to men that shouldn’t happen. And there’s a lot of things that men do that shouldn’t happen.” He said, “I have complex PTSD. I had it in the army. I had it when I was growing up. People in my family were very abusive, mentally, physically.” Unable to continue talking, he apologized and walked away.
#MeToo is premised on men understanding the nature of sexual assault and harassment and taking responsibility for ending it. It includes prominent male celebrities such as Terry Crews who speak out against toxic masculinity and have told of being sexually abused themselves, and the ensuing humiliation and lack of accountability by perpetrators.
However, #HimToo was mostly about belittling #MeToo, women and sexual minorities. One speaker said, “The Me Too movement doesn’t represent us men. They force victimhood on women and castrate men who speak out against them.”
Participants decried, “The culture that’s being taught in universities about the toxic masculinity and trying to take the patriarchy down.” They favored “men as the head of the household, the way it’s been traditionally” and government regulating women’s bodies “if it would prevent abortion.”
Billy Sessions, who attended the deadly Unite the Right rally last year in Charlottesville along with his neo-Confederate group, the Hiwaymen, was invited from Arkansas to speak at #HimToo. He opposes same-sex couples because of his “Christian values. I believe in the Bible.” When asked what his opinion would be if a majority of voters in Oklahoma approved the killing of homosexuals according to biblical values, Sessions said, “Well, state’s rights, tenth amendment, if the people of the state of Oklahoma vote for it, it’s theirs.”
Gibson’s right-hand man, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, a street fighter who has been filmed repeatedly assaulting counter-protesters in Portland but walks the streets there untouched, sneered at the LGBTQ community. He said, “You do whatever the hell you want to do, just don’t try to force me to respect that B.S., okay?”
The bigotry flowed in the park behind metal barriers guarded by scores of DHS and local police in riot gear and equipped with less-lethal weapons. Out in the streets, the far-right extremists were unnerved. They marched around confused whether to choose fight or flight as anti-fascists taunted them. Pointing at counter-protesters, Gibson screamed at them eight times, “You raped me.”
After a glass bottle smashed near the far-right group, Tiny yelled at police, “What do you want us to do?”
The police said, “Go home.”
Cops evacuate neighborhood after finding ‘clandestine laboratory’ at home of Wisconsin neo-Nazi arrested for domestic violence
Noor Al-Sibai - thinkprogress
16 NOV 2018 AT 16:51 ET
A Wisconsin man arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and owning hazardous chemicals is known to police for his white supremacist leanings
stemming from a 2012 disorderly conduct charge.
Green Bay’s WSAW reported that a woman was found “hiding” in the home of 38-year-old Michael Tracy Anderson after he was arrested following a domestic disturbance call.
Police began following a car at the house Anderson lives in, the report noted, and saw a woman run out of the car and back into the house.
According to Green Bay Police Capt. Jeremy Muraski, the woman was “scantily clad” and not dressed for the state’s snowy conditions. Officers followed her into the house to do a wellness check and then found liquid and powder chemicals that are legal to possess on their own but could be used to make either explosives or meth.
The street Anderson lived on was closed off and evacuated for much of the day as the Green Bay Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team, the Brown/Outagamie County Bomb Squad and a SWAT team investigated to see if any bombs were at the residence. Authorities did not find any explosives during their search, the report noted.
Police photos from 2012 show Anderson with a number of white supremacist tattoos, including swastikas.
The report noted that a Facebook account believed to belong to the suspect contained “anti-Semitic content.” During a search, Raw Story found a profile under the name of a “Michael Anderson” who lives in Green Bay that resembles the suspect.
It contained a number of anti-Jewish and white supremacists posts, including an image resembling a swastika shaped into the letter “G” that said “Goyim Lives Matter,” a reference to the Yiddish term “goyim,” the plural of the word “goy” that means a non-Jewish person.
stemming from a 2012 disorderly conduct charge.
Green Bay’s WSAW reported that a woman was found “hiding” in the home of 38-year-old Michael Tracy Anderson after he was arrested following a domestic disturbance call.
Police began following a car at the house Anderson lives in, the report noted, and saw a woman run out of the car and back into the house.
According to Green Bay Police Capt. Jeremy Muraski, the woman was “scantily clad” and not dressed for the state’s snowy conditions. Officers followed her into the house to do a wellness check and then found liquid and powder chemicals that are legal to possess on their own but could be used to make either explosives or meth.
The street Anderson lived on was closed off and evacuated for much of the day as the Green Bay Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team, the Brown/Outagamie County Bomb Squad and a SWAT team investigated to see if any bombs were at the residence. Authorities did not find any explosives during their search, the report noted.
Police photos from 2012 show Anderson with a number of white supremacist tattoos, including swastikas.
The report noted that a Facebook account believed to belong to the suspect contained “anti-Semitic content.” During a search, Raw Story found a profile under the name of a “Michael Anderson” who lives in Green Bay that resembles the suspect.
It contained a number of anti-Jewish and white supremacists posts, including an image resembling a swastika shaped into the letter “G” that said “Goyim Lives Matter,” a reference to the Yiddish term “goyim,” the plural of the word “goy” that means a non-Jewish person.
‘Crying Nazi’ releases video game where users play Richard Spencer and kill reporters and LGBT people in Pulse-like club
Noor Al-Sibai - raw story
12 NOV 2018 AT 21:59 ET
An Angry Goy II mission where a soldier kills gays in a nightclub (left) and a still from a Christopher Cantwell video (right). Images via screengrab.
Infamous “Crying Nazi” Christopher Cantwell’s podcast has released a sequel to its 2017 white supremacist video game Angry Goy where users shoved Jews into ovens.
As noted by the Angry White Men blog, Angry Goy II allows users to play as Cantwell’s fellow Charlottesville white nationalist Richard Spencer, who is seen in the trailer burning leftist protesters with a lit Tiki torch.
“Angry Goy II is the season’s hit game for White males who have had it with Jewish bullshit,” Cantwell wrote on the “free speech” social network Gab. The site is now back online after its old host dropped it when it was revealed that the alleged Pittsburgh synagogue shooter posted on it just before opening fire on the Tree of Life temple.
“Instead of taking out your frustrations on actual human beings, you can fight the mongrels and degenerates on your computer!” the Radical Agenda podcast creator wrote. “Use guns, knives, pepper spray, and more! Lay waste to wave after wave of shitdicks, shitskins, shitstains, and the kikes they serve.”
AWM noted that in one mission, players “break into a gay club, called the ‘LGBTQ+ Agenda HQ,’ and slaughter everyone inside.” The level is “eerily reminiscent” of the Pulse nightclub shooting, the report noted, and the “art” outside the virtual gay club include pro-pedophilia posters that reference the defunct NAMBLA group.
Another mission sees players shooting journalists at the “Fake News Network.”
“If a player fails to ‘save the West,’ they are treated to one of several “game over” sequences, including footage from the 2017 torture of a developmentally disabled white teen by several black assailants,” AWM noted. “One sequence shows a woman identified as a ‘Jewess’ claiming that ‘Europe has not yet learned to be multicultural.’ Another shows a small, transgender child talking about how they are ‘normal, just like everybody else.'”
The trailer for the first Angry Goy was so offensive, AWM noted, that YouTube pulled the video and issued a statement condemning hate speech.
As of press time, however, the trailer for Angry Goy II, released by “Wheel Maker Studios,” is still online.
As noted by the Angry White Men blog, Angry Goy II allows users to play as Cantwell’s fellow Charlottesville white nationalist Richard Spencer, who is seen in the trailer burning leftist protesters with a lit Tiki torch.
“Angry Goy II is the season’s hit game for White males who have had it with Jewish bullshit,” Cantwell wrote on the “free speech” social network Gab. The site is now back online after its old host dropped it when it was revealed that the alleged Pittsburgh synagogue shooter posted on it just before opening fire on the Tree of Life temple.
“Instead of taking out your frustrations on actual human beings, you can fight the mongrels and degenerates on your computer!” the Radical Agenda podcast creator wrote. “Use guns, knives, pepper spray, and more! Lay waste to wave after wave of shitdicks, shitskins, shitstains, and the kikes they serve.”
AWM noted that in one mission, players “break into a gay club, called the ‘LGBTQ+ Agenda HQ,’ and slaughter everyone inside.” The level is “eerily reminiscent” of the Pulse nightclub shooting, the report noted, and the “art” outside the virtual gay club include pro-pedophilia posters that reference the defunct NAMBLA group.
Another mission sees players shooting journalists at the “Fake News Network.”
“If a player fails to ‘save the West,’ they are treated to one of several “game over” sequences, including footage from the 2017 torture of a developmentally disabled white teen by several black assailants,” AWM noted. “One sequence shows a woman identified as a ‘Jewess’ claiming that ‘Europe has not yet learned to be multicultural.’ Another shows a small, transgender child talking about how they are ‘normal, just like everybody else.'”
The trailer for the first Angry Goy was so offensive, AWM noted, that YouTube pulled the video and issued a statement condemning hate speech.
As of press time, however, the trailer for Angry Goy II, released by “Wheel Maker Studios,” is still online.
remember, he was reelected!!!
Steve King calls Mexican migrants ‘dirt,’ then caught in blatant lie denying the slur
Republicans' resident white supremacist dared the Weekly Standard to release the audio of his racist remarks. They did and King lied.
FRANK DALE - thinkprogress
NOV 11, 2018, 9:55 AM
Rep. Steve King (R-IA), a white supremacist who also happens to be a member of Congress, survived the toughest re-election challenge of his 15-year career in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
You may have missed it while voting, but the Iowa Republican recently referred to immigrants as “dirt” during a campaign event.
The Weekly Standard reported on Tuesday that King, while talking to a dozen supporters about a recent pheasant hunt, veered into racist innuendo Monday regarding “dirt from Mexico.”
King: “I made a big ol’ batch of my patented pheasant noodle soup for everybody. It took us two days to eat it all, but everybody loved it. When I get it all put together then I put about a half a dozen jalapeno peppers, just whole, drop them floating around in there. It scares off some of the people so there’s a little more for the rest of us to eat. I raised a bunch this year, and they don’t have enough bite. I guess I’m going to have to go and get some dirt from Mexico to grow the next batch.”
[Laughs]
Audience member: “Trust me, it’s already on its way.”
King: “Well, yeah, there’s plenty of dirt, it’s coming from the West Coast, too. And a lot of other places, besides. This is the most dirt we’ve ever seen.”
Adam Rubenstein noted that “Iowa does have a topsoil depletion problem, but it’s hard to imagine that the audience and King were discussing the shipment of soil from out of country or from California.”
The infamous Iowa Republican has an extremely long history of extremely racist behavior.
However, King’s staff insisted that their white supremacist boss was not being racist this time.
Jeff King, King’s campaign manager who also happens to be the congressman’s son, alleged “If you spent anytime with Congressman King throughout the district over this past week you would know that he has been referencing all the ‘dirt’ the dishonest, leftist media have been using to attack him.”
This attempted explanation made no sense in the context of King’s latest racist remarks, but the Iowa congressman — undaunted and emboldened by his re-election and the apparent unwillingness of Republican leadership to do anything about having a white supremacist in its caucus — accused the Weekly Standard of lying, and dared the conservative outlet to release the audio of his remarks.
Well, the Weekly Standard called King’s bluff on Saturday evening and posted the audio. In it, the Iowa congressman can be heard comparing immigrants to “dirt,” as previously reported.
The criticism of King by the right-wing Weekly Standard, which complained about ThinkProgress in its “official” role as a Facebook fact-checker after failing to understand the definition of the word “said” in September, is another sign that the white supremacist’s longtime conservative support could be eroding.
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) defended King in recent weeks after the Iowa Republican faced renewed scrutiny for promoting conspiracy theories similar to the ones that reportedly inspired Cesar Sayoc, who allegedlysent explosive devices to around a dozen prominent Democrats who are frequent targets of Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, and Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue last month.
However, there has been increasing displeasure in the GOP about having a white supremacist in its House caucus. National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) denounced King and said “We must stand up against white supremacy” last month.
With Democrats taking back control of the House in Tuesday’s midterms, there is a push to expel King from Congress, which would require support from two-thirds of the House, or 290 representatives. The Democratic majority, which will be seated on January 3, is projected to number around 240 seats.
King had not responded to being called out on his lies by the Weekly Standard at the time this was published, but the Iowa Republican’s busy Saturday on Twitter also included defending his ridiculous assertion that pregnancy from incest or statutory rape is an example of “Leftists lies.”
King also made time to fear-monger about an undocumented immigrant.
Steve King✔
@SteveKingIA
Another sickening and 100% preventable crime:-((
FOX & friends✔
@foxandfriends
ICE slams a sanctuary county in New Jersey for releasing an illegal immigrant who is now charged with a triple homicide in Missouri
You may have missed it while voting, but the Iowa Republican recently referred to immigrants as “dirt” during a campaign event.
The Weekly Standard reported on Tuesday that King, while talking to a dozen supporters about a recent pheasant hunt, veered into racist innuendo Monday regarding “dirt from Mexico.”
King: “I made a big ol’ batch of my patented pheasant noodle soup for everybody. It took us two days to eat it all, but everybody loved it. When I get it all put together then I put about a half a dozen jalapeno peppers, just whole, drop them floating around in there. It scares off some of the people so there’s a little more for the rest of us to eat. I raised a bunch this year, and they don’t have enough bite. I guess I’m going to have to go and get some dirt from Mexico to grow the next batch.”
[Laughs]
Audience member: “Trust me, it’s already on its way.”
King: “Well, yeah, there’s plenty of dirt, it’s coming from the West Coast, too. And a lot of other places, besides. This is the most dirt we’ve ever seen.”
Adam Rubenstein noted that “Iowa does have a topsoil depletion problem, but it’s hard to imagine that the audience and King were discussing the shipment of soil from out of country or from California.”
The infamous Iowa Republican has an extremely long history of extremely racist behavior.
However, King’s staff insisted that their white supremacist boss was not being racist this time.
Jeff King, King’s campaign manager who also happens to be the congressman’s son, alleged “If you spent anytime with Congressman King throughout the district over this past week you would know that he has been referencing all the ‘dirt’ the dishonest, leftist media have been using to attack him.”
This attempted explanation made no sense in the context of King’s latest racist remarks, but the Iowa congressman — undaunted and emboldened by his re-election and the apparent unwillingness of Republican leadership to do anything about having a white supremacist in its caucus — accused the Weekly Standard of lying, and dared the conservative outlet to release the audio of his remarks.
Well, the Weekly Standard called King’s bluff on Saturday evening and posted the audio. In it, the Iowa congressman can be heard comparing immigrants to “dirt,” as previously reported.
The criticism of King by the right-wing Weekly Standard, which complained about ThinkProgress in its “official” role as a Facebook fact-checker after failing to understand the definition of the word “said” in September, is another sign that the white supremacist’s longtime conservative support could be eroding.
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) defended King in recent weeks after the Iowa Republican faced renewed scrutiny for promoting conspiracy theories similar to the ones that reportedly inspired Cesar Sayoc, who allegedlysent explosive devices to around a dozen prominent Democrats who are frequent targets of Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, and Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue last month.
However, there has been increasing displeasure in the GOP about having a white supremacist in its House caucus. National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) denounced King and said “We must stand up against white supremacy” last month.
With Democrats taking back control of the House in Tuesday’s midterms, there is a push to expel King from Congress, which would require support from two-thirds of the House, or 290 representatives. The Democratic majority, which will be seated on January 3, is projected to number around 240 seats.
King had not responded to being called out on his lies by the Weekly Standard at the time this was published, but the Iowa Republican’s busy Saturday on Twitter also included defending his ridiculous assertion that pregnancy from incest or statutory rape is an example of “Leftists lies.”
King also made time to fear-monger about an undocumented immigrant.
Steve King✔
@SteveKingIA
Another sickening and 100% preventable crime:-((
FOX & friends✔
@foxandfriends
ICE slams a sanctuary county in New Jersey for releasing an illegal immigrant who is now charged with a triple homicide in Missouri
Part-time Texas firefighter busted for Facebook post urging shooting of immigrants — and then got fired from all three of his jobs
Tom Boggioni - raw story
10 NOV 2018 AT 11:27 ET
A part-time Texas firefighter has lost multiple jobs as a civil servant after proposing setting up feeders at the border and allowing hunters to shoot and kill desperate immigrants.
According to ABC7, Westfield Fire Department firefighter Chris Bush wrote on Facebook: “We should buy deer feeders fill them with pinto beans put them on the border and make a new hunting season. I wonder how many Texans will buy that hunting licenses and how many tags we would be allowed…”
After the post went viral, his employers got wind of it and took immediate action by firing him.
According to Bush’s Facebook page, he was employed by the Westfield Fire Department, Bellaire Fire department and Harris County EMS.
The report states Bush lost his job at all three places of his employment.
In a statement, the city of Bellaire said: “Wednesday morning we became aware of an inappropriate and offensive social media post by a part-time firefighter. Upon learning of that post, we took immediate and appropriate action, and the individual is no longer employed with the City of Bellaire.”
According to ABC7, Westfield Fire Department firefighter Chris Bush wrote on Facebook: “We should buy deer feeders fill them with pinto beans put them on the border and make a new hunting season. I wonder how many Texans will buy that hunting licenses and how many tags we would be allowed…”
After the post went viral, his employers got wind of it and took immediate action by firing him.
According to Bush’s Facebook page, he was employed by the Westfield Fire Department, Bellaire Fire department and Harris County EMS.
The report states Bush lost his job at all three places of his employment.
In a statement, the city of Bellaire said: “Wednesday morning we became aware of an inappropriate and offensive social media post by a part-time firefighter. Upon learning of that post, we took immediate and appropriate action, and the individual is no longer employed with the City of Bellaire.”
amerikkkans funnies
THOMAS JEFFERSON CALLED THEM "RUBBISH" PEOPLE
BEN FRANKLIN CALLED THEM "WASTE" PEOPLE
TRUMP CALLS THEM his "base"
These idiots are the people who lack the intelligence and morality to understand they are just FOOLS.
White Supremacists show their stupidity once again.....
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DJT - lie-brary
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