The Left’s Shameful Targeting of Lawmakers’ Homes

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If at first you don’t succeed, burn down your opponent’s house.

Or at least protest right outside, bringing fear and terror to the private quarters and lives of the nation’s lawmakers.

That seems to be the current mantra of 2020. In a year roiled by leftist violence, with small business owners in cities across the country left with looted and destroyed shops, with two dead in Seattle’s “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” no liberal leader seems to be willing to yell “stop.”

Now with emotions high over the unexpected Supreme Court vacancy, the politics of personal intimidation are back with a vengeance.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

On Monday morning, there was a protest at Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham’s home in Washington, D.C.

There was also a protest at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home in Kentucky on Saturday:

And an attempted protest at his Washington, D.C., home Friday night:

One individual decided to heckle McConnell at his Washington, D.C., home on Monday night:

And if you’re thinking, even a little, that, say, perhaps emotions were high right after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and that perhaps this was just some one-time poor behavior, think again:

What is going on?

Just to refresh everyone’s memory, in 2017, there was nearly a massacre of Republican lawmakers by a man whose politics leaned left.

“He protested with Occupy Wall Street and became an emphatic supporter of socialist Bernie Sanders, volunteering for the Vermont senator’s presidential campaign,” reported Washingtonian, adding: “’Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy,’ [the shooter] wrote in a Facebook post a couple of months after the 2016 election. ‘It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.’”

Before he began spraying bullets across the baseball field, the shooter checked with Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., who was leaving the practice, that the lawmakers present were Republican.

What happened next was unimaginable.

“I was probably 20 steps from the guy when he fired his first shot, and I was the first one to yell out to [Mississippi Rep.] Trent Kelly,” Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., told The Daily Signal. “He was at third base, I was at shortstop … I yelled out, ‘That was a gunshot.’”

“Trent said, ‘I know.’ And I turned and said, ‘There he is, get off the field,’” Palmer added.

“Instead of running in a straight line, [Kelly] zigzagged to his left and then to his right, a tactic he’d learned in the Army,” Washingtonian reported. “He was halfway to second base when he heard shot number two crack past his left shoulder. Convinced the gunman was still aiming for him, he darted to his right and raced toward first base. He cut behind the pitcher’s mound just as the third shot sizzled by his chest.”

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, who would later fall off a chair during a hearing because he was so startled by the sound of the gavel, hid in a dugout with Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and then-Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. “All we could hear was this guy firing this … weapon,” Williams told BuzzFeed.

“One of the staffers scrambled up over the fence,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told MSNBC in an interview. “It was probably a 15-20-foot fence, and he did it in about two seconds. I’m on the outside of the fence, and he and I are hiding behind the tree but the gunshots are landing in the dirt in the outfield and around us.”

Here’s how Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., described that moment to Washingtonian:

Steve Scalise knew he was shot instantly. He felt something as he was trying to turn away from the shooter. ‘My legs gave out, and I fell down.’

He knew he had to keep moving or risk another bullet. …

And so one of the most important politicians in America started crawling, using his arms to pull himself toward the outfield from second base. He started praying. He started moving less and less.

After he’d reached shallow grass in right field, his arms gave out.

“I can still taste the dirt in my mouth when I hit the ground, that parched dirt,” then-Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Mich., told The Daily Signal. “It’s just a sensation that you will never forget.”

So why am I sharing all this old news?

Because those who don’t know history repeat it.

Sentiments are high right now. And of course, peaceful protests—the actually peaceful ones, not the infernos CNN glibly describes as peaceful—are a proud and important part of our nation’s traditions.

If you don’t think Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s vacancy should be filled before the election, guess what? You’re welcome to let your lawmakers know your opinion (and they all have dedicated staffers to listen to your perspective). You are welcome to go to their offices or to the Capitol or the Supreme Court or any number of public places and protest. You can write letters to the editor. And yes, at the end of the day, you can vote for the lawmakers you think will do what you want.

But going to lawmakers’ homes is sick and twisted. It’s intimidating and it’s personal.

And unfortunately, it seems to be a tactic leftists are using more and more frequently. Protesters have targeted the home of acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf in protests four times this summer, per ALX Now.

In 2018, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s home was targeted. Carlson, who wasn’t home at the time, told The Washington Post that he called his wife. “She had been in the kitchen alone getting ready to go to dinner and she heard pounding on the front door and screaming. … Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door,” Carlson recounted.

Is this the America we want, where families are terrorized in their own homes?

Do we want another shooting on a baseball field? Perhaps this time the Capitol Police—who heroically shot back and saved the lives of the lawmakers and others present—won’t be there.

Of course, there’s a wide gulf between a shooting and a protest at a home. But a protest at a home is a very real escalation from a protest at a government building.

Activists are playing with fire right now—and it’s incumbent on liberal leaders to tell them that enough is enough, that homes are for private lives, not public protests.

COMMENTARY BY

Katrina Trinko

Katrina Trinko is editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal and co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast. Send an email to Katrina. Twitter: .

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Democratic Socialists say, “America should be more like socialist countries such as Sweden and Denmark.” And millions of young people believe them…

For years, “Democratic Socialists” have been growing a crop of followers that include students and young professionals. America’s future will be in their hands.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? One of their most effective arguments is that “democratic socialism” is working in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway. They claim these countries are “proof” that socialism will work for America. But they’re wrong. And it’s easy to explain why.

Our friends at The Heritage Foundation just published a new guide that provides three irrefutable facts that debunks these myths. For a limited time, they’re offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free.

Get your free copy of “Why Democratic Socialists Can’t Legitimately Claim Sweden and Denmark as Success Stories” today and equip yourself with the facts you need to debunk these myths once and for all.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Here’s a List of White Liberals Caught Pretending to Be Black

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Three different white liberals in authority roles within universities and activist movements have apologized this month for pretending to be black—and they aren’t the only ones to get caught lying about their racial identities.

Satchuel Cole, an Indianapolis racial justice activist, apologized on Wednesday for misrepresenting her racial identity.

“Friends, I need to take accountability for my actions and the harm that I have done. My deception and lies have hurt those I care most about. I have taken up space as a Black person while knowing I am white,” Cole wrote on Facebook.

“I have used Blackness when it was not mine to use. I have asked for support and energy as a Black person. I have caused harm to the city, friends and the work that I held so dear.”

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

Cole’s apology came after a local black news website wrote that she had been “exposed for posing as a Black Woman.”

Cole is just the latest white liberal woman to apologize for pretending to be black.

University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student CV Vitolo-Haddad apologized and announced her resignation from her teaching position on Sept. 8, admitting that she is actually of Italian heritage, despite repeatedly claiming to be black.

George Washington University history professor Jessica Krug, who specialized in “Africa and the African Diaspora,” apologized on Sept. 3 for presenting herself as black for years.

“To an escalating degree over my adult life, I have eschewed my lived experience as a white Jewish child in suburban Kansas City under various assumed identities within a Blackness that I had no right to claim: first North African Blackness, then US rooted Blackness, then Caribbean rooted Bronx Blackness,” Krug wrote in a Medium post.

Former Spokane, Washington, NAACP President Rachel Dolezal admitted in 2015 that she’s white, despite publicly claiming to be black for years. “I acknowledge that I was biologically born white to white parents, but I identify as black,” she said in a November 2015 interview.

Dolezal had taught Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University before she was exposed as white.

Left-wing activist Shaun King faced accusations in 2015 that he misrepresented himself as black, though King has adamantly denied those accusations.

Both parents listed on King’s birth certificate are white, The New York Times noted in August 2015.

CNN anchor Don Lemon reported that King’s parents are white, citing one of King’s family members. “A family member tells CNN that both of King’s parents are white,” Lemon said.

Unlike Cole, Dolezal, Krug, and Vitolo-Haddad, King has denied falsely claiming to be black, insisting that the man listed on his birth certificate isn’t his real father, leaving the question of whether he lied about his race without a definitive answer.

COLUMN BY

Peter Hasson

Peter J. Hasson is a reporter for The Daily Caller. Twitter: @peterjhasson

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of this original content, email licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

California Wants Me to Vote, Even Though I Haven’t Lived There for Over 8 Years

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States across the country are experimenting with a mass switch to mail-in elections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But is it wise for states to make such a big change, especially in light of messy voter rolls around the country?

What I was sent earlier this month by election officials in Alameda County, California, makes me worried that ballots going to the wrong locations will be a significant concern this year.

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters notified me by mail at my parents’ address in Oakland that I would receive a ballot when the state sends them out Oct. 5. This is following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that all California voters receive a mail-in ballot before the Nov. 3 election.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

The problem is, I should not be considered a California voter.

Since I left California in 2011, I have registered to vote in two other places. I’ve officially changed my address. And my parents notified election workers at their local voting location after I left the state, but to no avail.

The only reason I was even aware of the situation is that my parents still live at the same address.

I posted this information on Twitter, noting that it’s particularly concerning given that there will be a massive uptick in mail-in voting this year.

Although the official mail my parents received isn’t the actual ballot, it informed me that I would receive one along with every other California voter. Unless something changes, a ballot will be sent to me in a town where I haven’t lived or voted for a decade.

I’m hardly alone in my experience. That’s a problem.

What if I or my parents had been dishonest, and I voted twice? What if somebody else living at that address tried to submit my vote?

It’s not hard to see how this system could be abused by those who care to do so.

Again, this is an even bigger problem right now. Much of the country is experimenting with mass voting by mail even while many states have done a poor job of cleaning up their voter rolls and taking extra precautions to ensure election integrity.

A municipal election in May in Paterson, the third-largest city in New Jersey, demonstrated how a mail-in ballot system potentially can be abused. Ballot irregularities and alleged fraud led to a significant number of cast ballots being invalidated and a judge’s ordering a new election.

Among the problems were mismatched signatures on ballots and hundreds of ballots that were bundled improperly. Several people were charged with voter fraud.

That election in New Jersey simply may be an ugly outlier, but it’s also a good reason to be concerned about an election system being transformed on a widespread scale, as we are seeing for the 2020 presidential election.

State officials should treat election integrity as the serious issue that it is.

The bottom line is that voter rolls around the country are bloated and filled with inaccuracies. Countless voters are registered in multiple states, many of which have resisted cleaning up their rolls.

The 2020 election also presents unique problems. Most states are moving toward a mail-in system as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This makes irregularities in voter rolls more problematic, given that many states simply are sending out ballots to everyone who is currently registered. Others require a request, more like the typical process of acquiring an absentee ballot.

My Heritage Foundation colleague Hans von Spakovsky has written extensively about election integrity issues and warned about the implications of mass mail-in voting.

“Going entirely to by-mail elections would unwisely endanger the security and integrity of the election process, particularly if officials automatically mail absentee ballots to all registered voters without a signed, authenticated request from each voter,” von Spakovsky wrote in April.

Von Spakovsky noted in the article that having “thousands of ballots” arrive in places where voters no longer reside “risks those ballots being stolen and voted.”

As far as my own ongoing problem with California sending me ballots, von Spakovsky says:

Voter registration forms usually have a place on the bottom of the form where you can write in where you were previously registered. But states are notoriously lax about forwarding that information to the former jurisdictions or doing anything about information when they get it from other states. Their voter rolls, particularly California’s, are also in notoriously bad condition because they don’t take off people who have moved or died.

Mark Hemingway, who has written extensively about related issues, wrote in 2019 that a sharp divide now exists between those who prioritize “ballot access” and those who focus on “ballot security.”

These sometimes competing concerns are prevalent in the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, often called the “Motor Voter Act.” Officials streamlined the process for voter registration, but opened the possibility of more inaccurate rolls, especially given how many people move from state to state.

“People are far more likely to register to vote in their new homes than to alert their old communities that they have moved,” Hemingway wrote.

It’s up to the states to do regular maintenance on their voter rolls, and they are supposed to follow up with a notice to voters who have been inactive for a long time.

However, Hemingway wrote that since passage of the National Voter Registration Act, “many states have simply ignored the maintenance requirements while others have sought legal workarounds.”

For those who say they’re concerned with protecting “democracy,” ballot security should be a priority. Messy voter rolls open up the possibility of fraud as well as innocent errors that could gravely threaten our electoral process.

COMMENTARY BY

Jarrett Stepman

Jarrett Stepman is a contributor to The Daily Signal and co-host of The Right Side of History podcast. Send an email to Jarrett. He is also the author of the new book, “The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past.”  Twitter: .

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A Note for our Readers:

Democratic Socialists say, “America should be more like socialist countries such as Sweden and Denmark.” And millions of young people believe them…

For years, “Democratic Socialists” have been growing a crop of followers that include students and young professionals. America’s future will be in their hands.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? One of their most effective arguments is that “democratic socialism” is working in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway. They claim these countries are “proof” that socialism will work for America. But they’re wrong. And it’s easy to explain why.

Our friends at The Heritage Foundation just published a new guide that provides three irrefutable facts that debunks these myths. For a limited time, they’re offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free.

Get your free copy of “Why Democratic Socialists Can’t Legitimately Claim Sweden and Denmark as Success Stories” today and equip yourself with the facts you need to debunk these myths once and for all.

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW »

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Comparing the Bolshevik Revolution with Today’s Antifa and BLM Movement

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By Wallace Bruschweiler & William Palumbo

Ever since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25th, the United States – and to a lesser extent the Western world – has been up in arms, so to speak, allegedly about racial disparities and police brutality.

Now that the public has had nearly four months to observe their activities, we know that the so-called “protest movement” is an utter sham.  More precisely, the “protests” are a cover for something else.  The rampaging duo of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifascists (Antifa) – the two most identifiable “protest” groups – prove with each passing night that they are purveyors of hate and architects of destruction, murder, general chaos, and political boots on the ground.

Let us examine today’s “protesters” and compare them to other movements in modern history.  In reality, these “protesters” are a fifth column whose only discernible ideology is Marxism-Leninism.

The “Protesters” of the Past

In February 1917, a revolution that had been brewing for decades entered its final stage, as the Bolsheviks (and other allied communist groups) forced the abdication of Russian Tsar Nicholas II.  For the next several years Russia was engulfed in a civil war, pitting the Communists against the “White Russians” (traditionalists who supported the monarchy).  Following Communist victory, it took until 1991 – more than 80 years – for the Soviets to finally rid themselves of the “workers” regime.  In the meantime, Communism killed and enslaved tens of millions worldwide.

Bolshevik Revolution – 1917-1923

  • Belligerents: Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, etc. (Communists/Marxist-Leninists) vs. White Russians.
  • Outcome: Communist victory, followed by collapse of Soviet Union in 1991. White Russians and Jews escaped following defeat to three escape routes: Berlin, Thessaloniki, and Shanghai.
  • Modus Operandi: Civil war, secret police, show trials, murder, GULAGs, exile to Siberia, forced labor, ethnic cleansing, torture, etc.
  • Comments: Following Communist victory, Vladimir Lenin consolidated power to become first leader of the USSR. The Soviet regime reached the height of its domestic terrorism during the Stalin era (d. 1953), when during the Great Purge of 1937 approx. 1 million “undesirables” were eliminated.

Yet the allure of Marxist-Leninism is strong.  Indeed, Russia’s descent into the darkness of dystopian tyranny was not enough to prevent European malcontents from attempting to replicate the Soviet Union in western Europe.  During the 1970s and 80s, Europe was plagued by Marxist-Leninist terrorists intent on revolution.  Each country had their own “distinct” terrorist groups, although authorities later realized that they were not only connected to each other, but actively cooperating strategically.

European Terrorism – late 1960s – early 1990s

  • Belligerents: Italy: Red Brigades, Prima Linea, Potere Operaio ; Germany: Baader-Meinhof (aka Rote Armee Fraktion); France: Action Direct ; Spain: ETA ; UK and Ireland: IRA vs. European nations, and intelligence (BKA, MI5, MI6, SISMI, SISDE, etc.).
  • Outcome: Only after the European nations agreed to tackle the terrorism problem in unison, working across borders, was the bloody insurrection defeated.
  • Modus Operandi: Italy: kneecappings, kidnapping, bombs, etc. ; Germany: kidnaping, hostage taking, airplane rerouting, etc. ; UK and Ireland – killing, bombs, bringing down army helicopter.
  • Funding: The Soviet Union via Bulgaria funded European-based terror groups through local Communist newspapers. Also provided support to Palestinian/Arab terrorism. Muammar Gaddafi supported the IRA and ETA through direct bank-to-bank transfers and with weapons.
  • Comments: Political and intellectual support for the violent terrorist groups came from Communist parties in each country, who were often part of the government and intelligentsia.

Timing is Everything

For those unhappy with society for whatever reason, the Marxist-Leninist ideology is perennially attractive. Today’s violent Left – socialism – animated by Marxist-Leninism, shares many parallels with its predecessor movements.

“Protest Movement” – Present time

  • Belligerents: BLM, Antifa, Democrats, and media vs. the police, the public, Trump and Republicans
  • Outcome: TBD – Nov. 3, 2020 (or later)
  • Modus Operandi: Rioting, looting, assault, destruction of public property and monuments, blocking roads and highways, murder, arson, inflicting blindness
  • Support: Soros: funding “racial justice” organizations ~$220 million, the selection, election and support of local DAs ; Media: selective coverage ; China, and also Iran: known to support BLM.
  • Comments: China is America’s main geopolitical foe, and billionaire George Soros is a primary financier of the Democrat Party and global left. Both view President Trump as a threat to the globalization movement.

For the record, both China and Soros back Joe Biden.

Where do we stand at this point in history?  It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Ignoring the harsh and brutal reality of Communism in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, terrorists tried to topple Europe and establish their own “workers’ republic.”  But for the dedication of European governments they would have succeeded.  Today, a modern-day socialist, Marxist-Leninist movement has metastasized throughout the US and its political system – we have to stop them in their tracks!

©All rights reserved.

RELATED VIDEO: BLM Leaders in Their Own Words – PragerU.

Nigeria’s president: Trump “looked at me in the face. He said ‘why are you killing Christians?’”

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Nigeria ranks 12th in the Open Doors USA World Watch List of the worst countries for Christian persecution. Fulani jihadists and the Boko Haram jihad group brutalize and slaughter Christians on a routine basis.

For some odd reason, Buhari — himself a Fulani and a Muslim — decided to be honest about what transpired between him and Trump.

“I was in his office, only myself and himself. Only God is my witness. He looked at me in the face. He said ‘Why are you killing Christians?‘”

Buhari explained: “I tried and explained to him this has got nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. It is a cultural thing which the respective leadership was failing the nation.”

This is disingenuous. Nigeria has been termed the “biggest killing ground of Christians in the world.” Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Argak Kwashi of Jos said: “This thing is systematic. It is planned; it is calculated…. their intention is to Islamize Nigeria.”

Although Buhari openly condemns Boko Haram and Fulani jihadist attacks on Christians, he has done little to stop them.

In February, the Trump Administration launched the first-ever International Religious Freedom Alliance, which 26 countries joined: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, The Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Let’s hope more practical efforts are made to help Christians who are suffering persecution in Nigeria and elsewhere. Western countries need to be stop aid to countries that aid and abet persecution against Christians and other religious minorities.

“Buhari: Trump Accused Me of Killing Christians in Nigeria,” by Omololu Ogunmade, This Day, September 8, 2020:

For the first time since he met the United States President Donald Trump in Washington in April 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed Monday that Trump unequivocally accused him of killing Christians in Nigeria.

However, he said he defended himself, telling Trump that the conflict between farmers and herders in Nigeria was caused by cultural matters and not dictated by ethnic or religious factors.

Buhari, who said he was put on the spot by Trump when he was alone with him, alleging that he (Buhari) was slaughtering Christians in Nigeria, added that the question startled him but he put his emotion under control.

The president, who made the disclosure when he deviated from his closing speech at the end of a two-day ministerial retreat in the Presidential Villa, said he was the only African leader from less developed countries that was invited by Trump at the time.

He asked his cabinet members how they would feel if they were the ones put on the spot and confronted with such a grave allegation, disclosing that he further told Trump that the conflicts were caused by successive leaders of the country who tampered with established grazing routes.

According to him, only Nigerian leaders in the First Republic kept grazing routes while subsequent ones encroached on them, adding that the crisis was older than him and much more than Trump whom he said he was still older than.

“I believe I was about the only African among the less developed countries the President of United States invited, and when I was in his office, only myself and himself. Only God is my witness. He looked at me in the face. He said ‘why are you killing Christians?’

“I wonder if you were the person how you will react. I hope what I was feeling inside did not betray my emotion. So, I told him that the problem between the cattle rearers and stagnant farmers I know is older than me, not to talk of him (Trump). I think I am a couple of years older than him.

“With climate change and population growth and the culture of the cattle rearers, if you have 50 cows and they eat grass, any route to your water point, they will follow it, it doesn’t matter whose farm it was.

“The first republic set of leadership was the most responsible leadership we ever had. I asked the minister of agriculture to get a gazette of the early 60s which delineated the cattle routes where they used meagre resources then to put earth dams, wind mills even sanitary department.

“So, any cattle rearer that allowed his cattle to go to somebody’s farm is arrested, taken before the court, the farmer is called to submit his bill and if he can’t pay, the cattle are sold, but subsequent leaders, VVIPs (very very important persons) they encroached on the cattle routes, they took over the cattle rearing areas.

“So, I tried and explained to him this has got nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. It is a cultural thing which the respective leadership was failing the nation,” he said….

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RELATED VIDEO: Robert Spencer and Charles Moscowitz discuss ‘Rating America’s Presidents’

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

4 Voters Claiming NPR as Residence Turn Up in Search of California Voting Records

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As regular listeners of National Public Radio know, the taxpayer-funded outlet regularly disparages the idea that any type of fraud occurs in our elections. Now, research by the Public Interest Legal Foundation has turned up information pointing to possible election fraud by NPR employees.

Many types of election fraud occur. The type found in the NPR case, instances of which appear in The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database, concerns individuals who violate eligibility rules by registering and voting where they don’t actually live.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation found four individuals who claimed NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California, as their residence and voted in 2018 via mail-in absentee ballots. More on that startling discovery in a bit.

When you register to vote, you are required by state law to register at your residential address, whether it is a home, an apartment, or a homeless shelter. You cannot register where you work and certainly not at other commercial addresses such as your local UPS Store, since your eligibility as a voter is tied to your residence and all of the local, state, and federal elected officials who represent that geographic area.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

You basically are cheating the system and your fellow voters if you vote in races you are not entitled to vote in when you register somewhere other than where you live.

Rep. Steve Watkins, R-Kan., recently discovered that, no doubt to his chagrin, when he was charged with felony voter fraud for claiming a UPS Store as his residence when he registered to vote (and then voted) in a 2019 municipal election in Topeka, Kansas.

Can this type of fraud make a difference? Of course it can.

In 2012, a city council election in Vernon, California, was decided by a margin of four votes. A court overturned the election after it found that five individuals who were not residents of Vernon had voted.

When another court overturned the mayor’s race in Miami, Florida, in 1997 because of widespread absentee ballot fraud, the court noted illegal votes cast by registered voters who were not residents of the city.

California’s secretary of state explains in instructions for the voter registration form that individuals registering to vote in California must do so at their home address. Which brings us back to the NPR West headquarters building at 9909 Jefferson Blvd. in Culver City, California.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation, in looking at California’s voter registration and voting history records in conjunction with matching nonresidential addresses, found four individuals who claimed NPR West headquarters as their residence and voted in the November 2018 elections via absentee mail-in ballots.

Their names: Juan Ramon Beristain, Isabella Beristain, Carrie Jane Kahn, and Anjuli Sastry.

Neither Beristain’s name appears in a search of the NPR website, and their affiliations with the left-leaning public broadcaster aren’t clear.

Kahn is listed as an international correspondent based in Mexico City. Her biography says she files reports for the NPR programs “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,” and “Weekend Edition.”

Sastry is listed as an associate producer at WAMU (88.5), the NPR station owned by American University in Washington, D.C., for the program “It’s Been a Minute With Sam Sanders.” Her biography says she previously worked for “All Things Considered,” too, which is one of NPR’s major news programs.

But according to the voter registration form that Sastry had to have completed under oath when she registered to vote, she lives 2,680 miles away from the nation’s capital at the NPR West building in Culver City.

All things actually considered, the question arises of whether the Beristains, Kahn, and Sastry engaged in the same type of behavior that led to Watkins being charged with voter fraud. In fact, NPR published a partner station’s report on Watkins in July in a story headlined “Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins Charged With Felonies Over Voter Registration at UPS Store.”

The Public Interest Legal Foundation’s findings on NPR stem from a newly unveiled research tool that allows the election watchdog to collect and audit the nation’s voter registration files. It’s called the SAVE Database.

And for those who claim that we don’t need to worry about noncitizens taking advantage of our honor system by registering and voting illegally in our elections, consider that the U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin of the Middle District of North Carolina just brought criminal charges against another 19 aliens for allegedly illegally registering and voting in the 2016 presidential election.

As the charging documents set forth, the alleged conduct violates three different provisions of federal law, one a misdemeanor and two felonies:

  • 18 U.S.C. § 611(a)—voting by a noncitizen;
  • 18 U.S.C. § 911—making a false claim of U.S. citizenship; and
  • 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f)—making a false statement in a voter registration application.

Making a false statement on a voter registration form—such as claiming that a commercial building where you work is actually your residence—violates Section 1015 (f), a felony punishable by a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Think this is an isolated problem in North Carolina? In 2018, U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon of the Eastern District of North Carolina brought criminal charges against 19 other illegal aliens for allegedly doing exactly the same thing: illegally registering and voting in the 2016 election.

And Georgia’s secretary of state just reported that his office found 1,000 registered voters who voted twice in the state’s June primary, once with absentee ballots and again in person on Election Day.

The numbers just keep adding up. Election integrity is something the public takes seriously, and prosecutors and election officials should, too.

Unfortunately, too many in the media (including NPR, it seems), in academia, and in the political halls of Washington and state capitols aren’t serious about clean and fair elections.

Editor’s note: NPR did not respond by publication time to an emailed request for comment.

COMMENTARY BY

Hans von Spakovsky

Hans von Spakovsky is an authority on a wide range of issues—including civil rights, civil justice, the First Amendment, immigration, the rule of law and government reform—as a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and manager of the think tank’s Election Law Reform Initiative. Read his research. Twitter: .

A Note for our Readers:

Democratic Socialists say, “America should be more like socialist countries such as Sweden and Denmark.” And millions of young people believe them…

For years, “Democratic Socialists” have been growing a crop of followers that include students and young professionals. America’s future will be in their hands.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? One of their most effective arguments is that “democratic socialism” is working in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway. They claim these countries are “proof” that socialism will work for America. But they’re wrong. And it’s easy to explain why.

Our friends at The Heritage Foundation just published a new guide that provides three irrefutable facts that debunks these myths. For a limited time, they’re offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free.

Get your free copy of “Why Democratic Socialists Can’t Legitimately Claim Sweden and Denmark as Success Stories” today and equip yourself with the facts you need to debunk these myths once and for all.

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW »

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

PODCAST: Non-Citizen Voter Fraud

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Non-citizen voting is rampant across the country and little has been done to address this issue. Learn more about this illegal and reckless practice by checking out the latest Understanding Immigration podcast episode.

FAIR’s Spencer Raley, Preston Huennekens, and Matthew Tragesser discuss the issue of non-citizen voter fraud.

EDITORS NOTE: This FAIR podcast is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

New Netflix Film Sexualizes Children

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Video streaming giant Netflix is drawing criticism once again, this time for hosting and promoting the film “Cuties,” which sexualizes 11-year-old girls. Having failed to learn its lesson after the trailer generated outrage last month, Netflix has gone ahead and made the movie available on its platform, despite many critics describing it as “child pornography.”

Republican lawmakers took swift action. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote a letter to Attorney General Barr, calling for an investigation into whether Netflix broke any federal laws relating to child pornography. The letter states: “These scenes in and of themselves are harmful. And it is likely that the filming of this movie created even more explicit and abusive scenes, and that pedophiles across the world in the future will manipulate and imitate this film in abusive ways.”

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote a letter to the CEO of Netflix, demanding that he explain the company’s decision to publish this harmful content. He asked why the film was rated “TV-MA” for language with no mention of the sexual content, whether Netflix considered the psychological and emotional impacts from the sexualization of minors or the effect of the film on children, and why the company marketed the film so suggestively.

Netflix is deeply intertwined with the agenda of the sexual revolution. Just last year, Netflix threatened to boycott Georgia if a pro-life law went into effect. Legalized abortion perpetuates the myth that there are “no consequences” to engaging in sex outside of marriage, and it is often used by sexual abusers of children to cover up their crimes. By releasing the film “Cuties” to its viewers, Netflix is now actively participating in the sexual exploitation of minors.

Parents should be aware that Netflix may try to market the film to teens. A 2020 Report from the Parents Television Council found that over half of the content in categories for teens was rated “R” or “TV-MA.”

Parents have their work cut out for them if they want to protect their kids from the propaganda of the sexual revolution and its anti-Christian ideology. Even once-safe kids programs like Arthur, Sesame Street, and The Baby-Sitters Club are pushing LGBT propaganda, while public schools seek to sexualize children at increasingly earlier ages.

My family ended our financial support of Netflix’s immoral programming long ago, but many more are canceling their subscriptions now. A Change.org petition to cancel Netflix subscriptions in response to “Cuties” has earned over 650,000 signatures.

It’s clear that Netflix believes it is too large to be held accountable for its despicable content. But parents can and should send the company a clear message by refusing to sponsor the sexual exploitation of children.

EDITORS NOTE: This FRC-Action column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

WATCH: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refers to a “Harris-Biden Administration”

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And so did she:

Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Make Freudian Slips, Accidentally Referring To A ‘Harris Administration’

Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke of a “Harris administration,” while discussing economic plans during a virtual roundtable Saturday.

By Ecita Duffy, the Federalist, September 15, 2020:

“A Harris administration, together with Joe Biden as the president of the United States,” she said before correcting what many are calling a “Freudian slip.”

With worries about Biden’s mental agility, many people wonder if a potential Biden administration would really be Biden’s. The Federalist Staff Writer, Tristan Justice, theorized that Biden will be “a vehicle for the left’s cultural revolution,” if he becomes president.

Angela Davis, a prominent communist, anti-Semite and former Black Panther, stated Biden could be “effectively pressured,” into promoting the agenda of the radical left in pursuit of a complete societal transformation overthrowing existing norms into a new world order.

As Justice notes, “Biden has already showcased a willingness to conform to the woke revolution,” through his agenda which is  “the most radical progressive platform of any modern Democratic candidate in recent history.”

On par with Biden’s radical agenda, Harris has proven to be a solid member of the far left. As Federalist Managing Editor Joshua Lawson writes, Harris is far from a moderate, as the corporate media likes to portray her. Harris also has the most progressive voting record in the Senate.

“Her positions form an agenda nearly entirely in lock-step with the radical leftist ideology that has taken over the Democratic Party,” Lawson writes.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Some Schools Don’t Want You to Know What They Are Teaching Your Kids. That’s a Problem.

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Six months into the pandemic, some traditions will still not be upset by a virus. As approximately half of K-12 schools are only offering online instruction, parents will still know little, if anything, of what their children are being taught in school except by accident—or  unless they ask.

Recent fallout from such asymmetric information comes from Wylie, Texas, where a cartoon associating police with the KKK went from classroom to living room to the press room and on to the governor.

At Cooper Junior High, eighth-grade students were assigned to write about a political cartoon that depicts slave owners, then KKK members, and then police in corresponding panels. Furious parents, who only learned of the assignment because their children told them, contacted the school and wrote angry statements on social media.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott said the teacher responsible for the assignment should be fired.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

To be sure, there have always been disagreements about the content that students are taught in the classroom. From the introduction of “new math” and alternative ways of teaching reading in the 1950s and ’60s, to the arrival of Common Core textbooks over the last decade, changes in school curriculum always sparks debate, and will continue to do so long as schools enroll more than one student.

But in a period that historians will mark less for its civil discourse than for the birth of cancel culture and vicious riots, parents should be wary of projects that want to reframe history or train children to see injustice all around them.

For example, the New York Times Magazine and Pulitzer Center’s 1619 Project includes a school curriculum that would change how U.S. history is taught, marking 1619, the year slaves arrived in the Virginia colony, as “our nation’s foundational date.”

Reviewers, including decorated historians, have found multiple errors within the 1619 Project, starting with the date: slaves arrived via Spanish ships in North America a century before 1619. And despite the project’s claim, American colonists did not use the preservation of slavery as the primary reason to fight the American Revolution.

Noted academics including Gordon Wood, James McPherson, Allen Guelzo, and Sean Wilentz, to name a few, have catalogued the errors.

Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter also has a school curriculum, if one can call a list of  progressive policy demands the basis for a course of study. Considering that instructions for hosting a week of action precedes the list of actual learning materials, it’s no surprise to find politically charged titles as “Open Secrets in First Grade Math: Teaching about White Supremacy on American Currency” on the list.

This material goes beyond teaching students the dangers of racism and ventures well into the misuse of journalistic license and a philosophy of perpetual victimization.

What can be done? For parents, pandemic pods are all the rage right now, in which a small group of parents pool their resources to hire private instructors for their children.

But for generations, isolated groups parents have gathered to educate themselves on what their children are learning and become active with their school board. Today we might call these “textbook pods,” but “concerned citizens” will do. For all parents now, the pandemic offers a unique opportunity to review what your child is learning while content is being delivered online for all or part of the school week.

This may sound simple, but there are startling examples of schools attempting to prevent parents from finding out what is being taught. For example, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, school officials asked parents to sign forms stating they would not watch their child’s online classes while the district remains closed for in-person learning. The district released different guidance, but only after parents complained and the policy made headlines.

State and local policymakers should help parents’ efforts by requiring that public schools provide descriptions of their curricular materials online and make copies of assigned reading or written tasks available upon request.

Goldwater Institute research explains that Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee lawmakers have already enacted provisions that allow parents to see instructional content before it is taught to students, though even some of these provisions come with caveats (and considering the incident in Rutherford County, state legislators should make sure districts follow through).

In Arizona, for example, parents only view the content on school grounds. State lawmakers should require that districts bear the responsibility for providing instructional content to parents either in physical form or online.

Finally, state and federal lawmakers should affirm a parent’s right to choose how and where their child learns. Parent choice in education became a reality for everyone this year when nearly every school in the world closed due to the pandemic, and then only certain schools re-opened for in-person learning in time for the current school year.

Again, it may seem commonsensical to say that parents should be allowed to make choices about their child’s education, but some state and local policymakers have tried to stop parents from moving their child out of an assigned school.

Last month, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan overruled Montgomery County officials’ decision to require private school buildings to remain closed while district schools were closed to in-person instruction.

Officials in North Carolina recently blocked virtual charter school enrollment, following similar decisions from lawmakers in Oregon and Pennsylvania earlier this year.

Lawmakers must maintain a consistent message that parents should be allowed to know what their children are taught, and can choose how and where their children learn.

For federal lawmakers, delivering this message without expanding the federal footprint will take legislative restraint. But such a visible show of support for parents trying to find a quality education for their child would be a welcome one, and would restore a vital tradition for everyone involved in K-12 schools: The pursuit of truth.

COMMENTARY BY

Jonathan Butcher

Jonathan Butcher is a senior policy analyst in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy and a senior fellow for the Goldwater Institute and the Beacon Center of Tennessee. Twitter:

A Note for our Readers:

Democratic Socialists say, “America should be more like socialist countries such as Sweden and Denmark.” And millions of young people believe them…

For years, “Democratic Socialists” have been growing a crop of followers that include students and young professionals. America’s future will be in their hands.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? One of their most effective arguments is that “democratic socialism” is working in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway. They claim these countries are “proof” that socialism will work for America. But they’re wrong. And it’s easy to explain why.

Our friends at The Heritage Foundation just published a new guide that provides three irrefutable facts that debunks these myths. For a limited time, they’re offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free.

Get your free copy of “Why Democratic Socialists Can’t Legitimately Claim Sweden and Denmark as Success Stories” today and equip yourself with the facts you need to debunk these myths once and for all.

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW »

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO: ‘No Police, No Peace’ Billboards to Reach 4 Million in New York, Atlanta, Dallas

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Six billboards declaring “No Police, No Peace” have gone up, two each in New York City, Dallas, and Atlanta, Heritage Action for America announced Monday.

The move comes amid an increase in both violence in the streets and angry anti-police rhetoric.

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, ages 24 and 31, were shot and seriously wounded Saturday night as they sat in their patrol car. And in St. Louis, a 35-year-old police officer was wounded in the shoulder during a traffic stop, becoming the ninth officer to be shot since June 1.

“Americans want safety, security, and a clear vision for how to quell the violence. I am excited to announce the launch of these billboards today, because you cannot have peace without the police,” Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, the grassroots partner organization of The Heritage Foundation, said in a written statement.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

Together, the billboards in the three cities are expected to reach a weekly audience of about 4 million. They will be displayed for two weeks.

In New York City, which eliminated the police department’s violent crime unit, the billboards are displayed in Times Square at 7th Avenue and 48th Street and at Broadway and 44th Street.

In Atlanta, one billboard stands across from CNN headquarters at Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Marietta Street. The other is at Peachtree Road East and Paces Ferry Road.

In Dallas, the billboards are downtown at Main Street, near Interstate 45, and on Cedar Springs Road.

“These cities are facing rising violence, deep cuts to public safety, and the resignation of their top police officers,” Anderson said. “This is a time for all citizens and leaders to come together to support the important work and sacrifices of our law enforcement officers and push back against the left’s campaign to defund the police.”

Several cities throughout the United States have supported defunding police departments, while some Democratic members of Congress called for similar actions. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., called Monday for police to be disarmed. “Ban tear gas and rubber bullets,” he tweeted.

The billboards urge citizens to sign Heritage Action’s Police Pledge, which already has been signed by nearly 100,000.

Among the signers are former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and nearly 100 members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

The pledge calls on Americans to “stand with America’s police and pledge to oppose any bill, resolution, or movement to ‘Defund the Police.’”

This comes as homicides in New York City spiked by almost 50% in August amid budget cutbacks, compared with the same month in 2019. The homicide rate in Atlanta is up nearly 150% since the protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Dallas is on the way to hitting its highest homicide rate in more than a decade.

“Now is the time for our elected officials at all levels of government to take a stand for peace and security over anarchy and chaos,” Anderson said, adding:

Supporting police is not partisan. It’s American.

Lawmakers should push back against violent rhetoric and dangerous policies that would undermine our communities.

Our law enforcement supports us every day, and it’s time we support them back.

The Daily Signal is the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation.

COLUMN BY

Fred Lucas

Fred Lucas is chief national affairs correspondent for The Daily Signal and co-host of “The Right Side of History” podcast. Lucas is also the author of “Abuse of Power: Inside The Three-Year Campaign to Impeach Donald Trump.” Send an email to Fred. Twitter: @FredLucasWH.

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PODCAST: Taking a Newspaper to Task

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It is no secret the main stream media has turned to the Left and actively supports liberal causes. As such, trying to get a conservative comment printed is next to impossible. This was one of the key reasons why I cancelled my subscription to the Tampa Bay Times a couple of years ago and started the Tampa Bay Conservatives web site. Enough is enough.

I am obviously not alone in this regard as I know many conservatives angered by the press. To illustrate, of the people in our Tampa Bay Trump Club, I have yet to meet anyone who subscribes to the Tampa Bay Times. It is simply loathed by conservatives and labeled “Fake News.” I also see this in other newspapers in Democrat-controlled urban strongholds where they pander to the Left, such as Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New York, etc.

I have offered suggestions for “Confronting the News Media,” including picketing and boycotting, but one of the most effective means to protest the media is simply the printed word which, unfortunately, few people use to express their displeasure.

Enter Larry Marlin, an old friend and conservative from Bryan, Texas (near College Station and Texas A & M University). For quite some time, Larry subscribed to the local newspaper, The Bryan-College Station Eagle. However, he began to notice a shift in the editorial slant of the paper and brought it to the attention of the Editor there. Unfortunately, the liberal slant went from bad to worse. Finally, he could stand it no more and wrote the following letter recently to the newspaper which I found particularly interesting:

Dear Editorial Board:

Since August 10th, I have kept copies of your newspaper and reviewed them for bias. As you may recall, you printed a letter I wrote saying most of “The Eagle” bias comes from your Associated Press articles. I later wrote a letter saying I had been mistaken and your paper was rife with bias. The second letter was based on material you printed after being “woke” by BLM and the rest of the “protesters.” You did not print that letter. I did say I was not a member of the “cancel culture” and, rather than cancel my subscription, I would see if your paper made any effort to reduce bias.

I have reviewed each issue since 8/10. You have not improved. If anything, you have gotten worse. During the period 8/10 through 9/4 you have printed 28 left wing editorials and 9 right wing ones. In editorial cartoons you did better with 5 right wing and 3 left wing. Concerning the cartoons, it is interesting that several days after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hypocritical visit to get her hair washed, you finally printed something about it in a cartoon relegated to the bottom of the editorial page. Other than that, as near as I can tell, you completely ignored the story.

Of course, your AP articles continue to be overwhelmingly left wing. I have not seen any indication of an attempt on your part to reduce this left wing bias. I doubt you have contacted AP concerning their outrageously dishonest presentations of the news. I don’t have time to list all the left-biased articles by AP. I would mention Steve People’s articles about the Democrat convention compared to his articles about the Republican convention — day and night.

Anyway, I will be cancelling my subscription. I just can’t imagine you will ever change. Should you surprise me and decide to make needed changes such as blasting AP, hiring a few conservatives, balancing your editorials, writing more unifying local editorials, or anything else please let me know. I might resubscribe.

Sincerely,
Lawrence P. Marlin*
Sep 4, 2020

What I liked about this letter is that it wasn’t ranting and raving, but rather, a matter-of-fact dissertation as to why someone was unsubscribing. If I was the Editor, I would consider it carefully and not dismiss it out of hand as it represents a legitimate concern of a reader. If Larry’s data is correct, the Editor should now realize his slip is showing and should take steps to correct it before all of his conservative readers abandon him. The reality though is, as a supporter of the far-Left, the Editor couldn’t care less and is willing to sacrifice readership to preserve the Left’s dogma. This is essentially no different than the attitude of the mayors of Democrat controlled cities where their citizen’s lives and businesses are threatened. This, of course, is reckless behavior and speaks volumes of their priorities of choosing Democrat policies over the safety and well-being of their citizens.

Larry’s letter also happens to make a handy template for writing your own letter to other newspapers. For those of you who have difficulty penning a Letter to the Editor, simply copy Larry’s letter, update it with data specific to your area and send it in (preferably by e-mail). If enough people complain of the unfair tactics of the press, the better the chances of getting some honest news reporting. To do nothing is to surrender to the press.

I’ll leave it with you.

(* Letter written with the permission of the author)

Keep the Faith!

P.S. – Also, I have a NEW book, “Before You Vote: Know How Your Government Works”, What American youth should know about government, available in Printed, PDF and eBook form. This is the perfect gift for youth!

EDITORS NOTE: This Bryce is Right podcast is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

PODCAST: Far Left Similar to Communist Movement, Former Student Radical Says

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Disconcerting similarities exist between the modern progressive left and the communist movement. Take it from someone who knows.

Tony Salinski, once a student radical and now an expert on communist ideology, identified as a communist for several years during the Vietnam War era. Salinski joins the podcast to explain why he was drawn to communism as a youth and to identify similarities between communism and socialism.

Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a school principal who is using his skill as a barber to mentor his students.

Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? Learn more now >>

“The Daily Signal Podcast” is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, and Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!

Virginia Allen: I am joined by professor Tony Salinski, a former student radical in the communist movement. Tony, thank you so much for being here today.

Tony Salinski: You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.

Allen: The topic of communism and socialism is certainly getting a lot of attention in the current political and social climate. And when you were a student, you were a part of the communist movement. Can you just begin by telling us a little bit of your story? How did you come to identify with the communist movement?

Salinski: Well, I was actually for the war. This was back at the time of the Vietnam War. And I started out for the war and, like everybody, debating whether they wanted to enlist or wait until they got they got called, drafted.

And during that time, [President] Lyndon Johnson did a TV special. They call it a special, but he was on TV. He was arguing against the Republicans, who had wanted to get in and get it over with, and get out.

One of the things he said was, “We’re going to stay in there. We’re not going to invade the North. We’re just going to stay in there until we stop them. And it could take 50 years.” I thought to myself, “Fifty years? Fifty years of guys just getting killed to finally just out-kill these guys.” And that started me to think, “This is not for me. I don’t want to do this.”

Push comes to shove later. I was looking into means of getting out legally of the draft and went to a meeting house, where a number of different groups were present. And one of them was a communist group.

I was interviewed briefly by the people sponsoring the event. And they asked me if I would have fought in World War II, and I said, “Well, yeah. Absolutely.” And they said, “OK, that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for people who wouldn’t fight at all.” And they motioned me over to the communists, and I went over and gathered some information.

Later, I just sort of drifted into them. The resistance was going because there was no other resistance. There was no resistance to what the communists were saying anywhere on the media. There was no Rush Limbaugh. And I was a blue-collar kid and didn’t know anything about “Firing Line” or William F. Buckley or anything like that.

So there was no counter to what the communists were putting out about the war in Vietnam. And I got convinced that it was illegal and that it was immoral. And … one thing led to another. …

I was in a rock band at that time. And that was the big draw that drew the communists to me. We were doing pretty well and getting good audience responses around the city of Pittsburgh. And eventually we started doing some shows for them. And one thing led to another and I was involved.

They asked me, probably on three separate occasions, to join the party. And I told him the same thing every time, I said, “Nixon’s got a list, an enemies list, and I don’t want to be on that list. But I can work with you and help you out, as we go here, without being a member of the party itself.”

And we came to that agreement and they stayed with that. And from then on, it was just a matter of just going to the events that they put on and helping them with this and that, and the other thing, and bringing the band.

Allen: I find that interesting. You didn’t join the party, but you were in the movement for a number of years, in the communist movement. What was so appealing about the communist movement to you, that kept you in it, that kept you saying, “I’ll support you all. And I’ll be a part of what you’re doing”?

Salinski: Basically the idea that they were doing something. They were active. They knew what their motives were. They knew that they wanted out of the war. And I agreed with that, at first.

They were organized. They could bring out a crowd like nobody’s business. It was amazing to see how they were able to put a lot of people together, to come out and make their point.

But I was never fully into the idea of destroying the United States of America. That was a problem for me from Day One. And they got around that by saying, “We don’t want to destroy the United States. We simply want to improve it.” And I bought it. I was 19 years old, 18 years old, at the time, and I bought it.

But that was it. Ideologically, I didn’t get really aware ideologically until near the end. And things started to become clearer and clearer and clearer. And I realized that from the very beginning, everything they had said was in one way or another a lie. And I just finally couldn’t stand that.

I kept confronting them, asking them, “What about this? What about that?” And I kept getting variations on the same answer. “You’re just not ready for the whole story yet.” And I, being 19 years old, I knew everything, anyway. I thought, “Well, yeah, I am ready for the whole story. Why don’t you just tell me?” But it just kept going on and on and on like that. And finally, I just dropped away.

Allen: They were almost kind of teasing you along, giving you little bits of information, but never totally upfront and candid, it sounds like, about, really, what ultimately their mission was.

Salinski: Right. And they did that to everyone, except the people who walked up and said, “I want to join the Communist Party USA.” Those people got moved to the head of the line, so to speak, but the rest of us were just drifting in varying degrees of commitment, varying degrees of understanding. And yeah, they sort of reeled us in gradually.

Allen: So fast-forward to today. And what do you know of the communist movement’s activity today? I mean, some of the unrest that we’re seeing in the streets, can we directly link that back to communism?

Salinski: Well, when I got out of the movement, … I didn’t want any parts of any of it. My wife at the time said, “If you’re drafted, are you going to go to Canada?” I said, “No, if I’m drafted, I’m going to go to Vietnam.” OK? I had just gotten sick of the whole thing. And after getting away from it for a little while, … I got into the Democratic Party.

I was … semi-active as a Democrat and paid attention to all the news and everything like that. And I realized, “Wait a minute, these people are the communists on slow motion. They’re active. It’s the same thing. What they want is the same thing. They just don’t want to do it as fast.”

The communists, they were in the process at that time of switching from Leninist tactics in the street, in-your-face revolution, to Gramsci. And the idea of a gradual movement into a revolutionary pattern that wasn’t in your face wasn’t on the street.

… That really put me off because I just wanted to get it over with and get things straightened out, as they said.

But yeah, from the Democratic Party then, I’m moving on and watching these people. And what happened was, … it took a very short time, a year or so, before I just started watching them, watching everything they were doing.

I felt strange because my dad used to always say, “Oh, that’s communist.” I’d say, “Oh, dad, yeah. I know there’s a communist under your bed.” Well, there was, they were everywhere. And whether they call themselves communists or not, they were, in my estimation, communists because the goals were the same. The tactics were a little different, but the goals were the same.

One of the last things that they did that really pushed me away was they come up to us one day on the street. And this had come down from, not an activist, an agent, actually, a KGB agent, who had been identified to me on the streets several times. He was, I guess, code named Andre.

Andre had passed on this information that we were going to completely change our tactics. And I said, “What are we going to do?” “Well, you’re going to stop calling yourselves communists.” I said, “Really? Well, what are we going to call ourselves?” “We’re going to call ourselves liberals, progressives, socialists, anything but communists.”

Allen: Wow.

Salinski: So from that point on, if you identified yourself as a liberal, I just said, “Okay, check one communist. Progressive, check another as communist.” And what I’m seeing today, in my mind, validates that.

Allen: Wow.

Salinski: Well, Antifa is and Black Lives Matter is more a return to Leninist tactics. They’re out in the street, obviously burning things down, and pushing people around, and so on and so forth.

But the main communist movement is behind them and is still chugging along with their idea of … moving the country gradually over the past, what is now 50 years since this all happened. I’m watching it. Never, never stop moving to the left. It’s always moving left.

Allen: So walk us through how exactly the Communist Party does go about enticing people. I mean, how have they essentially infiltrated the left to where we are seeing this kind of radical takeover and this radical progressivism push forward, that is very different from what I think the left used to look like?

Salinski: Well, their motive has been all along to identify areas that certain groups, certain constituencies, and when it gets down to it, certain individuals, like myself, are interested in.

They had a gold mine there during Vietnam because they had a war that nobody wanted to get into. And they used that to pull people in. But whatever it is, housing, jobs, anything that they can name that a group is interested in, they will use, even if they’re counter to each other. …

They’re promising one group this, promising the other group that, and this and that cancel each other out. But as long as those two groups don’t figure that out, they’re drawing people in.

Allen: In your own experience, how open and honest are communists actually about their goals?

Salinski: Depends on where you are in the program. Up at the top, yeah, they’re free and easy with talking about what they want to do, destroying the United States, as we know it. And then ultimately destroying all nations, and all boundaries and borders. But below the top level, it’s just what you’re given to know, what you’re supposed to know, and you move on from there.

But the word “honest” and the word “communist” should never be used together in a sentence because they’re not honest.

Allen: Interesting. You have explained, during previous presentations, that the Communist Party really sees themselves as being at war when they’re spreading their ideology. Can you just explain that a little bit more, what you mean by that?

Salinski: Well, yeah. And this was early on too, I didn’t get this late in the program, this was upfront. “We are at war.” Now, I didn’t tumble to all that that meant, but the phraseology was, “We’re at war. And that means anything goes.”

Marx said that the definition of morality is that which advances the revolution. And I found that to be true with them. That’s what morality is. …

One of the things that really frustrates me, when I’m dealing with people who are not real knowledgeable about this stuff, is that idea that they think we’re playing by the same rules that we’ve always played by.

There’s a Democratic Party, there’s a Republican Party, everybody’s agreed on the fundamental principles of right and wrong, but that’s not where the communists are.

They are at war. They are going to do anything, anything it takes to win. There’s no ground for agreement or crossing the aisle or any of that stuff. It’s just, they’re going to take advantage of every situation that offers itself. And they’re going to use that situation to win. It’s the end justifies the means, in every case.

Allen: Well, I find it fascinating that you say that because I think increasingly in the nation, that’s what we’re seeing. You’ve been through things like cancel culture, that there’s no room for disagreement or difference.

Salinski: Right.

Allen: And we’ve seen, sadly, this real interest among young people in socialism. In your opinion, what separates socialism and communism? Does one naturally kind of deteriorate into the other?

Salinski: Well, I agree with Lenin, the end, the result of all socialism is communism. There are arbitrary demarcations drawn along the historical line, but they’re arbitrary and … the moment they can be pushed aside, the moment they can be disposed with, they’re going to be disposed with.

This is an argument I have with so many people in our own movement, “Oh, well, he’s not really a communist.” No, not yet, but he’s headed there.

There’s a difference between their conception of economics, and communism is an economic system in the end. They believe in what’s called a closed economic system. There’s X amount of dollars, or whatever we want to refer to the resources as, and that’s it. You have to move that around to people in the fairest possible way, ideally, absolute equality.

But capitalism is based on an open economic system. You don’t have enough wealth? Well, go create some. And that’s what we do. … I learned that in college, that was long, long, past the communist phase of my life.

But when I learned that, it became crystal clear to me why some people are drawn to communism or socialism or any ism that says it’s going to share the money. Well, yeah, because there’s only so much, and if you have too much, then I have too little. But that’s not reality. I mean, wealth is always being created.

Allen: You mentioned in college, that was where your capitalist views kind of were cemented. And that’s wonderful, that for you that was your experience. But I do find that sad, that today, we see the exact opposite, that young people go to college and they are somewhat radicalized. They are introduced to socialist and communist ideas. And maybe that capitalist background that they grew up with is kind of lost to the wayside.

What do you think is the responsibility of educators, parents, mentors, to actually be speaking to the younger generation, honestly, about the realities of socialism and communism?

Salinski: Well, I think that their responsibility is to go there and do that and open up that conversation. But at this point, you’re going to lose … Well, even back then, it was the case. But now, it’s even more the case. You’re going to risk losing your sons and daughters because they’re bought into it.

And I should add that I was not educated in capitalism in college. I drew that from the opposite of … Everything they said was bad, I thought, “Well, that sounds pretty good to me. That actually doesn’t sound bad at all.”

So it was not that they were out there promoting capitalism at that time. I just drew that from what they were promoting. Because I had already been there, I had seen the whole communist thing up close, and thought, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s not true. What you’re saying there won’t work out.”

And certain times you could speak that out and say, “Well, my experience is this,” and you’d get support. And other times, you just learn to keep your mouth shut, if you want to get that grade and get out, where you can do some real damage, which I did.

Allen: Yeah.

Salinski: I ended up teaching college, and in my classroom they got the truth. You know when I say they got the truth, they got both sides, they got a fair treatment of communism and a fair treatment of capitalism.

I have to tell you, once it’s laid out like that, I used to finish the course with just a little … Well, other things that they had to do. But one of their tasks at the end of the course was to write me a two-page paper on what they thought of the material in the course, regarding communism and capitalism, and 90% of them plus went for capitalism when they realized what the difference was.

Allen: Well, I think, unfortunately, few college students today have a professor like you that will clearly lay out both sides.

So are there any resources that you would recommend for young people who, they’re in college, they’re facing, essentially, being indoctrinated with these ideas and they just want to hear both sides of the argument. Are there certain books that you would recommend or individuals, maybe, to look up on YouTube?

Salinski: … First of all, the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, they should become familiar with that. And the history behind it, that in itself is quite a task, but they need to do that. But writing’s more directly concerned with it.

What started me off was W. Graham Sumner. I don’t know if you ever heard of Sumner, but he was an anti-socialist back in, I think he died in 1910 or something like that, in 1912. So he was in the Progressive Era and he was noted as an anti-progressive, but he frequently got onto outing socialism and just laid out the differences.

Salinski: Let’s see, [Antonio] Gramsci, or not Gramsci. Well, they should read Gramsci. They should read something of Gramsci because that tells them what they’re hooked up in now. They should read “Rules for Radicals,” if they haven’t already. Which is, again, a Marxist source, but it lays out what they’re being asked to do and why.

Any of the writings from [The Heritage Foundation]. OK? Any of the writings from people like Pat Buchanan, back in the ’90s, especially. There’s a lot of material out there. They have to look it up though.

Allen: Absolutely. How can our listeners follow your work?

Salinski: Through ACAT, mostly. And I do some things around here. I’m doing a speech on the 29th about communism. Well, it was originally in a library, but then this coronavirus came along and shut the library thing down. So they’ve moved it across the alleyway to a church over there.

You could look me up online. I’m trying to think of whether most of my talks are still up there. I know we took a lot of them down, but they have a way of getting back up there. So you could just look up my name and see what comes out in that, but always through ACAT, Anticommunist Action Team. That’s where I’ll be.

Allen: Great. Thank you. So that’s the Anticommunist Action Team.

Salinski: Yeah.

Allen: We’ll be sure to link that in the show notes today. Tony, thank you. We just really appreciate your time and you coming on and talking about your own personal experience, really fascinating.

Salinski: Well, thank you very much for having me.

COLUMN BY

Virginia Allen

Virginia Allen is a news producer for The Daily Signal. She is the co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast and Problematic Women. Send an email to Virginia. Twitter: @Virginia_Allen5

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A Note for our Readers:

Democratic Socialists say, “America should be more like socialist countries such as Sweden and Denmark.” And millions of young people believe them…

For years, “Democratic Socialists” have been growing a crop of followers that include students and young professionals. America’s future will be in their hands.

How are socialists deluding a whole generation? One of their most effective arguments is that “democratic socialism” is working in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway. They claim these countries are “proof” that socialism will work for America. But they’re wrong. And it’s easy to explain why.

Our friends at The Heritage Foundation just published a new guide that provides three irrefutable facts that debunks these myths. For a limited time, they’re offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free.

Get your free copy of “Why Democratic Socialists Can’t Legitimately Claim Sweden and Denmark as Success Stories” today and equip yourself with the facts you need to debunk these myths once and for all.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Ex-Terrorist Bill Ayers [and Obama Pal] Says Civil War Has Already Started

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Ayers should be rotting in prison. Instead the left has made him a god.

Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama’s first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers’s home.

From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.
Bill Ayers.
AP

The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama’s first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers’s home.

The CAC’s agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers’s educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland’s ghetto.

[…]

CAC translated Mr. Ayers’s radicalism into practice. Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with “external partners,” which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn).

Mr. Obama once conducted “leadership training” seminars with Acorn, and Acorn members also served as volunteers in Mr. Obama’s early campaigns. External partners like the South Shore African Village Collaborative and the Dual Language Exchange focused more on political consciousness, Afrocentricity and bilingualism than traditional education. CAC’s in-house evaluators comprehensively studied the effects of its grants on the test scores of Chicago public-school students. They found no evidence of educational improvement.

CAC also funded programs designed to promote “leadership” among parents. Ostensibly this was to enable parents to advocate on behalf of their children’s education. In practice, it meant funding Mr. Obama’s alma mater, the Developing Communities Project, to recruit parents to its overall political agenda. CAC records show that board member Arnold Weber was concerned that parents “organized” by community groups might be viewed by school principals “as a political threat.” Mr. Obama arranged meetings with the Collaborative to smooth out Mr. Weber’s objections.

 (Read the rest at the WSJ)

Ex-Terrorist Bill Ayers Says Civil War Has Already Started

By Tyler O’Neil Sep 11, 2020 12:03 AM EST

As violent and destructive antifa and Black Lives Matter riots continue to ravage American cities like Portland and Kenosha, a self-described communist who plotted to blow up the U.S. Capitol in the 1970s suggested that America’s second Civil War has already started.“Am I the only one, or do you feel eerily that we’re living in Kansas, 1859, and that tensions are boiling over, but only years later will people say, ‘Yes, the Civil War began there and then?’” Ayers posted on Facebook. He posted the same statement on his website, BillAyers.org.Ayers, who co-founded the Weather Underground in 1969, took part in the bombings of the New York City Police Department headquarters in 1970, the U.S. Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972. Since the FBI used illegal tactics against the Weather Underground and the New Left, the government dropped key charges against the Weather Underground and Bill Ayers.

After his radical career, he settled into academia, where he taught at the University of Illinois. When he retired in 2010, the university denied him emeritus status. The university’s board chair, Christopher G. Kennedy (son of assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy), condemned Ayers for dedicating a book “to the man who murdered my father.” Kennedy referred to a 1974 book Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism, which Ayers wrote with other Weather Underground members and which the authors dedicated to manny revolutionaries, including the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy. Ayers denied dedicating a book to the assassin and suggested that right-wing bloggers started a rumor to that effect.

As for Ayers’ “eerie” feeling, he was referring to Bleeding Kansas, a lesser-known precursor to the American Civil War.

In the decade leading up to the Civil War, Southern Democrats fought to extend slavery north and west. The Founders had forged a grand bargain to allow the evil institution of slavery while restricting its spread. In 1820, Congress drew a line, saying that any state north of the line would enter the Union as free while states that entered below the line could have slavery. Yet Southerners started defending slavery as a positive good and arguing for “popular sovereignty,” the notion that white landowners in states north of the 1820 line would vote on whether the state would be slave or free. Abraham Lincoln grew to prominence by opposing this notion.

Has the Second American Civil War Already Started?

The South held tremendous sway in the federal government. In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, opening up Kansas and Nebraska to “popular sovereignty.” Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushed into Kansas, seeking to tip the balance toward their side. The settlers fought and killed one another in a prelude to the Civil War known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

With the benefit of hindsight, Americans see “Bleeding Kansas” as a precursor to — if not the very first tremors of — the Civil War. In one sense, the Civil War had a “soft opening” in 1854, before the main event in 1861.

Ayers was suggesting that the antifa and Black Lives Matter riots in Portland, Kenosha, Seattle, Chicago, and other cities may be a prelude to a much larger conflict, a full-blown civil war. Others on the Left have suggested something similar.

The Portland antifa ally suspected of shooting a Trump supporter said a civil war was “right around the corner.” Former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta war-gamed the 2020 election and suggested that Joe Biden may cry foul if he loses, starting off a chain reaction resulting in secession and a civil war. Far-left groups recently came together to prepare for a civil war.

Given Ayers’ violent revolutionary history, the fact that he would suggest that a civil war is brewing seems particularly significant. During his academic career, Ayers gained “stature and high esteem” in the field of education. The American Educational Research Association elected him vice president for curriculum studies. Some of the radical Marxism in academia today traces back to his efforts.

Like Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump represents a long-overdue backlash to a radical Democratic movement seeking to transform America and break the Founders’ compact, the U.S. Constitution. This is not to say that Trump necessarily has the stature of Lincoln — but he does represent the same kind of backlash.

While the Southern Democrats before the Civil War sought to expand the institution of slavery and railroaded the Founders’ grand bargain, leftists today seek to undermine the Constitution and remake America in the name of intersectional “social justice.” Activists demonize Americans who hold conservative views and seek unlimited federal power to champion abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender identity, to deprive Americans of their Second Amendment rights, and to foist leftist ideas in education in the name of diversity.

Trump champions the Constitution while Democrats actively campaign against it, calling for the abolition of the Electoral College and the Senate in order to push their radical agenda. Perhaps for this reason, even liberals like John Podesta suggest that states will secede and spark a civil war on behalf of Joe Biden. Democrats have used American institutions to push their ideas, but now that a backlash against their radicalism has been building, they no longer want to abide by the terms of the agreement.

The South arguably brought the Civil War on itself, and the antifa and Black Lives Matter riots suggest the Left may do something similar. That makes Bill Ayers’ comment all the more chilling.

Let us pray it does not come to that.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Biden May Be Mentally Incompetent, but He’s Highly Competent With Corruption

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Dinesh D’Souza published the following on his YouTube channel:

These days, Biden seems mentally incompetent. But when it comes to corruption and cashing in on his public office, Biden has proven himself to be highly competent.

WATCH:

Dinesh D’Souza’s new book, “United States of Socialism,” reveals how the Left uses the Venezuelan formula for socialism, decisively refutes this new face of socialism, chillingly documents the full range of the Left’s gangster tendencies, and provocatively exposes the tactics of the socialist Left. Who is behind it, why is it evil, and how can we stop it? Don’t get left in the dark—order Dinesh D’Souza’s powerful new book today.

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