Free Speech

 Pat Condell returns to, once again, defend freedom of speech.

Four Years Later, Planned Parenthood Whistleblower Still Trapped In Kamala Harris’s Persecution

Four Years Later, Planned Parenthood Whistleblower Still Trapped In Kamala Harris’s Persecution

https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/20/four-years-later-planned-parenthood-whistleblower-still-trapped-in-kamala-harriss-persecution/

AUGUST 20, 2020 By Madeline Osburn

Sen. Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday night, exactly three weeks after journalist and pro-life activist David Daleiden appeared in a San Francisco Superior Court, once again fighting the criminal charges Harris brought against him at the behest of her political donors four years prior. As Harris joins a campaign fighting for the “soul of our nation,” Daleiden continues a years-long battle for countless unborn souls and the First Amendment, both of which Harris has a record of fighting against.

In March 2016, as the California attorney general, Harris met with six Planned Parenthood officials in her Los Angeles office. Email recordsbetween Harris’s office and Planned Parenthood officials show the two were corresponding on orchestrating public responses, filing police reports, and even drafting legislation targeting Daleiden for his undercover videos exposing the abortion giant’s illegal practices.

Two of the six executives in that meeting went on to be used as witnesses in Harris’s criminal investigation. Harris has been a staunch abortion advocate and received tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions from Planned Parenthood-affiliated entities over the course of her political career.

Two weeks following that Los Angeles meeting, on April 5, 2016, Harris ordered state law enforcement agents to raid Daleiden’s home, tasking them with seizing his camera equipment, documents, and unreleased video footage. Daleiden’s attorneys argued Harris’s search warrant should have never been issued according to California’s shield law, which explicitly protects citizen journalists’ unpublished materials.

Instead, a judge ruled “there was sufficient probable cause in the warrant that Daleiden was engaged in criminal activity irrespective of his journalistic status and that the items seized were related to the criminal activity.” Nevermind that those items seized included evidence of Planned Parenthood’s own criminal activity, including the trafficking of fetal body parts, which Harris never bothered to prosecute or investigate.

How blatant was Harris’s targeting of Daleiden and her disregard for a journalist’s First Amendment rights? For starters, Daleiden is the first person to ever be prosecuted for undercover video reporting in California. Her own deputy prosecutor later admitted in court that Daleiden was targeted solely because of the content his videos.

Harris’s own personal double standard goes even further. In 2013, she protected an animal rights group, Mercy for Animals (MFA), that used hidden cameras to expose alleged abuse at a poultry farm. Rather than seeking charges against MFA, Harris threw her support behind them, filing a notice to appeal against a federal judge’s previous ruling.

“David had a reasonable belief that he could find evidence of a felony crime of violence against human beings, namely, infanticide, that is, the killing of babies born alive with beating hearts,” said Thomas Brejcha, one of Daleiden’s attorneys. “These children – whom fetal tissue traffickers refer to as ‘intact fetuses’ – are the source from whom ‘fresh’ organs were harvested and ‘donated.’ These ‘donations’ were acquired at premium prices in dollar amounts bearing no ascertainable relationship to actual costs incurred in their ‘production.’”

Harris’s record as an attorney general shows she did more to fight against the alleged abuse of chickens than she did against the trafficking of human fetuses for profit. Furthermore, it shows her willingness to only extend First Amendment protections to those she views as politically expedient.

As for Daleiden, the legal battle initiated by Harris four years ago continues. In a hearing on July 28, Daleiden’s lawyers asked Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos to drop the 10 criminal counts against him and his partner, Sandra Merritt. Bolanos dropped one charge as “duplicative,” but kept the rest, leaving Daleiden and Merritt’s legal to another appeals court. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Just hours ahead of Harris’s DNC speech, Daleiden told The Federalist that the California senator’s targeting goes beyond his own legal fight. “Kamala Harris’ radical disrespect and contempt for the First Amendment is a threat to the civil liberties of all Americans,” he said.

Madeline Osburn is a staff editor at the Federalist and the producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Follow her on Twitter. 

The madness of the censors

WTAM fires anchor who referred to Kamala Harris as ‘colored’

Updated Aug 21, 2020; Posted Aug 20, 2020 

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP

4,559

shares

By Joey Morona, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- WTAM 1100 has fired an anchor who referred to Sen. Kamala Harris as the nation’s “first colored vice presidential candidate” in a news promo Wednesday night.

“We are aware of the reference made on WTAM by Kyle Cornell,” Ray Davis, the station’s program and promotions director said in a statement. “We take this matter very seriously and addressed it immediately. The term used is extremely offensive and does not align with our station’s core values and commitment to the communities we serve. He is no longer with WTAM.”

In a news teaser that aired during the station’s broadcast of the Cleveland Indians game, Cornell said, “The U.S. officially has its first colored vice presidential candidate. More coming up after the game on Newsradio WTAM 1100 Cleveland.” Audio of the clip was posted to social media and went viral.

In an interview with WKYC 3News, Cornell said the comment “wasn’t meant to be malicious or in any sort of way trying to decimate the character of anyone.”

“That was never the goal and for that, again, I am truly sorry,” he said. “For the station of WTAM too, I feel awful for putting them through what they’ve had to go through over the past 24 hours... I just want them to understand it was a rough choice to make and that I accept my punishment.”

“Colored” is an antiquated term that is considered offensive and derogatory because of its association with slavery and racist Jim Crow laws that were designed to keep Black people segregated and disenfranchised from white America. In its stylebook, the Associated Press says the word is permissible “only in names of organizations or in rare quotations when essential.”

Harris, whose mother is from India and whose father is from Jamaica, is the first woman of color on a major party’s presidential ticket.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Sterilizing thought on campus.

Fordham University Sent Cops To Investigate A Student For Criticizing Communist China And ‘Black Lives Matter’ On Instagram

https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/20/fordham-university-sent-cops-to-investigate-a-student-for-criticizing-communist-china-and-black-lives-matter-on-instagram/AUGUST 20, 2020 By Jordan Davidson

Fordham University is under investigation from the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly violating a student’s free speech after administrators called the cops on him for Instagram posts. On his personal account, Austin Tong posted pictures with a legally obtained gun and criticized China’s handling of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Tong also posted about the death of St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, who died trying to stop rioters from looting a friend’s pawn shop. 

While the school’s website suggests that students enrolled at the university will have “the freedom of inquiry required by rigorous thinking and the quest for truth,” its reaction to Tong’s posts shows otherwise. Fordham officials reportedly considered the social media posts “grotesque” and “racist,” and sent “two uniformed public safety officers” to the Tong family home in Long Island, New York to  “discuss the Instagram posts” and evaluate whether Tong “presented a danger to himself and others,” according to the U.S. DOE investigation.

After the visit, the university called Tong “a security threat,” despite the fact that officers “very quickly determined Mr. Tong posed no such threat” and that his weapon had been legally obtained. The university, however, shifted its focus to targeting Tong for “several posts on social media related to the current racial issues in the country and political issues in China.”

During its investigation, the school claimed that “members of the Fordham community felt threatened by the social media posts,” and that they violated “University Regulations relating to Bias and/or Hate Crimes,” and created “Threats/Intimidation, and Disorderly Conduct” because the posts were “alarming” and “racist.”

Due to these factors, the university decided to give Tong a penalty without appeal, barring him from campus and campus-related activities, mandating a “bias training,” and requiring him to write an apology letter.

According to the Department of Education, these actions by Fordham warrant an investigation into not only the university’s treatment of Tong, but also their ability to maintain and uphold their own policies about free speech and freedom of expression.

“These facts raise obvious questions regarding the integrity of Fordham’s disciplinary process and the possibility Fordham’s official animus toward the content of Mr. Tong’s constitutionally protected political speech was a motivating factor in the actions taken against him,” the letter read.

Jordan Davidson is a staff writer at The Federalist. She graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. 

Photo Robert Ashworth / Flickr

Photo Eden, Janine, and Jim / Flickr

Who does the state decide is worthy of protection from violence?

'Let Us Worship' rally draws thousands in riot-ravaged Seattle, as Antifa, violent protesters try to intervene: 'There is another story of what God is doing in these cities'

China:Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested while the media and Democrats cover for China

Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested

• 11 minutes ago

• Share this with Facebook
 
• Share this with Messenger
 
• Share this with Twitter
 
• Share this with Email
 
• Share

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionJimmy Lai has said that "the establishment hates my guts", and that he is prepared to go to prison

Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested for suspected collusion with foreign forces, his aide has said.

Mark Simon said the businessman was held under the controversial national security law imposed by China in June.

Mr Lai has been a prominent supporter of the pro-democracy protests that erupted in Hong Kong last year.

In February, the 71-year-old who also holds UK citizenship was charged with illegal assembly and intimidation. He was later granted police bail.

• Hong Kong security law: What is it and is it worrying?
• The Hong Kong residents ready to leave for the UK

"Jimmy Lai is being arrested for collusion with foreign powers at this time," said Mr Simon, an executive at Mr Lai's media firm Next Digital.

According to local media, Hong Kong police have also entered the building of his media company, searching the offices. 

Skip Twitter post by @ezracheungtoto

Report

End of Twitter post by @ezracheungtoto

Police have confirmed that seven people were arrested on Monday on suspicion of breaking the national security law, but have not yet named Mr Lai. 

The Monday arrests are the third wave of detentions under the new law. Mr Lai's would be the highest profile case so far and the first involving someone who holds foreign citizenship.

Who is Jimmy Lai?

Mr Lai is estimated to be worth more than $1bn (£766m). 

Having made his initial fortune in the clothing industry, he later ventured into media and founded the newspaper Apple Daily, which is frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership.

He has also been himself an activist against Beijing's increasingly tight grip on the Hong Kong. In 2019 he supported the reform protests and participated in the demonstrations. 

When earlier this year he was charged for his involvement in those protests, Chinese state media dubbed him a "riot's mastermind" who "has spread waves of hatred and negative information about the Chinese mainland day and night".

Media captionJimmy Lai: China's security law 'spells the death knell for Hong Kong'

On 30 June, when the security law was passed, Mr Lai told the BBC that this "spells the death knell for Hong Kong". 

He warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as mainland China because "without the rule of law, people who do business here will have no protection".

In a separate interview with the AFP news agency, Mr Lai said: "I'm prepared for prison. If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive."

What is the new security law?

Hong Kong has had a high degree of autonomy since it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and its residents have had a far higher level of freedom of speech and media than people on the mainland. 

But the law's key provisions include that crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison.

It makes it easier to punish protesters, and reduces the Hong Kong's autonomy. 

It also gives Beijing powers to shape life in the former British colony in a way it has never had before. 

Critics say it effectively curtails protest and freedom of speech - China has said the new law will return stability to the territory after a year of unrest.

CONFIRMED: Twitter Official Who Announced Trump Campaign Account Suspension Is Former Kamala Harris Press Secretary

The tyranny of the self righteous left. Or, how a minority intimidates the majority.

Former New York Times opinion editor blasts cancel culture as 'social murder' on Bill Maher's show

‘Twitter is the assigning editor of The New York Times’

"The writer Jonathan Rauch [of The Atlantic] called it social murder. And I think that's right," she said. 

"It's not just about punishing the sinner. It's not just about punishing the person for being insufficiently pure," Weiss explained. "It's about this sort of secondary boycott of people who would deign to speak to that person or appear on a platform with that person."

"And we see just very obviously where that kind of politics gets us," she continued. "If conversation with people that we disagree with becomes impossible, what is the way that we solve conflict? It's violence."

July 20, 2020

Michelle Malkin beaten by BLM thugs and prevented from speaking at Denver pro-police rally

By Peter Barry Chowka

Conservative author and activist Michelle Malkin was brutally assaulted and prevented from speaking as she made her way to the speaker’s platform at a pro-police public rally in downtown Denver on Sunday. The patriotic event, the 6th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day billed as “family friendly,” was advertised in advance on social media including at Malkin’s Twitter, where she has 2.2 million followers.

Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin

9:32 AM MDT July 18

There are talkers. There are doers. Which one are you? Coloradans: Join @randycorporon @Casper4Colorado @stevereams me & many other patriots downtown Denver 3pm TOMORROW for 6th annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. NOW MORE THAN EVER. (Hi @jaredpolis)

Advertisement for the Denver pro-police event on social media

Malkin was live streaming the event from her cell phone on Periscope Sunday afternoon as the situation deteriorated after masked thugs wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts assaulted two speakers and then set upon Malkin. A diminutive child of immigrants from the Philippines who legally moved to the U.S. in the late 1960s, Malkin, who was born in Philadelphia in 1970, describes herself as a “little brown woman” with a “big mouth.” Malkin linked to the entire 35 minute long Periscope video at her Twitter.

On the video, which had been viewed over 150,000  times by early Monday, several individuals identifying themselves as Black Lives Matter accost Malkin as one or more of them unfurl collapsible batons and begin pushing and beating on Malkin. In the process, she loses a shoe and is eventually assisted in escaping to a waiting car by the event’s security volunteers, at which point the video feed ends. Malkin was understandably distraught at this unanticipated violent turn of events and expressed frustration that Denver police, who were visibly present in the area, did nothing to stop the attacks or to allow the peaceful pro-police rally to continue.

At 3:55 PM MDT Sunday, right after being prevented from speaking, Malkin tweeted:

So @jaredpolis [Colorado Democrat Governor] @DenverPolice  [Denver] Chief Pazen, are you ok with pro-police patriots being swarmed, targeted and assaulted in a clearly orchestrated attack??? I caught it all on video and recorded the faces of the brutal animals. Please @realDonaldTrump – we need LAW & ORDER!!! S.O.S!

Screen grab from 31 minutes into Malkin’s Periscope video

Her description: “This was me shouting at masked BLM/Antifa thugs who swarmed our stage UNPROVOKED. This was me after witnessing a veteran & an organizer who had just led group prayer getting beaten on stage while police did nothing. This was me shouting at masked Antifa wielding a baton.” Source: Michelle Malkin’s Twitter

Hours later, Malkin spent late Sunday night into Monday morning on her Twitter account, issuing a variety of tweets describing what happened as she linked to video clips that documented the events.

Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin

12:43 AM MDT July 20

This is the moment the Antifa thugs bum-rushed the stage. I filmed the guy with the huge longboard that pro-police organizer Ron McLaughlin was beaten with just minutes after praying.

Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin

12:52 AM MDT July 20

Here's where BLM bitches attacked several women on stage. We were sprayed in our faces w/aerosol string, which @kyleclark thinks is hilarious. BLM girl takes off mask & lays hand on woman in front of me as I shout at her to get back.

Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin

1:08 AM MDT July 20

This is the moment one of our people was beaten on stage by invading BLM/Antifa. Then BlackBloc lady took out baton. That's why I screamed @kyleclark. The crap BLM bitch sprayed in my face was still all over me.

Malkin took special aim at a local Denver television news reporter who described the BLM “protesters” as meeting the pro-police rally with “opposing free speech.”

Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin

10:58 PM MDT July 19

Opposing “speech?” Why don’t you post the screengrab of the masked Antifa militiawoman wielding a collapsible baton at me or the bloodied organizer on stage beaten with a bullhorn & longboard @KyleClark – you think this is funny?? You are a sick man.

Ken Cuccinelli, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (aka Acting Deputy Secretary of DHS), took note of the events in a response to a tweet by Portland, Oregon conservative journalist and documentarian Andy Ngô.

Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli@HomelandKen

7:46 PM MDT July 19

Outrageous violence. These tyrannical, left-wing anarchists hate free speech. If you do not agree with them, they believe you must be beaten down – literally.

Until recently, violence of this kind to suppress conservative free speech was largely limited to the nation’s leftist-dominated college campuses. Obviously, a new page has now been turned as many of America’s leading cities – all of them under Democrat party control – have abandoned enforcing laws big and small. The expression of free speech is now openly threatened off the campuses. Which one of the Bill of Rights will be next?

Michelle Malkin speaks at an event in Greenville, South Carolina February 18, 2016

Photo by Gage Skidmore Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 3.0

 Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications.  He also appears in the media, including recently as a guest analyst on BBC World News. Peter's website is http://peter.media.  For updates on his work, follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka.