Information Is Power
Good, solid information is the best resource that the public can use. Primary sources when possible and good discussions and studies when informative.
Is it AI | Elon Musk and Donald Trump Danceathon | Video: 36 Seconds
Haters will say this is AI 🕺🕺 pic.twitter.com/vqWVxiYXeD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 14, 2024
The Undeniable Hate Of The Left | Elon Musk | X | Video: 59 Seconds
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2024
Judicial Watch: U.S. Capitol Police Tell Federal Court January 6 Disturbance Videos Are Not Public Records
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today the U.S. Capitol Police seeks to shut down a public records lawsuit for January 6 disturbance video and emails by arguing to a federal court that the requested are “not public records.”
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in February 2021 under the common law right of access to public records after the Capitol Police refused to provide any records in response to a January 21, 2021, request for:
- Email communications between the U.S. Capitol Police Executive Team and the Capitol Police Board concerning the security of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The timeframe of this request is from January 1, 2021 through January 10, 2021.
- Email communications of the Capitol Police Board with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concerning the security of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The timeframe of this request is from January 1, 2021 through January 10, 2021.
- All video footage from within the Capitol between 12 pm and 9 pm on January 6, 2021.
Regarding withholding the videos, the Capitol Police told the court:
The USCP’s camera security system, including footage recorded by it within the Capitol and sought by [Judicial Watch], is solely for national security and law enforcement purposes.
Access to video footage from the USCP’s camera security system is limited to narrow circumstances and strictly controlled by USCP policy.
The USCP has not made any public disclosures of video footage from January 6 from its camera security system.
There are currently pending criminal investigations and prosecutions of individuals involved in the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
There are currently pending congressional investigations into the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In its motion, the Capitol Police also argues the case should be closed because, among other assertions, even if the records Judicial Watch asks for are “public records,” the USCP’s interests in confidentiality “outweigh any public interest in those materials.”
It also claims not to have access to many of the emails sought by Judicial Watch.
“To cut to the chase, the US Capitol Police is hiding a reported 14,000 hours of January 6 video from the American people to help Nancy Pelosi’s abusive targeting of Trump supporters and other political opponents,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Any other police department in America would be investigated and defunded for such abusive secrecy. The Pelosi Congress is in cover-up mode regarding January 6.”
Judicial Watch is conducting an extensive investigation into the January 6 events in Washington, DC.
Earlier this month, Judicial Watch uncovered documents from Washington, DC’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) related to Air Force veteran and San Diego native Ashli Babbitt. These documents reveal that OCME submitted a request for permission to cremate Babbitt only two days after taking custody of her body and that due to the “high profile nature” of Babbitt’s case, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Francisco Diaz requested that a secure electronic file with limited access be created for Babbitt’s records. Additionally, Babbitt’s fingerprints were emailed to a person supposedly working for the DC government, which resulted in Microsoft “undeliverable” messages written in Chinese characters being returned.
In July, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DOJ for records of communication between the FBI and several financial institutions about the reported transfer of financial transactions made by people in DC, Maryland and Virginia on January 5 and January 6, 2021. The FBI refused to confirm or deny any such records exist. Also in July, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for information relating to the tracking and collecting of Americans’ social media posts through its Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP).
In May, Judicial Watch sued both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense for records regarding the deployment of armed forces around the Capitol complex in Washington, D.C., in January and February of 2021.
In March, Judicial Watch sued the District of Columbia for the autopsy of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and related records. Pressure from this lawsuit helped lead to the disclosure that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes. Also in March, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense for records about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 8, 2021, telephone call with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. . . .
She Was Declared a Witch at Salem. These Middle Schoolers Want to Clear Her Name.
More than three centuries after being tarnished by the hysteria of the Salem witch trials, a Massachusetts woman convicted of witchcraft could finally receive a pardon from the state because of the lobbying efforts of an unlikely constituency: an eighth-grade civics class.
The woman, Elizabeth Johnson Jr., who lived in what is now North Andover, Mass., was one of 28 members of her extended family who faced allegations of witchcraft in 1692, according to historians. She was born around 1670 and may have been mentally disabled.
She was sentenced to death in 1693 after she confessed to being a witch, only to be granted a reprieve by the governor of Massachusetts at the time. She died in 1747, at the age of about 77.
But in contrast with a vast majority of other people who were wrongfully convicted and carried the stigma associated with the witch trials long after their deaths, Johnson had no known descendants to try to clear her name.
That’s why a group of middle school students from North Andover decided last year to take up her cause, pressing their state senator to introduce legislation that they helped craft and that would exonerate Johnson, who never married and had no children.
“To right a wrong, it’s worth doing,” Carrie LaPierre, the teacher of the eighth-grade civics class at North Andover Middle School, said on Thursday.
As part of their civics education, Ms. LaPierre said, the students are taught about acceptance.
“It’s something we talk a lot about: identity and stereotypes and respecting people who are different than you,” she said.
At least 172 people from Salem and surrounding towns, which include what is now North Andover, were accused of witchcraft in 1692 as part of a Puritanical inquisition that was rooted in paranoia and xenophobia, according to historians. . . .
Minnesota GOP Head Resigns After Sex Trafficking Allegations Against Top Donor
Minneapolis (AP) — The embattled leader of the Minnesota Republican Party has been forced to resign following accusations that she ran a “morally bankrupt” operation that was rife with verbal abuse, intimidation and sexual misconduct.
Jennifer Carnahan initially resisted calls to resign, saying she had no knowledge of sex-trafficking allegations against a prominent donor and a local college Republican chapter leader. She said a “mob mentality came out in this way to defame, tarnish and attempt to ruin my personal and professional reputation.”
Late Thursday, the party’s 15-member board voted 8-7 to give Carnahan three months salary, about $38,000. Carnahan cast the deciding vote on her severance.
The board also approved investigations into the party’s finances and human resources protocols.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as chairwoman for the Republican Party of Minnesota,” Carnahan said in a statement after the vote. “However, I signed up for this party to help us elect Republicans and I want to ensure that we can continue to do that.” . . . .
‘Unfit to Lead’: Biden Supporters Enraged After Afghanistan Debacle
As Afghanistan continues its descent into chaos, prominent media figures are beginning to have doubts after supporting President Joe Biden (or at least strongly opposing Trump) during the 2020 election.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, Meghan McCain, former co-host of The View, said she felt “physically ill” over what has happened in Afghanistan and declared that President Biden is “unfit to lead.” Though Meghan McCain has not yet said for whom she cast her vote in the 2020 election, she virulently opposed former President Donald Trump on the basis of character, often spoke fondly of Biden throughout the election cycle, said she felt “relieved” upon Biden’s victory, and supported Trump’s impeachment.
“I have been physically ill, more depressed than I have been since the beginning stages of the pandemic and filled nothing short of pure rage and anger since the calamity of a ‘pull out’ which will be seen as one of the greatest foreign policy catastrophes of my lifetime,” McCain said in her Instagram post on Thursday. . . .
Naval Academy expels 18 midshipmen after finding they cheated on physics exam
Nearly 20 midshipmen were separated after a Naval Academy investigation found they cheated on a December 2020 physics exam.
Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck initiated an investigation into the General Physics I final after being made aware that midshipmen possibly used outside sources, including visiting websites, during their online exam, according to a press release from the academy. Midshipmen also used an anonymous chat platform to discuss the exam after.
The academy announced the investigation in December.
There were 653 midshipmen who took the General Physics I exam, mostly in their second year at the academy, according to the release. Of the 653, 105 midshipmen were investigated and went through the academy’s honor system. . . .
Philadelphia Mayor Rejects Calls for National Guard Amid Surge in Murders
Philadelphia’s mayor will not try to bring in the National Guard to help deal with rising crime in the city.
“The National Guard is traditionally not an urban police department. We used the National Guard in the civil unrest period to secure areas that needed to be secured from looting and burning, and it freed up the police to do other things,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters during a press conference this week.
“But to send in the National Guard and a troop carrier into a neighborhood in Philadelphia, to me, is not respectful to that neighborhood, number one. Number two, they are not capable or trained to do urban policing, or do policing of any kind,” he added.
Kenney, a Democrat, would have to ask Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, another Democrat, to order the Guard to Philadelphia, unless Wolf made the order without Kenney’s support.
Wolf, who activated the Guard to help deal with potential unrest in April as jurors prepared to announce the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, could not be reached.
Murders have spiked in Philadelphia this year, part of a crime wave that stretches back in many major U.S. cities to early 2020.
The 340 homicides recorded through Aug. 18 is a jump of 20 percent from the same time period, according to city data. . . .
Miami, Tampa school boards impose mask mandates, in defiance of state law
The Florida board of education threatened this week to penalize local school board members and officials in Broward and Alachua counties following their decisions to require students to don face masks at school.
The threats, however, did not appear to deter the Miami-Dade schools district, or the Hillsborough County district, which includes Tampa and Palm Beach County, from mandating similar masking rules this week.
“Over the week, I’ve spoken with employees and their relatives, begging me to do the right thing,” said Miami-Dade public school Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Earlier this month, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Florida school districts to give parents the power to opt out of masking requirements for their children. He is also making available private school voucher applications for parents whose children feel “bullied” or otherwise victimized by mask mandates.
The Hillsborough County Public School board had an emotional meeting Wednesday, during which it was decided, by a vote of 5-2, that mask opt-outs would be limited to students with medical exemptions.
The meeting featured masked parents, some of them evidently health care workers, arguing with unmasked parents, some of whom wore “Freedom Fighter” T-shirts.
The Miami-Dade and Hillsborough districts are both arguing that their mandates comply with state health regulations and DeSantis’s order. But the state board of education does not see it that way. . . .
Joe Biden Hopes You’ll Forget His Afghan Incompetence by August 31. No, Seriously. That’s Their Strategy.
Joe Biden, the most popular president in the history of history, is scheduled to give a “press” conference at 1:00 on Friday. Whether or not reporters are allowed to ask questions or whether Joe Biden will turn his back and walk away while people yell at him for a third time is anyone’s guess. To the untrained eye, it looks like gross incompetence at best. Or the fact that there is something seriously wrong with President Puddingbrain at worst. Turns out, it is actually brilliantly crafted strategy! According to Reuters, the White House plan is to keep avoiding the press and lying to the American people, figuring we’ll forget about it in a few weeks.
Yes. Joe Biden choking on an interview they set up with a patsy? Where he doesn’t know what day it is, snaps when asked about people falling off of airplanes, and LITERALLY knocks on wood that no one has been killed while he was speaking? Meh. The White House is hoping we all forget about it by August 31. We’ll take the “what if this was Donald Trump” as implied.
They expect the Afghanistan story to recede from the headlines, replaced by the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the economic recovery and other issues, people familiar with the matter said.
Got it. So, to distract from the war in Afghanistan, Biden is going to declare war against Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott. Hoping the American people will focus more on that and NOT Joe Biden’s incompetence.
Let’s take a look at what’s being reported this morning as news breaks that the White House is hoping you’ll forget.
A source tells me, “Situation [in Afghanistan] is rapidly deteriorating… We’ve had Americans get beaten throughout the night.” One of them, an American woman, was beaten “twice” even though she was carrying a U.S. passport.
Yesterday @PentagonPresSec said Americans are not being impeded as they travel to the Kabul airport, no Americans harmed. The Taliban agreed to let them evacuate. What I am hearing suggests otherwise. Americans have been injured and stopped from boarding planes.
Joe Biden and/or the people who control Joe Biden are hoping you’ll forget this in two weeks. It’s their strategy. That, and to try to hide Biden from the public as best they can until you do.
But, at least as of this writing, Biden is scheduled to give a “press” conference Friday afternoon. Three-to-one he doesn’t take questions. Two-to-one if he does, they find a hack to make sure the first question is about Ron DeSantis. It’s a push that if he does take questions, he winds up lashing out at a reporter. Most likely a female one. . . .
Dr. Malone, The Inventor Of The mRNA Technology, Explains Why The Covid ‘Vaccine’ Does Not Prevent The Spread Of The Virus | Video: 2 Minutes 14 Seconds
“What we’re told is we have to all get vaccinated to reach herd immunity. That’s the logic. The problem is that is a fallacy. . . What would herd immunity mean? It would mean that we have what is called sterilizing immunity, in some way. If we get infected, we don’t spread it to somebody else. That means we’re not producing virus and shedding virus. Just today the World Health Organization made an announcement, clear and unequivocal, you gotta start using masks because none of these ‘vaccines’ are preventing infection. They’re preventing disease. They’re not preventing transmission.” – Dr. Robert Malone, Inventor of mRNA Vaccine Technology
Top Scientists In The World Warned The Public Against Mass mRNA ‘Vaccination’ | 60 Percent Of Israel’s 514 Hospitalized Patients With SEVERE Covid-19 Symptoms Are Fully Vaccinated
A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta
More Than Half of Israeli COVID-19 Patients Vaccinated as ‘Breakthrough Cases’ Rise
In Israel’s COVID-19 wards, nearly 60 percent of the country’s 514 patients hospitalized with severe or critical CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus symptoms are fully vaccinated, according to an Aug. 16 report.
The figures were reported as doctors are continually learning which vaccinated patients are most vulnerable to severe illness, amid growing concerns about instances of the COVID-19 vaccines providing less protection against the worst forms of the disease.
“There are so many breakthrough infections that they dominate, and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,” said Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology, Science reported.
For the majority of patients experiencing breakthrough infections, about 87 percent were 60 or older and received two vaccine doses at least five months ago. The findings show that “breakthrough cases” are not a rare event as the term implies.
Noa Eliakim-Raz, the chief of the COVID-19 ward at Rabin Medical Centre in Petach Tikva, said the majority of hospitalized vaccinated patients are unhealthy, immobile and already required nursing care prior to infection.
Israel is among the world’s highest vaccination levels, with some 5.4 million people—or 78 percent of those 12 and older—fully vaccinated. The vast majority received the Pfizer shot. The country is, however, showing one of the highest infection rates in the world, potentially a sign of waning vaccine immunity as the Delta variant of the CCP virus spreads. . . . .
Once Again, Despite Covid mRNA ‘Vaccination’ in UK Reaching 90% Of Population | “UK’s Covid cases rise again with 33,904 positive tests, marking a 15% week-on-week jump”
UK’s Covid cases rise again to 33,904 after 15% week-on-week jump – as hospitalisations and deaths creep upwards
- It is the third consecutive day that the rolling seven-day average of daily coronavirus infections has risen
- Meanwhile, hospitalisations and deaths are still creeping upwards, according to the Department of Health
- Both measures lag weeks behind because of how long it can take for the infected to become severely ill
- Another 111 fatalities were recorded today, up 6.7 per cent on last week, the Government figures showed
- And 773 infected patients were admitted to hospital on August 14 – up 8.6 per cent on the previous Saturday
Britain’s daily Covid cases are not showing any signs of slowing down yet, official figures suggested today.
Department of Health bosses posted another 33,904 positive tests, up 14.5 per cent on last Wednesday’s figure of 29,612 — despite swabbing levels remaining flat.
It is the third consecutive day that the rolling seven-day average — which offers a more accurate picture over the true state of the crisis because daily counts can fluctuate heavily — has risen. . . . .
Here Are The UK Covid-19 ‘Vaccination’ Numbers Reported By The BBC
“How is the rollout going?
So far, more than 47 million people have had a first vaccine dose – nearly 90% of the adult population – and nearly 41 million – 77% of adults – have had both doses.
The number of first doses administered each day is now averaging about 39,000 – far below a peak of some 500,000 in mid-March.
An average of more than 160,000 second doses are now being given a day. The delivery of second doses had been accelerated in response to the emergence of the Delta variant, first identified in India.” [Full BBC Report]
Yet, UK’s Positivity rates continue to rise as ‘vaccinations’ rise. [The Daily Mail Article]
Texas Supreme Court sides with GOP, allowing arrest of absent House Democrats
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Texas sided with Republican leadership in Texas, allowing for the arrest of absent House members going forward.
The opinion orders district courts to rescind their temporary restraining orders given to Texas House Democratic members who have broken quorum since July.
“The legal question before this Court concerns only whether the Texas Constitution gives the House of Representatives the authority to physically compel the attendance of absent members. We conclude that it does, and we therefore direct the district court to withdraw the TRO,” the opinion, given by Justice Jimmy Blacklock, reads.
It comes a week after Speaker of the House Dade Phelan signed arrest warrants for 52 House Democrats still absent from the second special session of 2021.
The Texas Sergeant-at-Arms has been delivering civil arrest warrants to House Democrats’ offices and some of their homes in attempt to achieve the quorum lawmakers need to advance legislation, but to date the House has still not had a quorum. . . .
Stunning Poll Reveals Trump Would Win Election Held Today, as Nearly 1 in 10 Democrats ‘Regret’ Their 2020 Vote.
Stunning new poll numbers from Rasmussen Reports suggest nearly 1 in 10 Democrats regret their vote in the 2020 Presidential election, with 12 percent of ‘Moderates’ saying the same, and 14 percent of Black Americans expressing regret.
Furthermore, asked how people would vote if a presidential election were held today, just 37 percent said they would vote for Joe Biden, down from 45 percent who said they did. Forty-three percent said they would vote for Donald Trump.
The Rasmussen Reports numbers shine a new light on just how poorly Joe Biden has performed in his first few months as President of the United States. . . .
Where’s Joe? Biden Hides at Camp David While Kabul Burns
Biden hides at Camp David from his own failures, but he can’t hide forever.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki cut short her vacation plans this week, and one of the first things she had to do was admit that she doesn’t “have an exact time” for when Presidentish Joe Biden might return from Camp David.
“The president will return to the White House,” Psaki told reporters at Tuesday’s White House press conference. But apparently, she’ll have to circle back on when that might be.
If I had to guess, Biden is busy getting new and/or longer plugs. Did you see the glare off the back of his scalp when he stormed away after his brief statement on Monday? There’s a big burn-in spot on my TV from watching it.
ASIDE: I’m not making fun of Biden for being bald. I’m making fun of Biden’s notorious vanity despite his average looks and comically obvious attempts to hide his age.
Later today, Biden is set to do a sitdown interview from the comfort of Camp David… with former Clinton operative and permanent Democrat-operative-with-a-byline, George Stephanopoulos.
Expect Stephanopoulos to do two things.
First, he actually will ask a pointed question or two. That’s his style.
Second, Stephanopoulos will nod his head along in virtual agreement with whatever mendaciously nonsensical goo pours forth from Biden’s mouth. That’s his style, too. . . .
Jerusalem Is on Fire
Source: Jonathan Feldstein
For three days straight, more than a million Jerusalem residents and people living in suburbs endured choking smoke. There was a huge danger to people, wildlife, as well as property. Homes and landmark businesses have burned down.
Entire communities were evacuated as the fires raged ever closer. There was even a threat, somewhat unimaginable, that Jerusalem’s largest hospital in the historic Ein Kerem neighborhood was at risk of being evacuated. Because of fierce determination and heroism of firefighters and security personnel, there was no loss of human life.
There’s never been a time in recent memory that Jerusalem and its residents have been threatened like this. This week, as some flames were put under control new new fires ignited. The important thing was to put out the fires and protect people and property. In Judaism, protection of and saving lives is the most important injunction. However, burning along with the land and the trees is the suspicion that terrorist arson may be involved. That was also suspected in fires that took place earlier in the summer. It will no doubt be investigated, but it’s hard to prevent when a Palestinian Arab terrorist looks for new ways to cause harm. Other fires in northern Israel this summer also threatened life and property. These were caused by Hezbollah’s terrorist rockets fired from Lebanon landing in open areas. . . . .
T-Mobile Says Data on Over 48 Million People Stolen by Hackers
Data on nearly 8 million T-Mobile customers was stolen by a hacker, the company said late Tuesday.
A preliminary analysis also signaled that information on just over 40 million additional people who applied for credit from T-Mobile was also stolen.
No phone numbers, account numbers, PINs, passwords, or financial information was compromised for most people, according to the company. However, the phone numbers, account PINS, and names of about 850,000 prepaid customers were exposed.
The discovery came after a hacker claimed in an online forum this month that they had stolen data from T-Mobile.
The company became aware of the claim and launched an investigation.
Cybersecurity experts tapped by T-Mobile identified an access point believed to be used by the hacker and closed it.
This week, experts verified that some data was accessed by hackers, and began coordinating with law enforcement.
“While our investigation is still underway and we continue to learn additional details, we have now been able to confirm that the data stolen from our systems did include some personal information,” the company said.
The stolen data includes customer names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and driver’s license information.
T-Mobile is now offering two years of free identity protection services and plans to publish a webpage soon that includes recommendations for what current, former, and prospective customers should do in the wake of the breach. . . .
Taliban Tweets About Working Out and Eating Ice Cream Because This Situation Isn’t Absurd Enough
When you lose a fight, depending on how big of a dick your opponent is, you might get taunted for losing. Your opponent will rub it in your face just because they can. These tweets are a crotch chop to America and our incompetent president. (h/t Twitchy)
[via Google translate] elements”#طالبان They practice sports in Jim Hall at the Presidential Palace in #كابل
The gym tweet is not the “own” the Taliban think it is because they look ridiculous. For starters, it’s a pathetic looking gym. You would think the presidential place would have more state of the art equipment. But also, using machines and ellipticals doesn’t scream “look at how badass we are” like they think. If anything, they were just excited to be working out with something other than various-sized rocks.
The ice cream tweet is an obvious troll at both President Biden and the American media who stans Biden eating ice cream. A person with an ounce of self-awareness would look at this photo and realize it’s what they look like when they ask Biden “one scoop or two.” Instead, it will just make the press corps wonder if Biden is still making sure he’s going out for a sundae in these troubling times.
Of course, while this is going on, images of bloodied Afghans contradict Taliban’s claims of moderation:
Reports that Taliban fighters have beaten women and children at a checkpoint in Kabul emerged on Wednesday as the group attempted to consolidate its control after a rapid takeover of the country.
And also this:
To recap. Our president, besides being both incompetent and an embarrassment, is also a liar. And the Taliban is laughing at us.
But hey, at least there are no more mean Trump tweets. We’ve got that going for us. . . .
Tyrannical Governments Always Practice Gun Control | “Taliban reportedly confiscating weapons from Afghan civilians”
The Taliban are collecting weapons and ammunition from civilians in Kabul following their swift takeover of Afghanistan.
A Taliban official told Reuters that people no longer needed weapons for personal protection because “they can now feel safe” since the insurgents have taken over.
“We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe,” the official said.
“We are not here to harm innocent civilians.”
The news came as reports emerged that a woman had been shot dead Tuesday for not wearing a burqa in public — after insurgents vowed to usher in a new “inclusive” era that honors “women’s rights.”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday they would honor women’s rights within the highly restrictive Sharia law.
Mujahid also vowed to grant amnesty to Afghans who worked for the US and the Western-backed government, saying “nobody will go to their doors to ask why they helped.” . . .