KNOWLES: ISIS Widows Want ‘Therapy’ After Marrying Terrorists

By Michael J. Knowles

Kashmiri protesters seen with the ISIS flag.

Former American citizens turned ISIS brides want to return to the United States after being captured by Western forces in the Middle East. Michael Knowles explains why this is a bad idea on Thursday’s episode of “The Michael Knowles Show.” Transcript and video below.

You had this influx of women, these radicalized Islamic women in the United States, in Great Britain, throughout continental Europe who during the rise of the Islamic state actually left to go fight … on behalf of the Islamic State. So now because President Trump promised we would crush ISIS militarily, and we have, now these women don’t have a state. ISIS barely exists anymore, if it exists at all. Now they want to come back and say, “Whoopsie-daisy, let’s pretend that nothing happened.”

Here is a woman named Hoda Muthana, she left at the age of 19, left Alabama, the good ol’ USA, moved to Syria and married an Australian jihadi who died within three months. Then she married another jihadi, had a child with him, That’s now 18 months old. That guy got killed as well — good job, Western forces — and now she wants to come back to Alabama. Here she is:

Muthara: When I was 17 I had an account on Twitter and we were all just normal Muslims speaking together, and we were just learning off of each other, feeding off of each other. We heard the Caliphate was announced and then we interpreted ourselves that it was obligatory upon us to go…[when she went to Syria] we didn’t see much about, what we did see when we did see it, we would see dead bodies in public.

“You know we’d see dead bodies.” But they knew that they were gonna see dead bodies because they were on these Twitter threads and in these internet groups that we’re talking about this, that’s why they left. Who wants to stay in boring, peaceful, free Alabama, when you can move to Syria and help Islamic militants slaughter innocents? Which is what this woman did. By the way, it’s not like she was eight or nine years old here, was captured and brought over there. She was 19 years old when she left the United States, she helped to spread ISIS propaganda on Twitter. She tweeted out “Americans wake up, go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood.”

We have a hard time in the West believing that people can think this way because we live in a basically decadent, secular, liberal society, so we have no conception of anyone truly believing that people should go on drive-bys and spill all of the blood, as this woman said, on Twitter. So we have this vulnerability, we don’t have a natural defense against these people who are vicious, vile terrorists who want to burn down everything that we have, want to spill our blood in the street — her words, not mine — what we want to do is just let them come back and that’s the compassionate thing, that’s the nice thing to do — that’s the imprudent thing to do. What does this woman think her punishment should be for leaving the United States and going to fight for ISIS?

Muthara: Maybe therapy lessons, it may be a process that will insure us that we’ll never do this again. Jail time, I don’t know if that has an effect on people.

Yeah, jail time, let’s not even consider that. How about just some nice therapy, maybe a good day at the spa, kind of let me get some of my troubles out of here, just relax a little bit, de-stress, maybe that would help. Wow, to be able to look an interviewer straight in the face and say, “Yes, I called for the spilling of American blood in the name of the Islamic state, I’d left and renounced my country, I joined a major international terrorist group and helped people slaughter innocents throughout the Middle East. I think I probably just need a little touch of therapy.” She does need some therapy, she also needs some prison.

Opinion: It’s 2019, And Gay People Are Still Being Forced To Attack Themselves In The Streets

By The Babylon Bee

The year is 2019. You’d think we’d be living in a progressive paradise by now, with energy-efficient trains crisscrossing the idyllic countryside, everyone being accepted for who they are—gay, bi, straight, or polygamous—and all people having equal access to free government breadlines.

But no. In the actual year 2019 that Trump has created, gay people are still being forced to attack themselves in the streets. Gay people, especially black gay people, have been so brainwashed by the messaging of Trump’s America that they are now hiring people to oppress them right out in the open.

This isn’t some third-world country where this is happening. This isn’t in some dystopian young adult fiction, where I get most of my political ideas. It’s here. It’s now. Every day, a gay person somewhere in this country hires a couple of Nigerian guys to make it look like he’s hated and oppressed.

We need to take a good, hard look in the mirror, America, and ask ourselves if this is who we want to be. We have allowed an evil movement of Trump supporters to take over our nation so effectively that we’re now paying people to dress up like them and beat us up. This won’t stand any longer. The time has come to say, “No more!”

May we look back a year from now and be able to declare proudly that the year is 2020 and the LGBT community is no longer compelled to pay people to oppress them. We owe it to our future, more progressive selves.

 

Warren, Harris Add Reparations to 2020 Campaign Platforms

By

All Democrats have to do is not be insane. And they can’t do it.

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In an effort to pander to black voters, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), both presidential candidates, said they will back reparations for black Americans as part of their campaign platforms.

“We have to be honest that people in this country do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” Harris reportedly said. “I’m serious about taking an approach that would change policies and structures and make real investments in black communities.”

That statement followed a radio interview in which she explicitly agreed with the host when that “government reparations for black Americans were necessary to address the legacies of slavery and discrimination.”

Warren echoed a similar sentiment.

“Ms. Warren also said she supported reparations for black Americans impacted by slavery — a policy that experts say could cost several trillion dollars, and one that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and many top Democrats have not supported,” The New York Times said.

The report said that Warren “declined to giver further details” about her reparations plan.

These are the same candidates that also support a “Green New Deal,” which will also cost trillions of dollars at the expense of the American taxpayer.

But there are more questions surrounding reparations than exactly how much they would cost.

Mainly, who would pay them?

Would reparations be paid only by white people who have slave-owning lineages, like Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia? Would I, as an Arab American whose family immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, be required to pay for something in which my ancestors had no part?

Likewise, who exactly would receive them?

Would all blacks receive some form of reparations, regardless of whether their ancestors were slaves? What if someone is half black? Or a quarter? Is that person owed a fraction of the reparations of a fully black American?

And what about poor white people? There are millions of whites who “do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” as Harris argued. Will they be buried more deeply – will they have to become poorer –  simply to atone for the color of their skin? Is that justice?

Most importantly, would reparations help repair the cultural strife in this country, which is mostly promulgated by the mainstream press for ratings and Democrat politicians for votes? Wouldn’t the Harris/Warren plan cause more strife and racial tension?

Do these loons really believe that – in a perfect world – reparations would be paid and everyone would simply shake hands, walk away, and that the country will be more united than it has ever been?

These are practical questions that remained unanswered by politicians who are race-baiting for votes.

Virginia Democrats Publicly Thank Jussie Smollett For Taking All The Attention Away From Them

By The Babylon Bee

RICHMOND, VA—Virginia Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief, as the Jussie Smollett hoax has taken the media’s eye off of their political trainwreck, sources confirmed today.

Both Governor Ralph Northam and the state’s attorney general had drawn ire for racist photographs and blackface, while Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax has been facing a number of sexual assault scandals. The governor had also caused controversy with statements that appeared to support infanticide.

But then, “a miracle happened”: actor Jussie Smollett received a threatening letter from Trump supporters – a letter that he apparently helped author. When his fake letter didn’t bring about the desired media attention, he upped the ante by staging an attack on himself.  Since he was unable to find any real Trump supporters that fit into his “white, bigoted, and violent” narrative, Smollett allegedly paid two African-American men to dress in MAGA hats and pretend to assault him at 2 a.m. during a historic cold front in Chicago.

Investigators were immediately suspicious, mainly because no Trump supporters have actually heard of Jussie Smollett, much less do they watch his show, Empire.  Police also said it was highly unlikely that any Trump supporters would be in Chicago in the first place. Fortunately for the politicians caught in various scandals, the resulting fallout from this hoax has drawn the public’s attention away from the Virginia Democrats as they seek to salvage their hold on high political office.

In a joint statement released by Northam, Fairfax, and Herring, the three men said, “We offer our most sincere thanks and praise to Mr. Smollett for allowing our careers to remain intact and for giving Democrats continued control of Virginia’s highest positions of public trust.  We owe you big time, Jussie!”

Gov. Northam has used the distraction to take a much-needed vacation: he has reportedly absconded to Las Vegas where he is viewing the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson show at the Mandalay Bay Casino.  “I want to compare their dancing skills to the moves that I showed off when I dressed in blackface for a med-school party”, Northam told reporters.  “Thanks to [Jussie] I was able to moonwalk out of this political catastrophe.”

“You might call me a… smooth criminal!” he added. He then attempted to moonwalk but was stopped by his wife.

FAIRFAX ACCUSER VANESSA TYSON CALLS OUT VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR FAILURE TO ACT

By Grace Carr

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax accuser, Vanessa Tyson, released a statement Thursday condemning the Virginia General Assembly for its failure to act meaningfully regarding her allegations against the governor. 

Despite calls from both Fairfax accusers, Tyson and Meredith Watson, legislative leaders have failed to pursue appropriate action, according to an official statement from the law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks, which is representing Tyson.

The law firm represented Christine Blasey Ford in hearings regarding allegations brought against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“[T]he Virginia General Assembly has remained silent and has taken no action whatsoever in response to her allegations, even after a second woman, Meredith Watson, came forward to report that Lt. Governor Fairfax raped her while they were students at Duke University in 2000,” the statement reads.

While lawmakers in both parties have responded with words of concern, they have utterly failed to act and have stood idly by as Lt. Governor Fairfax has impugned Dr. Tyson’s actions as being politically motivated; verbally attacked Dr. Tyson and Ms. Watson; [and] threatened to file criminal charges against Dr. Tyson if she pursues criminal charges against him. … It now appears that the Virginia General Assembly lacks the political courage to establish a process by which Dr. Tyson and Ms. Watson’s serious allegations of sexual violence suffered at the hands of Lt. Governor Fairfax will be fully investigated. We ask the members of the Virginia General Assembly to consider what message such inaction sends to victims of sexual assault and rape.

Tyson alleges that Fairfax assaulted her while they were at a Democratic National Convention in 2004. Fairfax has vehemently denied the allegations and maintains their encounter was consensual.

Watson alleges that Fairfax raped her in 2000 while they were both students at Duke University. Fairfax has also denied Watson’s allegations(RELATED: Second Fairfax Accuser Slams Calls For An ‘Investigation,’ Wants To Testify Publicly)

Thursday’s statement comes two weeks after Tyson first went public with allegations against Fairfax. Tyson has “made clear that she is willing to cooperate in any investigation by the Virginia General Assembly or other appropriate authorities,” the statement also says.

Virginia’s General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn Friday.

“It is unfathomable that the Virginia General Assembly appears intent on ending its current session without addressing this issue in any meaningful way. We call on the General Assembly to hire experienced independent investigators to conduct a prompt and thorough inquiry of these matters. Credible allegations of sexual assault must not be ignored,” the statement reads.

The assembly must act immediately because Tyson and Watson deserve better than supportive words, according to the statement. The statement also calls for “a credible, transparent process in which all sides have the opportunity to be heard.”

More than 150 alumnae of Watson’s alma mater, The Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland, have signed a statement supporting Watson.

Virginia House Delegates Todd Gilbert and Tim Hugo did not immediately reply to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Richard Blumenthal: Democrats May Subpoena Full Mueller Report If It’s Not Released

By Josh Hammer

On Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) confirmed that congressional Democrats may seek to subpoena the impending full report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in the event newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr chooses to redact or otherwise only partially release the much-anticipated document.

Bloomberg reports:

“The public will feel rightly that there is a coverup” if details are withheld, [Blumenthal] told CNN Thursday.

Blumenthal, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hopes the Republican-led panel would be among the congressional committees that seek to compel the release of any details that aren’t forthcoming. The subpoenas could seek the full report or even Mueller himself. “A Senate or House committee can subpoena anyone,” he said.

As Bloomberg notes, Mueller is expected to submit his report’s final prosecutorial decisions to Barr as early as next week. Barr, as Attorney General, then retains ultimate discretion as to how to act (or not) upon the report’s conclusions and recommendations.

As Roll Call notes, Barr has been noncommittal as to whether he would permit Mueller to testify before Congress, as well as whether he would resist a hypothetical subpoena for Mueller’s report.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, echoed Barr’s comments last month. As CNN reported, at the time, Nadler told Anderson Cooper at the time: “If necessary, our committee will subpoena the report. If necessary, we’ll get Mueller to testify. The American people need the information here.”

As The Daily Wire reported earlier today, CNN appears to be actively attempting to lower its viewers’ expectations as to what to expect from the Mueller report’s impending release:

Asked by “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota Wednesday if he believed the Mueller investigation would find “enough” to take down Trump, former National Intelligence Director and rabid anti-Trump CNN analyst James Clapper attempted to temper the audience’s expectations.

“That’s the big question,” Clapper said. …”I think the hope is that the Mueller investigation will clear the air on this issue once and for all. I’m really not sure it will, and the investigation, when completed, could turn out to be quite anti-climactic and not draw a conclusion about that.”

The Mueller investigation has been dominating news cycles for much of the past week, due in no small part to the firestorm caused by fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s remarkable “60 Minutes” interview with Scott Pelley, in which McCabe claims that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had openly discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment after President Trump’s firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. Last week, The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti reported:

The New York Times reports that McCabe claims “top Justice Department officials were so alarmed by President Trump’s decision in May 2017 to fire James B. Comey, the bureau’s director,” that they reached out to individual Cabinet members to judge their receptiveness to triggering the removal clause of the 25th Amendment, which allows the Cabinet to “vote out” a president who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of his job.

McCabe also claims that Comey’s firing “prompted Mr. McCabe to order the bureau’s team investigating Russia’s election interference to expand their scope to also investigate whether Mr. Trump had obstructed justice.”

 

USA Today Editor-In-Chief Apologizes For Editing College Yearbook With Blackface Images

By Paul Bois

For some inexplicable reason, February 2019 has turned into the month where blackface photos in college yearbooks come back to haunt people. Just weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam‘s blackface controversy, reports surfaced that USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll actually edited the 1988-89 Arizona State University yearbook that featured two images of people dressed in blackface.

According to The Wrap, Carroll published a lengthy apology on Thursday for her role in editing the images in the yearbook, which featured two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. She denounced the images as “horrible” while apologizing for any “hurt” she may have caused.

“The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published,” wrote Carroll. “I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.”

Carroll said she had no memory of the photo and learned of its existence as part of a “USA Today Network review of yearbooks” from that era.

“The image was discovered as part of a USA Today Network review of yearbooks from that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo,” she continued. “I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.”

As noted by The Wrap, Caroll’s blackface controversy adds to the litany of blackface controversies that have erupted throughout Black History Month, which has embroiled the likes of “The View” co-host Joy Behar and high profile fashion brands.

“Brands like Gucci and Burberry have been forced to apologize for racially insensitive clothing designs,” notes The Wrap. “A Katy Perry shoe design was also yanked. ‘The View’ co-host Joy Behar came in for heat after an old photo of her dressed as a ‘beautiful African woman’ began making the rounds.”

Read Carroll’s full apology:

The news is full of blackface pictures.

There can be no debate about whether or not such images are racist and hurtful. They are.

It was recently brought to my attention that I was involved in publishing such a photo when I was in college.

The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published.

I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.

The image was discovered as part of a USA TODAY Network review of yearbooksfrom that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo.

Clearly the 21-year-old me who oversaw the book and that page didn’t understand how offensive the photo was. I wish I had.

Today’s 51-year-old me of course understands and is crushed by this mistake.

I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.

Also, I want to continue to grow from this.

As a journalist and editor, I have long championed diversity and inclusion in our newsroom and in our news coverage. I initiated USA TODAY’s current diversity committee. In Arizona, before I arrived at USA TODAY, our newsroom held frequent meetings with diverse communities, asking them to critique our work and help us do better. They always did.

Throughout my career, I’ve had, and will continue to have, newsroom conversations about how we can further educate ourselves and our readers about race, history and prejudice, as well as the serious issues facing women, the LGBTQ community and all marginalized groups.

And we’ll keep talking about how we are doing in recruiting and retaining journalists of color. We cannot cover America if we do not reflect America.

Accountability. Transparency. Education. Discussion.

That is how I grow.

That is how we grow.

DON LEMON: IT’S NOT JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S “FAULT” THAT HE LOST IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

Don Lemon: It's Not Jussie Smollett's "Fault" That He Lost in the Court of Public Opinion

CNN host runs defense for actor arrested for staging his own hate crime

 | Infowars.com – FEBRUARY 21, 2019

CNN host Don Lemon ran defense for Jussie Smollett on his show last night, claiming that it’s not the actor’s “fault” that he lost in the court of public opinion.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi announced that Smollett was “under arrest and in custody of detectives” this morning. His bail hearing is set for 1:30pm local time.

Smollett launched a media firestorm at the end of last month when he claimed he was assaulted by two individuals who shouted “this is MAGA country” and had a noose placed around his neck.

However, evidence soon emerged clearly suggesting Smollett had paid two Nigerian brothers who worked on the show Empire with him to stage the attack.

Despite some on the left deleting old tweets that signaled vehement support for Smollett and with others keen to avoid talking about the issue altogether, Don Lemon appeared to double down by absolving Smollett of blame.

https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1098442187795161089

During a segment on his show last night, the CNN host said Smollett had “lost the fight in the court of public opinion”.

“He lost that because of how – not his fault – maybe people were – I don’t know what they were saying to him, maybe because of his representatives, who knows – but it was handled poorly,” said Lemon.

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson pushed back, commenting, “I don’t know if it’s not his fault, Don.”

“You think it’s his fault, you think he was doing what he wanted?” asked Lemon.

If the allegations are proven true, quite how anyone but Smollett himself is to blame for staging a hate crime which according to some could have kicked off racial violence in America is somewhat baffling.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Smollett’s lawyers say they will “mount an aggressive defense,” with the actor potentially facing jail time.

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