For many years, I have testified and written about Antifa and its growing anti-free speech philosophy. Some Democratic leaders have embraced this violent movement, which continues to gain strength on campuses and its cities across the nation. It is also a global movement. That is reflected in the alarming election of Antifa candidates to the French National Assembly as well as the European Parliament. That is quite an accomplishment for a movement that President Joe Biden dismissed as “just an idea.”
As discussed in my new book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I explore the history of Antifa as a movement that began in Germany:
“Antifa originated with European anarchist and Marxist groups from the 1920s, particularly Antifaschistische Aktion, a Communist group from the Weimar Republic before World War II. Its name resulted from the shortening of the German word antifaschistisch. In the United States, the modern movement emerged through the Anti- Racist Action (ARA) groups, which were dominated by anarchists and Marxists. It has an association with the anarchist organization Love and Rage, which was founded by former Trotsky and Marxist followers as well as offshoots like Mexico’s Amor Y Rabia. The oldest U.S. group is likely the Rose City Antifa (RCA) in Portland, Oregon, which would become the center of violent riots during the Trump years. The anarchist roots of the group give it the same organizational profile as such groups in the early twentieth century with uncertain leadership and undefined structures.”
Despite the denial of its existence by figures like Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.), I have long written and spoken about the threat of Antifa to free speech on our campuses and in our communities. This includes testimony before Congress on Antifa’s central role in the anti-free speech movement nationally.
As I have previously written, it has long been the “Keyser Söze” of the anti-free speech movement, a loosely aligned group that employs measures to avoid easy detection or association. Yet, FBI Director Chris Wray has repeatedly pushed back on the denials of Antifa’s work or violence. In one hearing, Wray stated “And we have quite a number” — and “Antifa is a real thing. It’s not a fiction.”
We have continued to follow the attacks and arrests of Antifa followers across the country, including attacks on journalists.
Some Democrats have played a dangerous game in supporting or excusing the work of Antifa. Former Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, now the Minnesota attorney general, once said Antifa would “strike fear in the heart” of Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany.
Ellison’s son, Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, declared his allegiance to Antifa in the heat of the protests this summer. During a prior hearing, Democratic senators refused to clearly denounce Antifa and falsely suggested that the far right was the primary cause of recent violence. Likewise, Joe Biden has dismissed objections to Antifa as just “an idea.”
It is at its base a movement at war with free speech, defining the right itself as a tool of oppression. That purpose is evident in what is called the “bible” of the Antifa movement: Rutgers Professor Mark Bray’s Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.
Bray emphasizes the struggle of the movement against free speech: “At the heart of the anti-fascist outlook is a rejection of the classical liberal phrase that says, ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’”
Bray admits that “most Americans in Antifa have been anarchists or antiauthoritarian communists… From that standpoint, ‘free speech’ as such is merely a bourgeois fantasy unworthy of consideration.”
The movement continues to take hold among parties on the left. An Antifa leader who is on France’s national security watchlist was elected to the National Assembly as a member of the New Popular Front leftist bloc. Raphaël Arnault will represent Vaucluse in Provence in the French parliament after winning with 54.98 per cent of the vote, according to Le Figaro.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his moderate party worked with the New Popular Front in a power deal to defeat conservatives. Antifa was part of that front.
In Italy, Ilaria Salis, a school teacher by trade from Milan, Italy, has been elected to the European Parliament despite being arrested in 2023 in Budapest for allegedly taking part in the organized attack by Antifa on attendees of an event commemorating the anniversary of the siege of the Buda castle by the Soviet forces in 1945. Salis’ far-left green alliance Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) succeeded in securing the seat with the backing of far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise (LFI) party — a member of the New Popular Front alliance.
These two milestones were secured only with the help of mainstream parties and leaders who continue to delude themselves about Antifa and its true agenda. While convenient allies now to win elections, these same leaders could soon find themselves the next reactionaries denounced by these same radical groups as they gain greater power.
Deep-Rooted Trolls..
Think They’re Indispensable
*****
The troll fancies himself as a ‘content provider’.
But his puppets are empty vessels cluttering the blog.
Puppet Watch knows how to reorganize.
PUPPET WATCH
A California-based non-profit
PUPPET WATCH
Pre-Dawn Edition, Weds. July 10
We have conducted full audits of both comment threads for Tuesday and found the presence known as Floyd Estovir is still transforming.
For the column “Gallop: Higher Education–, Floyd Estovir used green anonymous at least 20 times. Yet he also used Upstate Farmer 20 times. Then curiously Floyd tapped Old Airborne Dog for 12 posts.
Until now, Old Airborne Dog has been a second tier puppet. But for this one column today, the dog played a bigger than usual role.
Floyd Estovir also posted 5 times as Estovir, though just once as Floyd. However Guy Ventner posted 3. Most of the other puppets were absent from this thread.
The Morning Greek Chorus Bots were fairly limited for both of Tuesday’s comment threads after wide use on Monday.
For the column “ANTIFA–, Floyd Estovir spread out amongst his well-established puppets. Still, green anonymous was used at least 15 times. Upstate Farmer posted 6, Edward Mahl 5, James 4, Old Man 3, then several 2 comment puppets including Estovir.
The now-downgraded Waters showed up late in the day for a single comment. But no Traveler on either comment thread. And no Floyd for “ANTIFA–
It appears that Floyd Estovir has no intention of loosening his grip on this blog. Yet his failure to launch Waters and Traveler, as a buddy team, was an obvious setback. Floyd Estovir needs a constant influx of new puppets to keep the show alive.
For now green anonymous and Upstate Farmer will be the main vehicles. And we can probably expect more second tier puppets like Old Airborne Dog to get bumped up for extra commentary. Perhaps on Wednesday Zzdoc1 will take center stage.
PUPPET WATCH
A California-based non-profit
TL; DR:
Peter did not get laid again at the West Hollywood bathhouse
Pro-tip, Peter: remove the necklace of garlic and perhaps someone will approach you like perhaps gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, etc
REGARDING ABOVE
EGREGIOUS VIOLATION OF CIVILITY RULES
BAN FOR LIFE
Peter Poopy Head,
Have you noticed that your “watch” is having zero effect on the blog??
We dont miss your “Key Points” posts though, so stick with this.
Who knew Michael Moore narrated a Trump ad? And it’s a doozy.
https://youtu.be/xDFfu5gzue4?si=OGRb9UwZyD5beB_8
There is another commonality between the American and European Left, besides its opposition to free speech, and that is antisemitism.
With this recent round of successes for the Left in French elections, there has been a surge of antisemism so great that “Moshe Sebbag, a rabbi for the Synagogue de la Victoire, told The Times of Israel that “it seems France has no future for Jews,” and said he advises young French Jews to leave for Israel.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/prominent-french-jews-decry-far-lefts-gains-in-vote-amid-fears-of-new-antisemitism/#:~:text=Moshe%20Sebbag%2C%20a%20rabbi%20for,Jews%20to%20leave%20for%20Israel.
Where are the French Jews to go? The Left has infected America, as well, and Democrat bastions such as college campuses across the US, and even the entire city of NY, have become increasingly unsafe for Jews. Democrats in Congress openly advocate for destroying Israel, withholding critical military defense aid, and boycott Netanyahu. There is no other country that is the target of a global effort to destroy.
This global antisemitism is the very reason why Israel was created, as a solution to the Jewish diaspora and antisemitism that had gone on for a thousand years. When the Ottoman Empire fell, as empires do, it was divided up into many countries. It was decided that Judea would be returned to the Jews so that they would have a safe place, a refuge. 90% of that promised land was given to the Arabs to appease them in the first land for peace deal, and was used to create Jordan, and part of Syria and Lebanon. Most of Judea already was used to create “Arab Palestine.” That left a country so small for the Jews that it cannot be defended without foreign aid in perpetuity. Israel is about 290 miles by 85 miles. Rockets can easily reach the entire country from the hostile nations surrounding tiny Israel. Without American aid in the form of the Iron Dome, Israel would be destroyed.
Israel is the only country facing international calls for its destruction, and the only reason is because it is Jewish. There are no international calls to destroy Pakistan, which was created around the same time.
The Jews took a barren, sparsely populated desert and turned it into an oasis. Muslims will not allow Jews to have a square foot in the Middle East, and will not rest until Israel has been destroyed, with the Left aiding and abetting their efforts.
Dr O’Connor (Jim Bidens Americore partner) was brought along with Joe as the WH doctor SPECIFICALLY to hide the Parkinson’s. There is NO WAY a legit physician could watch Joe day in and day out and not have ordered an MRI.
Where is the MRI?
Dennis “you know, the thing”.
I guess Joe had no obligation to learn the second paragraph before he spewed his nonsense.
You are a pathetic laughingstock. MTG has nothing on you in that regard.
Turley grossly misunderstands ANTIFA. ANTIFA is not just one group. It’s just a bunch of small time anarchists that show up whenever Fascist do such as the Proud Boys, or white supremacists. Turley conveniently leaves that out. ANTIFA doesn’t just randomly engage in violence. They do so when when they confront fascists like the police or groups like the proud boys.
Fascists like the police
I hope no one bothers to engage this obviously unserious commenter.
They consider the police fascist.
Yes, like most of the left they are delusional -0 disconnected from reality.
How well has that “defund the police” nonsense worked for yall ?
Places like Seattle, and Portland – often the very same left wing nut politico’s calling the police fascists are now begging for more police funding to thwart crime.
It is ALWAYS true that we you give people power – some will abuse it. The police are no exception.
There is lots of police reform that is necessary – pretty much take anything that Sen. Biden sponsored during the 80’s 90’s and early 20th century and undo it – that would be a good start at police reform.
But the FACT that police power will ALWAYS on occasion be abused does NOT mean that the police are unnecessary or that they are worse then the alternative. Or that we neerd Antifa for any reason at all.
We have seen crime decline from its peak in the 80’s straight through until Ferguson.
With the start of the defund the police and the BLM riots – criminal violence started to rise again.
The police kill less unarmed black men in the US in a year then are killed in Chicago by criminals in a weekend.
Gain a sense of proportionality. Focus on the bigger problem.
Get a clue – it is NOT the police.
Antifa is part of the problem, not part of any solution.
Like all left wing nuts – you see white supremacists and fascists everywhere – except where they are.
All or nearly all of Antifa is white.
The majority of the proud boys are black or Hispanic.
Antifa does not show up where the Proud boys are – the OPPOSITE is true.
The proud boys show up – either to provide protection for Counter Protests or journalists attempting to cover Antifa.
A journalist trying to cover Antifa without security has a death wish.
Antifa does not randomly engage in violence.
They engage in targeted violence against anyone whose views they do not like.
Their response to free speech they do not like is violence.
They absolutely use violence when they encounter the police who are doing their job trying to protect the rights of others – such as protesters or counter protesters to the left.
Though it is hard to get – because any journalist covering Antifa tends to get the $hit beat out of them, there is plenty of video of Antifa initiating violence against all kinds of peaceful groups that the left does not like.
Antifa is literally the opposite of free speech.
They make people who say things they do not like pay physically for their speech.
While mostly not a fan of the Proud Boys – I FULLY support their efforts to protect speakers from Antifa, and to beat the crap out of Antifa soy boys who try to suppress the speech of others with violence.
Antifa has murdered people for their speech such as Aaron Danielson, and has repeatedly hospitalized reporters such as Andrew Ngo who have covered them and their violence.
No decent person would ever try to defend Antifa.
They claim to be antifascists, but they are little different from Hitlers Brownshirt’s.
Dem Donor Who Funded Election Disinfo, Lawfare Is Backing Suit To Silence Election Journalism
Reid Hoffman, who backed a disinformation campaign and helped fund lawfare against Trump, is funding a suit against Fox News and Newsmax.
By: Logan Washburn ~ July 09, 2024
https://thefederalist.com/2024/07/09/dem-donor-who-funded-election-disinfo-lawfare-is-backing-lawsuit-to-silence-election-journalism/
Jonathan: We know quite a bit about the judges that DJT appointed to the federal bench especially those appointed to the SC. All were vetted and approved by the right-wing Federalist Society. One federal judge DJT appointed went largely under the radar–until now. Federal judge Joshua M. Kindred was nominated by DJT in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate in a 54-41 vote to fill a vacancy in Alaska. No Republican voted against Kindred who just resigned in disgrace. What’s that about?
In a scathing report by the 9th Circuit, Kindred was found to have engaged in a “inappropriately sexualized relationship” with one of his law clerks. The 30-page report found: “We conclude that Judge Kindred’s misconduct was pervasive and abusive, constituted sexual harassment, and fostered a hostile work environment that took a personal and professional toll on multiple clerks”. The report further found that Kindred “had no hesitation in using language that was inappropriate in a professional setting, such as encouraging the rating of clerks based on ‘f–ability’, stating that he was not ‘ho-ignorant’, or telling stories about ‘giving b-jobs in a hot tub'”. Some female clerks resigned because of Kindred’s continued sexual harassment. One clerk who left the office to become a federal prosecutor was forced into sex by Kindred.
After complaints were filed about Kindred’s behavior a judicial committee investigated and he was called to testify. The judicial report found that Kindred “obstructed, influenced, and impeded” the investigation by lying about his sexual relations with the one law clerk. Only when confronted with hundreds of incriminating emails did Kincaid come clean.
It doesn’t appear the Federalist Society was concerned about Kindred’s “moral character” or temperament to be a federal judge when they recommended him to DJT. Kindred was a firm supporter of the DJT agenda and that’s all that mattered. Which tells you all you need to know about how DJT’s selected his judicial nominees. And it’s probably the same standard DJT will use if he manages to get back into office.
PS: Joe Biden now gets to nominate a replacement for Kindred.
if he manages to get back into office.
Denial….what a wonderful hammock for napping and day drinking
Do we really need to address the number of left wing judges and politicians who have engaged in similar conduct ?
I do not accept you as a reliable source – ATS has lied about so many things it is impossible to tell when you are telling tyhe truth.
But if the claims you are making are correct, then Kindred like anyone else abusing power or engaging in similar conduct should suffer the appropriate consequences. Lets start with President Biden, or President Clinton.
That said your allegations against Kindred involve SPEECH. You have not claimed that he actually abused anyone.
Like say Harvey Weinstein – or Joe Biden or Bill Clinton.
Several hundred judges were appointed by Trump. Several hundred judges have been appointed by Biden.
It is absolutely certain that both have appointed one or two bad apples – as has every president.
I would note that several years back several members of the Pennsylvania supreme court resigned because of sexually inappropriate emails – ell democrats.
Do you actually have a clue what the Federalist society stands for ?
“It has been my pleasure to speak at many Federalist Society gatherings around the country, and I think one thing your organization has definitely done is to contribute to free speech, free debate, and most importantly public understanding of, awareness of, and appreciation of the Constitution. So that’s a marvelous contribution, and…in a way I must say I’m jealous at how the Federalist Society has thrived at law schools.”
– Nadine Strossen, President, ACLU
“It is a great pleasure for me to be in front of the Federalist Society. I am a tremendous admirer of this organization. I agree completely that it has served an enormously valuable function, in getting the debate going about the meaning of the constitution. The fact that there are two sides to the debate is evidenced by my presence here, today, but your contribution to stimulating a debate, to getting us on the other side to think more clearly about our issues, and to presenting to the American public issues…has performed an enormously useful function.”
-Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School
“[The Federalist Society] puts a value on open debate, and on the belief that true legal education demands an exposure to a diversity of views, a free and open exchange.”
-Dean Robert Clark, Harvard Law School
“My message is very simple. It’s to applaud the Federalist Society for its extraordinary commitment to the contest of ideas…I applaud the spirit of the Federalist Society in putting in on conferences that really do capture the importance of diversity and viewpoint in education. Thank you very much for honoring us with your presence.”
-Dean John Sexton, NYU School of Law
“I have never been at a Federalist Society debate that has not been fairly run, that has not aimed high, that has not asked the hard questions and confronted the intellectual problems. [I]t is one of the prizes of the NYU Law School to have a Federalist Society Chapter that is intellectually vigorous and successful in being [such a] part of the mainstream of the intellectual life of this school as the chapter [is] here, and I am very grateful.”
-Professor Burt Neuborne, NYU Law School and
former ACLU President
“I want to thank the Federalist Society for inviting me to be here… I want to thank you for your open-mindedness and liberalism…for inviting me to this panel. I salute the Federalist Society for bringing together such a terrific collision of ideas, and I hope I won’t disappoint you.”
-Professor Jamin Raskin, American University and
former General Counsel, National Rainbow Coalition
“I’m pleased to be here at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention. I’ve been here before, and I enjoy being here.”
-Bernard Nussbaum, former Clinton White House Counsel
“I’m always happy to speak to the Federalist Society, because I am something of an unabashed Madisonian; I think that he helped shape a constitutional system which is unique and has proven itself time and time again to be inspired. And this Society, of course, advances many of those values.”
-Jonathan Turley, George Washington University
^Dennis, did you forget to sign in?
Or just tired of taking sh!t with your ‘Dennis’ character?
‘Jonathan’… ‘DJT’… OT whataboutism… C’mon.
“I am proud to say that the Federalist Society was founded in part at the University of Chicago, and one of its best characteristics has been an attack on liberal shibboleths by looking at real consequences and specific problems and by asking what law actually does.”
-Professor Cass Sunstein, University of Chicago Law School
“I’m delighted, as always, to be speaking before a Federalist Society audience. I take every opportunity to accept your speaking invitations. I always feel so at home, and I love reminding folks who may not remember this, among your founding principles is that the State exists to preserve freedom. It reminds me very much of another organization that’s near and dear to me.”
-Nadine Strossen, President, ACLU
The WSJ has published a piece on Speaker Mike Johnson, largely taken from a speech Speaker Johnson gave at the Hudson Institute. Excellent speech. No wonder the Left hate him
Excerpt:
Speaker Mike Johnson on the Threats to the US-Led World Order
The first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights is religious liberty. And the founders understood if religious freedom is taken from a people, their political freedom soon follows, and you’ve seen that throughout history. We defend the right of conscience, the most fundamental freedom that we have as the right to believe and act upon it, and that’s essential to who we are as Americans. I talk a lot about what I call the seven core principles of American conservatism, but they’re really the seven core principles of America itself. I think it’s about individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets and human dignity. We believe, as we boldly proclaimed in our declaration that we just celebrated July 4, that it’s a self-evident truth.
The original draft that Jefferson wrote before he handed it to Franklin and Adams to edit was he said it was sacred and undeniable, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, or self-evident.” Something that’s obvious that all of us are created. We’re not born equal, we’re created equal, and God’s the one that gives us our rights, not the government. That is the revolutionary statement that started America and set us on the course to be the most powerful nation ever that there was.
[…]
The whole thing about why we defend freedom, why we defend the dignity of the individual, the estimable dignity and value of every human is because our founders believed, and most of us still believe that we are made in God’s image. And so every single person has an estimable value. That’s worth fighting for. It’s what defined us as a nation. If we lose that, we lose an essential ingredient about what it means to be an American.
https://www.hudson.org/events/speaker-mike-johnson-threats-us-led-world-order-rebeccah-heinrichs
Biden nor Democrats would ever articulate anything so beautiful and so rooted in US History. Good for Speaker Johnson for being a leader
Estovir,
Thank you for posting that.
While I may not be religious, a lot of what he said rings true to me.
OT: Here’s something that Karine Pierre did NOT say about the monthly doctor visits,
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has [just]approved Kisunla (donanemab-azbt) injection for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment with Kisunla should be initiated in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease, the population in which treatment was studied in the clinical trials…”Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder affecting more than 6.5 million Americans that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out simple tasks…. These changes affect a person’s ability to remember, think and speak.”
“Kisunla is administered as an intravenous infusion [once a month] every four weeks.”
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-treatment-adults-alzheimers-disease
I want to be a ruffalump.
Oh no, Antifa is just a concept. It’s “an idea not an organization.” ~Joe Biden, Sept 29, 2020.
Why does anyone believe a Dim about anything anymore? And how about the fools who vote for them? “One Flew Over” … material.
@mespo
No argument here. I don’t think that it’s that people are believing the lies so much as they don’t pay attention to the point that they don’t even hear the lies in the first place because they don’t pay attention. They really do still think this is 1994, that Obama was some kind of savior, and that anyone that was in opposition since is a fascist.
We are in a really tight spot, and it is global. I hate to be fatalistic, but this is very, very bad. World war is just a funny, or at best, uncomfortable concept to modern young people raised on video games and protected by their parent’s privilege; this could get very ugly very quickly. Sure wish a single soul had listened to us decrying this literal decades ago. This is not good, none of it.
We are in a really tight spot, and it is global. I hate to be fatalistic, but this is very, very bad.
Yup. Agreed. There is one and only one way to meet it: be fit.
Physically be ready for any environmental or external threat that requires a fit body
Psychologically be prepared to withstand pressure, fear, loneliness, etc that requires a fit mind
Spiritually be on your knees and recognize that something far bigger exists in the universe than you
Overall I would say less than 30% of the population satisfies the above 3 rubrics. If you find yourself outside of that 30% population, resolve the item that will put you in the surviving group
Survival of the fittest is as basic as it comes
Estovir,
I agree.
But according to our leftist friends, being “fit” is racist.’
Heck, I just read Duke University Medical school says expecting people of color to be on time is “white supremacy culture.”
How stupid is that?
. . . the fact that you would continue to attack those who are trying to defend our Democratic institutions speaks volumes about which side you are on!
Those words are carefully chosen, and ironically, they “speak volumes” which side DM is on. The term “democratic institutions” sounds nice on the surface but try asking what these institutions are. They are things like the media, government agencies, the State Department, and so on. They are not the American Republic that we live in, nor are they American citizens or freedom. Some insiders who are speaking out (e.g., Michael Benz) have described in detail how the deep state turned in the 2000s from protecting American to protecting these “democratic institutions” by undermining freedom in America. DM has unwittingly outed himself as an anti-freedom fan of the deep state.
https://x.com/YusufErim34/status/1759744368011780423
It is worse than that – Dennis’s premise – even if correct is anti-american.
We get an absolutely stupid version of that from AG Garland all the time.
It is ABSOLUTELY american to attack our institutions – and particularly are government institutions.
Our country was founded by people deeply skeptical of institutional power who understood that always comes at the expense of liberty.
Who viewed government as a necessary evil, not as a force for good.
We should ALWAYS be attacking and finding fault in our institutions – particularly those of government.
They should always have to defend themselves.
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” Yes it is. And it is needed right now.
**There are steps tyrants always take in closing open societies and creating a tyranny**
Wake up, America!
Here is Naomi Wolf reading and discussing her essay and what is means for all of us NOW, in America:
“What Time It Is: The Incarceration of Stephen K Bannon”
https://x.com/naomirwolf/status/1810772793413542032
Bannon was/is an advisor to President Trump. As is Navarro.
The Biden regime tyrants ignored the assertion of “executive privilege” and threw Bannon (and Navarro) in prison anyway for a MISDEMEANOR.
They purposely timed his prosecution to silence Bannon’s voice and during these four critical months leading up to the election.
This is exactly what election interference and tyranny looks like.
Wake up, America.
How do we know Antifa are Marxists:
– Antifa – the organization that opposes itself
– Groucho Marx – wouldn’t join a club that would have him as a member
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/groucho_marx_122546
pretty funny, Russia says there are Nazis in Ukraine, and the EU anti-Nazis want to fight Russia. Who cares. I have more faith in Russia than the EU.
The actual purpose of antifa is unspeakable.
Evil people will burn their own nation to the ground and just to rule over the ashes.
Coming soon to the USA.
What is happening across the pond is shocking indeed. Unbelievable. Europe is careening toward fascism again, and this time a whole lot more of the people involved think they are on the side of right. Not good. Not good at all. It portends something truly awful for our own elections in November, too – 2020 might end up looking like a cakewalk.
I pray that the United States has moved beyond the lunacy of the leftist and returned to some normalcy and will again someday return to be the beacon of freedom from government tyranny.
@George
I do too, George. Every day. All we can do right now is watch with our hands tied.
I would note that there was a mini Anheiser Busch event recently.
Tractor Supply aparently went very woke at corporate.
Like AHB – only worse, their customers are conservative.
Whistleblowers triggered a boycott that lasted 6 weeks – TSC lost 3B in market CAP capitulated and has committed to be a political both internally and in the groups they support.
Unlike AHB – they dealt with it and are recovering rapidly.
OT – John Say – FYI
“THE DECLARATION CAN BE ROBUSTLY SHOWN TO CONTAIN BOTH IMMEDIATELY VATTELIAN HYPOTEXT AND LOCKEAN HYPOTEXT MEDIATED BY VATTEL”
The Reception of Vattel’s Law of Nations in the American Colonies: From James Otis and John Adams to the Declaration of Independence
American Journal of Legal History ( IF 0.6 ) Pub Date: 2017-11-03 , DOI:10.1093/ajlh/njx023
William Ossipow , Dominik Gerber
The treatise of the Swiss philosopher and jurist Emer de Vattel, The Law of Nations (1758), is well known in the United States and has attracted sustained scholarly atten- tion. Against the widespread assumption that the reception of The Law of Nations in America only started in 1775, this article establishes that Vattel’s treatise was available on American soil already in 1762. This finding paves the way for inquiry into Vattel’s intellectual authority in the revolutionary context from the early pamphleteers to the Declaration of Independence. Following a reception-based methodology that facilitates robust inferences from patterns of intertextuality, this study aims to make up for the gap in Vattel’s historiography regarding the crucial period between 1762 and 1776. New England, and the Boston area in particular, turn out to be the hotbeds of Vattel’s reception. A special emphasis is put on the central role of John Adams as a transmitter of Vattel’s thought in the colonial discourse in spring 1776. In the great political docu- ments of this time, most of which were written by Adams or by patriots close to him, such as Richard Henry Lee, a recurrent argument, called the Vattel-Adams argument, was put forth, forging a claim on the loss of royal protection into a justification of se- cession. The present study demonstrates that this rationalization bears unmistakably Vattelian marks. Furthermore, considering Thomas Jefferson’s mastery of intertextual practice, it is argued that the first, second, and fifth paragraphs of the Declaration can be robustly shown to contain both immediately Vattelian hypotext and Lockean hypo- text mediated by Vattel. Beyond its objective of uncovering a hitherto neglected aspect of the revolution’s intellectual underpinnings, this study offers a new perspective on the intertextual complexity and density that characterize the political documents of the revolutionary era.
Absolutely none of this has anything to do with your argument about citizenship.
We are here on Turley’s blog.
Turley is inarguably one of the most pre-eminent constitutional scholars of today.
Turley has just written a well received book on Free speech.
Can we jump from those observations to a claim that Turley’s expression of one narrow bit of constitutional text perfgectly reflects that of our founders ?
Can we conclude that on each and every specific argument Turley makes in his book that every person who has endorsed his book aggtees with that specific argument or claim ?
Your making a logic error, A fallacious generalization.
Is Vattel an influence on some of our founders – undoubtedly.
Is everything he has written Gospel for the overwhelming majority of them – certainly not.
The constitutional Burden is on YOU to PROVE that you ATEXTUAL read of the constitution reflects not merely the view of the majority of those accepting the final draft of the constitution – but the majority of the voters who ratified it.
Again you are doing what the left does all the time and straining the text of the constitution to make it fit the reading you want.
There is almost always SOME historical support for the position of the left on some constitutional issue.
At any time in the past there is likely some scholar even a well respected scholar that took a position at odds with the majority and/or plain text reading of the constitution.
Further as I pointed out before – the CORE issue is about Citizenship – NOT INTERNATIONAL LAW.
America REJECTED the European concepts of citizenship as they are routed in the monarch/subject dialectic.
If you want to argue that Vattels ideas of International law – broadly speaking were influential on our Founders – MAYBE you can get somewhere.
Though I am not really that sure there. Our founders views on everything international were schizophrenic. Even to the point where presidents like Jefferson violated their own strongly publicly expressed views – even claims about the constitution to do what they determined was in the nations best interest.
I think that is highly likely. Peter Theil believes 2020 was Peak Woke. I think he is correct.
What we are seeing now is the desperation of an ideology that still has power but is facing the near certainty of losing it.
I am glad that democrats are currently turning on themselves – this election is likely to be a disaster for them.
The economy is weakening. We are likely headed into a recession, hopefully mild.
We need that to clear inflation.
But should the democrats quit fighting among themselves – god knows what they will do next.
Wounded animals are very dangerous.
And the Founders imposed discipline – severe voter qualifications – in their restricted-vote republic.
China enjoys the self-governance mode of the American Founders.
The difference, and the problem for the Chinese people, is that there is no dominion of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“the people are nothing but a great beast…
I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value.”
– Alexander Hamilton
_________________________
“The true reason (says Blackstone) of requiring any qualification, with regard to property in voters, is to exclude such persons, as are in so mean a situation, that they are esteemed to have no will of their own.”
“If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely, and without influence of any kind, then, upon the true theory and genuine principles of liberty, every member of the community, however poor, should have a vote… But since that can hardly be expected, in persons of indigent fortunes, or such as are under the immediate dominion of others, all popular states have been obliged to establish certain qualifications, whereby, some who are suspected to have no will of their own, are excluded from voting; in order to set other individuals, whose wills may be supposed independent, more thoroughly upon a level with each other.”
– Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775
_____________________________________________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin, 1787
John Say,
ARTICLES
THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF “NATURAL BORN”
Michael D. Ramsey*Not only does the previous conventional wisdom rest on surprisingly thin
scholarly foundations, it faces daunting textual and historical challenges. If
anyone born a U.S. citizen is eligible to the presidency, the word “natural”
in the Eligibility Clause seems superfluous. To give it meaning, there should
be some “born” citizens who are not “natural born.” Further, in general in
eighteenth-century legal language, “natural” meant the opposite of “pro-
vided by statute.” Natural law was the opposite of positive law; natural rights
were rights that predated codification. The most obvious meaning of “natu-
ral born Citizen” thus is not a person who claims citizenship from a statute,
but rather a person whose citizenship comes from the natural state of things.
A citizen by statute – would be someone who made a choice to follow the requirements of law to become a citizen.
A citizen by nature would be one whose citizenship is conveyed by Birth not choice.
I would also argue that the word “nature” in the text is to distinguish from “Naturalized” – why is the term for citizenship conveyed by choice in conformance to statute.
In the US you are a citizen by virtue of being born in the US(natural), or you are a citizen because you have chosen to meet the requirements to become a citizen(naturalized)
Aside from your unique reading of the text of the constitution – do you have ANY historical reference to our founders ever intending other classes of citizen ?
I would further note that it is ONLY with respect to the office of president and vice president that we distinguish between jus soli citizenship and naturalized citizenship.
The declaration of independentce and the constitution itself makes ALL men equal before the law. We all have exactly the same rights.
The qualifications for president and vice president are the ONLY place where one form of citizenship is treated differently from another.
And you are seeking to manufacture a third type.
Pretty sure if our founders had intended multiple classes of citizenship we would have lots of discussion of that at the constitutional convention.
George – a Completely different argument.
Did our founders really intend universal sufferage ? probably not. Regardless we have amended the constitution several times regarding voting rights, so the specific intentions of our founders are NOT relevant to the right to vote today.
Do I generally agree that decisions should only be made by those with “skin in the game” – absolutely.
I have said before – if it were possible I would mandate voting only on election day, and a huricane in all 50 states on election day so that only people willing to brave 80mph winds to vote would vote.
But your argument is NOT about voting or the right to vote as our Founders intended it.
If you wish tlo argue that the various constitutional amendments expanding voting are wrong – go ahead, I likely will agree.
But the constitution has been amended – it no longer matters what our founders intended. It matters what those who wrote the voting amedments intented. TYhat is how staqtutory and constitutional interpretation works.
Europe has been F’d up for a long time.
But be careful trying to apply what the media says about european groups. left and right do not mean the same in europe.
Nor do they mean the same from country to country.
France is truly screwed. It does not matter whether the left wing socialists win or Whether :e Penn’s national Rallyu wins – which is likely next time arround. It is still socialists all the way down.
I have more hope for the UK. Labor’s win is really the result of Nigel Farage’s reform’s success splitting the Tories.
It is Likely that Reform and the Tories will kiss and make up – and that will make the British right much more strongly resemble the US right. Trying to Claim Boris Johnson had any resemblance to american conservatism requires melting your brain.
We are supposedly seeing a rise in the “Far Right” thorughout europe. Some of these Far Right groups are like Le Penn socialsists and fascist or fascist adjacent – not that left wing socialists are not fascist adjacent.
But some are more similar to american conservatices or l;ibertarians.
Nigel Farage will remain an outlier in British politics. He’s well known as one of the architects of Brexit. The fall of the Tories in England was the result of their failed policies. Austerity, and Brexit made things worse in England and the citizens got fed up with the constant failure of the tories to improve the situation in England.
They had 14 years to prove their vision would succeed. It was an abject failure.
In France it was widely expected the far right would succeed according to their polling. Alas, it looks like they bought too much into their own rhetoric and reality as asserted by the voters. The same thing seems to be the case with MAGA. Lots of polls and rhetoric similar to LePenn’s is being bandied about on the right here in the US. A similar surprise could occur here. Remember the “red wave” hype?
Lmao
Saving this one for November
Idiot
The fall of the tories had to do with the fact that brutish tories and US conservatives are different animals. British conservatism is inherently authoritarian, americna conservatism is inherently libertarian.
The argument that Brexit made things worse in England is complete garbage. The struggle of the elites in the UK – many of them Tories to resist Brexit created problems for the UK. Further while the UK is overall under performing the US – it is outperforming the EU, and that has increased since Brexit.
Your claims regarding austerity reflect ZERO understanding of economics.
In 1979 England was slipping out of the first world. Thatcher was elected, made draconian cuts to the British government and restored England to the top ranks of the first world. While she was widely hated – especially by the left, she was still the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century – exceeding even Churchill. Not because she was loved. But because she turned England around.
Over the course of the past 50 years (or 200 with less reliable data), over the US, the OECD, over all nations of the world studied, for each additional 10% of GDP that government consumes – the rate of growth in GDP declines by 1%.
This is one of the strongest economic correlations that we have.
As I noted in other posts – Lincoln conducted the civil war with Total US spending – local, state and federal of about 8& of GDP. That was the PEAK of government spending of the 19th century in the US – a period in which average growth was about 7.5%/year.
The larger government of the 20th century halved that. The growth of government in the 21st century has brought that down to 2%.
Milei is slashing government in Argentina left and right. While this is not without problems – Argentina’s economy which was a basket case is gaining new life.
There is no such thing as a government policy that has only winners. Reduced government is always NET positive.
The entire foundation of left is the idiocy that Government spending can somehow magically fix the FACT that good choices are rewarded and bad ones punished – perfectly – No. But with rare exceptions we all have the opportunity to learn from bad choices and try again.
Even bad luck which is relatively rare, but still real, does not change the fact that most of the time we can try again.
Farage is the British equivalent of Trump – though a bit more libertarian.
As you note – he is the architect of Brexit – which despite resistance from the leadership of both parties was successful.
Frankly the EU is only holding together tenuously. There are brexit like movements in much of the EU. Nobody is trying to join.
One of the interesting things about the recent French elections is that – both the French Left and Le Penn’s National Rally actually share a large number of policy objectives – leaving the EU being one of those.
The EU was always a bad idea. Britain is not coming back, The predicted recession from leaving never occurred, massive amounts of elite political capitol is being wasted in countries throughout the EU resisting popular efforts to leave.
As to Farage. Labor did not win the last election – the Tories lost it. The did so by continuing to resist Farage and other Tea Party like conservative revolts in the UK.
I would suggest that the progression of the Tea Party in the US into the current MAGA movement that now owns the republican party is what is taking place in the UK right now. While the split between Reform and the Tories has been more catastrophic faster in the UK.
The TP gained power in the US by making it clear to the GOP that they would rather see a democrat elected than another RINO.
The TP cost the GOP several house seats, and likely control of the house on several occasions before the GOP capitulated.
Theough the Progression from a small insurgency to the dominant force in the GOP took a decade in the US.
I expect it will move much faster in the UK. Tories will capitulate to Farage and Reform or they will remain out of power for a decade or more.
In 2015 Donald Trump was an outlier in US politics.
How long can the Democratic Left spin the top on a pin head? I used Pinhead to reference the Democratic Lefts brain as it’s no larger than a pin head. Their rose-colored glasses must be fogged over thinking their hegemonic party will last in a free society. Today, many are questioning their plan of ascendancy to a liberal socialist form of governance, be it any of their faults, including the economy, immigration, DEI and on and on that have caused their questioning. Denial being part of today’s subject, illustrates the lefts persona, or should I say mental state, where refusal to acknowledge unbiased facts has led them into their current quagmire.
I question what country started this Socialist/Communist/Tyrannical notion in western governments. I think it was the United States and in particular the Democratic Party and our Socialists thinking Government Bureaucracy, and now it has infected Continental Europe with Illiberal Democracies. I hope the greater populous of the United States sees the failures of the current administrations path towards tyranny and cast’s them into the history books. I say to the Ship of Fools, ‘Bon Voyage’!
George W,
Thank you for your observation and the laugh!
Upstate
It is getting harder to keep a little humor in the soul.
Thanks
George W
Jonathan: Right-wing conspiracist theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is at it again. Over the 4th of July she posted this on “X”: “The average age of the signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 was 44 years old, but more than a dozen were 35 or younger”. Those MTG listed were Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, Aaron Burr, Paul Revere and George Washington.
Only one little problem with MTG’s post. Neither Madison, Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Paul Revere nor Washington signed the Declaration of Independence. In addition, Hamilton was 19 when the Declaration was signed–not 21 as MTG falsely stated.
How could a sitting member of Congress get so much wrong about US history? MTG probably couldn’t pass the citizenship test. And what prompted MTG’s bizarre post? I think it’s because MTG lives in a MAGA universe where facts don’t matter! She also supports your bizarre theory that Antifa is the most violent anti-“free speech” movement is the history of the world. Go figure!
Maybe someone should buy a ticket for MTG to go and see the musical “Hamilton”. She would learn some of the basic facts about the Founding Fathers–something she missed in high school civics. But I doubt MTG would want to see “Hamilton”. That’s because people of color play all the lead roles!
That’s ok. If you gave each democrat in the house that same list of names and asked them to identify which of those signed the Declaration, they probably couldn’t get it wholly right either.
Off-topic spam. Waste of time.
“Maybe someone should buy a ticket for MTG to go and see the musical “Hamilton”. She would learn some of the basic facts about the Founding Fathers–something she missed in high school civics. But I doubt MTG would want to see “Hamilton”. That’s because people of color play all the lead roles!”
Maybe you should read the Federalist papers – many of which were written by Hamilton.
I am sure that Hamilton the musical is quite fun. It may even be historically accurate IN SOME PLACES.
The fact that people of color play all leading rolls is interesting. If that floats your boat fine. We are seeing lots of that in quasi historical entertainment. But we should not confuse entertainment with history.
I loved “The Great” – but there were ZERO black people in the court of Catherine the great.
I loved Dickens – but again there were pretty close to Zero blacks and Asians in Civil war era Amherst.
I have not seen Hamilton – but I expect to and I expect to enjoy it.
I do NOT however expect that it is within a million miles of historically accurate – just as I did not expect that from Dickens or the Great.
If you want real history, If you want to know the ideas and people of a different era with all their warts and all their greatness.
READ what they wrote. READ what their contemporaries wrote.
Don;t try to pretend that some modern entertainment peice comes close to accurately representing history or historical figures.
Do not confuse entertainment with history.
Bravo!
You want facts yet expect people to watch Hamilton with a straight face? You are pathetic.
“Only one little problem with MTG’s post. Neither Madison, Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Paul Revere nor Washington signed the Declaration of Independence. ”
Oh, the Horror! Did you know that before some left wing meme told you ? Do you think that Biden could tell whether any of these people signed the declaration ?
“In addition, Hamilton was 19 when the Declaration was signed–not 21 as MTG falsely stated.”
Hang her immediately.
“How could a sitting member of Congress get so much wrong about US history? MTG probably couldn’t pass the citizenship test.”
Sp lets give a citizenship test to all members of congress. Lets see how AOC fares or Adam Schiff ? Or Nancy Pelosi ?
“And what prompted MTG’s bizarre post? ”
What is bizarre about the post ? she conflates our founders with the specific people who signed the declaration of independence.
A mistake but not a big one. All these people were very important figures at the time of the revolution.
And many of them were quite young. She is more accurate than most anything you ever post – including conflating Hamilton with history.
“I think it’s because MTG lives in a MAGA universe where facts don’t matter!”
From you that is amazing. What facts have you gotten correct ?
What errors have you corrected ?
” She also supports your bizarre theory that Antifa is the most violent anti-“free speech” movement is the history of the world.”
It is likely that there is some “anti-speech” movement that is more violent than antifa.
Is that your standard ? That any political rhetoric must be more accurate than Nobel prize winning physics ?
Off the top of my head I can not think of a more violent anti-free speech movement – can you ? No cheating.
Just off the top of your head.
John Say: So you think MTG’s mistake was “not a big one” Really? When a sitting Congressperson goes on social media platforms they know people pay attention. Don’t you think they have an obligation to back up their statements with FACTS? MAGA politicians, like MTG, aren’t concerned by FACTS. MTG has a long history of embracing baseless and FACT free conspiracy theories. She is a serial tweeter of FALSE claims. “Off the top of my head”, and judging by your past comments, I would say you are in good company with MTG!
Dennis didnt know who signed it either until he got the DNC email.
Who do you think you are kidding Dennis?
Thank you!
My point exactly but far more succinctly.
“So you think MTG’s mistake was “not a big one” Really?”
Correct – every person she named is a founder of this country.
Can you name all the people who signed the declaration of independence ?
Who drafted the constitution ?
“When a sitting Congressperson goes on social media platforms they know people pay attention.”
True.
“Don’t you think they have an obligation to back up their statements with FACTS?”
Too what standard ?
Almost nothing Trump says is literally true. While most of it does a good job of expressing truths.
As Salena Zito wrote almost a decade ago.
the left takes Trump litterally, but not seriously,
Trump supporters take him seriously but not literally.
Was MTG’s post litterally correct ? No.
Did it accurately reflect that the average age of the people who created this country was pretty young – Absolutely.
Does it matter if Hamiloton was 19 or 21 ? Does it matter if he signed the Declaration of Independence ?
he is one of the authors of the federalist papers. He is on our currency. Most of the signers of the declaration are not.
The point MTG was making was about the young age of the people who found this country.
That point is FACT,
MTG was not mixing ingredients to make TNT,
“MAGA politicians, like MTG, aren’t concerned by FACTS. MTG has a long history of embracing baseless and FACT free conspiracy theories. She is a serial tweeter of FALSE claims. ”
Please cvite a single claim of MTG’s that rises to the level of consequential falsehood of the infamous remarks repeated over and over by Rep Schiff or Swallwell or Warner. Please cite a claim of MTG’s that is as absurdly stupid as some of the interviews of AOC on subjects like economics.
I would like MTG to do better – but by the standards YOU are imposing – pretty much the entire democratic party is far worse.
Biden has gotten so bad he can not even manage to be coherent enough to lie anymore. Most of the time you have to guess what he is saying.
And you want to attack MTG ?
If I am going to start purging congressmen for factual errors – the entire democratic party will be gone before I get to MTG,
Please Dennis point out a single error I have made ?
I am not perfect – I am sure I have made some – though I am usually pretty careful – I do tend to relax my standards dealing with you – because almost no one on earth is wrong as much as you are.
Regardless, point out any error I have made – and I will publicly correct it.
I have done so a few times in the past.
You decided to take on MTG – well not really, because is there anyone who believes that you actually knew who signed the declaration of independence. or how old our founders were ?
I do expect MTG to do better.
I also expect those claiming she is a liar to know the difference between an inconsequential error that does not alter in the least the point she is making and and actual LIE.
You play these games all the time.
Christ was thinking explicitly about you when he said remove the board from your own eye, before you try to remove the nit from your brothers.
We have a blathering idiot who can not say two sentences without trialing off into incomprehensible nonsense,
And you want to Rant about MTG ?
Pretty sure that conflating founders with signers will not significantly impact MTG’s ability to decide hor to respond to a pending nuclear threat if she was woke up at 2AM and rushed down to the situation room to determine the fate of half the world.
Can you say the same about your president ?
Republicans are having great fun right now – at YOUR expense.
You do not seem to understand that the current mess that Democrats are in – is not about Biden’s competence.
It is about the FACT that the entire left and their enablers have been exposed for LYING to the american people for the past 4 years.
And you want to rant about MTG ?
Your house is burning to ash and you want to complain because MTG is off a bit about the height of the flames ?
I would like to say that you have done everything humanly possible to “Get Trump” – and you have failed – but there are still 119 days before the election and god knows what Stunt those of you on the left will pull next.
Biden is toast. Democrats are toast. What are you going to try next ? Assassination ?
You rant about Trump and J6 – yet what has been evident to many of us for a long time – and is becoming evident to nearly everyone – is that not only did you conduct a lawless electioin, engage in massive illegal ballot harvesting, lie through your teeth to win, and then use government to censor the truth.
But you knowingly ran someone incapable of doing the job.
And you wonder why people were at the capitol protesting ?
You should feel lucky they did NOT come with AR-15’s
At what point is your malfeasant abuse of power sufficient to justify violence.
Because make no mistake – as our founders made clear –
“When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government”
The good news is violence will not be necescary. You have F#$Kd up so badly it is unlikely that you can pull off enough fraud to win this election.