WHAT HAPPENED TO JUSSIE?

 

                                                       BY BILL JUNEAU

                                       I have been wondering and maybe others have been too as to the outcome of Jussie Smollett's appeal after being found guilty of inventing a story of a physical attack on him by Trump-lovers on a below zero morning on an Old Town street in Chicago back in 2019.  

                          This fine, "French" thespian who was one of the stars in  the TV series, "Empire," shook up Chicagoland and much of the country with his bizarre story of being attacked and whacked around and called a "black faggot" by white skinned Trump-lovers wearing red  "MEGA" caps. He was interviewed many times, and before cameras tearfully recounted the incredible hate-crime.  His story excited  Hollywood and Black Lives Matter; and the Rev. Al Sharpton demanded "Justice for Jussie." 

                           His story was checked and rechecked and eventually it was determined that Jussie Smollett had staged the "attack" as a way of bringing attention to him and his acting and singing talents, and on behalf of his black brothers who have been mistreated in society. 

                          It took a couple of years, but Jussie's story was debunked as the attackers came forward and confessed to the fairy  tale attack; and that Jussie paid them handsomely for their participation. 

                          In March of 2022, following a trial before a jury, Smollett was found guilty of  perjury and Judge James Linn sentenced him to to 30 months probation with the first 150 days in a jail cell. Additionally, he was ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 and restitution of $120,106 to the city of Chicago. 

                           Jussie was handcuffed following sentencing and taken to the Cook County Jail to begin serving his time behind bars. His attorneys quickly appealed the conviction and sentence, and after spending six days in a cell, he was freed on an appellate bond pending review of the conviction by a higher Illinois court. 

                           The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the conviction last year  and the case has been appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.  If the states highest court again affirms the conviction in Judge Linn's courtroom, Smollett, 41, will be made to pay his fines and serve his five months in the county jail where he can show off his singing voice to the jail guards. 

                             It was an ugly hate crime and sympathy ran deep for the actor who is gay and biracial; the son of a white Jewish man and an African American mother.  Many have believed that Jussie was of French ancestry, given the sound of his name, and misinformation on the street. 

                              His blackness gave him ties to former President Obama, who reportedly made calls on his behalf.  The Rev. Jesse Jackson was outraged, and so was the NAACP. "Justice for Jussie" was screamed throughout the world, and Jussie recounted  on Good Morning America, with tears in his eyes, the horribleness of the homophobic assault.

                             Comedian Dave Chappelle featured Jussie in one of his stand-up appearances. He said that the truth of the matter was that the Black community did not and could not support the gay, black actor because they "knew that that (N Word) was clearly lying." 

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PULITZER PRIZES MAY RAISE QUESTIONS

 

                                                       BY BILL JUNEAU

                          The 2023-24 winners of Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding reporting of the news have been announced and the pace-setters in the hard news category were the New York Times and the Washington Post.  The acclaimed winners from the nation's most powerful left wing newspapers took their bows and slipped fresh cash into their wallets.

                             The Pulitzer Prize is the the most prestigious award in all of journalism. The award carries the name of Joseph Pulitzer, Publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper who was a fierce believer in newspapers and their role as a watchdog in a free democracy in the greatest country in the world. Besides NYT and WAPO, Pulitzer awards went to winners in some 15 other categories, including photography, commentary and personal profiles.

                              Pulitzers have been awarded to journalists since 1918, and in that period the Times of New York has won 132.  The Washington Post has been recognized on 68 occasions. The NYT has won more Pulitzers than any other newspaper in the country.  This years' Pulitzers actually included three for the Times and three for the Post; and the focus of their reports was on immigration, the Israeli- Gaza war and gun violence. 

                              But still in all, amidst the applauding and kudos, there is no forgetting the controversial awards of 2018-2019  pulled down by the Times and the Post. In that year, the NYT and WAPO  received recognition for 10 stories published by each newspaper which castigated President Trump for his collusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin who allegedly had helped him win the 2016 election over Hillary Clinton. Trump's conduct and hand-holding with Russia, the papers implied, bordered on sedition. 

                            The Pulitzer Board handed out the awards a short time after the announcement that President Trump had never colluded with Russia in any way, and that allegations that he had done so were political lies and trash talk. That finding exonerating  President Trump came following a $33 million dollar congressional-authorized investigation into allegations that the 45th President, elected in 2016, had "colluded" with Russia. The investigation was conducted by the respected former FBI Director, Robert Swan Mueller. 

                                President Trump and his supporters demanded that the Times and the Post apologize for their journalistic lies in pumped-up news stories. The dishonest reporting was based upon the papers' personal animus and disdain for the Republican President who had beaten Democrat Hillary Clinton. Many of the stories attacking Trump were based upon "anonymous sources."  

                              The recipients of the Pulitzers declined to apologize for their lies, and held tight to the thousands of dollars in cash awards and certificates. 

                               The Pulitzer Committee which picked the winners, was importuned by Trump and various institutions to rescind the awards, but the committee, made up of prominent news persons, including editors and former editors of the Times and Post papers, refused.  

                               In a statement, the Pulitzer Prize committee, following "independent reviews" rejected calls to rescind  and devalue the 2018 prizes or apologize. Instead, the board upheld the awards stating that the "reporting was deeply sourced and furthered the public's understanding of Russian interference."

                               "We  stand behind the Pulitzer selection process which has endured for 103 years," asserted Dana Canedy, Pulitzer administrator. "The winning work speaks for itself.  Beyond that, this simply doesn’t deserve comment."

                                After the 2018 disgraceful conduct and its determination not to rescind the awards and apologize, journalistic aficionados must now wonder about other awards and if politics was a key factor in making the selections. 

                                To some,  the 2018 Pulitzers awarded to NYT and WAPO is seen simply as a blip on the screen of the country's most liberal and woke-minded newspapers.  Harsh critics believe that the papers were simply overcome by the desire to bring down President Trump and no tactics were out of bounds. For them, the awards of 2018-19 will always be remembered as the "Purloined Pulitzers." 

                            The Times is the nation's most prestigious newspaper and perhaps the adage that it publishes "all the news that is fit to print" has been sullied a bit, but the paper continues in a fast moving society where newspapers are being challenged by the  electronic press and the talking TV heads for providing the news of the day. 

                             Since 2004, some 2,400  newspapers have terminated operation. Included were 70 dailies. At the latest counts, there are 171 counties in America which do not have any newspaper. 

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THE GAGGING OF PRESIDENT TRUMP

 

                                             BY BILL JUNEAU

                         The "hush money" trial of former President Trump is underway in the criminal courthouse in Manhattan, comfortable home for "Never Trump" Democrats.  The trial is presided over by Judge Juan Manuel Merchan who President Trump charges is "conflicted."  Says Trump:  "He should recuse himself, and cut out the pretense of  being fair-minded.....He is a "certified              Trump-Hater." 

                         Merchan, 61, is presiding over the trial and according to the ex-President and his lawyers, was ushered onto the judge's chair by arrangement of  District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who, Trump asserts, is a "thug" and a "degenerate psychopath" doing the bidding of the Democratic national committee and the Joe Biden Justice Department.   

                        Bragg's mission is the conviction of the former United States President; and the free sailing to a second term for the befuddled Joe Biden.  Upon the selection of the Columbia-born Merchan as trial judge, the Trump team of attorneys filed a motion demanding that he recuse himself because of a serious conflict of interest.  Judge Merchan, however, has declined to allow for a substitution of judges and to leave the  litigation.  

                         It is no secret---the Democratic Party, often referred to as the Party of the Mule or the Jackass, is determined to destroy Donald Trump with a guilty verdict and make him into a felon whose chances for a second term next November will be diminished. The entire case against Trump has been called legally defective in a variety of ways by nationally prominent lawyers. 

                          Using his "Truth" social media platform, Trump upbraided the judge for his relationship with his daughter, Loren,  whose company lists Adam Schiff and the Democratic Political Action Committee (PAC) as clients. Both have targeted and attacked President Trump.  Trump said that he has the right to speak out in accord with the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment to the Constitution. 

                          According to records, Loren Merchan, 35, is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a progressive political consulting firm based in Chicago.  The firm has two major clients, Schiff, a California congressman, who was the lead prosecutor in Trump's first impeachment trial, and now is running for a U.S. senate seat; and the Senate PAC (Political Action Committee), which is a major fund raiser for Democratic senatorial candidates. 

                         For all four years of the Trump presidency beginning in January 2017, Schiff, who Trump has referred to as "Shifty," lied continually and said that Trump was a pawn and a  water boy for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Eventually, a $33 million investigation cleared Trump of colluding with Russia, and subsequently, Schiff was censured by the House of Representatives and described by his peers as a "liar" and a "crook." 

                 With Ms. Merchan as adviser to "Trump-haters" and with her father presiding at the Trump trial now underway, Schiff has been  campaigning for a California senate seat.  He has pulled in  $20 million in donations, using Merchan campaign literature excoriating President Trump as he faces the  criminal trial. 

                Along with counseling  and advising the mendacious Schiff and telling him what to say,  Ms. Merchan supports democratic candidates seeking election to the Senate.  According to the New York Post  newspaper, the PAC generated $73.6 million since it began firing off fundraising emails following the ex president's indictment. 

                   To rein in President Trump from voicing criticism of Loren Merchan and her Democratic ties, Judge Merchan has issued a "gag" order on the ex-President which bars him from making statements about attorneys, court staff or family members of prosecutors, lawyers and court personnel. Also, the gag order proscribes Trump's criticism of his former personal attorney,  Michael Cohen, who is slated to be a witness against the ex-President, and who has been badmouthing Trump to the media at every opportunity.  

                   On April 30, Judge Merchan found Trump in contempt of his "gag" order and at the request of Prosecutor Bragg fined him $9,000 for nine comments on his Truth platform in which he had excoriated the judge's daughter for her Democratic work in helping to take down the former President Trump.

                   In finding the ex-President in contempt, he warned him that he could go to jail if he continues to ignore the orders of his court. 

                  Why is Judge Merchan resisting the defendant's demand that he recuse himself as the presiding judge based upon clear evidence of his partiality on behalf of Democrats, and against Trump; and with full awareness of his daughter's democratic party affiliations and connections? He is presiding at the trial because he wants to do his part as a Democrat and a "certified Trump Hater."

                   Has the Democratic Party become so strong in New York City, and particularly in the borough of Manhattan that the words "honesty and fair trial" are lost completely?  "It's the Democrat's way or the highway," or so they say.   

                  Republicans are virtually non-existent in Manhattan and the Democratic Party there is bulging with "never Trump" members.                  

                   In Manhattan, for example, not a single elected office holder is a Republican. In fact, according to 2023 records, Manhattan Republicans are absent entirely from the New York Senate and House; and have no presence in the New York City Council. Also, no Manhattan based republicans have been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

                 As of the end of 2023, records reveal that there are  106,000 registered Republicans  and 878,000 Democrats signing in from Manhattan.  In the 2020 presidential vote in that borough, Biden got 88 per cent of vote to Trump's 12 per cent. You can be pretty sure that the jurors picked in the trial, whose names are not being released,  share the political views  harbored by the  judge and the dishonest prosecutor.  

                With those majorities, common sense tells you that the idea of "fair" treatment for Republican Donald Trump is simply not going to happen.  Believing in Manhattan honesty and a fair trial for the ex-President is simply fodder for fools. 

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