TWITTER SUSPENDS BABYLON BEE AND TUCKER

 

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                       After the 64-year-old Rachel Levine was named one of its  "Women of the Year" by USA Today, the satirical Babylon Bee, whose mission is to poke holes in liberal talk, announced in a screenshot tweet that it was naming Rachel Levine as its "Man of the Year."

                       USA Today said that Dr. Levine is a woman who made a significant impact during the pandemic, helping the nation through the greatest public health crisis it has faced in more than 100 years. 

                        Levine, a pediatrician who now serves as the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department  of Health, had "transitioned" from Richard Levine to Rachel Levine in 2011, and stepped away from  life as a husband of many years and a father to two daughters. Reportedly, reassignment surgery, drugs and the  reconfiguration of the hips and enhancement of the breasts came in fashioning the new Dr. Levine as a lady. 

                       Dr, Levine, who has significant credentials and accomplishments as a physician and a scientist, now wears her greyish-blonde hair straggling down in page boy style.  Her appointment a year ago by President Biden to the second biggest job in the health department won senate confirmation by a thin vote of 52-48, and there were accusations that the transitioned doctor favored the ability of children to change sexes without parental consent.   

                       With the Bee's satirical attack on Levine whose feminine looks are raising eyebrows, Twitter suspended the conservative organization for "misgendering" Dr. Levine, asserting that it was in violation of the platform's hateful- conduct policy.

                      It accused the Bee of engaging in hateful speech, and barred the Bee from future tweets permanently unless it apologizes and deletes its abusive posting. "Canceled," said Parag Agrawal, 37,  who was appointed Twitter CEO last November.    

                         The following day, Tucker Carlson reported the story of Twitter's decision to terminate all tweets and the rhetoric of Babylon Bee, and spoke with the Bee's  CEO, Seth Dillon on Tucker's nightly televised show. 

                        Twitter has no standards, said Dillon. Babylon Bee is a company whose mission is to poke holes in popular narratives--"It is what we do." 

                       The report on Levine was factual, he said, in that Dr. Levine was born a man with the equipment that belongs to a man and he will always be a man.  The naming him as the Bee's "Man of the Year" was done in fun.  There was nothing hateful or untrue in the speech, and the new Twitter CEO lacks the right to determine what a citizen can say in a democracy, explained Dillon. 

                         'We will not back down and we will not be deleting any tweet which the far left Agrawal disagrees with," said Dillon. Agrawal was appointed CEO last November, succeeding Jack Dorsey. Agrawal immigrated from India to the USA some 16 years ago. 

                          The following day after Carlson presented the Bee's chief executive as a guest on his nightly news show, Twitter's Agrawal struck again and said that he was suspending Tucker Carlson's ability to tweet, for speaking and promoting hate speech. Carlson deplored the actions by Agrawal noting that Levine had been a man for 54 years and then decided to change sexes, asserting, "call me a woman from now on, and that's that."

                           Can an individual just decide to change sexes and become a woman, and direct that he be called by a female name? We think not, and do not intend to apologize to twitter for anything, said Carlson. .                         

                           Last October despite some mixed reviews over Levine's performance in leading the department's fight against the pandemic, she was saluted and named the nation's first and only female, four-star admiral commanding the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She appeared on camera in a spiffy uniform,  and said that she was a very grateful woman for the honor bestowed upon her. 

                             Although the Biden team of progressive Democrats and the LGBTQ community applauded the recognition of Admiral  Levine, others viewed the distinction with  scepticism, noting that the oldish, and unusual looking Levine, does not appear to fit the distaff roll he has chosen.  

                                                  xxx

                                                         

     

                                   

                            

                    

                         

                        

                      

JUSTICE FOR JUSSIE

 

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                              As Jussie Smollett exited his Cook county jail cell after a brief one week stay, his fans erupted with fist pumping screams of "Justice for Jussie."  The great "French" actor was out and about.  It was what some would call the "denouement" or the final  curtain.  But is it really over for Jussie?  Not likely.

                              He had been sentenced to spend five months in jail for his years of lying and his perjury and story telling about how he was accosted and hog-tied by Trump lovers wearing MEGA caps. State's Atty Foxx and the Rev. Jesse Jackson would like to see forgiveness for Jussie, but the law seldom forgives and never really forgets. 

                             Jussie will be back in the County Jail for another stay within a couple of years. But then who can predict the future?   

                              It has been a busy three years of reporting on the Jussie Smollett saga which began in January, 2019, on a below zero morning when the actor and singer in the TV series, "Empire" reported to Chicago police that he had been set upon at about 2 a.m., by two thugs and called a "black faggot," and splashed with bleach and immobilized with a noose around his neck. 

                              It was an ugly hate crime and sympathy ran deep for the 39-year-old 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. Hollywood went bananas over the MEGA-style hit on a black man by followers of President Trump. The New York Times and other liberal bastions called for the scoundrels to be found, prosecuted and punished.  

                              As time passed,  the real story surfaced that Jussie had actually orchestrated the attract on himself--paying two muscular friends to stage a gentle attack on a dimly lit street on the near north side of Chicago.  Jussie related to detectives that he was out for a stroll in the 16-below zero weather on his way to Subway  for a sandwich. Hunger was driving him, he said.  He showed them the noose around his neck. 

                               Charges of lying to the police were made and then there was an indictment; and then charges were mysteriously dropped.  But in the end, Smollett was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct, a class four felony under the Illinois Criminal Code. For his lying to police he was facing a possible sentence of three years in prison and fines, if adjudged guilty in a trial. Through it all, he stuck to the story that he was accosted and that he had not arranged it.  

                                Last December 21, a Criminal Court  jury found Smollett guilty of five of the six counts against him and on March 10 Judge James Linn brought the hammer down on Smollett.  He sentenced him to five months in jail, and 25 months on probation; and ordered him to pay $120,106 in restitution to the City for unnecessary detective work in investigating his case; and fined him $25,000. 

                              Judge Linn upbraided Jussie for his premeditation of the crime and his outrageous lying about what had occurred. He directed that Smollett was to begin serving his sentence immediately, and the actor, screaming that he was innocent, was handcuffed in the courtroom  and escorted by bailiffs to the county jail.  

                              Lawyers for Jussie immediately importuned the First District Illinois Appellate court to allow the actor out on appeal bond noting that the review of the case would consume a year or more and that if found innocent of the charge, the defendant would have served an unwarranted sentence. The appellate court agreed and allowed Jussie to leave jail on a $150,000 personal recognizance bond meaning that his signature would suffice, and that putting up  actual money was unnecessary. 

                               And so the rejoicing that the star of "Empire" was hailed as having won and there was "Justice for Jussie." 

                                But the case is not over, and the warden of the jail is more than likely keeping the cell warm for Jussie believing that he will be back to serve the  five months sentence as ordered by Judge Linn. 

                                 Could the appellate court reverse Judge Linn's sentence and remand the case back to him for resentencing or for a new trial?  It could happen because anything could happen.  But most legal observers are of the opinion that the sentence is there to stay and that Jussie will be back in a cell within a year or two, at most. 

                                   If Smollett violates his 30 months of probation by more criminal conduct, he could wind up in the penitentiary for a very long time. Assuming that he behaves himself and does not begin fibbing about new attacks on his person, he will get through the probationary period. 

                                   But could his celebrity glamor be tainted just a bit by the smell of his ex-convict status?  And in the meantime, is he likely to find another starring venue? Or is his career on hold along with his prison sentence?                                   

                                   When he returns to jail to finish up his sentence, he will very likely need to spend only about 72 days behind bars as he will be credited with one day less for each day of good behavior. 

                                   When he walks free permanently from jail and completes his probation, he may very well  be welcomed back by his celebrity and Hollywood friends and his fellow actors as a victim of a racist society.  His media supporters  at CNN might even find  a spot for him behind a mike as a favored contributor.  

                                           xxx

                                 

BIDEN ASKED TO OPEN UP SECRET FILES

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                                              Joe Biden was a United States Senator from Delaware for 36 years prior to becoming  a Vice President in 2008 and the nation's 46th President in 2020.  Records for his days in the federal government's highest offices, including transcripts of speeches, telephone calls, and private  conversations --even letters and registered complaints against him, are archived as items of history. 

                                Permanent records of his accomplishments, together with his lies, gaffes, plagiarisms and  bumblings, a big piece of the Slow Joe Biden story, are stored in some 1,850 sealed boxes in  basement cabinets in the University of Delaware.   

                                 Under terms of a contract between Biden and the University, inked in 2011, the contents cannot be touched or disclosed to anyone until 24 months after Biden ends his career in government.  Now 79, he will complete his first term in 2024, but has served notice that he wants another four years, and while unlikely, could conceivably get it.   

                                  Judicial Watch, a privately funded government watchdog organization, believes that the Biden "secrecy" agreement with the university is out of line and contradicts constitutional mandates embodied in state and federal FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) laws.  When news of the existence of Biden's "off limit" files became known, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit seeking permission to leaf through the papers.  

                                    Tom Fitton, president of JW, said that the suit was initiated partially on behalf of Ms. Tara Reade, a former staff employee of Delaware Sen. Biden's, who has contended that the senator  assaulted her sexually in 1993, and that records inside the closed boxes  will confirm her truthfulness.  President Biden has called her a liar and said she is fabricating the story for attention.  

                                    Fitton says also that Biden has told of conversations that he has had as a senator with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Citizens are entitled to know the subject of those discussions and what Sen. Biden had said, and if his comments then are relevant today in light of the Russian aggression and  unprovoked and bloody attack on the bordering country of Ukraine.  

                                   In its recent opinion, the Delaware Supreme court reversed a decision of a lower Superior court which had approved the contract.  It remanded the case back to the lower court with orders to provide sworn testimony concerning the agreement, its basis, and whether it should fall under t he FOIA mandate.

                                    During the 2020 Presidential campaign, Ms. Reade was one of nine women who came forward and castigated Biden for his touchy-feely and hair- sniffing behavior which made them uncomfortable.  Reade's complaint was far more serious than the others in that she recounted how Biden had hit on her after hours in a dark corner of t he Capitol building and pawed her like a lion in heat. 

                                      She said that he thrust his hand under her clothing and penetrated her with his finger, saying , "hey man, I thought you liked me."  Reade said that she made a written  complaint in the senate office, and that the complaint exists and will verify her story, and that she is not a liar. 

                                      Democrats, with the main street media tethered to its side, pretty much ignored Ms Reade.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she believed Biden when he said that Reade's story was fabrication.  The Democratic blueprint that "all women are to be believed" was disregarded when the alleged predator was a Democrat. 

                                       Fitton noted that the Delaware Supreme court has said that the state's open records law requires the university to provide additional information under oath, to justify its refusal to produce records about its dealings with Biden.

                                        So what is the problem with Biden, asks Fitton, whose organization has been a powerful force for good in government.  "Why won't President Biden simply release his senate records?  What is he trying to hide?"    

                                               xxx 

                                       

,    

BIDEN'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

 

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                             In President Biden's first State of the Union address, he denounced the invasion of Ukraine ordered by the bullying and unhinged Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin.  Aside from very few stumbles, he handled his teleprompter well and read  the script prepared for him by those that pull his strings and tell him what to do.  

                             There was frequent applause and standing ovations as he spoke and the President complimented himself for doing a yeoman-like job.  The address lasted a little more than an hour.

                             The horse-whispering 79-year-old President said he realized there was pain from today's inflation, but predicted there are better times ahead.  He didn't offer much in the way of dealing with the inflation or what his administration was doing to make it go away.  But he urged citizens to "buy america and build america" as a way of the future. 

                             Biden avoided all comments on America's incompetent and embarrassing exit from Afghanistan which was marked by unnecessary deaths of 11 marines, a soldier and a sailor; and the leaving behind for the Taliban's bloodthirsty regime some $80 billion worth of U.S. weapons, vehicles, planes, clothing and supplies.  He should have acknowledged that he was solely to blame for the terrible exit and should have apologized and had a moment of silence in memory of the 13 young men.                                As you watched on television, you could not miss seeing Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seated behind the standing President. 

                           Pelosi was wide-eyed and wore a  perpetual grin as she clapped and rubbed her hands at each opportunity.  Harris was, for the most part, stone faced, but always applauded eagerly, except on one occasion when Biden referred to the Ukrainians as 'Iranians."  But that was just a small gaffe for Biden who has been in Washington politics for 50 years and has been called the Lamborghini of Gaffes" by the Washington Post   

                                The smiley-face of Pelosi was contrary to her hostile image displayed for President Trump at his SOTU speeches.  At Trump's final address in 2020, she tore up a typed copy of his address, writhing in disgust while standing in the box reserved for her, and while media cameras were aimed.

                               Biden assured viewers,  Americans and Ukrainians, that he has called for the stiffest possible economic sanctions on Russia which eventually will cripple that nation and force Putin to pull back and amend his conduct for the war and maybe face charges of war crimes in the world court.  

                               While President Zelenskyy has thanked America for its assistance in providing weapons, supplies and funds, he has asked why President Biden failed to impose those sanctions when they would  have precluded Putin from his invasion. Putin's troops and artillery, Zelenskyy said, had been assembled at the Ukraine border for many weeks prior to the actual invasion. 

                             Striving to display a patriotic face, Biden said that  "if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system.---and we can do both."

                             "We can do all of this while keeping the torch of liberty that has led generations of immigrants to this land--my forefathers and so many of yours.........Let's get it done." 

                              Citizens must "buy America, make in America, build America and support American jobs, said Biden. Strong and accurate thoughts for sure, but the President should have credited his predecessor, President Trump, whose entire administration was based upon an "America First" theme.  The only thing missing was a MEGA cap on Biden, blue rather than red. 

                            "We need to secure the border," said the president, and millions of americans absolutely agree with that.  So do it, viewers could not help but think.  The job belongs to President Biden,  and to the federal government which has ignored the problems totally on the southern border with Mexico. 

                                          After taking  office in January of last year, Biden immediately stopped construction on the Trump wall allowing illegal aliens to stroll in at will.  When asked about the porous borders, the President brushed off any comment or concern for borders and said that he had assigned his Vice President Kamala Harris to focus on the problem.  

                                         With her focus,  an estimated 2 million illegal aliens crashed onto the United States in 2021. Reportedly, tens of thousands were never tested for the Covid virus and were simply bussed to unknown destinations.  Thousands were given shelter at army barracks or in hotels. Immigrants came onto America by fording the Rio Grande or by slipping through bushes or over sandy areas.  Those seized were given court dates for the future, and then released to any destination desired. 

                                          Hundreds, perhaps thousands of women entered the Untied States via the southern border claiming to be pregnant. Their babies immediately become citizens, and open the door for parents and grandparents and other relatives to follow them in. Asked why they come to the USA, immigrants have said in interviews that they came because President Biden invited them. 

                                         When asked about the immigration problem on the southern border, Vice President Harris has explained, in between giggles, that she is trying to determine the "root causes" for illegal immigration from Mexico and South America as the first step in solving the problem.  Reportedly, she visited the southern border on only one occasion.   

                                            The SOTU address ended with thundering applause and Biden made his way out shaking hands and giving autographs on the way.  

                                                      xxx

                                              

 

 

                     

MAYOR LIGHTFOOT'S BAWDY RHETORIC

 

                                     BY BILL JUNEAU 

                                                               I had always thought that the lady politician with the foulest mouth was presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton.  A good many books have been authored profiling Hillary and her husband, and they are filled with references to Hillary and her volatile nature and her everyday use of the "F" word.  But I was wrong.

                                           The woman with the foulest and dirtiest mouth, so far as I have seen, is Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot. She  stands five-feet one inches and is often seen and photographed in a black baseball cap or wearing a floppy cowboy hat covering most of her face.  I can understand that she needs to vent a little, but maybe she should reel it in a bit out of respect for the high office which she holds. Her barn door talk and the "F" word might be reserved for other times.  

                                            In a recent lawsuit filed by a former Chicago Park District attorney, George Smyrniotis, Lightfoot is accused of defamation for disparaging him as an attorney during a rant about the Christopher Columbus statue and Italian Americans in angry "dick talk"  peppered with the "F" words.  

                                           "My dick is bigger than yours (attorneys) and the Italians....I have the biggest dick in Chicago,"the mayor said.  It was Lightfoot's way of sending the message that she's in charge and nothing can happen without her okay.

                                           Ther lawsuit, filed in the Circuit court of Cook county, is based upon talks and meetings prior to last October's  Christopher Columbus day.  Earlier in the year, on Lightfoot's orders, statues of Columbus in Grant Park and in other locations around the city, were taken down in accord with the mayor's "woke" thinking and belief that Columbus was a racist. 

                                           Italian American Civic groups had asked the Park district to allow them to use the statue from Grant park in its Columbus day parade, and park district head attorneys, including plaintiff, gave the okay and allowed the Italians to pick up the statue of the historic Italian.  When Lightfoot became aware of the transfer and potential use of the statue she exploded during a zoom type meeting. 

                                            "You dicks, what the f..k.  were you thinking," the mayor began, according to the Smryniotis complaint.    "You make some kind of secret agreement with Italians...You are out there measuring your dicks with the Italians seeing who's got the biggest dicks."

                                               " You are out there stroking your dicks over the Columbus statue," she continued.  "My dick is bigger than yours and the Italians... I have the biggest dick in Chicago." 

                                               Lashing out at the park district attorneys, she proceeded to belittle them. Where did you go to law school, or did you even go to law school?" she was quoted as saying.  "Do you have a law license?  "Just get the  f....ing" statue back here before noon," she demanded.

                                              Apparently, the statue was returned to the custody of the Park district and was not a part of a parade. Smryniotis resigned as a park district lawyer a few months after the Lightfoot meltdown showing her power.  His lawsuit contends that she defamed him in her bawdy rant and damaged his reputation.  

                                              In a statement, Lightfoot said that the lawsuit is without merit and that she has no animus toward Italian Americans. She does  not comment on claims in pending litigation, she added.   

                                              Lightfoot has much in common when it comes to course rhetoric with Hillary Clinton who often explodes with  "F- Yous" and "F-Off."  Even as a young, green Yale law student in the early 1970s, she was given to using the "F" word for emphasis.  In a book by Joseph Califano, a Democratic lawyer, he recounts an incident when he  was representing a client during a hearing, and was intercepted by angry young Hillary who looked him in the eye and said "You motherf.....er, you sold out."

                                            I am familiar with some six books in which Hillary's use of the "F" word is storied. In 1991, as first lady of Arkansas, she  was annoyed that the American flag had not been hoisted on labor day at the governor's mansion.  To the staff, she did not hold back. 

                                "Where is the G-damn f..ing flag? she said. " I want the G-damn f...ing flag up every f...ing morning at f...ing sunrise." (Inside the White House, Pg 244)

                                 It is pretty clear to everyone watching that Mayor Lightfoot is a black racist who disparages her caucasian brothers and that she is a proud lesbian with a wife named Amy and an adopted daughter. Last may she announced that she would limit her one-on-one interviews to only reporters "of color." One media pundit has called her a lunatic and a dangerous woman. Others called for her resignation. 

                                                          Reportedly, Lightfoot is planning on seeking a second term as mayor in 2023.  To get any votes she may need to try and fix problems in the Windy City whose streets are riddled with crime and violence of a proportion never before seen. Toning down her adjectives might also help.

                                                          One Democratic city council member, Ald. Sue Sadowski Garza has done a backflip on her backing of the mayor. "She will never again get my support," said Garza. 

                                                       "The mayor has managed to 'piss off' everyone with whom she comes into contact....police, fire, teachers, aldermen, businesses, and manufacturing,' she said.  Rank and file Chicago policemen also have registered a "no confidence" vote in Lightfoot. 

                                                         It may be unfair to compare the current mayor to generations past, but can anyone imagine previous mayors of Chicago like the two Richard Daleys, Harold Washington, Mike Bilandic or Rahm Emanuel using such gutter language in mayoral business dealings.  Even the the feisty Mayor Jane Byrne never got that unhinged.  I guess these are just different times for all. 

                                                xxx