The Russians Did It? Chuck Todd Signals Liberal Media’s Fake-Bomb Panic

Posted on | October 26, 2018 | Comments Off on The Russians Did It? Chuck Todd Signals Liberal Media’s Fake-Bomb Panic

The kind of people who watch MSNBC are deeply confused:

NBC’s Chuck Todd said he fears the Russians could be responsible for the mail-bomb scare that has targeted top officials in the Democratic Party, as well as CNN and actor Robert De Niro on Thursday.
“I have this fear that it could be some Russian operation too, in designed to do what’s happening now,” Todd said.
Todd added that we shouldn’t rule out that possibility and that the mail-bomb scare is dividing the country before going to break.
Todd made the comments during a segment on MSNBC’s “Meet The Press Daily,” about how the extreme political rhetoric in American politics has divided the nation, and how it could be responsible for this mail-bomb scare.

Hello? Who is “dividing the country”? Not me. However much “extreme political rhetoric” I might publish — and I guess quoting Democrats qualifies as such — my readers are not divided by it. Responsible adults can read the news and opinions here without being driven to pipe-bomb extremism, although I’m not so sure about the MSNBC audience:

MSNBC’s Ben Collins suggested that person responsible for the mail-bomb scare that has targeted top officials in the Democratic Party, as well as CNN and actor Robert De Niro, probably reads the conservative news website the Drudge Report on Thursday.
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle began the segment with Collins by highlighting an image of the device sent to former CIA Director John Brennan. On the device, there appears to be an image of a parody ISIS flag that has been circulating on the internet since 2014 as a meme. . . .
Collins noted that the image basically appears to be an ISIS flag. “But instead of the Arabic script, there’s like fake naked ladies on there, and it says ‘get ‘er done’ on it,” he said.
“What does that mean?” Ruhle asked.
“It’s a Larry the Cable Guy joke. It’s like, not that sophisticated. This is not a smart thing, it’s a troll is what this is,” Collins responded. “It’s meant to sort of symbolize that he’s on one [political] side. This is from a conservative meme parody website from 2014.”
Collins added that this is a very obscure meme that didn’t get a lot of traction.
Ruhle asked Collins about the group that created the meme and what they represent.
“It’s just some guy really. It’s a guy in Scottsdale, Arizona who made a meme in 2014. It’s been around conservative web forums, not like young people [forums],” Collins said. “I’m talking like people who follow the Drudge Report and Fox News and stuff like that. It’s that sort of circle.”

The Drudge Report is the world’s most popular Internet news site. Everybody in the news business — whatever their politics — reads Drudge. How many times a day does Chuck Todd check Drudge?

Meanwhile, a nationwide law-enforcement task force is on the job:

“We are investigating all this with great precision. I can say with certainty that we will identify and arrest the person or people responsible for these acts,” New York police Commissioner James O’Neill said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. “Law enforcement professionals do not care about the politics involved in these acts.”
Bill Sweeney of the FBI’s New York office said an army of agents is “fully engaged” in the probe.
“This is a nationwide investigation involving multiple jurisdictions coast to coast,” Sweeney said.

What worries the liberal media is the possibility that this bomb hoax (none of the “suspicious packages” exploded, a telltale clue) will turn out to be a “false flag” operation, perpetrated by a left-wing kook who deliberately targeted Democrats in an attempt to cast suspicion on Republicans. If this is the case, and the perpetrator is apprehended soon, it could be very damaging for Democrats in the midterms.

Roger Simon lays out the common-sense questions:

Even if Brennan was misspelled, Occam’s Razor is beginning to spell “HOAX” correctly. But by and for whom? Here as well we don’t know, but again followers of William of Ockham would tend to point you toward the left wing — a single leftie nutcase or some Antifa types, perhaps. After all, cui bono? With Kavanaugh and the caravan, things were not looking good for the Democrats. The subject had to be changed before it was too late and the blue wave turned red. So far, however, it’s not working. No wonder the reliably left-leaning Chuck Todd is suddenly pointing toward Russia, not some MAGA-hatted redneck with a Confederate flag tattooed on his chest, as the perpetrator. It’s a dead giveaway. He’s probably hoping for the Russians now. Because if it goes as it’s currently looking, it’s bad news for his team.

(Hat-tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.) By the way, we don’t know that the bomb hoaxer has any political motive. Remember that police theorized the Speedway bomber was attempting to divert police attention from their investigation of the murder of Julia Scyphers. Solving a case like this might take months, but advances in forensic science — and the reality of ubiquitous video surveillance — could lead to an arrest soon.

Steve Nelson at the Washington Examiner talked to retired FBI agents, who cautioned against jumping to conclusions, and pointed to one recent high-profile case where the motive was not what it seemed:

There are some notable recent examples of terroristic threats triggering inaccurate public conclusions. Last year, Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. received hundreds of threatening phone calls, creating significant public concern about rising anti-Semitism. Authorities in Israel determined a local teenager was responsible.

In that case, the motive was boredom:

When asked to explain his actions, the teenager told psychiatrists that he made the threats to avoid being bored.
“I did it out of boredom; it was like a game. I understand that it is forbidden. I am sorry, I won’t do it again,” he said.

If bored teenagers are a terrorist threat, we’re all doomed.

UPDATE: Fred Burton, chief security officer of the private intelligence firm Stratfor, appeared on Fox News yesterday and said he believes law enforcement will identify the suspect soon:

Bill Hemmer: Why do you think they’ll have this case cracked by the end of the day?
Fred Burton: I think as a former federal agent who has looked into cases like this we never had the resources in my day to deal with a problem like this. Now the entire system is geared to find people just like this. I think that now they have CCTV footage of the suspect. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not watching somebody perhaps like we saw unfold in the Austin bomber. They’re just putting the pieces of the case together.

(Hat-tip: Kirby McCain on Twitter.)

UPDATE II: BREAKING: Suspect in Mail-Bomb Hoax Scare Reportedly Arrested in Florida.

Best meme ever. #FakeNews #FakeBombs pic.twitter.com/UZxGMAT8YH

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) October 26, 2018

Category: Crime, Election, MSNBC, Terrorism

Grassley Refers Creepy Porn Lawyer and His Lying Client for FBI Investigation

Posted on | October 25, 2018 | Comments Off on Grassley Refers Creepy Porn Lawyer and His Lying Client for FBI Investigation

Don’t mess with Chuck Grassley:

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Thursday referred Julie Swetnick and her lawyer Michael Avenatti to the Department of Justice for a possible criminal investigation over allegations they made false statements to Congress about now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“I am writing to refer Mr. Michael Avenatti and Ms. Julie Swetnick for investigation,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, for potential “materially false statements they made to the Committee during the course of the Committee’s investigation. ”
In a statement, Grassley said, “When a well-meaning citizen comes forward with information relevant to the committee’s work, I take it seriously. It takes courage to come forward, especially with allegations of sexual misconduct or personal trauma. I’m grateful for those who find that courage.”
Grassley continued, “But in the heat of partisan moments, some do try to knowingly mislead the committee. That’s unfair to my colleagues, the nominees and others providing information who are seeking the truth.” . . .
Grassley said that Swetnick had contradicted her own allegations in an interview with NBC, and that the committee spoke with “45 individuals, obtained 25 written statements and reviewed numerous other materials” but could not find “any information to corroborate Ms. Swetnick’s claims.”
“I ask that the FBI investigate whether Mr. Avenatti criminally conspired with Ms. Swetnick to make materially false statements to the Committee,” Grassley wrote.

Meanwhile, Democrats are ready to throw Avenatti under their bus:

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer and possible presidential candidate, caused a stir with his contention that there’s only one type of candidate who can beat President Trump. In an interview with TIME published Thursday, Avenatti said the Democrats’ 2020 nominee “better be a white male,” because society affords more credibility to white men than it does others. . . .
As a potential candidate, Avenatti is seeking to create an image as a product of the American heartland. “That’s why I’m very dangerous to this president — that’s exactly why the last thing in the world this guy wants is to run against somebody like me,” he told TIME. “Because I can talk to those people, and whoever the Democratic nominee is better be able to talk to those people.”

This guy has overstayed his 15 minute minutes of fame, which might end with his being sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Category: Democrats

Deported Immigrant Sex Offender Caught by Border Patrol in Texas

Posted on | October 25, 2018 | Comments Off on Deported Immigrant Sex Offender Caught by Border Patrol in Texas

Guarantee you won’t see this story reported on CNN:

U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Station arrested a convicted sex offender in Eagle Pass, Monday.
“Our agents are tasked with preserving our way of life and ensuring the integrity of our borders and the security of our communities,” said Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak. “Thanks to their hard work, another convicted felon, was prevented from entering the U.S. and is unable to do more harm.”
On Oct. 22, Eagle Pass agents arrested Mexican national Efren Arellano-Arreola, 35, after he illegally entered the United States. Records checks revealed he has a criminal history, including a conviction in February 2016 for Sexual Assault of a Child, in Dallas County. Arellano-Arreola was sentenced to serve five years in prison for that offense, and is registered as a sex-offender. Further checks also show that he was removed from the United States in January 2018.
As a convicted felon who has been previously removed from the United States, Arellano-Arreola faces a charge of 8 USC § 1326 — re-entry after deportation, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bob Price reports at Breitbart:

A search of Dallas County court records by Breitbart News revealed that Arellano-Arreola confessed in open court to sexually penetrating the mouth of a girl under the age of 17 with his penis. Following his confession, the judge of the 203rd District Court sentenced him to spend five years in a Texas penitentiary. He would serve less than two years in state prison before being deported by immigration officers.

To quote President Trump, “they’re not sending their best.”

Category: Immigration, Mexico, Texas, Violence Against Women

Bomb Hoaxes Achieve Goal of Inspiring Unsubstantiated Political Speculation

Posted on | October 25, 2018 | 1 Comment

Let’s start with the official FBI statement:

Between October 22 and 24, 2018, suspicious packages were received at multiple locations in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas and Florida. The packages are being sent for analysis at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
The packages are similar in appearance . . . and contain potentially destructive devices.
The packages were mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior. The packages were affixed with computer-printed address labels and six Forever stamps. All packages had a return address of “DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ” [sic] in Florida. Packages identified to date were addressed to:

George Soros
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former President Barack Obama
Former CIA Director John Brennan, care of CNN
Former Attorney General Eric Holder

The package addressed to former Attorney General Holder did not reach its intended destination, but was rerouted to the return address in Florida.
The FBI will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners at the United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as our state and local law enforcement partners, to identify and arrest the person or people responsible for sending these packages.
It is possible that additional packages were mailed to other locations. The FBI advises the public to remain vigilant and not touch, move or handle any suspicious or unknown packages.
If you have information about these packages, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. If you observe any suspicious activity that requires an immediate response, please call 911 or contact your local law enforcement.

Speculation ran wild that this was done by either (a) a right-wing kook inspired by President Trump’s rhetoric or (b) a left-wing kook trying to make right-wingers look guilty. There is abundant reason to believe (b), although we don’t know. My expectation is that the FBI will have a suspect in custody by Monday. They won’t get away with this, and they probably did it knowing full well they would get caught.

These were not actual bombs. There were no explosions. These “potentially destructive devices” were constructed to look dangerous, but obviously the person sending them did not want to kill their targets. This is in itself evidence of motive, pointing toward (b) and not (a).

As soon as these bomb scares made news Wednesday, conservatives on Twitter suggested it was (b), known as the “false flag” theory, and were immediately denounced by liberals for suggesting this. However, common sense is not paranoia, and there are lots of common sense reasons to lean toward the “false flag” theory of this crime:

The hoaxer would have to be phenomenally stupid to imagine they could escape apprehension. In the age of video surveillance and advanced forensics, you can’t send bombs (or fake bomb-looking devices) to high-profile political targets and evade the Joint Terrorism Task Force. No, you’re going to be in handcuffs within 72 hours, I’d guess, and so we must ask: Who is stupid enough not to understand this?
The return addresses misspelled the surname of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and the package delivered to CNN misspelled the surname of John Brennan. If you hate these people so much that you’d want to kill them with bombs, wouldn’t you bother learning how to spell their names? Again, this looks like evidence of stupidity.
Republicans are winning. Every political analyst is now saying that the GOP is almost certain to retain control of the Senate, and may even be able to turn back the Democrat “blue wave” in the House. Political terrorism is usually committed by losers, and since the Kavanaugh hearings, Republicans have been looking like winners, so why would a right-winger want to screw up that winning streak by sending bombs?

A non-lethal threat to big-name Democrats, perpetrated by someone so stupid they think they can escape a federal terrorism task force? Well, I can’t rule out that a right-wing dimwit committed this hoax — anything is possible — but it sure as heck reminds me of the fake “hate crime” hoaxes that plague university campuses every spring. This has become a predictable annual ritual. A racial slur or homophobic epithet is scrawled in a dorm hallway or whatever and, a couple weeks later, a liberal student is arrested for making a false police report:

Following President Trump’s election and inauguration, several universities have seen an increase in such reports.
One student at the University of Michigan faked an attack because of what she called a post-election “surge in hate crimes.” The UM student was fined $660 and is on a suspended 93-day jail sentence, pending probation adherence, for falsely reporting a hate crime. She admitted to having mental health issues when she pleaded guilty, but at the time, she told police she was targeted for wearing a solidarity pin.
She later admitted to scratching herself with her solidarity pin after becoming upset during a woman’s literature class at the University of Michigan, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department report. . . .
A note that used the N-word and threatened a black female student at St. Olaf College inspired a student-led protest against institutional racism at the school and the cancellation of classes.
Only problem? It “was not a genuine threat,” according to the school’s president. The author of the note confessed to fabricating it “to draw attention to concerns about the campus climate.”

Michelle Malkin has spent years chronicling campus hate hoaxes, and anyone who has paid attention to this phenomenon for the past 15 years or so must be skeptical of anything resembling this familiar pattern.

Wednesday, I sat here at my desk working while the TV in my home office was blaring out news about this bomb scare, and for several hours, I avoided the temptation to comment, while speculation ran wild on social media. We don’t know what we don’t know, and it’s foolish to rush into these things claiming to know something when you don’t. Better to wait for the FBI to arrest the suspect and then let the chips fall where they may. But this didn’t stop Democrats from blaming you-know-who:

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” former Clinton aide Philippe Reines commented on the devices sent to various political and media figures and stated that “you have to ask how much Donald Trump is responsible for the climate that we’re in where things like this happen.”
Reines said, “These are very lucky people, in that the former first families have Secret Service protection with such robust protocols. But if you look at who they’ve targeted so far, it’s almost like they’re following Donald Trump’s Twitter feed. . . . I think you have to ask how much Donald Trump is responsible for the climate that we’re in where things like this happen.”

If Clinton aides can rush to blame Trump without any evidence whatsoever, the floor is open to speculation, and Wednesday night, I called my brother Kirby to talk theories. He’s pretty good at this stuff, and he made two very insightful suggestions I’ll share here:

It was the Kavanaugh confirmation that inspired the bomb-hoaxer, so about three weeks went into the preparation of this hoax.
If this is a left-winger trying to frame Trump supporters, the perpetrator probably scrubbed their social-media profiles recently, to remove evidence of their political affiliation. They may even have fabricated a phony right-wing online presence, so that when they’re apprehended, the media will find a bunch of pro-Trump messages on their Facebook page, etc.

Whatever the facts may be, the sooner the perpetrator is in custody, the better for everyone. Facts are always better than speculation.

Former bomb disposal officer weighs in on CNN’s ‘bomb’: ‘That thing is just silly looking’ https://t.co/WgSfvKGlnl via @twitchyteam

— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) October 24, 2018

Stamps aren’t cancelled…aka wasn’t mailed https://t.co/gDpFYztwYB

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 24, 2018

From article: Robert Stacy McCain isn't about to forgive his liberal brethren any time soon. "Well, you biased bastards, I have not forgotten the perfidious role you played here, & you will not escape blame for yr journalistic malpractice." https://t.co/gYBHL11TuU @PatriarchTree

— Sissy Willis (@SissyWillis) October 24, 2018

Category: Crime, Terrorism

Late Night With In The Mailbox: 10.24.18

Posted on | October 25, 2018 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

OVER THE TRANSOM
Ninety Miles From Tyranny: The 90 Miles Mystery Box, Episode #418
EBL: “Suspicious Devices” Found At Clinton, Obama Homes Similar To Soros’ Device?
Twitchy: Former Bomb Disposal Officer Weighs In On CNN “Bomb” – “That Thing Is Just Silly Looking”
Louder With Crowder: TOUGH LOVE – Should I Marry A Crazy Democrat?

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: No Podcast Due To A Death Of The Family
American Power: Elon Musk’s Secret Tunnel, also, Is The Wave Of “Bomb Threats” A Far-Left “False Flag” Op?
American Thinker: The Ever More Delusional Left
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Hump Day News
BattleSwarm: More Of That Texas Voting Fraud Democrats Swear Doesn’t Exist
Camp Of The Saints: Here, Endeth The Lesson
CDR Salamander: US Army On Discussing The Iraq War – “Can’t This Wait Until I PCS?”
Da Tech Guy: If Bruce Bartlett Is Right About Trump Being Hitler…, also, Justice O’Connor – It’s Vital To Understand Our Constitution
Don Surber: The Line Started 29 Hours Before The Trump Rally
Dustbury: Lord Of The Infield Flies
First Street Journal: Apparently The Special Snowflakes Have Been Psychologically Wounded
The Geller Report: Mailbombs Sent To CNN, Etc., Wrapped In ISIS Flag, also, Teenage Italian Girl Raped To Death By Migrants In Rome
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post Of The Day, also, I’m Not Making This Up, You Know
JustOneMinute: We Will Dial Back The Madness Tomorrow
Legal Insurrection: Poll Confirms Fauxcahontas’ DNA Test Backfired On Her Bigly, also, Melania Invites Ellen Producer to Kindness Event After His Cynical Tweets
The PanAm Post: How Do You Say “Freedom” In Spanish? also, Don’t Like Bolsonaro Running Brazil For Four Years? Blame The Workers’ Party
Power Line: Stuck On Stuckey, also, 38% Of Americans Say They’re Better Off Financially Since 2016 Election
Shark Tank: Mucarsel-Powell Linked To Another Castro Sympathizer
Shot In The Dark: Bombs
STUMP: Public Pension Fund Governance – Who Are The Funds Being Managed For?
The Political Hat: Just As Long As The White Kid Suffers Too
This Ain’t Hell: Sen. Blumenthal’s FOIA Results, also, Here Are The 172 Veterans Running For Congress This Fall
Victory Girls: Early Voting – Don’t Get Complacent
Volokh Conspiracy: Party Like It’s 1799
Weasel Zippers: Trump Cites Clinton & Obama Remarks In Support Of Immigration Policy, also, NY Gov Cuomo Defends Allowing Sex Offenders Into Schools
Mark Steyn: The Man Who Put The Saud In Saudi Arabia, also, The People’s Queen

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Category: Linkagery

A Dangerous Right-Wing Extremist

Posted on | October 24, 2018 | 1 Comment

The president I voted for said this:

“All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget I will present to you, we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace . . . We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.”

Yes, I’m ashamed to admit that in 1992 I voted for . . . Bill Clinton.

(Hat-tip: Instapundit.)

Category: Immigration

Good News and Bad News

Posted on | October 24, 2018 | Comments Off on Good News and Bad News

The bad news is that I failed to win the MegaMillions jackpot last night, so my plan to become a billionaire philanthropist has been delayed, at least. The good news is there is now a website, StopSpeakerPelosi.com, where you can give money directly to help the most crucial 23 endangered House Republicans. This is a much-needed tool to help turn back the “blue wave,” and I endorse it enthusiastically. Take a look at the Real Clear Politics map of the key House races, and you realize that control of Congress will likely come down to a comparative handful of seats on Election Day. If you’re living in one of the districts that is a key battleground, obviously your vote will be crucial, but what if you’re living in a safe district? You can check with your county or state Republican Party to find out how to volunteer, but the main thing is money. Democrats this year are wallowing in cash like nobody’s ever seen.

The situation in Georgia is typical of what we’re seeing this year. Trump beat Hillary 50-46 in Georgia two years ago, but this year Democrats nominated a far-left candidate for governor, Stacey Abrams, who really shouldn’t stand a chance against the Republican, Brian Kemp. However, money is like magic for moonbats: “George Soros has given $1.25 million to Abrams’ political action committee, GeorgiaNEXT, since 2014. He also donated $1 million to the Georgia Democratic Party this year to support her campaign for governor.” And that means trouble up and down the ticket for every Republican candidate in the state, as Democrats are blanketing the airwaves with anti-GOP propaganda.

This is a nerve-jangling time to care about politics:

Monday morning, I made the mistake of switching the TV to CNN. As a journalist, sometimes I like to watch CNN just to see what’s happening in that alternative universe where a scion of the Cuomo dynasty is regarded as an impartial arbiter of news. But Monday morning was a bad time to check on CNN, because they were touting a new poll showing Democrat Andrew Gillum leading by 12 points in the Florida gubernatorial campaign.
“Twelve points!” I yelled, jumping off the sofa and heading upstairs to get a cup of coffee, wondering if the world had tilted off its axis overnight, grumbling to myself about this inexplicable poll number. “How the hell could that left-wing bozo be leading by 12 points? Have the people of Florida lost their minds?”
My panic over the Florida governor’s race was eventually resolved. After getting a cup of coffee and checking out Real Clear Politics, I learned that the CNN poll was badly out of line with other recent polls in the state. An examination of CNN’s sample numbers showed a preposterously high percentage of respondents (39%) identified as independent, and when I showed the CNN numbers to a friend in the polling business, he agreed: “No way the independents are that high.”
Still, even if the CNN poll was garbage, Gillum is surprisingly competitive in Florida, running slightly ahead of Republican Ron DeSantis in most polls, and this is cause for concern not only for Florida residents, but for GOP voters nationwide. The Democrats are pouring millions upon millions of dollars into the midterm campaign and, as the situation in Florida shows, Republicans are in the fight of their lives to stop the dreaded “blue wave.” . . .

Read the rest of my column at The American Spectator.