Tag: wrongthink

Antifa-Linked Leftist Arrested for Hockey Stick Attack on University of Colorado TPUSA Chapter Secretary

Boulder police have arrested 36-year-old Taylor James Rose of Arvada, Colorado, for assaulting the University of Colorado Turning Point USA chapter secretary with a hockey stick while on rollerblades.

The unprovoked attack, which the victim described as “politically motivated,” occurred just after 7 p.m. on October 23.

The victim, Nathaniel Ellis, a CU Boulder student, was riding his bike when Rose allegedly called him a “fascist” before striking him with the hockey stick.

Rose was arrested on Thursday and charged with second-degree assault, a felony.

Deputy District Attorney McKenna Mayfield explicitly noted the incident was a “politically motivated unprovoked attack.”

Police spoke to a second person of interest, a rollerblader seen with Rose shortly before the assault, who was observed posting flyers near the scene. He is not currently a suspect and is cooperating with detectives.

In a press release about the case, the City of Boulder briefly summed up the incident and charges, but added, “To protect the integrity of this active investigation and future prosecution, the Boulder Police Department is unable to release more specifics at this time.”

According to independent reporting from AntifaWatch, the attack followed the doxxing of Ellis by local Antifa groups who were demanding that he was a “Nazi.”

Rose has allegedly been associated with Denver Communists, where he appeared to introduce himself as an anarchist from Arvada in chat logs discussing protests.

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Will The AfD Party Be Banned In Germany?

There are once again efforts to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag, with the far-left Social Democrats (SPD) leading the way. However, there is some difficult math facing the proponents of an AfD ban, which makes it unlikely — but not impossible — for the party to be banned.

In order to understand why a ban is unlikely, let us first look at what would actually happen if a ban of the AfD went forward.

The AfD is currently the most popular party in the country, according to multiple polls, scoring between 25 and 27 percent of the vote. This alone makes a ban unthinkable to many, but the German establishment does not especially care what the electorate thinks on a number of key issues, so why not just ban the party?

For starters, and most importantly, a ban of the AfD would radically reshape the German electorate in favor of the left. This would translate into the Christian Democrats (CDU) losing a massive amount of power, and potentially being relegated to the political dustbin. Due to this cold, hard reality, a ban could be suicidal for the CDU.

How one local elections tells us about the federal election

What happened in the local mayoral election in Ludwigshafen tells us what the likely outcome of an AfD ban would be for the country at the federal level. In Ludwigshafen, the AfD’s Joachim Paul was leading the polls to become mayor before he was banned from running through backroom bureaucratic channels, a move later confirmed by judges during a number of appeals. The judges all argued Paul would have to challenge the ban after the election. Paul is still filing legal actions against the decision, but the outcome of the appeal could take months or even years.

Regardless of the outcome of Paul’s appeal, the election had some interesting outcomes.

First, the voter participation rate crashed to a record low of just 29.3 percent. In 2017’s mayoral election in Ludwigshafen, the then-SPD candidate Jutta Steinruck won with 60.2 percent participation. That means voter turnout was cut in half from that election.

That is not all. For those who did vote, many of them appear to have submitted “spoiled” ballots. A record-high number of ballots were ruled invalid, at 9.2 percent. Eight years ago, that number was just 2.6 percent. The number of “spoiled ballots” jumped by nearly 400 percent.

If this same outcome occurred at the federal level, including a dramatic crash in the voter participation rate as AfD supporters boycott the election, it would be a disaster for the CDU’s electoral chances.

The way the German system works means that the pool of right-wing voters would shrink dramatically, leaving CDU voters and the left as the only remaining voting pool. However, this remaining, much smaller pool, would then feature a dramatically larger share of left-wing voters consisting of the SPD, the Greens, and the Left Party.

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Jailed in America for Free Speech

In the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk, many folks who dared to express views of him and his work outside the mainstream lost their jobs, professional standing and State Department visas as they were fired or otherwise disciplined by employers or bureaucrats who concluded that anti-Kirk views could harm the employers’ businesses or were inconsistent with institutional values.

All discipline based on speech needs to be scrutinized strictly. Yet, even in states with strong public accommodations laws — laws that generally protect free speech in the workplace and in public places — at will employees can generally be disciplined for expressive activities that their bosses reasonably fear may impair the product or services they were hired to produce or deliver, or undermine the values or message of the institution with which they are affiliated.

Thus, reasonable fears of the loss of business or charitable donations due to the anti-Kirk public sentiments may lawfully result in silencing or firing those employees.

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Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Tennessee Man Over Facebook Meme

Last month, Tennessee authorities arrested a man for posting a Facebook meme, a clear violation of his First Amendment rights, and held him on a $2 million bond. This week, prosecutors dropped the case, but that doesn’t negate the weeks he spent in jail on a bogus charge.

As Reason previously reported, police arrested 61-year-old Larry Bushart for posting a meme on Facebook. In a thread about the murder of Charlie Kirk, Bushart posted a meme with a picture of President Donald Trump and the quote “We have to get over it,” which Trump said after a January 2024 shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa.

Sheriff Nick Weems of nearby Perry County said Bushart intentionally posted the meme to make people think he was referring to Perry County High School. “Investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” Weems told The Tennesseean.

On September 21, deputies arrested Bushart at his house and booked him on a charge of Threats of Mass Violence on School Property and Activities, a felony that carries at least a year in prison. In body camera footage posted online by Liliana Segura of The Intercept, Bushart is incredulous when presented with the charge. “I don’t think I committed a crime,” he tells the officer, jokingly admitting that “I may have been an asshole.”

“That’s not illegal,” the officer replies as he leads Bushart into a cell.

Unfortunately, it was no laughing matter: A judge imposed a $2 million bond. Getting out on bail would require Bushart to come up with at least $210,000. According to the Perry County Circuit Court website, Bushart had a hearing scheduled for October 9, where he could file a motion for a reduced bond, but a court clerk told Reason that the hearing was “reset” for December 4. As a result, Bushart sat in jail for weeks.

Right away, it should have been clear how flimsy the case was. But the sheriff doubled down.

As Segura reported at The Intercept, Weems personally responded to people on Facebook suggesting Bushart was arrested because authorities misread a picture that briefly referenced a prior news event on the other side of the country. “We were very much aware of the meme being from an Iowa shooting,” Weems wrote. But it “created mass hysteria to parents and teachers…that led the normal person to conclude that he was talking about our Perry County High School.”

“Yet there were no public signs of this hysteria,” Segura notes. “Nor was there much evidence of an investigation—or any efforts to warn county schools.”

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Ted Cruz EXPLODES on Rogue Activist Judge Boasberg — Demands Immediate IMPEACHMENT After Secret Subpoena of Senators’ Private Phone Records and Barring AT&T from Notifying Them

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, erupted Wednesday in a fiery press conference, calling for the immediate impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, after revelations that the activist judge signed an order secretly authorizing the seizure of his private phone records and other GOP records while blocking AT&T from notifying them.

Cruz revealed during the press conference that the Biden DOJ, under the direction of former special counsel Jack Smith, had targeted him and eight other Republican senators in a blatant fishing expedition.

The subpoenas, issued as part of the sham “Arctic Frost” investigation tied to President Trump’s rightful challenge of the 2020 election fraud, sought cellphone data that Cruz insists is protected under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution.

Ted Cruz:
“The Biden Justice Department signed off on issuing subpoenas for the phone records of at least nine U.S. senators. Twenty percent of the Republicans in the United States Senate were the target of this fishing expedition. They did so in complete contravention of the Constitution—of separation of powers, of the Speech and Debate Clause, of free speech, of basic rights of privacy.

This is an executive who believes it is justified in spying on their opponents in the legislature because they’ve convinced themselves the ends justify the means.

I want to talk to you about one of those subpoenas. One of those subpoenas went from Jack Smith to AT&T, seeking my cell phone communications. It went to AT&T, and I actually want to commend AT&T for doing the right thing. AT&T is based in Texas. AT&T looked at that subpoena, and they went to their legal counsel and said, “What should we do with this subpoena?” And their legal counsel said, “You cannot comply because this is protected by the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

And so AT&T declined to comply—did not hand over my cell phone records. Now, one might ask: ordinarily, a phone company being asked to hand over the phone records of a sitting senator would notify that senator.”

Judge Boasberg, notorious for his leftist activism and nationwide injunctions against President Trump’s America First agenda, slapped a gag order on AT&T, barring the company from alerting Cruz and others to the subpoena for at least a year.

In his order, Boasberg ludicrously claimed there were “reasonable grounds” to believe disclosure would lead to “destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and serious jeopardy to the investigation.

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Leftists Are Pushing for Global Speech Censorship

The Democratic Party, and the global Left in general, spent the last five years crying about “mis/disinformation” and the need for more oversight of social media platforms and the Internet in general. It is anathema to the people who think they are our moral and intellectual superiors that we might say, write, or think things with which they disagree.

In moves that would make George Orwell turn over in his grave, the Biden administration tried to force the “Disinformation Governance Board” on America. Turns out that board was born after a 2022 speech given by former President Barack Obama at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center — a speech that pushed for broad censorship of the Internet.

Michael Shellenberger is now sounding the alarm that global censorship is coming unless we stop it.

The entire post is long, but we’ll highlight the most salient (and alarming) points:

But now, foreign governments, including Europe, the UK, Brazil, Australia, and others are demanding censorship, including of the American people. The risk is that US tech companies will find it significantly less expensive to have a single global censorship regime and just go along with foreign censorship requests. Facebook complied with Biden administration demands to censor because it needed Biden’s help in dealing with European censorship officials. And the Brazilian government forced Elon Musk to continue censoring the Brazilian people after it froze Starlink’s assets.

And Public has discovered that the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, which is led by Obama’s former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, is at the heart of a new, secretive, and possibly illegal censorship initiative that appears even more ambitious than the one Obama proposed in 2022.

On September 24, the Cyber Policy Center hosted a secret dinner between its leaders and top censorship officials from Europe, UK, Brazil, California and Australia. The meeting was titled “Compliance and Enforcement in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape.” Frank McCourt, the same person behind the Stanford Internet Observatory, financed the gathering through his “Project Liberty Institute,” (PLI), toward which he gave $500 million to “strengthen democracy” and “foster responsible technology.”

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Don Lemon Attacks “MAGA Ladies” Over Looks, Uses ‘Trans’ as an Insult Against Megyn Kelly

Don Lemon is under fire for attacking conservative media personality Megyn Kelly by using ‘trans’ as an insult.

During a recent episode of his “Clip Farmers” podcast, he and his co-hosts, in a segment that looks like a frat-house reject reunion, discussed the appearance of “MAGA ladies” and began attacking conservative women for their looks rather than their character and substance.

Lemon’s co-host John Cotter asked, “Is Megyn Kelly ‘chopped’?”

Lemon replied, “I don’t know what that means.  I’ve heard it, but I don’t know what that means.  What does ‘chopped’ mean?”

Cotter answered, “She’s gonna get mad at me, dude, I don’t know if I want this heat.”

Lemon asked again, “What does ‘chopped’ mean?”

Cotter responded, “‘Chopped’ means not hot.”

Lemon answered with a cruel smirk, “Yeah. She’s chopped,” after which the three men cackled over insulting women for their looks.

Lemon continued, “I don’t know, the whole ‘MAGA’ look….”

Co-host Chris Miglioranzi gleefully joined the attack on conservative women, adding, “It’s all the MAGA ladies!”

“It’s too much,” Lemon added.

Cotter continued, “Kinda looks like a Barbie doll covered in WD40.”

And then Lemon dropped a very un-PC, and arguably transphobic, insult, “I think she looks trans.”

After an awkward moment that left his two co-hosts in stunned silence, Cotter said quickly, “Let’s end on that note.”

Lemon, instead, doubled down, adding, “I think she looks clockable.”

‘Clockable,’ when referring to a trans person, means that someone can “clock” (recognize or identify) their biological sex rather than the gender they present.

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German Authorities Search Conservative Commentator’s Home After Online Post

A police raid targeting retired media professor and conservative commentator Norbert Bolz has ignited discussion in Germany about how far the state is going in policing speech online.

Officers entered Bolz’s Berlin home on Thursday morning and questioned him about a social media post from early 2024 that included the phrase “Deutschland erwache!” a slogan once used by the Nazi Party.

Bolz told POLITICO he acknowledged writing the post himself, which prevented police from taking his computer. After the visit, he posted a sardonic comment on X: “The friendly police officers gave me the good advice to be more careful in the future. I’ll do that and only talk about trees from now on.”

Bolz is a regular contributor to WELT, part of the Axel Springer media group, and is known for his strong defense of open discussion.

Berlin prosecutors confirmed the search took place as part of an investigation under Section 86a of Germany’s criminal code, which prohibits the “use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations.”

The disputed post was a sarcastic reaction to an article from the newspaper taz that read, “Ban of the AfD and a petition against Höcke: Germany awakens.” Bolz added his own remark: “A good translation for ‘woke’: Germany awake!”

The issue first came to authorities’ attention after it was reported by “Hessen gegen Hetze,” a portal run by the Hessian Interior Ministry’s Cyber Competence Center.

The post was forwarded to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and then to the Central Reporting Office for Criminal Content on the Internet (ZMI), which passed the case to Berlin prosecutors because Bolz resides in the capital.

The ZMI, short for Zentrale Meldestelle für strafbare Inhalte im Internet (Central Reporting Office for Criminal Content on the Internet), is a unit within Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA).

A spokesperson for the Berlin prosecutor’s office told Apollo News that “the reporting office had passed the matter on to the ZMI.

“The ZMI reported the matter to Berlin because of where they live in Berlin. The investigation was then carried out by the Berlin public prosecutor’s office and the Berlin police, as this is where the responsibility lies.”

The BKA confirmed that the case originated from a report filed by “Hessen gegen Hetze” in November 2024.

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Countries Call on the EU to Enforce “Values” Through Speech Rules

European governments are intensifying pressure on Brussels to tighten control over which organizations receive EU funding, using the language of “combating hate” to justify measures that could sharply restrict free expression.

France, Austria, and the Netherlands have jointly circulated a paper calling on the European Commission to withdraw financial support from any group that does not conform to “European values.”

The document, seen by Politico, urges member states to “redouble their efforts to combat racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and anti-Muslim hatred” and to ensure “no support is given to entities hostile to European values, in particular through funding.”

Behind the rhetoric of tolerance, the plan lays out a system that ties access to EU money directly to ideological loyalty.

Under the proposal, beneficiaries of programs such as Erasmus+ and CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) would be required to sign pledges confirming that they “respect and promote EU rights and values.”

The Commission would also be instructed to apply existing budget rules that allow for excluding groups accused of “inciting hatred.”

The initiative arrives just ahead of a European Council meeting in Brussels, where leaders are set to discuss a range of topics, including Ukraine, migration, defense, and Europe’s digital and environmental goals.

A draft of the Council’s conclusions adds another layer by insisting that “EU values apply equally in the digital sphere,” with the “protection of minors” highlighted as a key aim.

What looks like a defense of European ideals increasingly resembles an effort to police opinions.

By expanding the concept of hate speech both online and offline, the document could allow EU institutions to label controversial or dissenting views as violations of European values. This would effectively hand Brussels the power to determine which voices are acceptable in public debate.

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How the Free Speech Union Turned the Tide on Non-Crime Hate Incidents

As the Metropolitan Police announce the demise of non-crime hate incidents, the Telegraph has run a feature on the Free Speech Union, crediting its years of campaigning against NCHIs and support for cancel culture victims. Here’s an excerpt.

Sir Mark’s decision may well signal a wider turning of the tide on police investigations into “hate crime”. But the force’s decision to backtrack on Linehan’s case, and others like it, got only a lukewarm welcome from Linehan himself, who said he planned to continue his legal action against the Met.

That, however, is not because he has limitless pockets – cancel culture, he says, has cost him much of his lucrative writing gigs. Instead, his lawyers come courtesy of the Free Speech Union (FSU), the British campaign group set up to defend freedom of expression – be it from armed police, an overzealous student campus or HR managers intent on enforcing diversity policies.

Set up five years ago by the former journalist, Toby Young – now Lord Young, having been nominated for a life peerage by Kemi Badenoch last December – the organisation has handled more than 4,500 cases, from members of the public arrested over tweets deemed to be politically incorrect, to office workers disciplined for querying seminars on critical race theory.

For some clients, the FSU has simply won a written apology. But for others, it has secured a £500,000 payout at industrial tribunal.

If there’s one thing most cases have in common, according to Young, it is that they shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Linehan’s arrest, in which the Met acted “like the Stasi”, being a case in point.

“I think this statement from the Met shows that they have got fed up with this stuff – they recognise that the public want them to prioritise serious crimes like burglary, car theft and mugging,” says Young, who has called for all police forces in the country to follow Scotland Yard’s lead.

“I also think that in Linehan’s case, the police realised they’d been manipulated by a trans-rights activist who understood exactly how to weaponise the police guidance on investigating hate crime incidents, and to turn the police into an enforcement wing for their own agendas.”

Young is referring to Lynsey Watson, a transgender ex-police officer who is understood to have reported Linehan to the police over his social media posts, one of which read: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

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