We previously discussed the defamation lawsuit against Deadspin and writer Carron Phillips over an article claiming that nine-year-old Holden Armenta appeared at a Chiefs game in 2023 in black face. I noted in a prior column that I believed that the court would view this as a matter that had to go to a jury. It now has. Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg this week rejected Deadspin’s motion to dismiss.
Phillips posted a side image of Holden at a game of the Kansas City Chiefs against the Las Vegas Raiders, showing his face painted black. The 9-year-old was wearing a headdress while doing the signature “Tomahawk Chop.”
Phillips went into full attack mode.
The senior Deadspin writer had a Pavlovian response in a scathing article on the boy’s “racist” and “disrespectful” appearance.
“It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate black people and the native americans at the same time…Despite their age, who taught that person that what they were wearing was appropriate?”
Phillips also denounced the NFL for “relentlessly participating in prejudice.” In a now-deleted tweet, Phillips later called people “idiots” for “treating this as some harmless act.”
Of course, the full picture showed that Armenta had the other half of his face painted in red paint — the Chiefs colors. It also turns out that he is Native American. Indeed, his grandfather is serving on the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
Deadspin obviously valued Phillips’ take on race as do other journalists and columnists. Despite his past controversial writings, he was selected as the 2019 & 2020 National Association of Black Journalists Award Winner.
Deadspin was sold to Lineup Publishing after the lawsuit by Holden’s parents Raul Jr. and Shannon. However, they appear to have retained Phillips who is still on their website.
In Armenta v. G/O Media, Inc. Lugg wrote that “[h]aving reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing [Holden] of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable.”
The opinion turned on whether this could be treated as opinion as opposed to a statement of fact. California law applied in the case and the court focused on two opinions that held that claims of racism can be statements of fact. Lugg wrote:
Generally, statements labeling a person as racist are not actionable. “A term like racist, while exceptionally negative, insulting, and highly charged—is not actionable under defamation-type claims because it is a word that lacks precise meaning and can imply many different kinds of fact.”…
Deadspin argues that the statements alleging H.A. wore Black face are nonactionable for the same reasons that calling him racist would be non-actionable. {“Blackface is used to mock or ridicule Black people; it is considered deeply offensive.” Deadspin, in recasting Black face as “culturally insensitive face paint” in the December 7 Update, recognizes the negative understanding of the descriptive term.} … But there is a legally significant distinction between a statement calling someone a racist and a statement accusing someone of engaging in racist conduct; expressions of opinion are not protected if they imply an assertion of an objective, defamatory fact. Two recent decisions applying California law, Overhill Farms, Inc. v. Lopez (Cal. Ct. App. 2010) and La Liberte v. Reid (2d Cir. 2020), assist in clarifying this distinction.
The Court in Overhill Farms held that “a claim of racially motivated employment termination is a provably false fact.” In that case, a group of employees accused their employer of engaging in racist firings of Hispanic workers as a pretext to hide racist and discriminatory abuse against Latina women immigrants. After the employer sued for defamation, the employees moved to dismiss, arguing that their statements were non-actionable opinions. The California Court of Appeals denied the employees’ motion, reasoning:
[D]efendants did not merely accuse [their employer] of being “racist” in some abstract sense …. [I]n almost every instance, defendants’ characterization of [their employer] as “racist” is supported by a specific reference to its decision to terminate the employment of a large group of Latino immigrant workers. The assertion of racism, when viewed in that specific factual context, is not merely a hyperbolic characterization of [the employer’s] black corporate heart—it represents an accusation of concrete, wrongful conduct…. [T]he statements reflected in defendants’ written press release, leaflets and flyers accused Overhill of more than harboring racist attitudes; they accused Overhill of engaging in a mass employment termination based upon racist and ageist motivations. Such a contention is clearly a “provable fact;” indeed an employer’s motivation for terminating employment is a fact plaintiffs attempt to prove routinely in wrongful termination cases.
In La Liberte v. Reid, a community activist brought suit after a television host republished two photographs of her at a pro-immigration rally with captions alleging racist conduct. The first caption accused the plaintiff of screaming “You are going to be first deported … dirty Mexican!” at a 14-year-old boy. The second caption compared a photograph of the plaintiff to white Americans yelling at the Little Rock Nine. The television host moved to dismiss the activist’s defamation claims, arguing that her statements were “nonactionable statements of opinion.” The trial court agreed and granted dismissal. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, explaining:
A reader could interpret the juxtaposition of the Photograph with the 1957 Little Rock image to mean that [plaintiff] likewise screamed at a child out of racial animus—particularly in light of [defendant’s] comment that “[h]istory sometimes repeats.” That interpretation is bolstered by [defendant’s] description of the white woman in the Little Rock photograph as a “person screaming at a child, with [her] face twisted in rage” and [her] comment that it was “inevitable” that the photos would be juxtaposed. [Defendant] thus portrayed [plaintiff] as a latter-day counterpart of the white woman in 1957 who verbally assaulted a minority child. Like the defendants in Overhill Farms, [defendant] “did not merely accuse [plaintiff] of being ‘racist’ in some abstract sense.” Rather, her July 1 Post could be understood as an “accusation of concrete, wrongful conduct,” which can be proved to be either true or false. That makes it potentially defamatory.
The Armentas contend that the Original Article and its Updates involve defamatory statements regarding conduct that is provably false and, therefore, this Court should be guided by Overhill Farms and La Liberte. These statements include:
(1) H.A. was wearing “Black face;”
(2) H.A.’s conduct in wearing “Black face” was motivated by his hatred of Black people;
(3) H.A.’s wearing of a Native headdress resulted from his hatred of Native Americans;
(4) H.A. is part of a “future generation[ ]” of racists who had “recreate[d] racism better than before”; and
(5) Raul and Shannon Armenta “taught” their son, H.A., “racism and hate” in their home.
Deadspin’s audience could understand its portrayal of H.A. to mean that his entire face was painted black and, because his entire face was painted black, it was H.A.’s intent to disrespect and hate African Americans. The publication went beyond an expression of opinion and flatly stated H.A.’s motivation for appearing as he did.
Similarly, a reader could be left with the belief that H.A. wore a Native American headdress as a signal of disrespect to that population. Any doubt as to the thrust of these representations is resolved in the opening line of the article, where the author unequivocally asserts, “It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once. But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate Black people and the Native American at the same time.”
While arguably couched as opinion, the author devotes substantial time to describing H.A. and attributing negative racial motivation to him. Further, the article may be reasonably viewed as derogating those who may have taught him—his parents. A reader might not, as Deadspin contends, interpret this assertion as a reflection of the author’s opinion. To say one is a racist may be considered opinion, but to plainly state that one’s attire, presentation, or upbringing demonstrates their learned hatred for identifiable groups is actionable. A reader may reasonably interpret the Article’s assertion that H.A. was wearing Black face as fact….
The CBS broadcast showed H.A. for approximately three seconds. In those three seconds, viewers could see that H.A.’s face was painted two colors: black and red. Deadspin published an image of H.A. that displayed only the portion of H.A.’s face painted black and presented it as a factual assertion that there was a “Chiefs fan in Black face” at the game. The complaint asserts facts that, reasonably interpreted, establish Deadspin’s Original Article and its Updates as provably false assertions of fact….
Deadspin contends that La Liberte and Overhill Farms stand as outliers from decisions recognizing that accusations of racist behavior are “inherently subjective and therefore non-actionable[.]” Not so. They reflect reasoned assessments of the lines between protected and actionable speech and offer a paradigm for identifying and assessing provably false allegations of racial animus. This Court may grant Deadspin’s motion under Rule 12(b)(6) only if “under no reasonable interpretation of the facts alleged could the complaint state a claim for which relief might be granted.” Applying the analytical framework of La Liberte and Overhill Farms to the facts here, the Armentas maintain a “possibility of recovery.” …
This is a well-constructed and well-supported decision that could have lasting importance. In an age of rage, including race-baiting columns like the one in this case, the opinion is a shot across the bow for publications like Deadspin.
We have seen a series of major rulings allowing public figures to go forward in other defamation lawsuits against media companies. In addition to alienating much of their markets with echo journalism, these outlets are now facing mounting legal costs due to attack pieces like this one. The bill is now coming due.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Can you trump supporters just admit you are supporting a guy that rants like a 6 year old?
Now he is after 60 minutes because they made Kamala look Presidential?
Give me a break.With each rant trump loses about a thousand voters. In one month when trump loses huuuuuuugly, I hope there will at least a few people admitting they supported a cry baby and vow never again to go down the path where they support an unhinged felon that is in it only for himself.
🚽🚽🚽
That’s your employer’s dollars going down the drain every time you post here. 🚽🚽🚽
James,
Notice how it tries to assert the disaster that was the 60 Minutes interview, she looked presidential? If she looked so “presidential” why did they edit to make her look more “presidential,” rather than more famous Harris word salad?
And it took what Vance said about Harris doing more and more of these softball interviews, saying “Part of the reason I want Kamala Harris to do some interviews is because every time she opens her mouth, I think Donald Trump and I gain about 100,000 votes,”
Vance is not wrong.
@Upstate
She didn’t look presidential. And as galling as Biden is to me, for her to usurp him as the sitting POTUs is 100% Nancy Pelosi and the minions. It would be comical if dem voters didn’t continue to take it all seriously. I mean really: at this point it’s just patently absurd. Do not tell me that at least in modern times, people are not born into the DNC and simply never ask questions for the rest of their lives as though they had been baptized, even into their golden years. A great, great deal of irony there. 🤷🏻♂️ But hey, ‘Vote blue, no matter who.’. 🙄🙄
Perhaps, or perhaps it’s your taxpayer dollars going down the drain every time they post.
Depends on WHO the employer actually is?
@Anonymous
Reposting the toilet because I like the emoji and think it sums you up to a T. 🚽 Nobody cares. At least not beyond whatever happens with what that emoji represents. And here’s one for what whomever pays you should see happening to the dollars they expend every day here: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 *poof*
“Can you trump supporters just admit you are supporting a guy that rants like a 6 year old?”
You Commie Zombies seriously hoping we’ll join you voting for the vapid, word salad Harris that was assuring you Biden was the most presidential, transparent, international affairs genius who was working staff members half his age to death just a few short weeks ago?
Anyone among the Commie Zombies with a memory better than a 6 year old who can remember back that many weeks?
And here you are a few weeks later, and the best you can do to campaign for her is endless BBBBUUUUTTTTTT…. MUH TRUMP!!!! So impressive! So convincing!
Hoping we don’t realize that she’s an unindicted felon. Not because of her admission of being a user of illegal drugs hitting the bong while doing her law degree and failing her bar exams afterwards. But instead, publicly confessing that as a user of illegal drugs she obtained a gun when doing so made her a felon for the same reason The First Felon Son was convicted?
That’s a campaign that 6 year old Commie Zombies would think works on normal Americans.
If Kamala wants to convince voters (or not) that she is “Presidential”, she should do an unscripted interview live. Any network.
Darren, thank you for the clean up!
It looks like a lot of responses went with it. It would be better if a name and distinct icon were required. That doesn’t inhibit free speech since one is still anonymous.
S. Meyer,
Good point.
Yeah, a few of my responses got canned too, but I am fine with that in trade for the clean up.
It’s not just that. It adds time when one is looking for a post that no longer exists or one writes off-line only to find the post rejected. That is not good.
@Upstate @Darren
Yes, thank you.
If American Leftists were forbidden for a period of time from denouncing other Americans as “racist”, would they anything to say?
If MAGA were to stop lying there would be no words coming out of their mouths.
Really ?!
@Anonymous
That’s another of your fallacies and falsehoods; there is no such thing as ‘MAGA’. That just isn’t going to work anymore, people who are not you are not so fragile or ruled by fear every day of their lives. And we don’t medicate it with drugs, alcohol, or whatever we found on the street or the dark web or whatever our doctor prescribed to shut us up. Double yawn. 🙄 We actually welcome intelligent differences of opinion because we do not literally sheet our pants when someone has the audacity to say, ‘No, I disagree.’. Take your adderall fueled nonsense somewhere anyone cares whatsoever. 🙄 Or not. Just don’t expect anyone to embrace your mentality of fear – we are not the people that give up, and if we had been your parents, you might actually have something useful to say.
Vile race baiters at Deadspin gonna pay, and I hope it hurts. They targeted a child with lies that led to death threats against the child and his family. That was an act of pure evil and they must be brought to justice for their despicable conduct. I hope the authors and editors who approved the story are made to pay from their personal funds and go bankrupt.
James,
One of the things I find rather amusing is the character of what “MAGA” is supposed to be. They tell us “MAGA” supporters are “knuckle dragging, people of Wal-Mart,” to quote one assertion here on the good professor’s blog.
But then we take a look at what “MAGA,” really is.
Secure border.
Two genders.
Women’s rights in sports.
No pornography in elementary schools.
No forever wars.
No gender affirming care, which is anything but care.
Parents rights.
School choice.
No indoctrination in public schools or higher education.
Just to name a few.
I would call that common sense.
And they rage against that?
Upstate, I always enjoy your comments. This one is particularly straight to the point. In order to vote for Kamala, one has to be either delusional, completely consumed with TDS (like many of the trolls here) or more likely just followers who either are too dumb or lacking in motivation that they have made themselves the target audience for the propaganda spewing from the mouths, pens and computers of the DNC, Democrat candidates, and the MSM.
Consider, for example, just one example, yesterday’s post concerned Kamala’s admission that she owns a handgun. That served as a reminder that the Democrat party, Kamala, and Biden have consistently demanded that we restrict and even ban “assault weapons” as if that would solve the problem. It reminded me, if my memory of organized crime is still good, that the preferred weapon of Mob hit men was a .22 caliber pistol. It was quiet, it had power to enter a skull but not come out of the skull, thus causing it to ricochet around inside the skull, guaranteeing a kill. More recently, I suspect that if we studied the predominantly black on black murders in Chicago, pistols were the weapon of choice. On the other hand, I think that if we restricted or banned Democrats from holding the reins of DHS and FEMA, there probably would not have been one nearly successful assassination attempt of President Trump, and more people would have survived Hurricane Helene.
Honestlawyermostly,
Thank you very much for your compliment!
I do believe there is documentation supporting your Chicago shootings the use of pistols is predominate. I also note, cities like Chicago with some of the most restrictive gun laws are also have some of the highest incidents of shootings. Unfortunately, most are gang on gang violence who are more of the spray and pray they hit their intended target, while also hitting many bystanders. But you do not hear about that from the DNC as then they would have to address their failed gun control policies.
Good point about DHS, FEMA, the assassination attempts and Helene.
UPSTATE,
Black Lives Don’t Matter in Chicago…
I’m rubber and you’re glue. Clever!
I wear rubbers being a responsible adult to prevent an unwanted pregnancy and STDs while based upon your ranrs you apparently sniff glue….fixed it for ya!
My comment was to the guy who said “If MAGA were to stop lying there would be no words coming out of their mouths.”
I’m glad you wear rubbers. Have you ever had sex?
My humble apologies, thought it was a reply to Upstate, perhaps you could add a 1 or 2 to your anonymity to differentiate.
If I were never to have anymore, I have had way more than my share!
I was against fracking before I was for fracking.
“If MAGA were to stop lying there would be no words coming out of their mouths.”
If Commie Zombies that first supported the genius of Biden and now the genius that is Harris continuing their record couldn’t lie about Trump while lying in defense of Biden and Harris, then what?
They’d have to be adults – meaning they’d have nothing to post.
BBBBBUUUUTTTTT…. MUH TRUMP!!!! rather than trying to sell Americans on what Biden-Harris have done the last four years is a hell of a way to try selling Americans on the Biden-Harris record over the last four years.
It’s like they’re competing to take Cringe Jean-Pierre’s job as the Biden-Harris White House Spokes Liar.
edwardmahl,
They would just pivot to other Americans are sexist, anti-trans, book banners, fat shaming, exercise is a gateway to white supremacy, anti-vax, anti-science, anti-ultra processed food, anti-education, anti-war, etc.
@edward
Nope. Without question. Grievance is basically the guiding principle for the modern left. If it isn’t there, they will invent it, and gleefully to the harm of others. We have been dragged backward by them by decades. And I don’t care how much they paid for their education receipts, they are stupid. Straight up, stupid. A modern Phd is less than a former eighth grade education. And yes, this applies to law and medicine, too. They are morons.
Jonathan: “Deadspin” is not exactly Sports Illustrated. It specializes in sensationalized stories about sports figures. it doesn’t appear to do much fact checking on its articles–as illustrated by the Armenta case. It’s a wonder it has not been sued more often.
That said, I wouldn’t call the ruling by a Delaware Superior Judge Lugg a “Major Motion”. Major rulings are usually reserved courts of appeal, state supreme court rulings or those by SCOTUS. So I think it is a stretch for you to claim Judge Lugg’s ruling will have “lasting importance” in the world of defamation litigation.
Of course, spending an entire column on the Armenta case is a convenient distraction. That permits you to avoid other “major” rulings in other cases. As mentioned in a previous comment this week the SC dismissed, without any dissents, Elon Musk’s appeal of Jack’s Smith’s search warrants of DJT’s Twitter posts re his investigation of Jan. 6. Musk claimed the search of Twitter records was a violation of his First Amendment rights. Now that was a “major” ruling re First Amendment rights– something you have shouted about in endless columns and in your new book. The Q is why you would ignore Musk’s failed appeal?
Or you could discuss Tuesday’s SC oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStock in which it appears even the right-wing of the Court, that has consistently backed gun rights, is skeptical of VanDerStock’s claim that “ghost guns” should be exempted from ATF regulations mandating serial numbers and background checks for these types of weapons. That could be a “major” ruling re Second Amendment rights–a subject you have discussed frequently discussed in your columns.
It appears that in cases where “major” decisions that go against your long held views you simply ignore them. Why is that?
Thanks, Dennis. Turley is paid to try to reassure the MAGAs that their culture wars tactics are succeeding. He also tries to sell his book. Turley also ignored other stories, like Trump sending COVID tests to Putin at a time when Americans couldn’t get them because they were in short supply. Putin has confirmed that this story is true. He also lies about FEMA refusing aid to “Republican” areas–refuted by Governors and local officials.
Gigi The Fire Hose Of Lies has arrived on her broom: Thanks, Dennis.
There’s a powerful endorsement: Gigi endorsing Dennis!!!! That will change voters’ minds!
Gigi; you agree with Dennis that Deadspin can’t be held accountable for defamatory race-baiting lying accusing a child of being a racist? Like Dennis, you believe Deadspin can defame with race-baiting and be immune because they aren’t Sports Afield?
Or are you just desperate for some loving attention from something, including Dennis, because your vibrator collection are yet again faking dead batteries to avoid having anything to do with you?
If we send you checks to cover the cost of batteries until after the election, will you go away with your little toys in both hands to pleasure yourself with something other than annoying us?
Or perhaps checks to cover a Motel 6 room for you and Dennis?
You and Dennis… the only reason you can possibly come here is because you both take masochist sexual pleasure in being mocked, ridiculed, and called out as pathological political liars.
OAD
Haven’t you ever noticed where Dennis posts GiGi soon follows behind for a congratulatory clean up well done Dennis?! Sock Puppet
Gigi this is a legal blog with a 1A focus
Gigi do you have actual records ?
If this occurred there is a record
Also no one has said FEMA is refusing aide
They have been slow
They burned through their budget on illegals
An they are interfering in relief efforts
All of that is FACT
Musk has subsequently confirm Ed that FEMA is no longer interfering in Starlink deliveries
But they were
Btw multiple sources on the ground have confirmed that FEMA is MIA
Dennis McIntyre: Jonathan: “Deadspin” is not exactly Sports Illustrated.
Jonathan, your Pretend Friend Dennis (who claims he’s a lawyer just as you are) wants you to believe that Deadspin is immune to being sued for malicious defamation because it isn’t Sports Illustrated.
In what law school was Dennis taught that innovative theory? What bar exam would pass a lawyer who believes that theory?
And Dennis… why do you endless lie to Jonathan while pretending to be his friend and a fellow lawyer?
It pretty much guaranteed that by doing this he will get an eager thumbs up from Gigi’s Fire Hose Of Lies the moment that Bolshevik Bytch arrives and parks her broom.
Old Dog: nobody cares about a motion in that nothing defamation case. What IS important right now to the upcoming election are the lies Trump is telling about FEMA allegedly failing to provide relief in “Republican” areas, his endless lying about everything else–continuing the Big Lie, dog and cat eating Haitians in Springfield, OH, and his obvious cognitive decline. Yesterday, I cited an excellent NYT piece about the incredibly stupid things Trump has recently said–like asking “where’s Johnny Carson”?, who’s been dead for years, and Cary Grant “going on 100”, when he died years ago at age 81. Then, there’s diverting COVID tests paid for by us taxpayers to Vladimir Putin. Here are some more, from CNN:
False claim: Harris can only win through cheating
For months, starting long before any votes were cast in the 2024 general election, Trump repeatedly claimed that he already has enough votes to win and simply needs to ensure Democrats don’t cheat — insinuating that the only way he could possibly lose is through fraud. …..
Facts First: This is nonsense. It’s obviously entirely possible that Harris could legitimately win the presidential election. While it’s also entirely possible that Trump wins legitimately, he could not possibly know for sure at the time of these comments that he already had “all the votes you need.”
False claim: It was ‘unconstitutional’ for the Democrats to replace Biden with Harris
Facts First: Trump’s claims are false. There was nothing unconstitutional or unlawful about Biden dropping out and Harris then being chosen by Democratic delegates as the party’s presidential nominee.
Biden quit the race before he had become the official Democratic nominee — the party makes the official nomination at its convention, which hadn’t happened yet. That means Biden dropped out before his name was placed on any state ballots.
False claim: Voting by non-citizens is a widespread problem in US elections
Trump and his allies have repeatedly raised concerns that the 2024 election will be tarnished by widespread voting by non-citizens and undocumented immigrants.
Republicans put this issue front and center in April, when Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled legislation to require all voters across the country to prove their citizenship. Efforts to pass the bill fizzled earlier in September amid disunity within the Republican caucus.
Further fanning the flames, billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk has championed the conspiracy theory that Democrats are “importing voters” so they can create a “one-party state.” At the presidential debate earlier this month, Trump similarly accused Harris and Democrats of plotting to tip the election with illegal voters.
Facts First: This specific Trump claim is false, and it’s also generally untrue to claim that voting by non-citizens is a widespread problem plaguing US elections. There is simply no evidence to back up that claim; it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and the various safeguards already in place are working effectively to stop it from happening en masse.
Both liberal and conservative think tanks have found only a tiny number of examples of non-citizens voting in elections where they are ineligible. The right-wing Heritage Foundation’s database of confirmed fraud cases lists less than 100 examples of non-citizens voting between 2002 and 2022, amid more than one billion lawfully cast ballots. …
Trump has a long history of blaming electoral losses on undocumented immigrants. When he won the presidency in 2016, he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million — and to explain this away, he concocted the lie that “millions” of non-citizens had voted illegally.
False claim: The US Postal Service admitted it is ‘a poorly run mess’
In a social media post in mid-September, Trump claimed that the US Postal Service “admitted that it is a poorly run mess that is experiencing mail loss and delays at a level never seen before” and asked “how can we possibly be expected to allow or trust the U.S. Postal Service to run the 2024 Presidential Election?”
Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. There’s no evidence of the USPS ever admitting that it is a “poorly run mess.” Reacting to Trump’s comments at a September 19 press conference, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said, “My response is like my response to everyone who says we’re not prepared for the election — it is that they’re wrong.”….
Asked by CNN for proof of the supposed USPS admission that it was a “poorly run mess,” a Trump campaign spokeswoman responded with two news articles that were not evidence.
False claim: There is no identity verification for overseas and military voters
Trump rolled out a new lie in late September about military and overseas voting.
For this tiny slice of the national electorate, voters can receive and submit ballots over email, because they are civilians who live abroad or servicemembers that are stationed overseas.
These are often called “UOCAVA voters,” from the acronym for the federal law that set up this system: the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which passed with bipartisan backing and was signed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
The deadline for states to send out UOCAVA ballots was September 21. In a social media post two days later, Trump baselessly accused Democrats of using this program “to CHEAT” in the election. “They are going to use UOCAVA to get ballots, a program that emails ballots overseas without any citizenship check or verification of identity, whatsoever,” Trump claimed.
Facts First: It’s not true that UOCAVA ballots are sent to people with no verification “whatsoever” of their identity. These special ballots are only sent to registered voters who request them, and states require people to verify their identity when registering. ….
False claim: Harris spied on Trump’s campaign
Trump launched a new attack on Harris after news broke over the summer that Iranian hackers breached some Trump campaign email accounts and sent some of the stolen materials to journalists and Democratic campaign operatives.
“THE FBI CAUGHT IRAN SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GIVING ALL OF THE INFORMATION TO THE KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN. THEREFORE SHE AND HER CAMPAIGN WERE ILLEGALLY SPYING ON ME,” Trump posted on Truth Social in mid-September.
Facts First: Trump’s claim that the Harris campaign spied on him is baseless. Iran did breach the Trump campaign, but there’s no evidence anyone from the Harris campaign was involved in the breach, solicited hacked materials, or weaponized these materials in any way. The Harris campaign condemned Iran’s “unwelcome and unacceptable” election interference.
The federal government announced in August that Iranian hackers successfully targeted the Trump campaign, and that they also attempted to breach the Biden-Harris campaigns…..
False claim: California’s vote counts are dishonest
Trump has wrongly claimed for years that US vote counts are plagued by major fraud. In the last month, he has even declared that he would win Democratic-dominated California if there was an “honest” vote count. (California’s large population means that a candidate’s vote totals there have a significant influence on the national popular vote — which Trump has baselessly cast doubt on for years, even when he won the presidency in 2016.)
Trump said in September that “if I ran with an honest vote counter in California I would win California, but the votes are not counted honestly.” In late August, he said, “If Jesus came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, okay?”
Facts First: This is fiction. The votes are counted honestly in California, as they are in every other state. Trump loses California because it is an overwhelmingly Democratic state that no Republican presidential candidate has carried since 1988.
Trump lost the state in 2020, fair and square, by more 5 million votes and more than 29 percentage points. It’s ridiculous to suggest that fraudulent vote-counting was responsible for a margin that large.
Like several other states, California conducts post-election audits to verify the accuracy of the vote count. These audits use mathematical models and statistics to access the accuracy of the overall tally based on random samples of ballots.
False claim: Election officials use early voting to commit fraud
Trump has encouraged his supporters this year to make use of early voting. But at a rally in Pennsylvania last week, he suggested that the lag time between when an early ballot is cast and Election Day is used by nefarious actors to fraudulently manipulate the count.
“Now we have this stupid stuff where you can vote 45 days early. I wonder what the hell happens during that 45 — ‘Let’s move the … see these votes, we’ve got about a million votes in there, let’s move them, we’re fixing the air conditioner in the room,’ right? No, it’s terrible. What happened the last time was disgraceful, including right here. But we’re not going to let it happen again,” Trump said.
Facts First: This is another phony narrative. There is no indication that there was any counting fraud involving early ballots in 2020, in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. Early ballots are securely stored in election offices until they are counted. People who interfere with ballots during this period are subject to prosecution.
False claim: Trump won Minnesota in 2020
Trump declared in March and May that he won Minnesota in the 2020 election.
At a Minnesota rally in July, he claimed, “If they don’t cheat, we win this state easily, Okay? They cheat.” He added, “They’re the most crooked. They cheat. They cheated in the last election, and they’re going to cheat in this election, but we’re going to get them.”
Facts First: Trump’s claims are false.
He lost Minnesota by more than 7 percentage points in the 2020 election, fair and square, and he can certainly lose the state legitimately in 2024.
The state hasn’t chosen a Republican for president since 1972, and Trump has consistently trailed in opinion polls against Harris — whose running mate is the sitting Minnesota governor, Tim Walz.
False claim: A large percentage of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent
Pennsylvania is one of the most important swing states in the 2024 election. Trump claimed in a social media post in September that an “election expert” interviewed by right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson had suggested a large percentage of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent.
“An interview by Tucker Carlson of an election expert indicates that 20% of the Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent. Here we go again! Where is the U.S. Attorney General and FBI to INVESTIGATE? Where is the Pennsylvania Republican Party? We will WIN Pennsylvania by a lot, unless the Dems are allowed to CHEAT,” he wrote.
Facts First: There is no valid basis for the claim that 20% of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania — or any other state — are fraudulent. This claim appears to be based on a flawed 2023 poll by a right-wing pollster, not the discovery of any actual problems with ballots in Pennsylvania or anywhere else from 2020, 2022 or this year.
The 2020 election was fair and secure in Pennsylvania, as it was in the rest of the country, according to officials from both parties who affirmed the results. There was a tiny smattering of voter fraud in the state in 2020 —– some of it committed by Trump supporters — but not even close to enough to have affected the outcome.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State said in a September email to CNN: “Voting by mail is safe and secure, and no evidence exists of widespread mail voting fraud in Pennsylvania.
Mail ballot fraud has been proven to be exceptionally rare. Claims of systemic voter fraud are devoid of any supporting evidence and have consistently been rejected by judges, government agencies, and election experts across the political spectrum.”
So what was Trump referring to?
Trump and his campaign didn’t specify what interview he was talking about. But in April, Carlson interviewed someone who spoke of a 2023 poll conducted by a right-wing firm, Rasmussen Reports, that has itself promoted false election claims. Among likely voters in that poll who said they had been absentee or mail-in voters in 2020, 21% claimed to have filled out a ballot for a friend or family member and 17% claimed they had voted in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident.
There are lots of reasons not to treat this poll as evidence of mass fraud in Pennsylvania.
First, this was a national poll, not a Pennsylvania poll. Second, the pollster is viewed skeptically by many polling experts. Third, people making claims to a pollster about their past behavior does not prove that they actually did what they said.
Fourth, as FactCheck.org pointed out earlier this month, it’s legal to fill out a ballot for a voter with disabilities who has asked for the assistance — so someone saying they filled out someone else’s ballot isn’t necessarily a confession of fraud. Fifth, as FactCheck.org also noted, the wording of the residency question was ambiguous enough that people could have thought it was asking about legal behavior — such as having voted in 2020 in a different state from the one they currently lived in three years later.
False claim: Harris fabricated an image to inflate her crowd size
Since 2020, various Trump supporters have claimed that Biden’s unimpressive crowd sizes are proof that Biden’s 2020 vote total, about 81 million, was fraudulently inflated. (Trump earned about 74 million votes in 2020.)
In August, Trump launched an attack on Harris’ crowd sizes. He claimed on social media that Harris should be disqualified from the race because, he claimed, she had faked an image of a large crowd at her rally at a Michigan airport. He wrote: “There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!”
He also wrote, “This is the way the Democrats win Elections, by CHEATING – And they’re even worse at the Ballot Box. She should be disqualified because the creation of a fake image is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Anyone who does that will cheat at ANYTHING!”
Facts First: Trump’s claims are false. Harris did not create a fake image of the Michigan crowd using artificial intelligence or anything else. As genuine photos and videos showed, and reporters on scene confirmed, she had a real crowd of thousands of people at the airport event. …..
False claim: Biden or Harris orchestrated Trump’s legal cases
Trump has repeatedly claimed this year that “all” of the legal cases against him, including local and state cases, were all orchestrated by Biden for the purpose of “election interference,” to help Democrats win the election.
In July, when Biden dropped out of the race and Harris became the Democratic candidate, Trump began claiming she was the one behind the cases.
Facts First: These claims are false. There is no evidence that Biden personally orchestrated any of these cases. Trump never presented any evidence for that claim, let alone for suddenly making the vice president the target of the claim after months of directing it at the president.
There is no sign that either Biden or Harris had any role in bringing charges against Trump in Manhattan, New York (where Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records) or Fulton County, Georgia (where an election subversion case against Trump is on hold over a battle about whether the district attorney should be disqualified). Those prosecutions have been led by elected local prosecutors, both Democrats, who do not even report to the federal government.
Trump’s two federal criminal cases, one about election subversion and one about Trump’s retention of classified documents after his presidency, were brought by a special counsel, Jack Smith. A judge dismissed the classified documents case in July, but Smith is appealing.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden appointee, but that is far from proof that Biden orchestrated the prosecutions – and certainly not proof that Harris did. Garland has said he would resign if Biden ever asked him to take action against Trump, but expressed confidence that Biden would never put him in that position.
PEOPLE: we have a presidential election coming up in less than a month–don’t fall for the lies of a sociopathic narcissist. Someone willing to lie on such a scale has no place in US government, which is why so many former members of his administration are speaking out against him and endorsing Kamala Harris.
GiGi
I don’t have a pile of crap emoji big enough for that one.
🤡
WHAT did I get wrong–name something and provide a citation.
Gigi, Bolshevik Bytch And Firehose Of Lies said: Old Dog: nobody cares about a motion in that nothing defamation case.
First, that bright light shining in your bloodshot feral eyes is the truth demanding you tell everyone who appointed YOU spokesman for if anybody here cares or not. Professor Turley? Darren? Dennis McIntyre?
There wasn’t a vote, or even an appointment I’m aware of, you self important bytch cosplaying that your babbling pronouncements represent what everyone here does or doesn’t care about.
Second, let’s pretend that you were elected the authority on whether anybody cares or not about this case.
That leaves the glaring question: what are YOU and your Tinder date Dennis McIntyre doing here, reading and commenting if you’re not lying to us (as always), and nobody cares?
That’s a fair question: after all, you turned the famous Gigi’s Firehose Of Lies up to 11 on the dial to weigh in on this one – showing that you do indeed care.
You’re as fvcked up as a hockey net behind home plate in a baseball diamond.
And you make about as much sense. Perhaps a gas powered, kick start vibrator would lead you to want to spend your spare time somewhere else?
Dennis it would have been major had scotus taken the appeal
It is nothing that they did not
There is no expectation of privacy in a public post
And Musk as the custodian of the posts has very little standing
I would personally like to see warrants and subpoenas and worse still searches without warrants or subpoenas reigned in
But neither the justices on the left or right are going there
I am not sure how the Ghost Gun case will go
It is incredibly complicated and multi faceted
Arguably under current law the ATF can require serial numbers on parts bought online
But there is no way they can require serial numbers on parts a person makes themselves
Regardless the question is about the powers of the federal government
The current state of the law is that congress has significant power over commerce
But not over individuals
Nearly all power over individuals is constitutionally delegated to the states
This is not or should not be a right left issue
It is one of what power does the constitution grant the federal government
Arguably under current law the ATF can require serial numbers on parts bought online
But not if purchased by walking into a Cabelas, for example?
No limitations on what parts must be serialized?
I change the recoil spring in the Browning High Power I carry once a year or every 5,000 rounds which is pretty much the same thing.
That spring is about the length of a toothpick and not quite the diameter of a chopstick.
ATF has the authority under current law to require every one of those $7.00 springs have a unique serial number?
What about the other springs in that pistol that are about a third of that size in dimensions? The other springs simply cannot be serialized due to lack of surface area for application?
What about magazines? What about the fiberoptic inserts for the sights?
Handgun grips if I decide to change those out?
How does serializing any of that reduce violent crime? Or meaningfully result in a significantly greater chance of prosecution of violent criminals.
If they do have the authority to mandate that, what argument is being made to defend requiring that?
This has exactly nothing to do with reducing violent crime or enhancing the chances of arrest and prosecution.
This is blatant political posturing while the same ATF rarely prosecutes those caught lying on their background check. Just as they just look the other way as convicted felons arrested in possession of a firearm are allowed to walk, rather than indicted and put before a judge on that reverse onus case where the minimum sentence is five years in a federal prison.
I am not challenging you
I just listened to part of the oral arguments
And it appeared that according to existing law if you did not have to do more than put parts together maybe fastening screws
It fell in the domain of what ATF could regulate
But if you had to do even the slightest alteration it did not
Whether existing law is constitutional is separate and was not part of arguments I heard
I am mostly saying interested in whether it covers using a CNC or 3d printer
Because I can not see how ATF can regulate that – though states might be able to
As long as using CNC you can make a gun yourself the rest of law on gun manufacturing at home is pointless
I suspect SCOTUS will allow the ATF to require serial numbers on parts
I thought the statute was broad enough to cover that and scotus is not reigning in the commerce clause
But background checks for parts starts to infringe on individual liberty
And anything on guns you make yourself is likely outside ATF
As a separate issue the whole matter is just stupid
Criminals do not buy parts and assemble guns they use acid or files to remove serial numbers – if they bother at all
And criminals do not buy anything where a background check is needed
* H.A. was dressed for war. He was a war Chief cheering for his team. Arguing this point is useless. It’s as useless as only cowboys can wear cowboy hats or only harem girls can belly dance.
Phillips’ told five (5) LIES 🤥 as enumerated by Judge Lugg. Phillips is a journalist.
Lying is not protected speech.
I haven’t read the two opinions referenced- Overhill and the other. It’ll give me something to read maybe.
Perhaps Romeo and Juliet (Montagues and Capulets) or Othello the Moor (Arab in Italy) applies for you literary types.
“Lying is not protected speech.”
Citation please.
* Jesus Christ
Lying is not protected speech.
Not only is that statement false, I would conclude that lying is the most protected form of speech. The entirety of the political class relies heavily on the freedom to lie. It’s the truth that is under attack.
OLLY,
Well said about the political class and lying.
Defamation and slander are not protected forms of speech. Making false statements that harm someone’s reputation is not covered by the first amendment. Therefore, lying is not protected speech in some cases.
Defamation and slander are not protected forms of speech. Making false statements that harm someone’s reputation is not covered by the first amendment.
The entire anti-Trump movement is rooted in their “protected” defamation, slander and outright, provable lying about President Trump. They used that protection to impeach him twice. The lawfare we see used against American citizens relies heavily on the “protection” provided to politicians and the media to defame, slander and lie for the purpose poisoning the jury pool.
And by “protected”, that means inaction by the DOJ to hold the Regime’s allies to the rule of law. Politicians are simply “untouchables.”
Lying is protected speech
Making false factual claims that damage another persons reputation is a tort and is subject to damages
Always easier to quell the age of rage, particularly around race, when one end of the philosophical/political spectrum isn’t actively trying to stir it up….
As anyone who has studied and practiced a physical discipline can tell you, motion causes motion. When racist interests feel comfortable enough to pop off without fear of consequence there will be a corresponding sensitivity to issues of race. This can play out legally, as it has in this case. This a ‘motion causes motion’ sort of phenomenon.
Won’t go away until the racism dramatically lessens. I mean, we have one political party accusing a group of legal immigrants of killing their neighbors pets and eating them, combined with the sort of tabloid journalism that quickly escalates the situation. In reaction the courts will be flooded with cases like this.
I hope Deadspin and the race-baiting moron that wrote this libelous propaganda are successfully sued….into oblivion!
* Phillips lives a tortured life hyper vigilant for anything that could possibly be racist. There’s black toothpaste now. He has PTSD most likely. His upbringing taught him hyper vigilance just as B.B. was called to account and punished for her drawing. Parents ACTUALLY wanted to know what B.B.’s drawing meant.
Behavioral biology…
* This is CRT and DEI inaction and children like Holden and B.B. are targeted as racist. Children begin reading CRT in kindergarten and babies are seen as racists. In the minds of the adherents to CRT DEI racism must be stamped out by any means.
DJT, a white male, escaped assassination by less than an inch. Does anyone think he’ll be elected? Not on Phillips watch.
Have a good day…
“I mean, we have one political party accusing a group of legal immigrants of killing their neighbors pets and eating them”
What I meant to say is that Illegal Alien Haitians that entered the country as criminals are now legal protected persons shielded from deportation because Border Czar Harris gave them limited duration protected status.
And the fact we know that they’re killing and eating the city’s birds that live in the public parks is very different than the vague complaints to police about killing and eating pets in the surrounding neighborhoods.
We should focus our attention on just the “pet eating” part, or at least the “eating park birds” part. Better to not focus in the much more enormous social and economic cost of increasing that city’s population by 30% with Illegal Aliens – now legally protected persons by Border Czar fiat.
And Deadspin’s accusations of a Native American boy being a racist isn’t either racism or race baiting for profit. And this behavior and race-baiting won’t go away until the race-baiting dramatically lessons.
Kamala was never the “border czar”.
Kamala was tasked with finding out why immigrants were coming from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. She went, she talked, she listened, policies were implemented and immigrants from those countries went down.
Look up “Kamala Border czar”, not so hard to see this was a made up term by others, not Biden or Kamala.
And further, you do know the VP has only one job, vote in the Senate when there is a tie She makes no policy, oversees no departments. Nada, zip.
your civics knowledge is as bad as JDs and trumps. They both failed Civics to say that Kamala as VP is responsible for policy.
What I specifically intended to say is that only our supporting media repeatedly called VP Harris The Border Czar. For her part, she made the mistake of smiling and nodding her head in acquiescence when they said that to her face. And I know you can come up with many links to point that out, from the same news outlets that convinced us the Trump Russia Dossier was real and the Biden laptop was just Russian election campaign disinformation. But if you hadn’t failed Civics, you would know that news media isn’t the definition of her role.
The truth matters, and you should be saying instead that President Biden said he was handing responsibility for the southern border that he and Harris opened over to Vice President Harris. And once again in the last few days Vice President Harris has once again confirmed that she was the last one in the room when the decision to throw the southern border open was made, and if she could go back and change those decisions to open the border, she would not.
Harris to lead administration’s efforts to stem migration at border
“President Biden announced Wednesday he had tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the administration’s efforts to stem migration at the southern border. ‘She’s the most qualified person to do it — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle, and the rest of the countries that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks — stemming the migration to our southern border,’ Mr. Biden said at the White House on Wednesday. ‘It’s not her full responsibility and job, but she’s leading the effort, because I think the best thing to do is put someone who, when he or she speaks, they don’t have to wonder about — is that where the president is? As she speaks, she speaks for me, doesn’t have to check with me, she knows what she’s doing —and I hope we can move this along.'”
Remember again, you do know the VP has only one job, vote in the Senate when there is a tie She makes no policy, oversees no departments. Nada, zip.
As you can see, President Biden clearly made the Biden-Harris southern border the responsibility of Vice President Harris. But he never used the words “Border Czar”.
So she wasn’t the last person in the room when all key decisions were made? Is that what you’re saying?
Or just get the clips from cnn abc cbs msnbc calling Harris border czar
Or joe Biden saying Harris has his full authority to deal with the border
Do you left wing nuts ever tire of word games
There is no Czar in the executive branch
We routinely call a person in the executive branch not a cabinet secretary with delegated presidential power a czar
Harris was “border czar”
The VP has only one constitutional role
The president can delegate as much or little executive power as he pleases to the VP without getting senate confirmation
Actually you failed civics
The president can delegate as much or little executive power to anyone in the executive they please but any delegation that constitutes an officer of the United States must be confirmed by the senate
Except the VP
Most presidents have made the VP a powerless role
But not all
Chenney had significant power
And Harris was “Border Czar”
Regardless Harris has claimed and Biden has claimed that Harris was the last person in the room for every major decision
And the both have claimed joint credit and responsibility
Not just for the border but everything
And that is the key point
Harris owns the millstone that is this admin’s policy failures
They entered the country legally and have had legal status ever since. While it is only temporary, they are still legal and able to work.
Only comments directly related to this particular article topic are interesting to read.
Defamation law may turn out to be the saving grace of free speech in the United States. What? What about Deadspin’s right to “think whatever comes to mind, and say whatever it thinks” in public?
This case, and the avalanche of strident infowarfare into the public square (Turley’s “age of rage”) pose an ironic contradiction: The more emotionally provocative the speech and counter-speech, the less intelligent the problem-solving process. We all know deep down from our own experiences solving conflict — in our personal lives, in the workplace, sharing the road with other drivers — that rage blocks common sense reasoning and ability to smartly negotiate resolution. Rage ignites counter-rage.
Rage takes the mind in the direction of warlike thinking, where categorization of persons as either allies or enemies becomes foremost. Creativity is directed at how best to thwart or vex (“own”) the enemy. Fantasies of total domination (capitulation on the part of the enemy) replace realistic images of coming to some common ground and agreement. Solving the problem which gave rise to the conflict is nearly forgotten, and fighting for victory over the enemy takes control over the brain’s creative faculties. “The ends justifies the means” erodes morality and ethics, and manipulative, deceitful infowarfare is wielded as a tool of convenience.
The central question of the “free speech” debate is what Turley derides as “functionalist thinking” in his book “The Indispensable Right” — the idea that God gave us language communication to better cope and solve problems, not to split up into raging factions. Speech in the public square — if it is not contributing to solving problems, but is making them harder to solve — is of dubious value. This implies that there are responsibilities that go with the right to publish, that among those are authenticity, trustworthiness, and goodwill.
The saving grace of defamation law is that is opens a lane for legally challenging inauthenticity compatible with 1st Amendment prohibition on using government prosecution. Rather, we have civil lawsuit as a largely untapped toolset.
Granted, those suits move too slowly to work at the pace of the internet, but OK, so rapid due diligence is an area of reform opportunity. The part that doesn’t need improvement is having juries of 12 Americans sorting out fiction from fact (rather than self-appointed govt. bureaucrats and party apparatchiks).
Quelling the cycle of rage implies bringing moderation back into the public square, and this requires a delicate, calibrated balancing of freedom and responsibilities. The 1st Amendment does NOT consign us to a public square dominated by intemperate, vengeful militant infowarfare. It gives us a legal toolset to restore civility and truth-telling
(authenticity). It requires evolving and strengthening a system of “mini-torts” where a free society can reign in the most devious, premeditated acts of deceptive infowarfare crafted for political effect. It gives us a way to uphold the norms of public authenticity and problem-solving mindset upon which our future wellbeing depends.
Pbinca
I am not a big fan of defamation law
It works too much like a lottery
And is too easily weaponized
While deadspin deserves a huge loss I would rather bring defamation law to an end than deal with the fact it is already weaponized
Including politically
The price deadspin should pay is a loss of credibility
Pbinca
Some problems are solved by compromise
Some by overcoming obstacles including other people
And many problems can not be solved and may not even be improved
“The senior Deadspin writer had a Pavlovian response in a scathing article on the boy’s “racist” and “disrespectful” appearance” ; the Pavlovian response is the same for any indoctrinated cult member – no different than the spewed hatred of islamists putting babies in ovens just because they have been indoctrinated to not tolerate anyone who is “other”. Which, in this instance, was a small child of undetermined heritage, being vilified because his perceived actions triggered that Pavlovian response in the “journalist”.
This is good to hear and good to see. Advocacy journalism needs to be held responsible for their irresponsible actions and punished accordingly.
Unfortunately, advocacy MSM will ignore the case, the outcome, give the guy an award or something and he will continue his advocacy journalism at another advocacy MSM site.
Jonathan: great news. Despite DJT continuing to lie that Vice President Harris won’t do interviews, she has been doing interviews in a media blitz. For those claiming that VP Harris is a new person after winning the DNC convention nomination, she just told Americans the opposite while appearing on the well respected “The View” show to allow her public record and policies to be examined.
When asked whether she would have done anything differently than Biden on the liberating of Afghanistan of American troops to opening the southern border with compassion to over ten million migrants seeking asylum, VP Harris said she was in the room when those decisions were made and would not have done a single thing different if she had been president.
There is not a thing that comes to mind, And I’ve been part of all the decisions that have had impact. President Biden has agreed with my counsel as the last one in the room along the way.
This is a devastating bombshell to convicted felon DJT to have former prosecutor Harris tell Americans that in fact she will continue the progressive policies and priorities that President Biden has helped Americans with for almost four years. Americans can vote with confidence that in voting for VP Harris, they will get another eight years of what we know as the Biden-Harris presidency. The sunset of DJT’s corrupt political career is fading and the sunrise of his eventual time in jail is in sight.
GFY.
Don’t let Dennis get to you
RCP just flipped Michigan to trump +.5
The EC is 296:242
With Wisconsin likely to flip soon
Trump is ahead in betting
Harris now needs the margin of error in atleast 3 swing states to go her way
You now have to believe the polls are +2 atleast for trump rather than a more likely +2-4 against trump
Harris needs a miracle now
THAT is why she is doing interviews
She is behind and has nothing to lose
And the interviews are going badly
Basically independents are breaking 2:1 for trump
Dennis, did you see where CBS edited and altered Harris’ responses to make them more coherent and understandable? Are there others who have not been caught or called out? You seem to have an insider’s knowledge.
Hoping you saw it, yours truly, lin.
Take an aspirin and come back in two hours with a comment that is ON TOPIC.
Hey “Dennis”, you sound uncannily like a campaign advertisement. Who is paying you?
1,2,3,4,….5. It only took five words to get to Donald Trump. Next time, give us a little notice. 32. That is a good number. 32…32….32. 🙂
They keep her glued to a teleprompter for a reason. She has memorized a few talking points and is not allowed to deviate when she is off the teleprompter.
I watched Bill Clinton give a mostly extemporaneous speech in one of the reddest parts of the world. It started slow, but when he was done, he received a standing ovation. He had a couple of 3×5 cards. That was it. He has a God given gift of public speaking.
The difference between her and Clinton or Obama is like that of a fifth grade band compared to the Boston Symphony.
They put her out there to do “interviews” because they are panicked. She is going on mostly softball shows. She did say on the View that she was involved in all the decisions of the Biden Administration. So, there is that. This is a great sound bite for the Republicans. She and Joe are one.
E.M.
The 60 Minutes interview, CBS edited to make her sound more competent and less word salad. She still bombed it, even with the assist. As for the other so called interviews, some women’s sex podcast, the View? Really?
They are in a panic as her campaign from the basement is not going well, so now they are trying for a media blitz and even that is backfiring. Even Democrats are saying they dont know who she is, what her policies are.
Shamed into ‘media blitz’, Harris interviews boomerang as viral moments draw flak
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/wedshamed-media-blitz-harriss-interviews-boomerang-viral-moments-draw-flak
Democrats start to hit the panic button
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4922690-democrats-nervous-kamala-harris-campaign/
“On Tuesday, there was grumbling from some Democrats about the vice president’s interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Kamala Harris is Safe And In Stable Condition After Attempted Interview.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Americans across the country breathed a sigh of relief this morning following breaking news that Vice President Kamala Harris had survived an attempted interview.
The incident took place late yesterday afternoon during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania when a rogue reporter reportedly approached the vice president and fired off several questions before being tackled to the ground and subdued by Secret Service agents. Harris was quickly evacuated from the area and taken to a secure location.
“Thankfully, Vice President Harris is safe and in stable condition,” a campaign spokesperson said. “We all feared the worst when that crazed person emerged from the crowd and attempted to interview the sitting U.S. vice president right there in broad daylight. Someone must be looking out for her, though, because she avoided suffering any damage in the incident.”
The FBI arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and discovered that the would-be interviewer was in possession of several notepads, pens, a cellphone, and a camera authorities believed was intended to capture the event for a livestream or video. “Isn’t that sick?” said a campaign insider. “This nutjob had this all planned out. He was coming out here for the specific purpose of interviewing Kamala Harris — and he was trying to record himself doing it.
At publishing time, the Secret Service had advised the Harris campaign that it would be best for the Vice President to avoid all public appearances from now through election day while she practices her word salad.
I can say lots of bad things about Bill
But he is a Rhodes Scholar
Clinton went to oxford
Trump went to Wharton
Harris went to UCSD
Bill Clinton is a bad dude but he’s as smart as a whip. Kamala isnt.
Sal Sar
Another “useful idiot” of the fascist Left infected with severe TDS. Seek help immediately! The malady is destroying the limited brain tissue you have, And by the way, GFY…..big time… with a long boat paddle.
Ouch!
Trump has claimed Harris does not do interviews because she is too stupid
She has suddenly started doing many
Because she is losing
And they are going very badly
She is going to interview herself into a trump landslide
You say Harris has not changed?
If so she will lose
No one wants a komrade Kamala
If Harris has changed
As her magical new policy positions hint at
She will lose because she will alienate voters on the left AND because independents do not trust her
Regardless as is typical you are unable to get past words
No one cares what Harris says
Which is a big part of why she can not win
They need to beleive she can be trusted to fix the mess of the administration she is a part of
And words delivered well or badly will not get her there
Harris saying she would not do anything differently is a bomb to her own campaign
She can not win without both independent and progressive votes
Independents actually want trump – without the drama (which is not possible, because the drama is driven by the left) what they do not want is more of the last 4 years
While progressives want all the woke nonsense you defend
I don’t not know if the reason Harris refuses to actually answer important questions is because she is that stupid
Or because she is d sad mart enough to know there is no answer that does more good than harm
Owning Afghanistan is unbelievably stupid
Kamala thought that having a beer with Colbert would connect with working class voters ?
Really ?
Once upon a time Colbert could connect to ordinary americans – today he is further removed than Harris.
And we have 60 Minutes massively editing their interview with Harris to make it sound like she did not wiff the interview.
Aparently the count is out from the Butler Rally – 108K people. Is the largest Harris rally EVER even 1/5th of that ?
And this was Butler PA – there is no place within 45 minutes of Butler. So Trump got over 100K people to come to nowhere.
Trump is doing Rally’s in California.
And he appears to be scheduling Madison Square Garden for the end of October.
Quinipac – a very left leaning polster has Harris winning PA – but losing Wisconsin and Michigan.
Harris appears to be in very serious trouble in Michigan. She is not connecting with Blue collar workers – I do not think a beer with Colbert is going to fix that. Apparently alot of Muslims in Michigan are voting against her.
Well, litigation can sometimes pave the way to change, especially when the point is well defined and can be clearly proven and the courts appear to have used a well described pathway to make the point and improve and expand a precedent.
Echo journalism : a very catchy phrase. I’ll have to remember that.
Previous comments today are excellent also.
If you believe deceitful, manipulative infowarfare is every bit a threat to a free society as is govt./media censorship (both work to the same end, to opinion-shape the public), then having civil lawsuit as a means of challenging premeditated infowarfare becomes crucial. It would be used primarily to correct the problem of activist journalism — i.e., public frauds that are picked up and spread sympathetically by major media. The semi-organized cover-up of Hunter’s laptop with CIA help to tilt the election in Biden’s favor comes to mind as the type of whopper that could be immediately deflated if we had Public Fraud lawsuits.
Those type of lawsuits — which simply extend defamation law to cover massive falsehoods put forth for political effect but which eschew defaming any individual — would have to have rapid due diligence in order to work. In other words, delaying the legal process would have to be eliminated as a defensive tool employed by the infowarriors. That means, almost immediately upon pushing out the whopper, subpoenas and compelled depositions would descend upon the principals and fake journalists involved.
Don’t you think that rapid response would make political activists with media allies think twice about publishing artful false-narratives?
Let’s not go there
While I will be happy to see deadspin get his comeuppance we need to weaken not strengthen defamation law
And we should not extend fraud to false statements
Whether the accusation is at Trump or someone on the left
Fraud is a property crime it requires a real loss of a tangible item of value
Thank JT talks about anything but trump Biden this, Biden that, Kamala this, Kamala that, How is that impeachment going JT.
Meanwhile, trump has his bibles made in China.
trump loves putin so much he sent him COVID tests when you couldn’t get one.
JD says he loves that trump love Putin.
And don’t forget trumps and JDs disgusting race baiting with Haitians.
Stop deceiving yourselves. trump does not care for you or this country, he only cares for himself.
Your (and I include JT here because of his off balance articles with half truths) support of trump shows how disgusting you are.
You support a person whose use of free speech has caused people great harm. And he continues to do this.
How can you support a person that says what he does about Haitians?
How can you support a person that tells lies about Hurricane Helene and actual people (mostly white trump supporters) are being hurt by it?
How?
I forgot to add… why can’t people continue the confidence they had in trustworthy President Biden – the exact opposite of Trump and his disgusting race baiting and lies; join me in trusting Kamala Harris, who has a mother’s love for this country and Americans.
How can you do anything else?
Please stop! We have all reached maximum Bullchit overload. A mother’slove for this country 🤮.You’re one sick depraved monkey. Really, is that why Harris and Biden have flooded our country with illegal immigrants, drugs, sex trafficking, inflation, new wars, abandonment of our own citizens to provide for illegals? What a crock of BS, Trump is Trump but he did more for America in four years than these stooges have done in fifty!
Because Biden is the worst president in US history and that is pretty bad
Conversely while not nearly as great as his ego
Trump is the best president of the 21st century – it has been a really bad century so far
So your response to truths of what trump says is call me names? Really?
trump is lying to you whenever he opens his mouth. He loves Putin more than this country. he loves a handful of dictators all over the world and lies to you about what is happening in our own country. Why would you vote for this guy to be President?
“Thank JT talks about anything but trump Biden this, Biden that, Kamala this, Kamala that, How is that impeachment going JT. Meanwhile, trump has his bibles made in China.”
The China that bought America through Bribery Biden with 30+ MILLION dollars?
How’s promoting voting for Harris continuing the Biden-Harris legacy and agenda going? Got anything better to convince Americans to vote for her other than BBBBUUUTTTTT…. MUH TRUMP!!!!!!
Anything? Anything at all?
The TDS is strong in this one
It’s obvious that Carron Phillips lied in his story to portray the kid as a racist. Anyone who lies like this whether they’re a reporter, a politician or even on social medias needs to be needs charged with malice and if guilty, spend some time behind bars.
Lawfare has its unintended consequences. What goes around, comes around.
In a decent world, NGO’s and governments could be held liable for every crime committed by illegal immigrants. That would stop the flow pretty good. Kind of like blaming gun companies for everything, right? Precedents are such a dangerous thing in lawfare.
Diogenes,
That is a interesting observation.
You can thank “Crazy Abe” Lincoln for initiating the concept of illegal immigration on January 1, 1863, when he unconstitutionally confiscated private property and presided over the mass illegal immigration of 4 million non-citizens who were precluded from being admitted to become citizens by existing and properly legislated immigration law, the Naturalization Act of 1802, which was in full force and effect. That mass illegal immigration of January 1, 1863, remains subject to the very same retroactive sort of corrective action that abrogated Roe v. Wade after 50 years.
You can thank “Crazy Abe” Lincoln for initiating the concept of illegal immigration on January 1, 1863, when he unconstitutionally confiscated private property
“Curious” George, the Confederate Kluxxer Monkey still hasn’t gotten over Lincoln first freeing their “property” – their slaves. And then allowing those American born third and fourth generation slaves to remain in America as free men overwhelmingly voting Republican at the time. Rather than swiftly deporting them once they were freed and legally able to vote for Republicans.
What “Curious” George doesn’t explain is why his equally constitutional fellow Confederates of the Confederate states didn’t immediately “repatriate” those slaves (“their property”) back to the countries their forefathers came from. Instead, Curious George’s fellow constitutional Confederates did the opposite: they initiating the concept of illegal immigration by keeping them as slaves in the USA until they lost the War Of Insurrection they began by attacking Union troops – long before January 1st, 1863.
Does “Curious” George want to argue that as long as his fellow Confederates could keep those black Americans as slave property, then it wasn’t illegal immigration because they weren’t people until they were freed to vote Republican?
Clearly (like Dennis and Gigi), “Curious” George the Confederate Kluxxer Monkey comes here simply because he gets masochistic sexual pleasure out of being mocked, jeered, ridiculed, and laughed at for being an inept, sophomoric pathological liar.
The Democrat Party is the world’s most successful hate group in history. It attracts poor people who hate rich people, black people who hate white & Asian people, gay people who hate straight people, feminists who hate men, transgender people who hate women, environmentalists who hate the internal combustion engines, and a lot of bratty college kids who hate their parents. However, the real secret of the party’s success is that it attracts the support of journalists and the Main Stream Media who hate Republicans, and who therefore work tirelessly to convince the rest of us that we should vote for Democrats. All the while, these journalists create “Well Crafted Deceptions” to promote the Democrat’s narrative, which is always negative toward Conservatives.
“The Democrat Party is the world’s most successful hate group in history. It attracts . . .”
Good list, to which I’ll add:
Academics, pundits, politicians, and street thugs who hate America.
I hope the boys squeezes millions from this puke.
Diversity (i.e. color judgment, class bigotry) is a clear and progressive condition indulged with liberal license. #HateLovesAbortion and other wicked solutions.
That said, diversity of individuals, minority of one.
The really important thing, not discussed in the professor’s article, is that racism is reborn in our country, and it is reaching malevolent heights. But it is not your grandfather’s racism. It is often cloaked in a claim of anti-racism. It is anti-White, anti-Semitic, pro-fascist (also cloaked behind “antifascist” movements” and the like. It is sometimes perpetuated by courts of law and other government. It is mostly coming from the left, and it has brought us to this point, where zombie like, the left will accuse someone of racism to get their way or tarnish someone. I know I don’t hate blacks, whites, Christians, Muslims, Jews, gays, straights, and so on. But I do hate radicals who seek to destroy our nation, regardless of the group they feel entitles them to a feeling of victimization. Calling non-racists, racist, is just one way they are doing it. The professor does not like to alarm or call people names.
return to the age of innocence plying in the background.
While there is growing anti white racism
It is mostly from elite white often female leftists who are filled with self loathing
This is a problem but it is not destroying the country
No matter how stupid and annoying it is
Good to see some sanity for once. I’m sorry we’re at the point that litigation seems to be the only option so often these days, but happy about the decision. It must be awful to live in such a hate-filled head as Phillips’.