Jihadist Junket

My article from Front Page Magazine on Tuesday (April 24)

Jihadist Junket

By Matthew Vadum

Three New York City sociology professors traveled all the way to Tehran earlier this year to badmouth their country in front of America’s Islamofascist enemies, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports.


All three are leftists who support the increasingly violent, anti-American, anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street movement. The Iranian leadership and left-wing groups in the U.S. such as the terrorist-linked Code Pink also support the movement as a way of weakening America.


The teachers’ jihadist junket aimed ostensibly at teaching Iranians about the movement provides “living proof that although Communism for the most part is dead, useful idiots of tyrannies that do still hold power and endanger all of us still exist,” Ron Radosh writes.


The three academics participated in the Tehran University Occupy Wall Street seminar in February. In so doing these overeducated dupes gave aid and comfort to brutal fundamentalists who call America and its ally Israel the “Great Satan” and the “Little Satan.”


As the country Islamists call the “Zionist Entity” contemplates attacking Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, these New Yorkers’ activism could foreshadow the rise of a pro-Iran movement stateside. After all, a pro-Saddam Hussein movement cropped up on the Left a decade ago as the U.S. government pondered the invasion of Iraq.


The trio consisted of Heather D. Gautney of Fordham University, Alex S. Vitale of Brooklyn College (City University of New York), and John L. Hammond of Hunter College (CUNY). They appear in a news report from Press TV, a propaganda arm of the Islamic Republic.


Although Vitale and Hammond, a contributor to Marxist periodical Monthly Review, said little of substance in the video itself, the hijab-clad Gautney said the Occupy movement would agitate stateside this election cycle and push politicians to grow government.


“We have elections coming up in November and I think that the movement is going to be incredibly active in pressuring politicians to start addressing issues of social inequality,” said the self-described “Occupy Wall Street activist.”


The media-savvy Gautney has been adept at getting exposure for her views.


In an impressive feat of self-deception, Gautney wrote at CNN’s website that “Occupy may be anti-corporate, but it is unambiguously pro-American.”

Community Organizers Mobilize to Save ObamaCare

My article in today's Front Page Magazine:

Community Organizers Mobilize to Save ObamaCare

By Matthew Vadum

The Obama administration has enlisted one of America’s leading economic terrorist groups to help defend and promote the president’s widely unpopular socialist healthcare scheme.

This development is not all that surprising because when liberal policies threaten to destroy the country Democrats typically think all they need to do is shout louder to make people understand how wonderful the hated policies really are. This ongoing collaboration with radical left-wing community organizers is also part of the Obama reelection campaign’s divide-and-conquer strategy: Inflame the base and attack opponents relentlessly to draw the public’s attention away from the worsening economy.

In a spectacle that ought to nauseate decent Americans, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius supplicated before Rev. Al Sharpton’s radical left-wing National Action Network (NAN) at its annual convention in the nation’s capital last week. She urged activists at the fancy corporate-sponsored confab to get into the trenches and fight for the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and to let their neighbors know that the law gives them access to mountains of taxpayer-funded freebies.

“In our country what we know is healthcare inequality [has been] one of the most persistent forms of injustice but over the past three years, as Rev. Sharpton reminded us, we have begun to turn the tide,” Sebelius said. “Now is not the time to turn back.”

Republicans passed the first Civil Rights Act, in 1866

Grand Old Party historian Michael Zak has an interesting article in Human Events.  It begins:

Thanks to Republicans beginning to appreciate the heritage of our Grand Old Party, it has become better known that Republicans in Congress supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act much more than did the Democrats. Indeed, the legislator most responsible for breaking the Democrat filibuster was a Republican senator, Everett Dirksen.
And now, the question that should be before us: How did that landmark legislation come to be?  The answer to that is a source of pride for all Republicans today.

The origin of the 1964 Civil Rights Act can be traced back to the Reconstruction era. That was when the Republican Party enacted the first civil rights act ever, the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Never heard of it? Democrat history professors would rather you didn't. With that law, Republicans took a big step toward making Abraham Lincoln's vision for “a new birth of freedom” a reality.

Ominously, the assassination of the Great Emancipator had left the presidency to his Democrat vice president, Andrew Johnson.  Senator Lyman Trumbull (R-IL), co-author of the 13th Amendment banning slavery, also wrote the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Republican support was nearly unanimous, while Democrats were unanimously opposed.  This would be the first time Congress overrode a presidential veto of a significant bill.

The law conferred U.S. citizenship on all African-Americans, according them “full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens.” Despite Democrat objections, Republicans made sure African-Americans had the right to own property, engage in business, sign contracts and file lawsuits. [...]

Read the whole thing at Human Events.

The Left’s Spring Offensive

My article in today's Front Page Magazine:

The Left’s Spring Offensive

By Matthew Vadum

Communist Van Jones and MoveOn have begun training up to 100,000 activists across the nation in the fine art of terrorizing corporations and the general public in order to force change that the American people don’t want.

The activists plan to disrupt shareholder meetings of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and 30 other large corporations. They also plan to conduct “actions” against education lender Sallie Mae and businesses they accuse of profiting from student indebtedness. Their strategy is remarkably similar to the subversive plan pushed by SEIU’s Stephen Lerner that aims to destroy the nation’s financial system.

Their first multi-day training session in allegedly nonviolent direct action tactics began on April 9 and took place in hundreds of locations across the country. This “Spring Training” is named after the Arab Spring of 2011 in which popular revolts ousted various leaders in the Middle East and cleared the way for Islamofascists to take over.

Although the 100,000 figure provided by organizers from MoveOn and Jones’s Rebuild the Dream organization is no doubt a gross exaggeration, the training already appears to be paying off.

DC Emancipation Day, brought to you by the Republican Party

A guest column from historian Michael Zak:

DC Emancipation Day, brought to you by the Republican Party

Yesterday, I attended a 150th anniversary ceremony in honor of the DC Emancipation Act.  The event was held at Abraham Lincoln's summer cottage.

The quartet Just Righteous inspired with A Change Is Gonna Come and other classic songs.  Frank Williams discussed President Lincoln's views on the DC Emancipation Act.  Harold Holzer spoke about media reaction. Edna Greene Medford recounted the city's response to the law.

While the speakers were informative, all three over-emphasized Lincoln's role and managed to avoid mentioning an important political context.  So, in the Q&A, I informed the audience of these crucial facts:

The DC Emancipation Act was written by a Republican Senator, Henry Wilson.

Republicans voted unanimously for the DC Emancipation Act

Democrats voted unanimously against the DC Emancipation Act

One of the 3,100 slaves liberated by the GOP made the statute "Freedom" which stands atop the U.S. Capitol dome.

In his closing remarks, Mayor Vincent Gray said that just as slaves back then were held in bondage, city residents today are also "held in bondage" because DC is not a state.  Yes, that's what he said -- trivializing the horrors of slavery in order to make a political point.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP, cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision.  He is also the author of the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.  His Grand Old Partisan website celebrates more than fifteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.grandoldpartisan.com and @Michael_Zak for more information.

Voter ID Laws: Racist or Reasonable?

Both the Left and Right have expressed concern over potential abuse in America’s current voting process. But as the rhetoric flies, what are the facts? And is the Department of Justice heeding all concerns?

By Brandon Darby

(This piece is an abbreviated version of Brandon Darby’s original printed piece that was featured in Townhall Magazine’s March 2012 issue)

There’s been much said lately about election integrity and voter identification laws. Both sides of the American political spectrum have raised concerns over polls and potential abuses in the American voting process. In fact, due to the serious voter registration irregularities identified by groups like True the Vote in Texas, along with the numerous voter fraud convictions across the nation involving workers from politically motivated groups like the failed organization ACORN, many states are pursuing photo identification as a means of addressing such assaults on election integrity. Texas, South Carolina and Florida have all taken steps to mandate photo identification as a requirement for voting. In general, Americans holding left-of-center perspectives tend to claim organized racist efforts exist to suppress low-income Americans or minorities from voting. DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz went so far in condemning several recent initiatives to protect against voter fraud as to suggest Republicans want to put voters back to the days of Jim Crow.

Americans with right-of-center perspectives tend to claim voter fraud and an organized effort to register dead or nonexistent people is in full swing by the Left. The Right has also suggested in some cases that efforts to allow Democrats to vote twice or more are in play, as was discovered near Houston, Texas, surrounding the 2010 midterm elections. Both sides have legitimate facts and occurrences to validate their points of view. There was a time in our nation when black Americans weren’t allowed to vote. Even after their right to vote was recognized by the hard and often dangerous—sometimes fatal—work of black activists and allies, laws were implemented by the old Democrats of the South to ensure black Americans still couldn’t vote. Tests which were nearly impossible to pass were administered to many black Americans, ultimately preventing them from exercising their rights. This horror is an historical reality and will forever justify some suspicion any time a requirement is mandated regarding voting.

But a justifiable suspicion which merits further looking into requires just that—further looking into. The initial suspicion doesn’t mean the worst-case scenario is actually occurring. It simply means looking into the matter is justified.

It was Democrats who were predominantly responsible for the Jim Crow laws against black Americans voting. Democrats have historically exhibited a tendency to go to any lengths to ensure the results of elections turn out in their favor, as was the case during Jim Crow when they didn’t want black Americans to participate in choosing non-racist leaders.

Republicans often point out the recent example of the community organizing organization known as ACORN. As outlined in Matthew Vadum’s “Subversion Inc.,” there have been 55 convictions for voter fraud and voter registration fraud from ACORN’s efforts, which leaned heavily in favor of the Democratic Party.

George Zimmerman Arrested, Charged

My article from today's Front Page Magazine:

George Zimmerman Arrested, Charged

By Matthew Vadum

After weeks of agitation by the activist Left, would-be vigilantes across America got their wish Wednesday as George Zimmerman was charged in Florida with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.


“Three weeks ago our prosecution team promised those sweet parents [of Trayvon Martin] we would get answers to all of their questions, no matter where our quest for the truth led us,” special prosecutor Angela Corey told reporters in Jacksonville. “And it is that search for justice for Trayvon that has brought us to this night.”

It is far from clear what exactly transpired on that fateful February night in Sanford. At the same time it seems crystal clear that the original version of the story that painted a picture of a fanatical cop-wannabe who, without provocation, brutally gunned down a defenseless young man because he was African-American isn’t quite true.

At trial Zimmerman may be shown to be guilty of something. Lawyers say that for him to be convicted of murder in the second degree under Florida law it would have to be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant lacked the intent to kill but still acted in such a grossly reckless and negligent manner that the victim died. A jury could also take a pass on “Murder 2″ and convict Zimmerman of a lesser offense. Florida’s “stand your ground” law could come into play and complicate matters. The key issue seems to be whether Zimmerman was in the circumstances justified in using lethal force against Martin.

Leftist spring training is ACORN-approved

Admitted communist Van Jones is working with various leftist groups “to train over 100,000 young people to engage in acts of massive civil disobedience throughout the country,” Ron Radosh writes in a great op-ed on PJM called The Organized Left’s Spring Surprise: Revealed on TV and in The Nation magazine.

These radicals swear up and down that their activities will be nonviolent but they’re lying.  With the Left there is no such thing as nonviolent protest.  The goal is chaos.  The Left wants to stir things up so violently that it leads to a radical transformation of America.  God help us if these subversives succeed.

This training is endorsed by three ACORN-related organizations:  the  Working Families Party, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.

As I explain in my book, Subversion Inc: How Obama’s ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers,  WFP is ACORN’s political party and ACCE and MORE are rebranded ACORN state organizations.

Santa Monica Students Say Pepper Spraying a PR Victory

My article from the April 5 Front Page Magazine:

Santa Monica Students Say Pepper Spraying a PR Victory

By Matthew Vadum

Santa Monica College students angry about tuition increases may have successfully tricked campus police into advancing their cause on Tuesday.

Apparently unaware of California’s continuing descent into the fiscal abyss, students showed up in force at a college trustees’ meeting to protest a planned 300 percent increase in tuition for core courses. The college says the dramatic price hikes are necessary because state funding for higher education is drying up as California’s spendthrift public officials continue to lavish taxpayer-funded benefits on their allies in the labor movement.

Up to 30 demonstrators, possibly left-wingers, were doused with pepper spray after a student mob was forcibly ejected from the trustees’ meeting. In America such chemical drubbings are almost always provoked by leftist protesters for public relations purposes. They know they can count on journalists to sympathetically portray them as victims of police brutality punished by the powers that be for speaking truth to power.

Leftist War Chest on the Verge of Collapse?

My article from the April 3 Front Page Magazine:

Leftist War Chest on the Verge of Collapse? 

By Matthew Vadum

A serious internal schism has developed that threatens to destroy the Democracy Alliance, George Soros’s financial clearinghouse that funds groups and projects aimed at turning America into a European-style socialist state.

The preeminent funder of the Left in the United States, Soros favors American decline and has said that European-style socialism “is exactly what we need now.” The radical, anti-American philanthropist praises Red China effusively, saying the totalitarian nation has “a better-functioning government than the United States.”

The conflict within Soros’s group has created two factions.

On one side are Democracy Alliance members who believe in the original mission of the donors’ collaborative. Created after Democrats failed to reclaim power in the 2004 election, the group started out funding left-wing political infrastructure – think tanks, activist groups, leadership schools, and media outlets— to help the Left gain and keep power. The idea was to focus on long-term organizational issues as opposed to helping Democrats get elected every election cycle.

March Mob Madness

My article from the March 29 Front Page Magazine:

March Mob Madness

By Matthew Vadum

Egged on by professional racial arsonists, virtual lynch mobs have formed across the nation hell-bent on meting out mob justice to the man who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.

Sanford police chief Bill Lee, who handed the investigation over to the state, the Justice Department, the FBI and a special prosecutor, has received death threats.

Although police insist there is insufficient evidence to arrest shooter George Zimmerman who says he shot Martin in self-defense, calls for Zimmerman’s arrest continue to grow.

Demanding “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” Mikhail Muhammad of the virulently racist New Black Panther Party offered a $10,000 bounty for the “capture” of Zimmerman. Muhammad called for 5,000 black men to hunt him down.

Left versus Left

My op-ed in the April 6 print edition of the Washington Times:

VADUM: Left vs. left

Soros club for rich liberals flounders between short- and long-term goals

By Matthew Vadum

George Soros‘ Democracy Alliance, an invitation-only club for billionaire leftist political donors, has decided to drown Democrats and President Obama’s re-election campaign in an ocean of cash this year. Democracy Alliance, founded in 2005, is a financial clearinghouse that recommends to its wealthy members projects and groups aimed at transforming America into a European-style socialist state. The secretive group has directed untold hundreds of millions of dollars to left-of-center causes.

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Soros, he is the pre-eminent funder of the left in the United States. He openly favors American decline and has said European-style socialism “is exactly what we need now.” The radical, anti-American philanthropist praises China effusively, saying the totalitarian nation has “a better-functioning government than the United States.” Mr. Soros already has begun doling out funds for Democrats. In the 2012 cycle, he has given a modest $203,500, but that number promises to rise exponentially.

Democracy Alliance’s original mission was to focus on building political infrastructure - think tanks, activist groups, leadership schools and media outlets - to help the left gain and keep power. The idea was to focus on long-term organizational issues as opposed to the more mundane task of helping Democrats get elected every election cycle.

But political expediency has forced a stunning course correction that is causing deep fissures in Democracy Alliance that ultimately may destroy it. On one side of an internal divide are Democracy Alliance members who believe in the original mission of the donors’ collaboration.

Soros doppelganger Peter B. Lewis, who helped found the group with Mr. Soros, thinks Democracy Alliance has become far too partisan. In a crushing blow to the club, the Progressive Insurance magnate, who spent $25 million in 2004 in a failed attempt to defeat President George W. Bush, reportedly resigned from Democracy Alliance in disgust weeks ago.