N.Y. News Attacks ‘Deplorable’ Ivanka

/0 Comments/in , /by

In its Tuesday cover story, the New York Daily News mercilessly ridiculed Ivanka Trump as “Daddy’s little ghoul” and called the first daughter “seemingly oblivious” because she made an appearance at the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem this week.

The Daily News cover featured a photo of Ivanka smiling and pointing her hand toward a wall. In the right corner, the paper included a photo of Palestinians killed at the Gaza border Monday. The cover, which appeared to suggest Ivanka was gleeful about the violence, stated: “Daddy’s Little Ghoul: 55 slaughtered in Gaza, but Ivanka all smiles at Jerusalem embassy unveil.” . . .

The story inside the paper doesn’t actually support the “ghoul” statement on the cover. Fox News reported, “The article is a straight-news story that doesn’t mention Ivanka until the fourth paragraph when it simply names members of the Trump administration who attended the opening.” The editorial page doesn’t include any mention of Ivanka, either . . .

Britt McHenry, a political commentator, told Fox News that the depiction of Ivanka on the Daily News cover is “reprehensible” and the paper labeling Ivanka a “ghoul” shows it lacks “any sort of decency.”

“It’s the same principle at work we saw with Michelle Wolf after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” McHenry told Fox. “The message is clear: It’s never OK to denigrate or make fun of women unless they are conservative or vote Republican. Then it’s ‘comedy’ or ‘journalism.’ Not only is the headline bad, but its unethical journalism to superimpose her next to the Gaza protests and mislead readers into thinking she was responsible for it.” (Read more from “N.Y. News Attacks ‘Deplorable’ Ivanka” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Avenatti Docs Leak: Got $8 Million out of Thin Air When Stormy Arrived

/0 Comments/in , /by

Lawyer and/or media gadabout Michael Avenatti has thus far provided a great deal of the comic relief in l’affaire Stormy Daniels, but there are a surprising number of serious questions about him that remain unanswered. . .

In spite of the fact that Avenatti’s appearances on cable news seem more frequent than takeoffs at LaGuardia, we don’t have any answers to these questions — nor indeed does anyone on CNN or MSNBC feel particularly inclined to ask them. They just assume that it’s none of their business and move along their merry way.

As humorously Biff Tanner-like as that terse statement may be, there are several problems with it. First, while he’s busy banging journalists’ heads against the wall so that they’ll read what he had to say, he probably should instruct his own client to read it, since her own statements in the matter directly contradict this. And second, it doesn’t explain why he seems to have come into $8 million as the Daniels case began to explode earlier this year . . .

Barnes looked up some tax information on Avenatti’s law firm and found he hadn’t paid any taxes for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, even though filings in a bankruptcy court said that during that period the firm earned a whopping $30 million.

“In January 2018, (Michael Avenatti) got an unidentified source of income that allowed him to pay $4.85M to his law firm employees he defrauded, close to $2M in back taxes for payroll taxes on his law firm, and near another $1M to other creditors,” Barnes tweeted.

(Read more from “Avenatti Docs Leak: Got $8 Million out of Thin Air When Stormy Arrived” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Who Lives in a ‘Constitution-Free’ Zone? Well over Half the U.S. Population

/0 Comments/in , /by

Arivaca is a small, unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, around 11 miles north of the Mexican border. The closest big city is Tucson, 60 miles northeast. The town itself is barebones—a smattering of old buildings, some dating back to the 1800s. It is surrounded by swathes of yellow grassland.

To get groceries or cash a check at the bank, residents often have to drive north to Green Valley, or even further, to Tucson. And to do that, they have to pass by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) checkpoint, where they’re inevitably asked if they’re U.S. citizens. . .

While the weight of border patrol’s operations is felt heaviest along the southwest border of the U.S., the “no man’s land” Ragan is talking about actually extends much further into the country. In the “border zone,” different legal standards apply. Agents can enter private property, set up highway checkpoints, have wide discretion to stop, question, and detain individuals they suspect to have committed immigration violations—and can even use race and ethnicity as factors to do so.

That’s striking because the border zone is home to 65.3 percent of the entire U.S. population, and around 75 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population, according to a CityLab analysis based on data from location intelligence company ESRI. This zone, which hugs the entire edge of the United States and runs 100 air miles inside, includes some of the densest cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It also includes all of Michigan and Florida, and half of Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a prior rough analysis by Will Lowe, a data scientist at MIT.

“It really is kind of a constitution-free zone,”says Patrick Eddington, a policy analyst who has been compiling data on border patrol’s internal checkpoints at the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank. “I guess the best way to phrase it is that in this area, [border patrol agents] are being allowed to nullify people’s rights.” (Read more from “Who Lives in a ‘Constitution-Free’ Zone? Well over Half the U.S. Population” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract

/0 Comments/in , /by

It’s been nearly three months since many Google employees—and the public—learned about the company’s decision to provide artificial intelligence to a controversial military pilot program known as Project Maven, which aims to speed up analysis of drone footage by automatically classifying images of objects and people. Now, about a dozen Google employees are resigning in protest over the company’s continued involvement in Maven.

The resigning employees’ frustrations range from particular ethical concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in drone warfare to broader worries about Google’s political decisions—and the erosion of user trust that could result from these actions. Many of them have written accounts of their decisions to leave the company, and their stories have been gathered and shared in an internal document, the contents of which multiple sources have described to Gizmodo.

The employees who are resigning in protest, several of whom discussed their decision to leave with Gizmodo, say that executives have become less transparent with their workforce about controversial business decisions and seem less interested in listening to workers’ objections than they once did. In the case of Maven, Google is helping the Defense Department implement machine learning to classify images gathered by drones. But some employees believe humans, not algorithms, should be responsible for this sensitive and potentially lethal work—and that Google shouldn’t be involved in military work at all.

Historically, Google has promoted an open culture that encourages employees to challenge and debate product decisions. But some employees feel that their leadership no longer as attentive to their concerns, leaving them to face the fallout. “Over the last couple of months, I’ve been less and less impressed with the response and the way people’s concerns are being treated and listened to,” one employee who resigned said.

There’s precedent for employee pushback resulting in product changes—in 2015, employees and users successfully challenged Google’s ban on sexually explicit content posted to Blogger. But these are the first known mass resignations at Google in protest against one of the company’s business decisions, and they speak to the strongly felt ethical concerns of the employees who are departing. (Read more from “Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Cheesecake Factory Responds to Attack on Black Man Who Wore MAGA Hat

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By Daily Wire. Late on Monday night, The Cheesecake Factory responded to an alleged attack on a black Trump supporter that happened at one of their restaurants in Miami, Florida, by announcing that they have launched an investigation into the incident.

In a statement to The Daily Wire, Alethea Rowe, Senior Director of Public Relations at The Cheesecake Factory, wrote:

No guest should ever feel unwelcomed in one of our restaurants and we are taking this matter very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, we immediately apologized to the guests in person. We are conducting an investigation and will take the appropriate corrective action.

The statement from The Cheesecake Factory comes in response to an exclusive report from The Daily Wire about an alleged event that happened on Mother’s Day at their restaurant located inside Dadeland Mall. (Read more from “The Cheesecake Factory Responds to Attack on Black Man Who Wore MAGA Hat” HERE)

_______________________________________________

Black Trump Supporter with MAGA Hat Attacked by Cheesecake Factory Employees

By International Business Times. Employees at a Cheesecake Factory in Miami allegedly made threatening gestures and verbally attacked a black man for wearing a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat. The attack took place Sunday at the Cheesecake Factory outlet inside Dadeland Mall when 22-year-old Eugenior Joseph was dining with his girlfriend’s family.

According to the victim’s account, a woman employee of the outlet walked up to him, pointed at his MAGA hat and signaled the other employees to come over.

A witness said they had no clue of what was happening, and the employee’s finger was literally on top of the victim’s head.

“She was pointing at him, calling her other co-workers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat,” the witness said, the Daily Wire reported in an exclusive.

A dozen or so employees joined her at the table and started making statements about the hat. Some even said they wanted to punch Joseph in the face, the witness recalled. (Read more from “Black Trump Supporter with MAGA Hat Attacked by Cheesecake Factory Employees” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Who is Behind Stormy Daniel’s Lawyer? Questionable Past Emerges With Investigation, Such as Disbarment, Questions over Funding, Finances

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By The Daily Caller. Much of the developments surrounding Stormy Daniels’ lawsuit again President Donald Trump have focused on the business dealings of attorney Michael Cohen, but an investigation by The Daily Caller News Foundation reveals that Daniels’ counsel, Michael Avenatti, has his own questionable history.

Avenatti’s past is littered with lawsuits, jilted business partners and bankruptcy filings. People who have worked with the lawyer described him to TheDCNF as ruthless, greedy and unbothered by ethical questions.

Dillanos Coffee CEO David Morris claimed last Tuesday that Avenatti never paid him for over $160,000 worth of coffee that Dillanos supplied to Avenatti’s company. “So @StormyDaniels hot shot lawyer Michael owes my small company @Dillanos $160,179 for coffee,” Morris wrote on Twitter. “He talks a big talk about integrity. We trusted him.”

“Michael Avenatti owned Tully’s coffee. They were a large chain of coffee shops. We are a wholesale roaster. We supplied his coffee. The $160,000 represented only a few weeks worth of beans. We cut him off when he wouldn’t pay, he had to close,” Morris explained in a subsequent tweet.

The Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday interviewed Avenatti over the phone on several topics including Morris’s accusations, which Avenatti denied. “I don’t owe Dillanos coffee anything. I personally don’t owe them anything,” he said. “So that’s nonsense.” (Read more from “With Avenatti in the Spotlight, His Own Questionable past Emerges” HERE)

_______________________________________________

Michael Avenatti Tweets, Then Deletes, Fox News Booker’s Phone Number

By The Hill. Michael Avenatti inadvertently tweeted out a Fox News booker’s phone number on Saturday, as he sought to hit back at the network’s Tucker Carlson for an on-air rebuke.

The tweet from Stormy Daniels’s attorney came after Carlson claimed on the Friday night taping of his show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” that Avenatti had refused to appear on the program.

“We invited the creepy porn lawyer onto this show,” Carlson said. “We called his office — or what he said was his office. It may have been a booth at a Wendy’s in Passaic, maybe a White Castle — you never know. In any case, he turned us down flat. Too bad.”

That prompted a response from Avenatti on Saturday, who tweeted out a screenshot of an email exchange with Fox News booker Kelly McNally, according to the Observer. (Read more from “Michael Avenatti Tweets, Then Deletes, Fox News Booker’s Phone Number” HERE)

_______________________________________________

Stormy Daniels’ Attorney Faces Disbarment Complaint, Questions over Funding, Finances

By The Blaze. Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti is finding himself on the hot seat over a disbarment complaint and questions about who is funding him and how he obtained bank records for Trump attorney Michael Cohen, ZeroHedge reported . . .

According to the report: “Questions have emerged over who’s funding Avenatti, how he was privy to Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s bank records – and how exactly did he obtain banking transactions for two men also named Michael Cohen, who he wrongly accused in a seven-page ‘dossier’released this week.” . . .

Other questions have come to light over a bankrupt coffee chain Avenatti allegedly left with $5 million in unpaid taxes to the IRS, dozens of filed in connection with the failed venture, and $160,000 allegedly owed to a coffee vendor.

The legal complaint seeking Avenatti’s disbarment alleges that he “bought a company out of bankruptcy and then used it for a ‘pump and dump’ scheme to deprive federal and state taxing authorities of millions of dollars,” which left over $5 million in unpaid taxes to the IRS,” according to the report. (Read more from “Stormy Daniels’ Attorney Faces Disbarment Complaint, Questions over Funding, Finances” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

David Hogg Humiliated Again After Trying to Win a Fight with NRA Spokeswoman

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Another attempt by Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting survivor David Hogg to serenade the world with his know-it-all wisdom (or the lack thereof) has epically failed.

It happened Friday after NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch smacked down a claim by late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s wife that there are loopholes in the federal government’s background check system:

Unwilling to just mind his business, Hogg of course injected himself in the conversation by issuing a false claim about the NRA. . .

Except that the compensation of a non-profit’s CEO has no bearing on its status as a non-profit, and plenty of non-profit CEOs earn far beyond $4.5 million annually, particularly in the healthcare industry. . .

Other non-profit CEOs earn big money as well, including Cecile Richards, the CEO of the baby-murdering factory known as Planned Parenthood:

(Read more from “David Hogg Humiliated Again After Trying to Win a Fight with NRA Spokeswoman” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

CIA Interrogator Sends Whoopi Goldberg a Warning After She Suggests Trump Be Waterboarded

/0 Comments/in , /by

The former CIA agent who interrogated Khalid Sheikh Mohammed warned Whoopi Goldberg against suggesting that President Donald Trump undergo waterboarding before he passes judgement on it, telling Fox News that the president might conclude it isn’t torture and that it works during interrogation.

Dr. James Mitchell, appearing Saturday on “Fox & Friends,” was responding to remarks made by “The View” host earlier in the week as she discussed Trump’s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, who’s come under fire for her part in the George W. Bush administration’s enhanced interrogation program. . .

“I think people who have actually been tortured who are saying this is not a good thing, you should listen to them because you have never been tortured,” she added in a nod to Sen. John McCain, who suffered torture as a POW during the Vietnam War and has opposed Haspel’s nomination.

Cheney told CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo last week that he felt the enhanced interrogation program — which included waterboarding — should be restarted. While Trump had been a supporter of restarting waterboarding during the 2016 campaign, he backed off at the urging of Defense Secretary James Mattis, who opposes the tactic . . .

“Honestly, who cares what Whoopi Goldberg thinks?” Mitchell said of the talk-show host. “You know, I’m tempted to just completely dismiss it, but on second thought, maybe she could show us how it’s done. (Read more from “CIA Interrogator Sends Whoopi Goldberg a Warning After She Suggests Trump Be Waterboarded” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Black Support for Trump Is Rising into the Danger Zone for Democrats

/0 Comments/in , /by

The latest YouGov/Economist poll (May 6-8), one of a few that comprehensively breaks down support by ethnicity, has some frightening news for the Democratic Party.

While President Trump’s approval holds steady among registered voters at 41 percent, his support among blacks in this poll is striking. If it holds for 2020, it could be devastating for Democrats. Among African-Americans, 16 percent approve of Trump, 10 percent are not sure, and 75 percent disapprove.

While that sounds highly negative, these are high positives for a Republican politician among black Americans. Approval of 16 percent is 8 points higher than the 8 percent of black voter support Trump received on election day 2016, and 9 points higher than the black vote Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney received in 2012. The “Not Sure” at 10 percent is staggering, and the 75 percent “disapprove” rating is consistent with the low 70 percent aggregate found in any YouGov poll among this demographic.

The same poll, with their rounding, reported in January that Trump approval was at 10 percent among black Americans, 15 percent were not sure, and 74 percent disapproved, so the numbers are not only steady but improving in Trump’s favor.

This result may actually be underreporting Trump’s black support, as this records “all voters,” which consistently has lower figures for Trump in all categories, as opposed to registered voters. YouGov/Economist gives Trump a 40 percent “All voters” approval rating four points lower than their registered voters findings (RealClearPolitics favors the registered voters results across the polling companies it reports). (Read more from “Black Support for Trump Is Rising into the Danger Zone for Democrats” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

How Did Americans Respond to Kanye West’s Support of Trump? A New Poll Has Answers

/0 Comments/in , /by

Rapper and entertainer Kanye West began an online conflagration after he began tweeting support of President Trump, but a new poll shows how many Americans believed the campaign was authentic.

While more than half of Americans believe West made his comments simply to seek publicity, only 39 percent say that they think he believes in what he’s saying.

The CNN poll showed that many more Republicans had faith in his authenticity, 56 percent, than did Democrats, of which only 30 percent think be believed in what he’s saying.

West angered many on the left and thrilled many Trump supporters after he began posting videos of online personalities who were supporters of the president.

“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him,” West tweeted. “We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone.”

(Read more from “How Did Americans Respond to Kanye West’s Support of Trump? A New Poll Has Answers” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.