The Espionage Act Is an Embarrassment to Freedom

The World War I-era law has always been an embarrassment to freedom of speech. It has had little success in imprisoning America’s enemies. But that was never its purpose.

by Tom McDonough for American Greatness

The Justice Department’s use of the Espionage Act of 1917 as the basis of the indictment of Donald Trump would be laughable if it wasn’t such a blatant attempt to further the Russian collusion hoax.

When the uniparty, under the leadership of Democrat Woodrow Wilson, declared war on Germany in April 1917, there was very little appetite among the people to enlist. Americans of German extraction had no interest in fighting their kinsmen and those of Irish extraction were dead set against fighting to defend Great Britain. Enlistment rates in the early months were frighteningly low.

The enlistment predicament was solved in June with the Espionage Act of 1917, heeding the urgings of President Wilson since December 1916 for a law that would silence domestic opposition to America’s entry into the war raging in Europe.

The official rationale for the Espionage Act was to crack down on wartime activities considered dangerous or disloyal that would assist America’s enemies, but Wilson used it to stifle any criticism of the war, crush anti-war activists and prosecute draft-dodgers. All publications critical of the government were denied access to the postal service, labor unions were emasculated, and two draft-dodgers in Oklahoma were executed.

My book on Dorothy Day’s first job in journalism was the occasion of my own education in the Espionage Act. After working at the New York Call, Day began a new job in May 1917 as assistant to Floyd Dell, the associate editor of The Masses, a monthly radical journal with punchy cartoons, startling satire, and poignant political commentary. It was decidedly anti-militaristic, determined to expose a grand collusion of the government and the war industries to the detriment of the working poor.

With summer approaching, Dell was anxious to get away to his New Jersey bungalow to finish his novel and Max Eastman, the editor, was in Hollywood for a speaking and fundraising tour. All during May, Dell rushed his new assistant through the process of putting the July issue together and out to its subscribers.

On July 3, Dorothy Day’s August issue of The Masses was presented for mailing at the post office in New York. The Masses was notified on July 5 that the August issue was “unmailable.” The humiliation and embarrassment of the 19-year-old Day must have been intense, but the editors later joked rumors that the feds “in spite of the pressure of war-business, celebrated Independence Day by deciding to suppress The Masses, cannot be verified.”

The Masses was the first publication to challenge its suppression in court. Pressed to justify its decision, the Post Office specified four cartoons and four texts in violation of the law, with each selection having been chosen by Day. None bore her name but one, “Emma Goldman and Alex Berkman Are In Jail,” was very possibly composed by her.

The Masses team valiantly put out September and October issues, but without access to the mail, they could not continue. The November-December issue was the last and Dorothy Day was out of work at the end of October.

Not satisfied with destroying the circulation of The Masses, the feds then filed criminal charges against the two editors, two cartoonists, and the business manager while Dorothy Day was on a hunger strike in Occoquan, Virginia. The trial, in April 1918, ended in a hung jury.

The Espionage Act has always been an embarrassment to freedom of speech. It has had little success in imprisoning America’s enemies but that was never its purpose. It has been quite useful in stifling a healthy dialogue questioning the authority of the Uniparty. With the indictment of Donald Trump, they are at it again, using the Espionage Act to go after those who would threaten the plans of the Military Industrial Complex. Let’s pray that they don’t get away with it.

X22, On the Fringe, and more- June 13

 

I'm not afraid of the future, are you?

💗 Special thank you from Candace on GAF's latest ratings report

 

Little something while you wait on my daily report: https://www.dailywire.com/news/candace-cameron-bure-thanks-fans-after-faith-based-tv-network-sees-monster-ratings-jump

Hollywood star Candace Cameron Bure had nothing but praise for fans of the faith-based Great American Family television network when she shared the news of an ongoing increase in viewership.

The 47-year-old actress on Tuesday posted a screenshot to social media of a press release from the Great American Media detailing the network’s ratings growth. Bure develops, produces, and stars in movies and TV shows broadcast on the channel.

“Thank You,” Bure wrote over her Instagram Story, which included images of balloons and confetti. The release said Great American Family is “leading all networks in year-over-year viewership increases for the seventh consecutive month.”

“According to Nielsen Media Research, Great American Family also retained its position as TV’s fastest growing network in both [Second quarter 2023] to date and 2023 [Year to Date] with the largest gains in Total Day and Primetime viewership among both Households and Total Viewers,” it added.

Bure recently spoke to the Wall Street Journal about joining GAF and said she wanted to share “faith-filled” stories “that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them.”

 Bure left Hallmark for GAF after its programming and advertising started involving LGBTQ-themed stories, including the first original holiday movie focused on a same-sex couple, “The Holiday Sitter,” in December.

“I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment,” the “Full House” actress said, noting that Hallmark had essentially become “a completely different network” than when she signed on due to a “change of leadership.”

In an earlier statement about her move to GAF, the “Fuller House” star said she was “very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch. I am constantly looking for ways that I can inspire people to live life with purpose.”

Is the Trump Indictment Part of Biden’s 2024 Strategy?

Joe Biden is not a harmless old man just shuffling about in office. The Right would do well to pay attention when he says the quiet parts out loud.

by Adam Mill for American Greatness

Any discussion of Joe Biden’s 2024 election strategy would be incomplete without examining the context of Biden’s threat to stop Donald Trump from “taking power” after the 2024 election. Just what did he mean by that?

Recall that on November 9, 2022, shortly after the Democrats’ surprising showing in the midterm elections, Biden was speaking at a press conference in the state dining room at the White House. There he made the infamous pledge to stop Trump in response to a sympathetic journalist asking about the concerns of foreign leaders over a second Trump term. 

What I find is that they [leaders in other countries] want to know that the United States is stable . . . are we the same democracy we’ve always been. Because . . . the rest of the world looks to us . . . if the United States tomorrow were to ‘withdraw from the world,’ a lot of things would change around the world. A whole lot would change. And so they’re very concerned that we are still the open democracy that we have been and that we have rules and that the institutions matter and that’s the context in which I think that they’re looking at . . . are we back to a place where we’re going to accept decisions made by the Court, by the Congress, by the government, etc.

The reporter prompted Biden again, “Sir, the entire genesis of that G7 conversation was tied to your predecessor [President Donald Trump] who is about to launch another campaign. So how do you reassure them [leaders of the other G7 countries] if that is the reason for their questioning that the former president will not return, that his political movement, which is still very strong, will not once again take power in the United States.” Biden started laughing when the reporter described the opposition political movement as, “strong.”

“Well, uh,” Biden finished a chuckle and transitioned to a serious look, “We just have to demonstrate that he will not take power by, if he does run, making sure that he, under the legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next president again.”

Tellingly, not one reporter asked Biden what he meant by, “legitimate efforts of our Constitution” and how these efforts would, “demonstrate that [Trump] will not take power.” Silence followed for about two heartbeats after this pledge until Biden called for the next question from the list of reporters. 

Much like Biden’s infamous prediction about the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, the “he will not take power” remark appears to have revealed a deliberate plan. One could conclude that Joe Biden timed last week’s federal indictment of Trump to function as candidate Biden’s very first campaign event since officially announcing his candidacy for reelection. As it happened, the indictment dropped shortly after Biden’s presidential announcement but just before his first public campaign rally. 

Naturally, partisans, posing as fact checkers, have attempted to bury this clip. 

Factcheck.org wrote, “As we said, the clip doesn’t show that Biden ‘all but confirmed’ his team is coordinating the various investigations facing Trump.” Newsweek’s fact checker wrote, “No matter the interpretation, the clip alone does not provide enough material to suggest that Biden was talking about either this indictment or the prospect of others. It could refer to the January 6 investigation, other legal challenges or other avenues, such as elections, that would prevent Trump from entering the White House.” 

How absurd! The indictment resolved whatever ambiguity might have existed in November when Biden promised to “demonstrate” Trump will not be allowed to take power if he runs again.

But the full context of the clip is actually even more chilling than the selectively edited excerpt. The question came up in the context of foreign interests expressing concern over U.S. foreign policy and how that policy might be changed by a re-elected President Trump. Biden says that Trump’s America-first policy, which Biden characterizes as a “withdrawal from the world,” would change “a lot of things . . . around the world.” Biden also said he wants America to get back to a place where “we have rules and that the institutions matter and that’s the context in which I think that they’re looking at . . . are we back to a place where we’re going to accept decisions made by the Court, by Congress, by the government, etc.” 

What constitutes these institutions and this “government” Biden mentions? What if the voters don’t want to respect them or accept their decisions? Aren’t policy questions things voters are allowed to challenge through elections? What does it say about Biden that he would reassure foreign leaders that his chief political rival can’t change American foreign policy because Biden has plans to stop him from taking power? 

It says a lot about who Biden seems to perceive as his real constituency and the real sovereign in America.

I’m hardly paraphrasing. Because that’s the context of the exchange. Watch the clip above and judge for yourself whether I’m misrepresenting the context. Biden said he planned to use “constitutional” means. Was Biden referring to the prosecutorial powers the Constitution gives to the executive branch? It’s pretty hard to rule out that interpretation, especially when that’s exactly what happened a few months later.

One is reminded of the historical example of Matthew Lyon, a Revolutionary War veteran who served as a colonel with the Green Mountain Boys and one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence. Lyon won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1796. But in 1798, the Adams Administration charged him with the crime of, “acting in opposition to the President.” Lyon was convicted and sentenced to prison with a huge fine of $1,000 (at a time when a typical worker made less than $1 per day). Lyon won a landslide victory from prison and returned to Congress when he completed his sentence. 

The prosecution of Donald Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents is clearly part of a greater election strategy in 2024. So many prominent officials, particularly Democrats, have escaped any charges for similar behavior that the political selectivity of the charges is totally inescapable. Biden himself is currently “under investigation” for mishandling classified documents (essentially the same charge) by Robert Hur, a prosecutor who worked closely with Russia collusion hoax purveyors FBI Director Christopher Wray and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Has anyone else noticed a distinct lack of movement in the Biden “investigations?”

Trump may indeed find himself in jail as a result of this or other get-Trump efforts. But that won’t stop him from running for president or even winning. And why should it? Just because a bunch of world leaders in the G7 group don’t like Trump’s foreign policy doesn’t mean he won’t be on the ballot. Remember when Biden fantasized about being arrested during the civil rights movement? Obviously, Biden was never arrested as a political activist but it reminds us that political arrests sometimes backfire by making a martyr of the target. 

Perhaps the Left dreams of an October 2024 presidential debate in which Donald Trump must join by videolink in a prison jumpsuit. The Justice Department could easily manipulate the situation to achieve this visual. But it probably wouldn’t go down the way they imagine it. 

Trump would use the moment to label Biden a tyrannical dictator who must rely on his Justice Department to kneecap legitimate democratic opposition. Trump can, and will, point out that Biden lied about the laptop being Russian disinformation and that his henchman Merrick Garland protected Biden from legitimate investigations. Trump could easily point to a hundred examples of the Justice Department applying different legal standards to its political allies than it imposes on its political opposition. 

Trump’s prison uniform would visually reinforce these points. He would wear the uniform as a badge of honor. Rather than making Trump look like a criminal, the scene could as easily make him a folk hero standing up to a cowardly bully. 

Biden’s other major campaign strategy is to box-out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a very serious primary challenger. Just as Biden seems afraid to let Trump run against him, Biden has already refused to participate in any primary debates with Kennedy. It’s not hard to see why. Kennedy will confront Biden on his authoritarian tendencies with the kind of well-articulated examples that turn voters’ heads back to Biden with the expectation that he actually answers the charges. Biden doesn’t have any good answers so he won’t debate. It’s that simple. It’s just so grating to listen to “democracy” or “rule of law” lectures from Biden.

It’s a mistake to mock Biden because of his age or apparent mental incapacity. Biden has been a highly consequential president who rapidly and dramatically changed the policy direction of the United States. He’s not a harmless old man muttering and shuffling around on stage. He plays the hardest of hardball with his political opponents to achieve transformative objectives. We’ve had enough of cheap shots about Biden’s alleged harmlessness. It didn’t work in 2020 and it won’t work in 2024. 

Conservatives Are Winning the Culture War Over Transgender Ideology, and the Numbers Will Surprise You

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

With all the chaos that has permeated the cultural arena over the last decade or so, it’s easy for conservatives to get discouraged. Things have truly gone off the rails, with a level of depravity that was once thought to be unthinkable becoming mainstream.

At the forefront of that has been the battle over transgender ideology. Children are being pumped full of puberty blockers, and in some cases, being physically mutilated by surgeries, all under the ridiculous guise of “transitioning.” Nothing is sacred for the far-left, not even the health and well-being of children.

Yet, amidst all the darkness, there is hope peaking through. According to a new poll from Gallup, attitudes about transgenderism as a concept and a practical matter are shifting back toward sanity.

It’s hard to overstate how incredibly rare it is to see a retreat like that from what has become left-wing orthodoxy. Usually, once something enters the culture, especially under the idea of “acceptance” and “tolerance,” it becomes so pervasive that you’re more likely to see Big Foot than see things go the other way. Yet, in this case, 69 percent of Americans say that transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete in leagues that match who they actually are (i.e. their biological sex).

Now, you might be saying it’s sad and disturbing that such a sizable minority still doesn’t agree with such a common sense position, but context is everything. 69 percent represents a rise of seven percent since 2021. Further, there’s been a four percent rise among the public since 2021 in the belief that it is morally wrong to “transition” one’s gender (a misnomer in itself).

(Related: New Study Shows Americans Are Following the Science on Number of Genders)

In short, the pro-transgender ideological gambit that has engulfed the nation, specifically in the last two years since Joe Biden’s ascension to the White House, is backfiring. People are looking at what’s being pushed and deciding that it’s not only contrary to reality, but that it’s simply wrong. Children should be protected, not butchered by opportunistic doctors. Women’s spaces, including sports, should not be invaded by mentally ill men. And yes, transgender ideology as a whole, even for adults, should be thoroughly rejected.

When judging whether conservatives are winning or losing a cultural battle, you have to use fair guidelines. In this case, you will never convince a majority of Democrats to abandon anything the far-left deems worthy of defense. If you know that going in, the numbers shown above become all the more impressive. Not only have conservatives stopped the bleeding regarding transgender ideology, but they are actively changing minds. That’s huge, and it’s a victory worth celebrating, in no small part because of just how damaging transgender ideology is for not only children but everyone involved.

To summarize, this is why it’s foolhardy for anyone on the right to dismiss the culture wars as secondary. Yes, the economy is important. Yes, foreign policy matters. But if you lose the culture, you’ve left yourself nothing to preserve and improve. Keep up the good fight.

Biden's ATF Just Turned 29 Million Law Abiding American Gun Owners Into Felons Overnight

Brittany Sheehan reporting for RedState 

In a nationwide resistance, an overwhelming majority of gun owners targeted by President Joe Biden have opted to reject the administration’s far-reaching regulations on one of the most popular and freely owned firearms ever manufactured. Only a small minority—estimated to be between 0.6 percent and one percent—of AR-15-style pistol owners have complied with the May 31 deadline imposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to register their firearms. Those who fail to do so face severe consequences as a violation of U.S.C. 586, including the potential of a 10-year prison sentence, a $10,000 fine, or both. In the rule, the ATF also graciously points out that lying to an agency of the federal government may also be a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001, which is punishable by a fine or imprisonment up to five years, or both.

This author is not and cannot give legal advice, if you have questions about regulations and compliance please contact a legal expert and/or a licensed firearms dealer for guidance.

AR pistols are AR-15-style firearms, without a traditional stock, and have a shorter barrel and overall length than a standard rifle. In 2012, Alex Bosco invented the pistol brace to assist a disabled veteran shoot an AR-15 more accurately. He later formed a company, SB Tactical, and partnered with SIG Sauer to market them. Pistol braces for disabled shooters, such as a forearm brace, that conform to the arm and do not act as a buttstock that can be shouldered like a rifle are not affected by this rule. 

Pistol Stabilizing Brace CREDIT: Twitter/Firearms Policy Coalition

While the ATF had previously indicated that AR-15-style pistols equipped with arm braces were legal, the Biden administration chose to regulate them anyway. In an April House Judiciary Committee hearing, Republican Chairman Jim Jordan said to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach:  

You told them one thing 10 years ago and now you’re telling them something else.

Jordan went on to tell the agency that they were making owners of the pistol brace devices into felons overnight. As the June 1 deadline has since passed, millions of braces are required to be detached, registered, or destroyed. According to ATF spokesman Erik Longnecker, as of June 1, 2023, the ATF has received 255,162 applications for tax-free registration. However, even if we consider the median number of guns in circulation, John Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center says:

 You are still talking about 29 million people who are technically committing felonies at this point.

The new regulations require owners to pay a $200 tax and submit fingerprints. In an attempt to encourage registration, the ATF temporarily waived the tax until May 31. However, the majority of owners have chosen to take their chances, hoping that the courts will overturn the ATF and Biden’s decision, just as they did with the ban on “bump stocks” during the Trump era.

Read More:

Biden’s ATF Loses on Biden’s Signature Pistol Brace Ban but a Bigger Loss Is on the Way

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Takes on the ATF Over Their Bizarre Pistol Brace Rule

The ATF gave gun owners other compliance options, including attaching a 16-inch or longer barrel, permanently removing and disposing of, or altering the stabilizing brace so that it cannot be reattached. Alternatively, owners were offered the option to turn the firearm over to the ATF or destroy it without compensation. This display of resistance marks the largest pro-gun protest in history, surpassing the compliance rates seen in previous instances, such as the registration of AR-15-style rifles and pistols in New York (four percent) and Connecticut (13 percent). It even eclipses the strikingly high non-compliance rate of 98 percent among Connecticut gun owners who refused to register their firearm magazines.

The resistance to gun registration shouldn’t be surprising, as Stephen Gutowski, founder of the authoritative gun blog The Reload, explains:

The low compliance rate shouldn’t come as a surprise. Americans have traditionally been very resistant to the idea of registering their firearms, especially those they already own.

Justin Anderson, the marketing director of Hyatt Guns in North Carolina, sheds light on another aspect of the resistance movement, saying:

There is also a large group of the gun-owning public that are of the ‘Come and Take Them’ philosophy, which, in the end, puts the Justice Department in a bit of a pickle. I wonder now how they are going to enforce it. Confiscating guns from now formerly law-abiding citizens is not a good look.

Several courts have issued injunctions, effectively halting the enforcement, at least for plaintiffs in the successful suits. It is likely that the legal challenges will land in the Supreme Court. Gutowski says:

While those injunctions don’t cover all owners, they do signal the ban is likely to falter under constitutional scrutiny. Owners seem to be betting the ban will end up getting tossed.

Congress is also stepping into the fray, with a House vote scheduled to block the ATF’s rule on Monday. Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), an organization involved in one of the successful injunctions, expresses confidence in their reading of the Second Amendment. Pratt said:

Americans cherish their Second Amendment rights, so it’s not surprising that very few gun owners registered their pistols with the ATF. Americans know that registration is the first step to confiscation — hence the reason gun owners have a history of refusing to comply with unconstitutional mandates.

Pratt also stated that American gun owners simply do not trust the ATF, given its track record, saying:

Given the propensity for ATF leadership to lie or reverse their official positions, American gun owners simply don’t trust the agency with information about the guns they own.

The widespread non-compliance among gun owners in response to Biden’s firearm regulations is a historically significant act of protest. With the majority of owners refusing to register their AR-15-style pistols, the movement has gained momentum, potentially leading to Second Amendment legal battles in the Supreme Court. 

The Anti-Communist Manifesto – A Review

Buy this book. You won’t regret it.

posted by Dianny at Patriot Retort

Yesterday, I read Jesse Kelly’s first book, The Anti-Communist Manifesto. And rather than prattle on for paragraphs before telling you what I thought, I decided to just say at the outset that if you haven’t picked up your copy yet, you’ll want to get right on that.

In a word, it is outstanding.

So run to your local bookstore or head to Simon and Schuster to see where you can order it online.

Mine arrived on Friday. Well, technically, mine arrived at the neighbor across the street on Friday while I got my neighbor’s package. Fortunately, I noticed right away that the tiny object within the brown Amazon envelope couldn’t possibly be my copy of The Anti-Communist Manifesto, so I didn’t do anything stupid like rip the envelope open.

I saw the address was my neighbor’s, so I put on my shoes and walked his package across the street, found the box addressed to me, and swapped packages. I was worried one of my other neighbors might see me walking away with my package and presume that I was swiping packages from my neighbor. Since running might make me look guilty, I walked calmly but briskly back to my house with my package under my arm.

Anyroad.

My plan was to start the book on Sunday and then finish reading it today.

But once I started it, I couldn’t stop. Okay, I did stop briefly for bathroom breaks, a shower, and a trip downstairs to put the laundry in the dryer. But even with those breaks, I still finished The Anti-Communist Manifesto in five hours. It is just that good.

Since this is Jesse Kelly’s first book, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Sure, I’m familiar enough with Jesse’s radio show and I follow him on Twitter, so I had some expectations. Even so, The Anti-Communist Manifesto was so much more than I thought it was going to be.

In each chapter, Kelly weaves together the history of communism with the modern-day American communists to give the reader context by showing how the American communists of today didn’t spring up out of nowhere. Instead, their roots are firmly planted in the ground Karl Marx polluted nearly two centuries ago.

Each chapter of the book details one of the ways the communists use a country’s institutions and culture to destroy it. The chapters all begin with historical examples, then show how modern American communists are continuing these same tactics today. Kelly caps off each chapter by outlining the things we, as anti-communists, must do to claw back territory and prevent the communists from destroying the country.

And because this is Jesse Kelly, he does it in a way that even those who don’t enjoy reading about history will not only be able to follow along; they will also be completely captivated.

Not literally captivated. It isn’t as if he tosses you in a gulag or anything.

I especially enjoyed those moments when I would be reading along only to unexpectedly stumble across Jesse Kelly’s trademark humor, which happened frequently, starting with the dedication page which succinctly read, “To me.”

In the chapter on the communist takeover of universities, after Kelly finishes discussing how the communists incorporated Critical Theory to turn your children into little Marxists who believe they are oppressed, he writes:

“This is why your daughter leaves for college as a normal teenager and returns as a pierced, pansexual, blue-hair land whale.”

My advice is when you read The Anti-Communist Manifesto, don’t be one of those people that skips over the Introduction and Acknowledgments. Trust me. Read those too. I laughed my ass off reading the acknowledgments at the end.

Not literally. My ass is still attached.

[If you aren’t a regular listener of Jesse Kelly’s show and don’t follow him on Twitter, you won’t get the “literally” thing. There’s not much to it. He just hates it when people use the word “literally.”]

I could go on. But you’re better off simply picking up a copy of The Anti-Communist Manifesto and reading it for yourself.

You’ll be glad you did.