America Faces No Greater Threat Than Joe Biden and the Democrat Party. Their Assault to Our Borders Is As Great As Their Assault to Free Speech and Free Elections
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
KANYE WEST - BLACK HATE, RACISM AND VIOLENCE IN AMERICA - THE RISE OF BLACK FASCISM - Vultures 1: Rapper Kanye West’s ongoing romance with fascism
KANCUNT IS NOTHING BUT AN IGNORANT FAT GHETTO BOY!
11 Most Disturbing Kanye West Accusations in New Civil Lawsuit
Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West has been hit with yet another lawsuit, this one from a former employee alleging racism, antisemitism, and harassment.
A former employee filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in a California court claiming that the Yeezy brand chief told students that he was being persecuted by Jews.
Former West employee Trevor Phillips filed his suit in a Los Angeles court alleging that he suffered discrimination, harassment and retaliation from West, according to wireservice AFP.
In his suit, Phillips said that West frequently “berated” white people but also that he was often seen “frenziedly yelling at Black people.”
“Phillips, on several occasions, witnessed Kanye preach to his staff obscenities such as ‘the Jews are out to get me’ and ‘the Jews are stealing all my money’,” the ex-employee’s suit says.
Phillips worked for Yeezy for about a year starting in Nov. of 2022. He was also placed at the Dona Academy, the L.A. area school West sponsors.
In the suit, Phillips also claims that West often praised WWII German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, calling the antisemitic war leader “great.”
“Hitler was an innovator. He invented so many things. He’s the reason we have cars,” Phillips claims that West told employees.
The claim is odd since Hitler has never been credited with being a major player in the invention and promotion of the automobile.
Phillips also alleges that West instituted weight requirements on employees, and the lawsuit adds, “Kanye also told the employees… that no staff could be fat -– otherwise he would fire them.”
The former employee is seeking $35,000 in compensation.
“We hope… that the famous artist Mr West will understand that his messages, which we allege preach discrimination, anti-Semitism and love for Hitler, have no place in the world,” lawyer Carney R. Shegerian said.
West spent the better part of the last two years being accused of antisemitism after making a series of untoward remarks. But he has also apologized, spoken of his mental health challenges, and asked for people to give him a chance to prove himself while he deals with his issues.
Meanwhile, the rapper’s recent album, Vultures 1 quickly shot to the number one album in the U.S. late in Feb.
Ye (the moniker of rapper-entertainer Kanye West) has released Vultures 1 on his self-owned label YZY. The album, a collaboration with singer Ty Dolla Sign and released under the moniker “¥$,” is the first piece of music produced following a series of reactionary, antisemitic diatribes in the fall and winter of 2022 that revealed West to be, among other things, an admirer of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and a supporter of the fascist right.
In December 2022, for example, as we noted on the WSWS, in an interview with ultra-right talk show host Alex Jones and accompanied by fascist Nick Fuentes, West asserted that the “Jewish media has made us feel like the Nazis and Hitler have never offered anything of value to the world ... But [the Nazis] did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.” He continued later, “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.” West also insisted that the Nazi leader “didn’t kill six million Jews. That’s just like factually incorrect.”
Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. [AP Photo/Evan Agostini]
Such statements resulted in numerous corporate sponsors momentarily abandoning West and media outlets speculating that it signaled the end of his career, or at least a loss of interest in his work in more “respectable” circles.
On Vultures 1, whose production and release West claims nearly bankrupted him, the rapper is unrepentant about his previous comments. In this regard, Billboard comments, “If you thought Kanye West’s time in the mainstream was done following his most recent and most impactful round of controversies … the reception for new album Vultures 1 should dissuade you of that notion pretty quickly.”
In fact, the media has been generally respectful and in so far as reviewers refer to the antisemitic ranting, they downplay or dilute it. The New York Times’ Jon Caramanica mildly asserts that West “often leans into odiousness” and refers obliquely to “past outbursts.” Variety, which regularly insists that opponents of Israeli genocide in Gaza are “antisemites,” blinks politely in the face of an actual antisemite, Kanye West, noting that many “of those who checked out on West’s music have found his repeated antisemitic remarks to be too toxic to stomach,” before adding that Vultures 1
isn’t the most groundbreaking album in his discography, but it’s the clearest vision that he’s presented in years. Its songs are mercurial yet intentional, each its own bizarre sector of a larger blueprint, and the 16-song set is often musically great.
In any case, when Billboard refers to “reception,” it primarily has in mind commercial success. However, that and genuine musical and social value are two distinct things. What is the content and relative social weight of Vultures 1? It has none. The lyrics are principally vile, backward and selfish, and the music trite.
The hook on “Paid,” sung by collaborator Ty Dolla Sign, sums up the two songwriters’ philosophy: the chorus simply consists of the singer repeating “I’m just here to get paid” a half-dozen times.
“Crazy, bi-polar, antisemite / and I’m still the king!” Ye declares on the track “King.” West’s ludicrous, misplaced sense of importance, a grating feature of both his musical and media persona, has easily survived the brush with financial ruin.
When West isn’t stale and predictable (“Pullin’ up, drop top Porsche / This that glory” on “Stars”), he is simply profane and offensive. The album’s original artwork itself was taken from fascist black-metal group Burzum before being replaced by its current design: West’s wife, model Bianca Censori, almost entirely nude.
West’s attitude toward his recent statements, such as his online threats to go “death con” against Jewish people, is revealed throughout the album. “Keep a few Jews on the staff now / I cash out…” he also asserts on “Stars,” the introduction song. West relishes the subject elsewhere on the album with provocative and vulgar one-liners mixed in with the usual fare of obnoxious boasting.
West’s trivializing attitude also finds expression in a number of references to school shootings. “Pull up in the trenches like Columbine / Pull up with the rocket like NumbaNine,” raps Rich the Kid on the album’s single “Carnival,” a reference to the gunmen who shot a dozen of their classmates at Columbine High School in 1999. West makes a similar reference on “Vultures.”
The glibness and unseriousness of the lyrics are emphasized by the rappers’ deadpan and monotone deliveries. They seem hardly interested in the things they are saying, let alone the world around them and their impact on it.
Notably, elements of melancholy and even remorse do appear in certain keys, deep synthesizer pads or samples that are introduced (“Stars” comes to mind). Such instrumentals could form the backdrop for a thoughtful and insightful artist.
The production on Vultures 1 is dark-tinted and menacing for the most part. Heavily distorted or reverbed samples, hard to make out distinctly, float across deep and glitch-filled synths. In general, the production effectively creates the feeling of space and largeness. West has not failed to deploy the numerous producers and sound technicians credited on each of his songs.
But even here, West the producer seemingly cannot get out of his own way, introducing chaotic and discordant samples and refrains; the truncated “beg forgiveness” choral refrain which punctuates the chorus of “Beg Forgiveness”; or the insufferably repetitive “Hood Rat” sample.
Some hip hop producers have a gift for introducing sonic imperfections and “grit” into their work that give the music character and depth. In West’s case, the effect is to make the songs’ feel more opaque and less accessible. (Writing about West’s sonic backdrops in 2013’s Yeezus, for example, the World Socialist Web Sitesuggested “the musical accompaniment appears abrasive and foreboding, perhaps symbolizing West’s own relationship to reality.”)
The character of the album, including its “appeal,” speaks to some of the current difficulties in popular music and culture generally, and why West’s work continues to meet with success despite its debased and even pornographic qualities.
In February, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200. According to industry statistics, Vultures 1 grossed over $1,000,000 in its first week, nearly $900,000 from streams and $150,000 from sales. This is the equivalent of 168 million individual streams and 18,000 whole-record sales. Additional profits in the millions have been netted through various “listening parties,” a more exclusive style of concert put on by the performer
Commentators, like the Variety reviewer referred to above, have grown increasingly desperate in their efforts to separate Ye-West, the so-called “artistic genius,” from his offensive public behavior and demeanor in a hope to preserve and continue profiting off the entertainer.
This effort carries on. “Ye’s production prowess remains God Level and is one of the reasons why he skates through the controversies,” exclaims a typical comment in Billboard.
The Times’ Caramanica seeks to separate West’s present course from previous, more “palatable” (for some) incarnations of himself. The music critic laments that a listen to older West music “is like being allowed out into the sunshine after enforced confinement in the basement.”
Certain social, political and artistic conditions have favored West’s rise and ongoing success. His behavior and appeal do not exist in a bubble. Nor do the degraded, repugnant lyrics come out of the blue. Encouraged and manipulated by corporate and political interests, rap, by and large, has proudly come to identify itself with social backwardness and the most toxic individualism and social indifference. Rap blossomed in the period of the decline and decay of the civil rights movement and 1970s radicalism as a whole, taking the new hedonism and obsession with money to new heights.
Notwithstanding many who listen to West’s latest music out of curiosity, the entertainer’s unrepentant attitude in the face of public condemnation and even his doubling down on his foul behavior have struck a chord with some unable at this point to articulate in a socially coherent form their feelings of disgust with the current order. West plays upon the present confusions and offers himself as some sort of persecuted “rebel” or “contrarian,” in conflict with the often sanitized and bland work (i.e., Taylor Swift, etc.) of the music industry.
In this sense, West’s own perseverance in the face of official media condemnation “echoes” that of the fascist Republican Donald Trump, whose support partly derives from a perceived ability to persist in the face of myriad investigations and lawsuits for his various transgressions. There is nothing remotely “rebellious” here. On the contrary, only the confirmation and endorsement of capitalism and all the social misery it inflicts.
The pandemic, the ongoing escalation of the United States and NATO’s war against Russia and China, the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza—funded and backed by the US and NATO—have shaken American society deeply. A powerful radicalization is taking place among young people in particular. At the same time, in the absence of a broad-based progressive alternative to the capitalist order, many people are at sea, left on their own to grapple with the consequences of the crisis, in culture and in life.
In popular music, which touches on the most personal moods and feelings of people, the situation is largely dire at this point. The WSWS commented that this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, amid a sea of human suffering beyond the walls of the celebration, was “a miasma of self-congratulation and jockeying for industry clout and celebrity.” The various honors celebrated largely empty works, treated as major cultural achievements often primarily due to the gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation of the individual receiving the given award.
West is aware of this distorted social resentment, and has pitched his tune to it. (“Without the deals, I guarantee I’m still n---- rich,” he states on “Problematic,” implying his financial tribulations stemming from his reactionary views are in some way associated with anti-black racism).
West’s continued invocations of identity politics in order to justify his own racism, fundamentally refutes the idea that such positions are in any way associated with egalitarian or “progressive” views. They remain diseased forms of self-promotion for layers of the upper-middle class on the make. It is not for nothing that the Times’ Caramanica lauds what he calls “glimmers of an older Kanye” in moments such as these!
Tennessee is divided over reparations, with a black Memphis pastor leading the charge against a bill that would prohibit the funding of a proposed reparations study in the state.
Rev. Earle Fisher, the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, has garnered more than 1,100 signatures for his petition against the “reprehensible legislation” introduced to the state legislature to prohibit local governments from “engaging in the vital work of studying or disbursing reparations.”
The commissioners of Shelby County — which includes Memphis — voted last year to launch a “feasibility study to examine reparations for the descendants of slaves,” the Daily Mail reported.
The vote was divided among racial lines, with all eight black commissioners supporting the measure while all five white commissioners voting against it or abstaining.
State Sen. Brent Taylor (R) is now sponsoring SB0429, a piece of legislation that would “prohibit local governments from expending funds for the purposes of studying or disbursing reparations.”
The Republican, whose district is within Shelby County, says his reasoning for going against the study — for which the county commissioners allocated $5 million — is not a “judgment” on reparations as a concept.
“I will make very clear, our vote today does not pass judgment on reparations,” Taylor said on the state senate floor.
“That is a very significant and very important issue for many people in our country, but it is an issue that belongs to the federal government and does not belong to our cities and counties and I think it’s inappropriate for our cities and counties tax dollars to go to such an issue,” he argued.
Rev. Fisher is speaking out against the senate bill, as well as its identical House counterpart which will be voted on Wednesday, calling it “misguided” and “morally repugnant.”
“This is not about money. This is about ideology. This is about political power,” he said in an interview with NewsNation.
“This is about people who are hell-bent on maintaining racial and economic inequities across the state and they are scared to death that the truth would come out,” he continued. “So, they don’t want anybody to study it.”
According to the reverend, the state government should use whatever surplus it has for a worthy cause like slavery reparations.
“If the state of Tennessee has hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in a surplus, surplus means we are taking care of all of our financial responsibilities, and this is how much money we have left over. We can even call it expendable income,” he continued.
“There are other entities and organizations that get 25 times that to do something most of us will probably say is a lot less significant.”
Fisher’s petition has been supported by progressive Tennessee politicians such as state Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D), who called the bills “white supremacist legislation.”
Multiple other local governments across the U.S. have also been seriously considering reparations, with cities like Boston, Massachusetts, St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California all erecting task forces and panels.
Facebook/Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church , Instagram/Rep. Justin J. Pearson
Tennessee is divided over reparations, with a black Memphis pastor leading the charge against a bill that would prohibit the funding of a proposed reparations study in the state.
Rev. Earle Fisher, the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, has garnered more than 1,100 signatures for his petition against the “reprehensible legislation” introduced to the state legislature to prohibit local governments from “engaging in the vital work of studying or disbursing reparations.”
The commissioners of Shelby County — which includes Memphis — voted last year to launch a “feasibility study to examine reparations for the descendants of slaves,” the Daily Mail reported.
The vote was divided among racial lines, with all eight black commissioners supporting the measure while all five white commissioners voting against it or abstaining.
State Sen. Brent Taylor (R) is now sponsoring SB0429, a piece of legislation that would “prohibit local governments from expending funds for the purposes of studying or disbursing reparations.”
The Republican, whose district is within Shelby County, says his reasoning for going against the study — for which the county commissioners allocated $5 million — is not a “judgment” on reparations as a concept.
“I will make very clear, our vote today does not pass judgment on reparations,” Taylor said on the state senate floor.
“That is a very significant and very important issue for many people in our country, but it is an issue that belongs to the federal government and does not belong to our cities and counties and I think it’s inappropriate for our cities and counties tax dollars to go to such an issue,” he argued.
Rev. Fisher is speaking out against the senate bill, as well as its identical House counterpart which will be voted on Wednesday, calling it “misguided” and “morally repugnant.”
“This is not about money. This is about ideology. This is about political power,” he said in an interview with NewsNation.
“This is about people who are hell-bent on maintaining racial and economic inequities across the state and they are scared to death that the truth would come out,” he continued. “So, they don’t want anybody to study it.”
According to the reverend, the state government should use whatever surplus it has for a worthy cause like slavery reparations.
“If the state of Tennessee has hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in a surplus, surplus means we are taking care of all of our financial responsibilities, and this is how much money we have left over. We can even call it expendable income,” he continued.
“There are other entities and organizations that get 25 times that to do something most of us will probably say is a lot less significant.”
Fisher’s petition has been supported by progressive Tennessee politicians such as state Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D), who called the bills “white supremacist legislation.”
Multiple other local governments across the U.S. have also been seriously considering reparations, with cities like Boston, Massachusetts, St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California all erecting task forces and panels.
THIS GUY IS A BLACK SUPREMACIST WHICH EXPLAINS WHY HE'S A DIVISIONIST DEMOCRACT PARTY
As a Principal, Jamaal Bowman Objected to Teaching About 'White' Figures Like George Washington, Honoring Cop-Killers Instead
Bowman celebrated an anti-Semite and cop-killers on 'wall of honor'
Jamaal Bowman speaks at a 2018 AERO Conference (Alternative Education Resource/YouTube)
As a middle school principal, New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman advised against teaching about "white" historical figures like George Washington, Jesus Christ, and Santa Claus. Instead, he used his position to elevate a renowned anti-Semite and cop-killers.
While speaking at a 2018 conference hosted by the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO), Bowman detailed his pedagogy as the principal of the Bronx middle school he founded, Cornerstone Academy for Social Action (CASA). He encouraged educators to instill "self-empowerment" in their students by pushing back on "white" cultural figures, citing Washington, Jesus Christ, and Santa Claus as detriments to his students' success.
"You can’t have self-directed learning without self-empowerment," Bowman said. "If our kids don’t love themselves, if they don’t love who they are and where they come from, and they’re told that Santa Claus, and George Washington, and Jesus Christ—all these white hope, great people—are the standard, how are they going to feel about themselves?"
"And now they look at social media and they see cops killing people that look like them every other day. How do they feel about themselves? So the path towards education revolution and self-directed learning is self-empowerment."
Roughly four years earlier, at CASA, Bowman curated a "Wall of Honor" featuring former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D., Ga.), Assata Shakur, and Mutulu Shakur—all of whom Bowman said "played a major role in moving our society … toward a world of freedom, justice, and equality."
Years before Bowman established the wall, in 2009, McKinney attended a Holocaust denial gathering in London, where she praised anti-Semitic leaders and writers. Assata Shakur was convicted for the first-degree murder of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, while Mutulu Shakur led a group of armed robbers who killed a guard and two New York police officers in 1981.
The newly surfaced video comes as Bowman faces an uphill primary campaign against Westchester County executive George Latimer.
The two-term congressman went on to defend his decision to honor McKinney and the Shakurs after the wall became public in February, acknowledging their "complicated biographies."
"It is correct that many leaders in the Black liberation movement … have complicated biographies," Bowman spokeswoman Sarah Iddrissu toldHuffPost. "It is completely baseless, and a rhetorical tool of the far-right, to insinuate educating students on major figures of Black American history is serving to promote hateful or divisive rhetoric or actions."
"Suppressing the education of Black history only serves to enable violence against Black people," Iddrissu concluded.
Bowman and AERO did not return a request for comment.
Bowman in a 2015 blog post railed against standardized testing, likening the practice to "modern-day slavery" and "Jim Crow" inequalities.
"Public school high-stakes standardized testing is a form of modern-day slavery, and it is designed to continue the proliferation of inequality," Bowman wrote. "America was born of horror for black people and that horror continues today for brown and poor people as well. Slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, crack cocaine and now standardized testing were all sanctioned by the American government."
In Congress, Bowman went on to introduce the March 2023 "More Teaching Less Testing Act," which aims to design curricula that address social, emotional, and cognitive development rather than test prep.
"We’re testing too darn much," Bowman said in an October interview touting the bill with the Human Restoration Project.
AERO still supports that mission today, according to their website.
Bowman and Latimer will square off at the ballot box on June 25. Latimer leads the "Squad" member by 17 points, according to a Wednesday poll.
Two months ago, blood and human flesh were found in the pipes and toilets of a Long Island home, the inhabitants of which were arrested and charged with evidence tampering after the dismembered body parts of two Yonkers, N.Y., residents were discovered in a nearby park. Within a week, the suspects were back on the streets after being released on cashless bail, a move that prompted fear and criticism from the Yonkers community.
The town's representative in Congress, Jamaal Bowman (D.), did not comment on the grisly crime—or the fact that the suspects were released without bail. He did, however, praise a progressive youth group lobbying against cash bail in a Sunday video. Bowman encouraged Voters of Tomorrow to grow "to the millions" in order to tackle pressing issues for young people. Abolishing cash bail is a main priority for the group, according to their "Gen Z Agenda."
"We got to grow our numbers. Voters of Tomorrow needs to grow to millions of people from across the country at the table making legislation, organizing communities, holding local elected officials accountable, and ensuring that the resources go where they need to go. Young people have been revolutionaries throughout American history. We need it again right now because we got people in power that ain’t really doing the job," Bowman said.
"If the ‘justice’ system has policies or laws in place that have a monetary value tied to them, then those policies only apply to low-income people. No one should have to remain in prison for the duration of their case just because they do not have the financial means to pay their bail. Cash bail only applies to low-income people and we need equal justice," the group wrote in their "Gen Z Agenda."
Voters of Tomorrow did not return a request for comment.
The "Squad" member’s embrace of the progressive group reflects his commitment to far-left policies amid a contentious primary battle with Westchester county executive George Latimer. Bowman, for example, has spearheaded the progressive wing of the Democratic Party’s movement against Israel amid their war with Hamas. Latimer is a pro-Israel Democrat whom local rabbis encouraged to run, citing Bowman's hostility toward the Jewish state. In the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, Bowman has accused Israel of "mass murder," "genocide," and "ethnic cleansing."
One man assaulted a police officer in Yonkers, N.Y.—Bowman’s hometown—in September and was released shortly after without bail. Johnny McCray, a repeat felon out on parole for attempted robbery, broke the nose of a police officer who responded to a medical emergency involving McCray. McCray was charged with felony second degree assault on a police officer and other charges, but was released after his bail hearing after apologizing to the county judge for his crime.
Yonkers mayor Mike Spano, a Democrat, was baffled by the judge’s decision to release the repeat felon back into society unpunished.
"The justice system is consistently bailing out criminal offenders," Spano said. "This Officer is now out on leave and not able to do his job, while this offender is able to continue to make a living. How can any reasonable person expect that we can protect the public if we can’t even protect our Police Officers?"
Those who have "proven to hurt and plague the community" belong in jail "period," Spano added.
The two slain Yonkers residents were found in February dismembered in nearby Babylon, N.Y. The four suspects, Steven Brown, Jeffrey Mackey, Amanda Wallace, and Alexis Nieves, who were charged with concealment of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution, were released without bail. Three of the four suspects admitted to living in a home deemed "uninhabitable" with blood and flesh stuffed in the drains, pipes, and shower. They surrendered their passports and were fit with GPS monitoring.
Residents near Babylon expressed concern about the presence of the suspects in their community.
"No bail, no nothing ... I'm aggravated. I can't even believe this is happening," said Carol Maier, a resident of Babylon.
"I mean, when I grew up, you were innocent until proven guilty. I don't know what they have on these people. If they think they might have done it, I think they should be locked up," said local business owner James Litrenta.
Westchester County resident and New York City restaurant owner Alan Rosen lamented the cashless bail laws and said he and his employees feel "uneasy and unsafe."
"[Cashless bail] gives judges the discretion to put people back in jail. We're letting a few bad apples spoil the bunch," Rosen said.
'When did it become OK to shoplift a pharmacy? In what society is that OK? People shouldn't be able to shoplift at CVS," Rosen added. "Enough! There are no consequences. That's part of the problem."
Bowman, who did not return a request for comment, embraced progressive public safety solutions as recently as this year. He held a January press conference with a group called Journey for Justice Alliance, a progressive group working to defund the police. The two-term congressman unveiled his "Equity for All Resolution," legislation which endorses Journey for Justice Alliance and its platform, "Equity or Else," which demands lawmakers "reallocate/divest police budgets" and "institute policing-free schooling with no school resource officers."
Bowman during the press conference said he takes "marching orders" from the anti-police group. He also lauded the group and other activist groups for making his job "easy," saying he can merely adopt their proposals rather than craft his own.
A new poll this week shows Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), a "Squad" member known for his anti-Israel stance, is down 17 points in his bid for a third House term.
Westchester County executive George Latimer (D.) is leading Bowman 52 percent to 35 percent among Democratic primary voters in New York’s 16th Congressional District, according to the Wednesday poll conducted by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman.
Latimer’s lead over Bowman widens among more politically active Democratic voters, with the county executive leading the incumbent 56 percent to 35 percent among Democrats who voted in at least three of the last four primaries and 60 percent to 34 percent among those who say they know both candidates.
The poll also finds Bowman trails Latimer in job performance ratings. While the county executive, who has served in multiple capacities in the district since the 1980s, has an approval rate of 68 percent and a disapproval rate of 18 percent, Bowman’s performance is viewed positively by only 36 percent and negatively by 55 percent of Democrats in the district.
"Latimer does 32 points better on the positive side, while Bowman’s negatives are a massive 37 points higher than Latimer’s. Very few unindicted elected officials receive such strongly negative ratings from their co-partisans," pollster Mellman said, adding that "the data are clear: With a robust campaign, the well-known and highly regarded Latimer is in a strong position to unseat the now unpopular Bowman."
Bowman spokesman Bill Neidhardt dismissed Mellman’s poll, claiming that "[Mellman] doesn’t have an ounce of credibility here, and his junk numbers back that up."
Bowman, one of the eight progressive "Squad" members in Congress, has been vocal in his criticism of Israel. In November, he denounced Israel as an "apartheid" state while dismissing reports of Hamas terrorists killing babies and raping women on Oct. 7 as "propaganda."
In February, Bowman condemned an Israeli rescue mission that brought two Hamas-held hostages home. Earlier that month, he also defended his decision as a middle school principal years ago to feature a prominent anti-Semite and two cop killers on the school’s "Wall of Honor."
Bowman and Latimer are set to square off in the primary on June 25.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) in November dismissed reports of Hamas terrorists raping Israelis during the Oct. 7 attacks as "propaganda," according to a video uncovered by Politico. He backtracked from the remarks after the outlet reached out for comment on Thursday.
"There was propaganda used in the beginning of the siege. There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women. But they still keep using that lie [for] propaganda," Bowman said at a Nov. 17 pro-Palestinian rally, according to Politico reporter Daniel Lippman on Tuesday, who found a TikTok video showing the rally.
Bowman in a Thursday statement walked back his dismissal of Israel’s rape allegations against Hamas. "The U.N. confirmed that Hamas committed rape and sexual violence, a reprehensible fact that I condemn entirely," Bowman said, referring to a United Nations report on March 4 confirming Hamas’s sexual violence. The New York Democrat had earlier on Thursday declined to address his November remarks when asked by Politico in person.
In the U.N. report, Pramila Patten, the organization’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, wrote, "There are reasonable grounds to believe that multiple incidents of sexual violence took place with victims being subjected to rape and/or gang rape and then killed or killed while being raped."
The U.N. team also reported evidence of similar sexual crimes against Israeli hostages after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, noting there is "clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages."
The incident is not the first time Bowman had to walk back his public remarks. In late January, Bowman said he should not have engaged in conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in years-old blog posts. "It’s obvious to everyone, especially the far-right MAGA Republicans I take on every day in Congress, that I will always stand up and fight against misinformation and harmful conspiracy theories," the New York Democrat told CNN.
New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman is touting an endorsement from a left-wing group that denounced a resolution commemorating "End Jew Hatred Day" in New York City. That resolution was "dangerous" and "a farce," the group said.
In a Monday tweet, Bowman heaped praise on Indivisible Brooklyn, calling their work "crucial in ensuring that everyday people are actually represented in our democracy."
"I am honored to have their endorsement and continue working with them," Bowman said.
Roughly one year prior, in June 2023, Indivisible Brooklyn blasted a bipartisan New York City Council resolution that established an "End Jew Hatred Day" in an attempt to combat rising anti-Semitism in the city. "That 'End Jew Hatred' bill was a total farce and is dangerous," the group said, adding that one of the two Brooklyn Democrats who voted against the resolution "was right to oppose it." The resolution passed with 41 yes votes.
Bowman's praise for Indivisible Brooklyn comes as the lawmaker faces a difficult primary challenge from Westchester County executive George Latimer, a pro-Israel Democrat whom local rabbis encouraged to run, citing Bowman's hostility toward the Jewish state. In the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, the two-term congressman has accused Israel of "mass murder," "genocide," and "ethnic cleansing."
"Many of us tried to engage the congressman early in his term, seeking constructive dialogue about the damaging positions he took—especially on matters related to America's relationship with Israel," the rabbis wrote in an October letter. "Regrettably, Congressman Bowman disregarded our outreach and doubled down on his anti-Israel policy positions and messaging."
Neither Bowman nor Indivisible Brooklyn responded to requests for comment.
The "End Jew Hatred Day" resolution, which was sponsored by Republican councilwoman Inna Vernikov, came as New York led the nation in anti-Semitic incidents and experienced a record number of anti-Semitic assaults, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League. In 2022, 72 anti-Semitic assaults were reported in the state, the highest on record at the time. That number represented 65 percent of all anti-Semitic assaults reported in the United States.
Vernikov's resolution aimed to "acknowledge this reality and to express support for this historically victimized community," according to New York GOP chair Ed Cox. Still, in addition to the two Democrats who voted against it, four others voted to abstain. One of those four, Charles Barron, said he did so because the "Jewish community … supported apartheid in racist South Africa and said nothing about African people dying."
A bipartisan group of lawmakers denounced the New York City Democrats who refused to back the bill.
"Antisemitism has a long and ugly history. It has seen a resurgence in NYC with a record number of hate crimes," Rep. Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.) said at the time. "How can anyone vote against a resolution to end antisemitism?"
Since Latimer's entry into the race in December, Bowman has done little to improve his relationship with his district's Jewish leaders.
During a January panel discussion titled, "Palestine Oct. 7th and After," Bowman glowingly introduced anti-Israel author Norman Finkelstein, who celebrated Hamas's massacre as a "heroic resistance" that "warm[ed] every fiber" of his soul.
"I'm also a bit starstruck, because I watch them all the time on YouTube," Bowman said of Finkelstein and two other anti-Israel panelists. "You have given me the knowledge on YouTube even before coming here."
One month later, Bowman teamed up with fellow anti-Israel House member Cori Bush (D., Mo.) to hold a joint fundraiser in Los Angeles. That fundraiser was hosted by a number of activists who defended Hamas's attack, including one who called it "a desperate act of self-defense," the Washington Free Beaconreported. Bowman also held a joint fundraiser with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), during which the lawmakers filmed themselves leading a "Free Palestine" chant.
In addition to Indivisible Brooklyn, Bowman in January touted an endorsement from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a left-wing nonprofit that blamed Israel for provoking Hamas's attack. The group has also argued against sending anti-Semitic hate criminals to jail, saying those criminals should be met with "restorative, community-based education and healing," not "a police-driven response with criminal penalties."
The New York City fire commissioner who served during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks is blasting Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) for suggesting the attacks were a false flag operation, with the commissioner saying he's dealt with "imbeciles" like Bowman "for over 20 years now."
As a middle school principal, Bowman from 2011 through 2014 maintained a personal blog, which he used to publish a poem that portrayed the Sept. 11 attacks as a false flag operation used by the U.S. government to wage war in the Middle East. The poem has reportedly "infuriated" first responders, including Thomas Von Essen, who served as FDNY fire commissioner from April 1996 to December 2001 and helped evacuate victims from the Twin Towers during the attacks.
"I've been dealing with these imbeciles for over 20 years now, where I've been accused of planting bombs every 10 floors in the Trade Center and things like that," Von Essen toldPolitico.
The rebuke spells trouble for Bowman, who is embroiled in a difficult primary campaign against Westchester County executive George Latimer. Bowman's poem "all but disqualified" the congressman from receiving endorsements from New York City law enforcement groups, according to Politico.
Other organizations have already dropped their support for Bowman. Left-wing group J Street last month rescinded its endorsement of the congressman, citing Bowman's praise of anti-Israel author Norman Finkelstein, who celebrated Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state as a "heroic resistance." Bowman introduced Finkelstein during a Jan. 14 panel discussion on the attack and spoke of watching the author's YouTube videos.
"I'm also a bit starstruck, because I watch them all the time on YouTube," Bowman said of Finkelstein and other anti-Israel panelists. "You have given me the knowledge on YouTube before even coming here."
Bowman did not return a request for comment. After his Sept. 11 conspiracy poem resurfaced last month, he told the Daily Beast that he "regrets" the blog post, which cites conspiratorial "documentary" videos such as Loose Change and Zeitgeist. The former contends that the U.S. government carried out the Sept. 11 attacks, while the latter posits that a cabal of international bankers control the world.
"2001/Planes used as missiles/Target: The Twin Towers," Bowman wrote in one stanza. "Later in the day/Building 7/Also Collaspsed [sic]/Hmm…/Multiple explosions/Heard before/And during the collapse/Hmm…"
"Allegedly/Two other planes/The Pentagon/Pennsylvania/Hijacked by terrorist/Minimal damage done/Minimal debris found/Hmmm…" Bowman continued. "We blamed Osama/Went to war in Iraq/Captured Saddam/Killed him. Bin Laden is Afghan/So we went to war there too."
This is not Bowman's first fire-department-related conflict.
In September, the Democrat pulled a fire alarm in a House office building while the lower chamber was voting on a bill to avoid a government shutdown. Security camera footage showed Bowman attempting to open a door leading out of the building before removing warning signs that identified the door as an "emergency exit." Bowman then pulled a fire alarm located next to the door and walked away.
In the aftermath of the incident, Bowman's office sent his fellow Democrats a list of talking points to defend him. One suggested Democrats deflect from the ordeal by calling Republicans "Nazis."
"Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else," the guidance said.
New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman is defending his decision to glorify a prominent anti-Semite and two cop killers on a "Wall of Honor" at the middle school he led, with his campaign saying those figures "have complicated biographies" and should still be taught to children.
As principal of Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, Bowman in 2014 curated a "Wall of Honor" that featured former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D., Ga.), Assata Shakur, and Mutulu Shakur—all of whom Bowman said "played a major role in moving our society … toward a world of freedom, justice, and equality," according to a HuffPostreport. Years before Bowman established the wall, in 2009, McKinney attended a Holocaust denial gathering in London, where she praised anti-Semitic leaders and writers. Assata Shakur was convicted for the first-degree murder of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, while Mutulu Shakur led a group of armed robbers who killed a guard and two New York police officers in 1981.
Now, Bowman says his inclusion of those figures on his "Wall of Honor" is nothing to criticize, with his campaign even contending that the lives of McKinney, Assata Shakur, and Mutulu Shakur should be taught to American schoolchildren.
"It is correct that many leaders in the Black liberation movement … have complicated biographies," Bowman spokeswoman Sarah Iddrissu told Huffpost. "It is completely baseless, and a rhetorical tool of the far-right, to insinuate educating students on major figures of Black American history is serving to promote hateful or divisive rhetoric or actions."
"Suppressing the education of Black history only serves to enable violence against Black people," she concluded.
The ordeal marks yet another controversy for Bowman, who is facing a difficult primary campaign against Westchester County executive George Latimer.
Bowman in January attended a New York City panel discussion titled, "Palestine Oct. 7th and After." Bowman took the mic at the panel to gushingly introduce Norman Finkelstein, an anti-Israel author who celebrated Hamas's massacre as a "heroic resistance" that "warm[ed] every fiber" of his soul. Bowman said he was "starstruck" by Finkelstein and other anti-Israel panelists "because I watch them all the time on YouTube." After the comment prompted criticism, Bowman said he was "unaware" of Finkelstein's comments.
Just weeks later, the Daily Beastunearthed a poem Bowman published to his personal blog, which suggested the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were a false flag operation used by the U.S. government to wage war in the Middle East. "Allegedly/Two other planes/The Pentagon/Pennsylvania/Hijacked by terrorist/Minimal damage done/Minimal debris found/Hmmm…" Bowman wrote in one stanza. He also served as principal of Cornerstone Academy at the time.
The poem may explain Bowman's affinity for McKinney, who in 2002 suggested then-president George W. Bush knew about the Sept. 11 attacks in advance and allowed them to happen so his father could make money. McKinney went on to post a photo to social media that blamed Jews for the attacks. Her father similarly blamed Jews when McKinney lost her congressional seat in 2002.
"Jews have bought everybody. Jews. J-E-W-S," he said.
Bowman, who did not return a request for comment, has lagged behind Latimer in fundraising. As of Dec. 31, he holds just $631,000 on hand, compared with Latimer's $1.3 million.
Folks, you don’t have to like it, but some people are just racist a**holes. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is one of them.
So it should come as no surprise that he would join MSNBC’s resident racist Joy Reid in telling us how he really feel about white people. Both Reid and Scott intimated that when white people criticize the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Marxist religion what they really want to say is the N-word.
Scott then went on to say that his “purpose in life” is to make white people “afraid.”
“Me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life, of being comfortable while everyone else suffers is going to be at risk, and they should be afraid because that's my purpose in life,” black supremacist Mayor Scott said.
Just a question here, and excuse me for using logic, but how can one claim victimhood while simultaneously also claiming to be an aggressor towards a segment of people based on the color of their skin who you say are your oppressors?
Only Marxist activists, like Scott, can come up with that level of dumb-assery and believe it makes sense.
One thing we know for sure, if you’re white in Baltimore, get out. Your mayor wants you to live in fear.
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DEALING WITH BLACK ASSAULTS
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Turf wars! Man with weed whacker slashes robbery suspect in the face
The Albuquerque Police Department released body cam footage showing an officer on horseback chasing an alleged shoplifter who was on foot.
The incident occurred “outside a Walgreens on Coors and Central,” KRQE reported. An officer had just gotten his horse out of its trailer when someone alerted them to an alleged shoplifter and the chase was on.
KATV noted that the alleged shoplifter refused the officer’s orders to stop and ran out onto the busy roadway, at which point two other mounted officers joined in the attempted apprehension.
Watch the video:
After corralling the suspect, one of the second two mounted officers dismounted and handcuffed the alleged shoplifter.
The man was identified as 30-year-old Mark Chacon. KATV reported out he was “charged with shoplifting, eluding/evading police on foot, and possession of drug paraphernalia.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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