The site does include the text of one complaint filed against the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, in April 2013:
We paid more than $40,000 for some real estate education and a one-year mentorship. Several months into the mentorship program, our mentor/coach stopped getting in touch with us. We later learned that he stopped calling and e-mailing because Trump University was not paying him like they were supposed to. Also the information taught by some individuals at those seminars was questionable from a legal standpoint and even questionable from a moral standpoint. Many services that they performed were not at all to the level of what they advertised. One of the easiest example is a $3000 “bus tour” was sold promising professionals of all of the real estate trades would be with us in the bus, when we in fact ended up with one single high-end residential broker who had no clue of what we were trying to achieve, i.e. buy distressed properties to rehab them. A total waste of time and money, when they actually also spent one full day pitching us other Trump products. We called the office and sent Trump University a letter via FedEx to request reimbursement. After several calls to the office, we were told that our letter had gone to their legal department and that we would hear back from them shortly. To this day, we have not heard back from anyone, and now all of the phone numbers that we have are disconnected. We cannot let $40,000 of our hard earned money go down the drain to some unscrupulous entity without wanting justice be done. if you desire, I could forward you a copy of the letter we sent to Trump University originally. Looking forward to hearing back from you, we thank you very much for the good services the BBB provides to the people.
Desired Settlement: We would like the full amount we paid reimbursed, plus our credit card interest paid since the date of the charges.
“Trump Initiative’s ultimate goal is to provide our students with the tools needed for success,” the business responded, before denying the request for a refund. “As a gesture of good will and in the hopes of bringing this issue to a close we offered to reactivate [the complainant’s] account so she could download and enjoy the virtual versions of our live Real Investors Blueprint Workshop and four Advanced Retreats.” The complainant did not respond.
The word came in from our best-sourced Fox News Kremlinologists: Fox News had settled for Donald Trump. Roger Ailes had given up on the hapless Marco Rubio. Megyn Kelly was sounding conciliatory, granting that Trump appeared more and more presidential. Rupert Murdoch himself tweeted that the party would be “mad not to unify” around nominee Donald Trump. It worked: Donald Trump arrived, unsuspecting, for his ambush.
Trump was beginning to make noise about skipping tonight’s contest. Bill Kristol (lol, I know), practically reported that Trump had decided to use his Super Tuesday victories as an excuse to skip all future debates. Could it be that all of that chatter was designed to assure Trump that Fox’s moderators would go easy on him? Was there some cunning strategy behind the fashioning of this pre-debate narrative of Fox’s inevitable Trump acceptance?
If so, it was a brilliant maneuver. Tonight we saw the attempted assassination of front-runner Donald Trump, beginning early and sustained for almost the entire night. Fox prepared elaborate multimedia presentations designed to make Trump explain away his erratic positions and policy proposals. They hammered him on Trump University and got him to flip-flop on immigration. All night, Fox’s moderators forced Trump to directly reckon with his contradictory positions and statements, complete with video packages illustrating those contradictions. No other candidate faced a similar onslaught.
Near the end of the debate, Fox just openly played a clip from an anti-Trump attack ad, ostensibly as part of a “question” for John Kasich. You can see the clip on top of this post. The question for Kasich seems to be, essentially, remember this video your campaign produced to attack Trump? Wasn’t it good?
If indeed Fox lured Trump into an ambush, it would be perhaps the canniest move the conservative establishment has made this entire election cycle, and the first documented example of anti-Trump coordination actually working (to whatever degree it will turn out tonight “worked”).
It also probably came about six months too late. And there is still no one candidate well-positioned to solely benefit from any anti-Trump coordination.
Even in this weird year, a contested nominating convention is still most likely to occur only in the wet dreams of campaign trail reporters. But this might have been, in miniature, a practice session for a wild and unlikely anti-Trump putsch in Cleveland this summer.
Here at CPAC—the premiere conference and networking event of the conservative movement, which I’ll be attending for the next two days—most things are free. The NRA beer koozie? Free. An “I’m Ready For Freedom, Not Free Stuff” poster? You guessed it—free. A gold-plated, life-size pin of a fetus’s feet? Free, and I took two. But the conference is selling one thing for money: Books.
It’s not a coincidence. CPAC—and the concerned conservative movement in general—have long provided a fertile environment for hucksters peddling insane theories. So naturally, some of these books are good, and most of them are totally nuts.
With that in mind, here are all the books the conservacons are subscribing to this week at the Conservative Book Club—plus, bonus reader reviews!
I’ve Always been a History Buff, so I enjoy reading as many books on this topic as possible. Yet there seems to be a lot of Misinformation being written of late; as if it were indeed, Fact. Facts remain Facts; they don’t rely on misconceptions, or on one’s own feelings, or beliefs. This book reminds us of the True History, whether it’s “proper” or not. If you can face the Truth, it’s a Must Read!- Leslie
I purchased 2 of these books and I’m thinking that I didn’t order enough. Very informational, will keep one for myself and give the others to my kids for the grandkids. The grandkids need the truth to offset the lies or outright omission of our American Heroes. - M. Fabian
*you may wish to steer your younger children away from the section on the Kennedys which references their sexual peccadilloes (as does the Roosevelt chapter)and makes note of Ted Kennedy’s “offshore drilling”. - DeadDVDPLAYER
After reading this excellent book, you might find yourself filled with a desire to see the Supreme Court building razed to the ground. However, the only real solution to the problem of judicial (and federal) usurpation is through the threat of secession. Jefferson warned that if the federal government was made the final judge of its own powers that the federal government, and not the constitution, would be the supreme law of the land. Jefferson was right. The Declaration of Independence explains how to fix things... but in the meantime a good initial step in righting the ship (other than repealing the 16th and 17th amendments) would be to elect Dr. Ron Paul as President. Maybe Dr. Gutzman should run as his Vice-President? - ZXZXZX
I have taken classes in Constitutional Law as an undergraduate and now in law school, and they don’t teach us any of this! - James M. Watson
Amazingly easy to understand and extremely educational. A must read for anyone interested in how the colonies came together but made sure they would also be separate where it counted. Strictly my opinion, but it is also a must read for the Supreme Court. Looks like they need a refresher course these days. - word and song
Michael Ramirez is too liberal for my taste — he has cartoons in here suggesting the fear that obama is going to tear up the constitution and confiscate all the guns is a fairy tale, that raising taxes will get the engine of the economy back on track, and that Dubya was an incompetent baby! It’s foolish, there’s not a good cartoon in here. - Jordan Fouts
Mr. Ramierez is without peer as a political cartoonist. His new book perfectly chronicles the progression of President Obama’s years in office. And the trail of destruction he leaves behind. A ripping good book. - Alvin J. Knowlton
Lee Edwards has done a Scholarly look into Barry Morris Goldwater. I very Much like Mr.Goldwater Aka Mr.Conservative’s Ideas Circa 1964 and before that, I certainly Don’t like the Man’s Ideas After that, Whether it’s his stance On those serving in the Miltary who happen to like the samesex to Abortion(His wife’s Involvment with Planned Parenthood) and I certainly Don’t like His Jealousy of Reagan whatever the reason. Many of these things came to light in this book and how Goldwater would Flip Flop,His Double Standard regarding Spiro Agnew(His Friend) and Nixon(He never got close to Nixon and called him A Liar), To His Support Of Everybody Republican No Matter if they were Eastern Elitist Liberals(Rockerfeller) to His Support Of Ford Over Reagan.From Conservative Staunch Anti-Communist(My sort of thing) to Radical Libertarian(Libertarianism is Irrevelant for me).
These Flaws like everyone who has flaws should not deter any fellow Conservative From Reading the book but Beware anyone who Likes A Conservative when they are Liberal those are the Worst Type Of Conservatives. - Jose Lopez
I think it is funny that EVERY book gets advanced copies out for review and the liberal machine is soooo scared that they troll these pages to pull down review star ratings. I’ve never written a review that wasn’t actually a review before but because the liberals are ALREADY trolling this page I thought I’d add my 2 cents. Katie Pavlich is an amazing woman and you libs are trying to keep her down. Funny you claim “ lies” and do exactly what she is talking about. Typical. Way to go Katie, can’t wait to read it ! - Kimberly Lesser
Heard her speak a few hours ago on the Hugh Hewitt show. She is like my two daughters and four year-old granddaughter. They will not put up with manipulating insecure men.
Hugh said she created the perfect title. An insecure male will flatter and lie then stick the hook in. She is saying don’t connect to any man or organization that conceals their intensions.
The only women that give me discomfort is the rare self-centered woman. They lie and manipulate like a man. It is encouraging to see so many women now recognizing self-centered politicians.
Rarely do I watch TV so I didn’t remember her from fast & furious. However I’m delighted to be so lucky to listen to her. Katie comes to us just as we lost Margret Thatcher. - Dr. Don
Read it ladies. Learn why you should not be a “vagina voter” and follow the pack. - Alexander C
Very good book, most importantly, it helped me engage my wife and my daughter in being politically aware. They want me to get them more books like it... I’m very happy to see more of this in their hands and less junk fiction. - Brendan Hanley
shocking that AG ERIC HOLDER AND OBAMA HAVE NOT BEEN ARRESTED FOR GIVING THOUSANDS OF WEAPONS TO DRUG CARTELS IN MEXICO LIKE LOS ZETAS AND SINOLOAN. BORDER PATROL AGENT BRIAN TERRY WAS MURDER BY ONE OF THE WEAPONS “WALKED OVER THE BORDER” KATIE PAVLICH ..EXCELLENT JOB OF LAYING OUT THE PLANS OF FAST AND FURIOUS . - carol schlaker
This is a well-written book based on some in-depth research about a failed government program that was a total embarrassment to the Obama administration. The left does not like this book and usually sites reasons like the author is cute so she can’t be smart. I guess that’s why they think people like Rachel Maddow so smart. - Steve B
Absolutely in excellent shape. Will buy books all day long in this condition. Much better shape than expected. Excellent selections to choose from. - Charles W Cromer Jr
And the elephant in the room that bolsters Klein’s credibility - is that Klein himself, a self-admitted JFK fan and a former editor at Newsweek, Vanity Fair and the New York Times Magazine - has never been successfully sued for libel - nor have any of his books been successfully discredited as being loaded with patent lies. If untrue, there would be more than enough to warrant the Clintons suing Klein and his publishers for libel. But it hasn’t happened (yet), dating back to Klein’s first book about Hillary in 2005. (In Journalism 101 we’re taught that Truth is the best defense against libel - and that public figures like Hillary must prove malice - AND - that blatant untruths have been printed which have caused irreparable harm.) - David Kusumoto
When you learn the facts about Hillary, it is amazing she isn’t in jail right now. She is a perpetual liar but has the media to cover up her crimes, coverups, treason, and lies over the years. - Amazon Customer
GOOD READ. ALL ABOUT HILLARY. BUT WILL THE F.B.I DO ANYTHING ABOUT HER? BOY DOES BILL AND HILLARY, HAVE EVERYONE FOOL’D. GLAD I’M NOT APART OF THAT FAMILY. BARB - BARBARA SWITSER
Cruz proves he is more than Green Eggs and Ham, he is the right man to lead Uncle Sam. - Clare Thomeer
I normally don’t judge books by their covers, but I dont think i’m going to buy this one because Ted Cruz’s face is on it. - Chad Zisler
The book is easy to read, no grammatical errors, very enlightening that he was not a perfect child. It gives hope to all parents who have children not walking the straight line. - gmafaye
I wanted to learn more about Senator Rubio’s positions. I was pleasantly surprised that he spent much of the book talking about family values and his own Christian beliefs - kwt
Boring. Goes on and on about using government taxes to incentivize or deincentivize how he thinks you should live. Also reveals he is P.C. on homosexual unions, rather than acting on belief. He cites statistics rather than moral law. - ChicagoBookReaderMan
Marco Rubio is a young man with a dream. People seem to think his ideas are fairy tails. I remember another young man who was the president of the USA who had good ideas and made good on those ideas. His presidency was called Camelot. - Linny
As an “O’Reilly Factor” and “Killing…” books fan, I was looking forward to the latest entry of the series that has somewhat reignited a degree of historic interest among many in the “historically-challenged” US population. By spotlighting one of our greatest presidents – and written by a seemingly objective conservative pundit who I believed would ensure fair treatment – I assumed it would stand as a credible addition to the voluminous scholarship on President Reagan.
As difficult as this is to write, I can only say that I was wrong. To my surprise and disappointment, it is perhaps the most factually distorted, negatively skewed, and misleading portrayal I have read on one of our greatest and most influential presidents. - Mark E. Quartullo
Great FOREVER!! and I mean President Ronald Regan! We need him BACK! - Viera Lima
Good so far - I have not finished reading it. - Barbara
It is time to say, “that is NOT okay” for data mining consultants and former hedge fund analysts (who’ve never taught a class in their lives) to write the curriculum for our nation’s schools. It is NOT okay for veterans to wait for medical treatment to meet cost containment bonuses. It is NOT okay to label acts of terrorism “workplace violence” or “JV.” - Leslie Phaneuf
As a young woman I am a target for the feminist-loving mainstream media and as someone who has always stood for everything that they oppose, I have made myself into an outsider. This book addresses just that and let me know that I am not alone. The authors address the lies of the liberal elite and expose the corruption that permeates the mainstream media who cover them up—or in some cases justify them. Most important, however is the message that being a successful woman and being a woman of God are not mutually exclusive. You can empower yourself and other women without emasculating men and by doing what God intended you to do—be a woman—and no, not in the “barefoot and pregnant” sort of way. - Jane Elizabeth
The best book one could read other than the Bible itself. For these ladies hold nothing back in rebuking the claims of others. They’re open and honest about themselves which only adds to the credibility of their integrity...
I’ve since purchased additional copies and given them as gifts, a gift that keeps on giving in more ways than meets the eye. Hat-Tip to all 3 Ladies for your courage and efforts in the good fight!!! - Chris Babb
As a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society and someone who considers themselves well read and current on our nation’s politics, this book, The 5000 Year Leap is the absolute best. If you wish to understand the founding of America. If you wish to learn how the founders wrestled with the issues. If you want to know whether or not America is really a unique and great nation, not merely in the world today, but throughout all of human history. If you are troubled by our current day’s politics and wonder just how closely our leaders today, regardless of political stripe, remain true to our founding principles. If you have wondered about any of this, you need read only one book for your answer. READ THE 5000 YEAR LEAP!! I promise you will come away with a renewed sense of America and great hope for our continuing success as a nation. - A. Codispoti
Reading all the negative comments, it is clear that those who are unsatisfied are simply against Christianity and use their anti Christian philosophy to ignore the history. To me, something either is or it isn’t. What motivated Mao or Lenin or Hitler which has nothing to do with Christ, should not and will not restrict me from learning and understanding their motives. While these evil people did great things on their own, the true history of the United States and what those did with their deep understanding of history...especially the bible and the history behind that and their faith is unparalleled by what anyone else as a group of men did for the betterment of their people and the world. There is something in that, something powerful. We are not talking just about one man who changed the world, but a group of men with a certain belief. - Ben Franklin
I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say that this is the most important book written on politics in recent times. - Jeffersonian Liberal
If after reading this book, you aren’t calling the president “Showbama” then you’re probably related to him! This book takes the mask off, and it’s NOT pretty. - kalm77
I read a fairly large amount of material critical to President Obama, but this book still had lots of news to me. - HVeinott
Eight yeas of torment was enough. Eight years of being lied to was enough. Do America a favor and just go away. Hollywood Hillary and cuckhold Bill along with their band of 1%ers are totally out of touch with the people they governn. Only devout Koolaid drinkers are blind the pair’s narcissistic, arrogant supercilous cold-heartedness. - Philip Lee Smith
ACTUALLY, PRETTY GOOD (INSIDE, IF IT IS TRUE.) INFORMATION. EASY READ. THE TITLE FITS THE READ!!! - NANCY B
This book is a must read for our Emperor in Chief Obama especially in his resolve to allow ISIS into our American nation which really frightens me. - Nicholas Hammer
Great perspective from an inspirational patriot! Dana brings clarity to ambiguity on gun related issues is an interesting and engaging way! Couldn’t put it down! The audio version is great as well. Cuomo and Obama would do well to read this book! - Amazon Customer
Haven’t read all of it yet but I am a law abiding gun owner and NO ONE will take my guns. - Dave
great book, he is really not as bad as they say - Amazon Customer
This was purchased as a gag gift so I really have no opinion. - Patricia Moore
If the man in that book is truly the man running, then he might not be as bad as he seems. In fact, he could be a great President. But, I do still have my doubts... For one, I don’t think he really wrote that book. I think he had a ghost writer do most of it, and it was compiled from various campaign speeches, a few phone calls, etc. Now, I don’t blame him for that. He’s clearly a very busy man. And ghost writing is common for celebrities. But, it does make me wonder if the book is more of a PR piece than a real look at the man himself. - David Risley
WOW! Just Wow! What an incredible book! This is a must read and should be required reading in all colleges!- STEVEN PRIVITOR
On a recent visit to several multi-millionaire’s house, I discovered that many of them have The Art of The Deal on their bookshelf. Whether its sheer coincidence or not, Trump provided inspiration which successful business people needed to fight the battle. - A customer
I don’t have a lot of time to read but I love reading Turmp. I have looked back at some of the houses and cars i have bought and, in hind sight, I could have made some much better deals. Mr. Trump also shares some of his private life, like vetting out private schools for his, then, 6 year old daughter, Ivanka. - JED
One of the most impressive features of the book is the 15 pages of endnotes it contains. Again, because I actually READ the book (unlike the little liberal 1-star brigade), I will give you the exact amount of endnotes, which is a jaw dropping 243 sources found on pages 193-207. - FSU2000
I wish the Apprentice was still on, because it was a great show. I wish he would explain why he left it. He could have run for President and still had that show. That would be real leadership! I especially liked Celebrity Apprentice. I also wish Joan Rivers was alive because she was an amazing comic, truly gifted, quick witted, and great at improvisation. I think she would have been a good president. I know Joan and Mr. Trump fought a lot, but they made up before her death. Why don’t comedians ever run for President? I think Shimp Howard would have made a great president, but not so much Larry or Curly. Maybe Moe, though he was a bit authoritarian and probably could not have pulled off that bipartisan thing that contemporary political scientists believe is now lacking. Don Rickles would be able to deal with Putin-no problem. Jerry Lewis as Vice President might be helpful, especially in dealing with our French allies, where his comic genius is so greatly appreciated. I also think Eddie Van Halen might be a good president, but not David Lee Roth. On the other hand, Eddie is not a natural born citizen. - Bill McCown
I really don’t like our president at all. And just thinking of Mrs. Clinton being elected makes me throw up LITTERALY. Corrupted woman and Human being like her husband. I feel sorry X her, and her family. Obama’s as well. There will be a justice for them one day. I hope they truly realize before too late. You know HELL does exists.
Obama did put this country to the toilet and Hilary will flush it. She had no soul in my opinion. It’s all about her and her power. Who can screw the most. Us, decent people, as well. My American Dream has really been crushed, and I truly trust Mr. Trump. He will reinstate all my beliefs and what this great country is all about.
I have no other Hope pretty much, as a woman and American citizen. - antonietta bonfitto
Phylis Schafly is sort of an Ann Coulter without the wit, humor, accuracy, intelligence, and engaging personality. This book might be of value if you have a table with a short leg that needs shoring up. Otherwise I’d pass. - Thomas Mcnaughton
Phyllis Schlafly’s book is a must read for those who believe feminists are nuts. A wonderful book. - Jeffrey Wozniak
How many people have wondered about the true identity of the Wizard of Oz that is feeding Obama’s teleprompter while hidden from view behind a curtain?
Finally, a possible answer to that riddle has been discovered and documented by Paul Kengor in his new biography of Frank Marshall Davis. Who the heck is Frank Marshall Davis and why hasn’t his identity and importance to Barack Obama been reported and analyzed by the media? - James R. Holland
How many of you out there had ever even heard of Frank Marshall Davis? For the past dozen years I have been reading one non-fiction book per week and to the best of my knowledge I have never even come across his name. - Paul Tognetti
Gives you a lot of insight into Obama’s actions and attitudes. This is the story of Frank Marshall Davis, an avowed Communist, who was very instrumental in influencing young Barak’s world views. There are some who believe he is Barak’s “real father”. - Frankie1429
Judge Napolitano is the most knowledgeable person on the Constitution that’s willing to tell the truth about it PERIOD!Actually Ron Paul,Tom Woods,Lew Rockwell echo the same truths in similar books. - James D. Day
Everyone should read this starting with Obama and the rest of his administration.
Kay’s out how unstable the world really is and the United States is the only thing keeping it as stable as it is. The world is full of evil. Our job is to snuff that evil out - Doktor
Loved the beginning of the book. But then the author goes into a fantasy scenario as to what America will look like after certain hypothetical events occur. Had to stop reading. - papaZ
Those advocating Special Rights for the Perverse Sexual Deviants at the expense of the time tested, time honored and time proven institution of traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Will soon reap the Dark Horrors of that which they have sewn and will truly know the Dark, Vile, Evil, Destructive, Despairing, Utopian Hell they have unleashed on humanity and their children. - S. Hisel
This book kept my interest from beginning to end. The homosexual “marriage” movement and its historic ties to communism are very interesting. - V. J. Guzman
Scary to think how the left has been planning to impose their believes for a long time. Taking down the natural family and attacking religion in the process of “transforming America,” as Barack Obama once said he was going to do. And in this, the President did not lie. - Enrique J.Canton
Millennials have been the biggest cheerleaders of the gay movement, but I’m sure most have no clue just where this movement came from and the real motivation behind it all. Takedown is a catalyst for discussion, but it is also a catalyst for strengthening family connections. It is an enlightening tool, and if it affects you the way it does me, it will make you determined that the Progressives and Communists won’t succeed in their ultimate goal of taking down the family – at least not your own family. - Evangeline
In 12 chapters she demonstrates how D’s encourage crime, promote mob violence, create hopeless slums, encourage illegal immigration, kill jobs for legal residents–particularly blacks, provide sanctuary cities that encourage crime (including murder), carry on the eugenicist tradition of Margaret Sanger, butcher born and unborn babies (particularly black babies), damage and kill mothers, discourage family formation, divide Americans by skin color and every possible other characteristic, carry forward the bigotry and low expectations of a plantation society, and maintain a level of corruption that demonstrates their interest is only power and money. - Donald N. Anderson
I could NOT put this book down! Not only is it a bonafide page turner that is packed with facts, the research shows how Democrats don’t actually care about their voters but build party loyalty by promising outlandish free “stuff” to the blacks and the poor including abortions to women - Elizabeth
Hard to put down, had to read it twice to get all the golden nuggets out of it. - C. Yerton
Who killed the American family? THE SELFISH PISS POOR WOMEN THAT SHOULD BE HUNG FOR NOT LIVING PROPERLY, FOR IGNORING BIOLOGY, AND DAMAGING THEIR CHILDREN’S OR COUNTRY’S YOUTHS LIVES... NOT TO MENTION LAUNCHING A NON SENSICAL WAR ON MEN.
Phyllis is an American no Global icon and yet she is not in the history books in schools (or is rarely discussed in universities that are not right wing). This woman’s character is something to take notice of. If people don’t step up and put ill informed weaker people in their place.... their families and environments will be threatened in dangerous ways.
Look forward to more school shootings, record high obesity rates, “rapings”, and unnecessary b.s. because the average woman MESSED UP HUGE. It’s the women’s priority and human (whether spiritual or not) responsibility to set the tone in the family unit. The war on men can be stopped by women self reflecting and starting to live correctly. OR men can stop paying attention to whores that can’t cook or clean...- Miriam Steinberg
Schlafly approaches but does not conclude, as I have for some time, that the most fundamental cause of family deterioration is mankind’s removal of itself from “nature” by the change of human sexuality into an excretory act rather than consistent with reproduction - Samuel A. Nigro
This book puts the shoes on feet they fit. - Old Philosopher
Let’s get it right out of the way. While his critics will use his legal troubles against him, the arguments and evidence in this book (and the movie) should stand on their own. - Craig Matteson
I found it interesting that it was written by an Indian-American. Usually you get some white guy going on and on. - Robert Sparrenberger
AM ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH THIS BOOK, ‘ AMERICA’ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY D’SOUZA WAS JAILED FOR A PETTY TAX INFRACTIO. HE DOES DISTURB ‘THE POWERS TO BE...IN THEIR IVORY TOWERS. HOORAY! GREAT SOURCE FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR PRESENT DILEMMA IN THE ‘GOOD OLE USA’. - Robyn P. Kasupski
Exccellent read. Clear, concise accurate (I checked). - Mac
I have spent the past 30 years of my adult life trying to understand what motivates the Left. Thanks to Dinesh D’Souza’s revelations gleaned from his eight-month confinement in a San Diego facility, the fog has lifted. - Lakeside
Wish the main stream media would pay attention, but tooooooo liberal, tooooooo biased. No balance in reporting, should be called editorials. - Gary F. Adams
Thank God that I’m a Christian and never give up hope as this book can be disheartening. I have not finished it yet as I took a break from it. - MDY
I’m sorry I wasted my time in this book and wonder if I can go get a refund back at the warehouse. - Mama of four
This book describes this EVIL MUSLIM in great detail. - Charlie
Obama is not a christian, he is not a muslim, he is not anything. He is not an atheist or agnostic either, Obama’s religion is himself. He sees himself in the place of God. It won’t be long before we are forced to worship the government and any worship of God will be outlawed. We must do all we can to stop this before it is too late. The point is that there is still time and we must take advantage of that time. - BDJ
We had received most of the contents of the book be watching FOX NEWS. The man disturbs us. - M Bakken
Awesome book. You will know that this women is awake and aware of the problem. I think Gabriel was one of Gods best soldiers. (Her last name) This person is a true woman of God. The God of the Nazarenes. I admire her courage. For evil to triumph, good does nothing. This woman is all Good - RattyRat
A must read if you hope to have any understanding of why Muslims must be removed from America and beyond. - Veronica Deevers
I heard about the things happening right under the noses of sleeping neighbors and friends. Had to read for myself. This is a clarion call. Do something and we are shown what to do. Let’s do it. - Joan L. Finger
Great book, a must read to understand the threat of Islam and how to stop them from their violent dream of world conquest and domination. I paid a little extra so I could hear her words read to me like she was in the room teaching me. - Truthseeker
Look what happened to Jimmy Carter when he started receiving large grants from the Arabs, he lost his objectivity and he became a mouth piece for them. Sad! - Paul Beckman
I have been increasingly uncomfortable with growing numbers of Muslims in my community that seem to not want to be part of us. Also I’ve grown more impatient with the endless pc talk in the media. Ms. Gabriel has educated me and answered many questions. Although written 10 yrs ago the truth is only ‘more so’ now. Islamic State in Iraq. Obama and the entire democratic party disrespecting Israel’s president. a nuclear treaty with Iran. What the hell is going on? - Geology Maven
I bought 12 to give to my friends. Subject is very informative. However, the author describes herself too much. I did not finish the book because of this. I didn’t buy the book to learn of the author. - reflexiones
A VERY SCAREY must read by an articulate well-informed author. This should be REQUIRED reading for high school and above! - Jeter E. Bentley, Jr.
Jasser is a personal friend as well as my physician so I KNOW he is a man of integrity and vast knowledge and his thoughts come from an historic understanding of the Middle East historical problems. This man is highly respected in Phoenix, AZ where he was elected President of the AZ Medical Association. - Susan C. ONEAL
I didn’t like this one. It was not what I’d hoped; just seemed to me to be a guy writing a story about how much better he is than everyone around him. Not as much on the battle for Islam as there is on what a splendid fellow the author is. - John Stanton
I am acquainted with some American Muslims who would argue against this, but I wonder if they aren’t plagued by their own bias. After all, who wants to think badly of their own religion and/or ethnic ancestors? I was shocked to learn that many non-Arab Muslims have not actually read (don’t understand) their own holy book, that they merely recite passages from it in the original Arabic. - S. A. Blum
I am NOT, nor ever will be, a Muslim. Just want to know what they REALLY believe and to be prepared. - Bruce R. Booker (Consignment)
After spending much time reading as much of Robert Spencer’s articles/books as I can, I must say that he is somewhat obsessed with Muslim/Islam culture and activities. - Marilyn Hewlett
It gave me understanding why, when I (naively) tried to learn more about Islam, I was snubbed by a Muslim who portrayed himself as a friend. In fact his demeanor changed from one of light business acquaintance to one of pure and distant business matter. He did not answer my inquiry, nor even entertain a later discussion. His smile changed to a restrained grimace. Now I realize as a general rule there is no room for a ‘light’ discussion of Islam with a non-Muslim. - Jim
This is a great book with a lot of factual back up. Should be read by all westerners. How can our government be so dumb, I know that’s a dumb question. - John J.
So good that free speech is still alive why is it that any valid critic of islam is labeled a “racist”? What “RACE” is islam? its just a death cult so bow your heads you handwringing bleeding heart leftist and wait for it to be separated from your body by your new muslim friends - Mr. M. F. Whyte
FOX already covered all stories in book! REPETE of headlines! IN MY OPINION... - PDM Semper Fi
This book is an expose on the way ISIS operates, and why. Very scary. Americans should be paying close attention, and getting a very close relationship with Jesus Christ. America needs to know what god ISIS REALLY worships. It is not our God. - Darlene Stroschein
Yes, it is pretty well-written and informative, but the author comes across as seriously biased and unprofessional. For instance, instead of just criticizing Obama or juxtaposing the nature of the Islamic threat w/ Obama’s lack of action (the professional route), he calls Obama “Imam Obama” and his decisions are “fatwas”. - Gryphon50
Erick Stakelbeck is a Christian man who understands prophecy and told the truth of what is to come because of ISIS and the middle East.
Satan is the leader in all of the uprisings we are seeing and it is just the beginning. When God calls His people home the wrath of God will come down on all of mankind like they have never seen. Erick understands the Evil one’s plans and is writing to warn people of what is to come.
A perfect book title to prominently display in the office of my solo, out–patient psychiatric private practice. - Dale B Mortimer, M.D.
Obamacare upped our family’s premium on our high deductible HSA plan from $620 per month in 2014 to $2,190 per month in 2015. Mr. Klein’s thoughtful and well-researched work gives Conservatives excellent options to consider. - Matthew H. Booher
I believe America’s last hope is for Almighty God to intervene. He is the Supreme Judge of the Universe. I pray He moves on the hearts and minds of our FBI and Justice Department to indict HRC for her negligent mishandling of classified information. She cannot be trusted to protect the United States of America from foreign aggressors and Islamic attacks. We’ve seen the damage 8 years of Democrat/Socialist governing policies have caused. - Charles J. Patricoff
I believe this family are swingers and it does not matter what either of them do separately or together. - Gail Conway
I like Peter Schweizer’s books but find myself wondering if the facts are true. How can one ever believe what they read these days. I may be terribly naive but find it difficult to think the Clintons are such crooks. - Kathy
Good book. About the worlds biggest Crooks, Lyres and Whores. - Steve E. Hendry
I purchased this book to support Mary Katherine Hamm after the tragic loss of her husband. I like to listen to her on Fox News and this book is relevant in today’s political climate. - Stephanie
Reading reviews to help with my decision to purchase. Can’t believe the pages upon pages of written text by liberals. Perhaps they believe they are in a debate with the author who is a TV conservative commentator? Or maybe a wanna be NY Times columnist? - Bette Netsch
Jargon is over the heads of most senior readers - Thomas P. Barton
Defines and confirms the evil of Political Correctness and the Marxist Democratic Party. - john f carney
A wonderful lady and a wonderful book. To the idiot giving 1 star and going on s political tirade....get a life. When have you travelled to Africa to help needy? Never huh? Then stand aside.- Charles R. Krueger
Dana and myself have so much in common just in life, that I never knew before reading this book. I mean, how many grandma’s used Jergen’s Rose MIlk Lotion back in the day; that is one of the memories I have of my grandma too. - Lisa Keys
One way you know a spirit inspired book is how it pulls you more to Jesus. - amadin
When I first read these chapters as Steve wrote them and I helped edit, it felt at times like I was holding the script for Star Wars way back in 1976 before the movie came out and changed things forever. This story combines history and creative fiction in a profound way that will take you to the edge and beyond. - Amazon Customer
I cannot say that this book is good, because it’s not. It’s not a good message, but I fear that it IS true. This book is medicine for a sick culture; unfortunately it is chemotherapy. Do we have enough time for the medicine to work or does the American culture die from within first. This book is a call to believers to remember where our hope lies and to recognize that our battle is not of this world. 100% worth the read. Thanks Steve. PS Sorry about the SC primary this week we tried but failed. JW - Catherine Wofford
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph 6:12). This book reminds us of who is the real enemy. The enemy is not the Democrats or the lying Republicans, but the forces of evil that influence those “bags of meat”. - Justin D. McGillis
Let me make it clear that I an an unabashed Ronald Reagan admirer and consider him one of the greatest Americans in history. My first child was named Reagan in his honor, and I was among the people who jumped on a commercial airplane and flew cross country to stand on the side of Pennsylvania Avenue when the caisson carrying his body drove past. It’s a memory that will stay with me to my grave. - Bio Reader
Interesting book with many details on Reagan’s last days and gave me more incite. However was slightly disappointed, but not sure why. - Norman H. Cookson
My husband and I went to President Reagan’s Library on our honeymoon. The book was a great gift for him. Amazon.com always allows me to shop for anything, easily. Plus, I don’t even need to change out of my slippers, which I also bought on Amazon. Thank you. - Crystal Root
To save you money, know this: Ronald Reagan died; the media didn’t like him; the people did. The end. That’s all the information this book contains. I wish I could get my money back but if just one person avoids this based on my review, it will be worth it. - Richard Henry
Paid trolls, like Capiche, who can barely string two sentences together let alone a whole paragraph are not people to be relied upon for advice. Clearly Capiche has an agenda to further wreck the constitution, trying to impress us through the use of big words he knows. Liberal elites always believe they know better than the rest of us how we should live our lives.
Read educated and experienced people, like Colonel Murray, then decide for yourself who is right. The book doesn’t cost much and it won’t take much of your time to read. When you’re done, pass it along to a friend or family member who can benefit by becoming alert and awake to what is happening in our country. - John C.
I played this game tonight and it was fabulous. Up to 5 players hold cards which represent delegates to the constitutional convention. These delegates have special powers, which are varied and can be quite intricate. The players decide on whether to approve or disapprove historical sections to articles of the constitution. You can also debate federalist/anti-federalist or big-state/small-state issues. It is a very competitive game, with players trying to accumulate points through various means. - student
Spot It! “America” is another great addition to the Spot It! Game line. We have the “Hip” version and love it. We will be getting the “Camping” version next. Prefer the ones that aren’t too kiddish. Hopefully they’ll make more like “America” and “Hip. - Amber
I liked this book so much I made my wife read it. She does not do well with history but she has remembered every story that was in this book very well. - Brandon
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn true history. Not everyone is who are history books tell us. - Amazon Customer
Great stories from history that we can learn from that none of us were taught in the now biased education system. - Debbie Beeber
Good read.. Surprised to find that he used some litierary license in his explanations at the end of the book - Marion Blackburn
The two party system has turned into a 1 party system and those who don’t stand up to fight for what they believe in are doomed to see history repeat itself much like the 1940's. We cannot allow that to happen. We must repel our borders. - D. Nick
For those who care, he does use occasional language. - RuthSophia
It pretty much looked like a series of everyday wishy-washy National Review columns. - Carl Schoen
Book collector and pleased with item. Will return. - Gypsy
Ann’s most amazing and timely book yet. As only she can, she exposes the breathtaking evil of the left’s plan to destroy the country they’ve hated their entire miserable existence. And now, it is happening before our very eyes, as Obama commits treason worthy of death to the country we love. - John Smith
I live in Tucson Arizona....65 miles from a third world country. We are being invaded. With their birth rate we will be outnumbered by 2050. We will then become a third world cess pool. We better all read this book. - David T. Faust
Eye opening,Alarming.More evidence that the NY Times continues to be guilty of journalistic fraud.The democrats increase their political power with every anchor baby born here.11 million illegals is probably vastly underestimated.”Adios” is a great triple entendre title. - David Cruickshank
excellent book...perfect for when liberals use their usual tactics of asking for conservative solutions(don’t worry, they won’t understand them anyway)...if only our educational and political systems would catch up to this author but unfortunately, they are stuck in the failed philosophy of the Utopian Statists of the late 19th and entire 20th century(i.e. Karl Marx et al). Awesome book!!! These are the answers. I wish i lived in a country that followed this book - Jonathan E. Schwartz
Nice!
Photo: Simon Zachary Chetrit for Gawker.Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.
For the past week, fourteen different public relations officials for various government agencies in New York have refused to explain why the state failed to pay $75 million owed to contractors working on the SolarCity factory site in South Buffalo—a mistake that forced those contractors to temporarily lay off workers. That story was broken by WGRZ, Buffalo’s NBC affiliate, whose staff later decided to see how much those public relations officials were being paid not to fulfill their most basic job duty. The answer: Over $1.37 million combined.
According to WGRZ’s Michael Wooten, the station collated the salaries using Freedom of Information Law requests submitted to agencies who were involved in the late contractor payments. Of the fourteen officials he names, half were paid over $100,000:
Empire State Development’s Executive Vice President of Public Affairs — $165,245
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Director of Communications — $158,000
The spokesperson of SUNY Polytechnic — $151,950
ESD’s Vice President of Communications — $148,791
Cuomo’s Press Secretary — $144,687.17
Cuomo’s Senior Deputy Communications Director — $106,391.83
ESD’s Director of Communications for Western New York — $102,785
If you combine these salaries, then add the salaries of the other seven officials paid less than $100,000, “you get to $1,379,281.16, or well over a million taxpayer dollars,” Wooten writes.
What does a public relations official do, exactly, if they’re not answering reporters’ legitimate questions? Your guess is as good as ours.
A new study that examines millions of online reviews of college professors finds that either there are fewer brilliant women and black professors, or college kids are dumb. Will we ever know which is the case?
The new study, published in PLOS ONE, found that students were two to three times more likely to use the words “brilliant” or “genius” to describe male professors as they were to describe female professors. Further, the study found that the professors most likely to be called one of those terms were in disciplines — such as physics and philosophy — with relatively few female or black professors.
Either young people who are products of American society have internalized our nation’s deep tradition of racial and gender bias... or women and black people just aren’t brilliant.
We report and you decide because that is how the media works as you know.
At the heart of the Conservative Political Action Conference is the swag room called the CPAC Hub. Inside, the American Enterprise Institute is one of a few dozen groups handing out free branded items. Today, I learned they’re hiding a horrible secret.
Not five minutes ago, I approached the American Enterprise Institute booth with the intent of photographing the swag therein. But my presence obviously set off some sort of internal security alarm and the blonde woman manning the table was clearly determined to protect her secret—at any cost.
(She called security on me for taking a picture of a pen.)
An extreme reaction, caused, the rube might surmise, by allegiance to a political movement that equates the “elite liberal media” with terrorists; the obvious result of listening to Sarah Palin say the words “gotcha journalism,” over and over until her battery runs out.
But maybe it was the only way to throw one intrepid reporter off the scent of something much, much bigger.
So, I can only wonder—what terrible secret is the American Enterprise Institute hiding?
What terrible secret do these pens hold?
All photos by me, unless security asks. Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.
Sphero’s remote-controlled BB-8 droid was one of the coolest toys ever made when it first came out, and it’s stillimproving to this day! Today on eBay, you can buy your own for 130 portions dollars, or $20 less than usual. [Sphero BB-8, $130]
$18 is a solid price for a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive, especially when you consider that this one includes a microUSB plug to connect to your Android devices. That’s perfect for storing videos to watch on your tablet during a long flight, or sharing large amounts of vacation photos from your phone without using a computer. [SanDisk 64GB OTG Flash Drive, $18]
While there are obviously cheaper ways to shave, this $3 discount on a Gillette Fusion Proglide might be tempting if you want to take the infamous Flexball out for a spin. You even get two razor refills in the package, which Gillette claims are good for a month of shaving each. [Gillette Fusion Proglide, $7. Clip the $3 coupon]
If you live in an apartment building, but still want to enjoy grilling meats and veggies out on your patio, this Cuisinart electric griddler can get the job done for $90, no flames required.
The reversible plate offers 180 square inches of cooking surface, and can be heated to 200-400 degrees, no open flames required. Plus, it can be used either as a grill or a griddle, if you feel like brewing a cup of coffee and making pancakes out on your patio in the morning, which just sounds lovely.
Anytime you can get an 8-pack of Panasonic’s class-leading Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries for under $20, I recommend you take advantage. [Eneloop AA 8-Pack, $19]
If you need a charger, this 4-pack includes one for $16, which is its usual price. You might also want to pick up some C and D spacers to get even more use out of your AAs.
As you might expect, this discounted Logitech Harmony remote can interface with over 270,000 popular home theater devices, but it’s also set up to control Philips Hue lights, Nest thermostats, and other smart home devices. Plus, the included repeater can turn any smartphone into a full-featured remote, which is great when you can’t find the real thing. Today’s $94 deal is the best we’ve ever seen. [Logitech Harmony Home Control - 8 Devices, $94]
Our readers have bought a ton of Ninja Blenders over the years, and now, their Auto iQ system is marked down to $100 on Amazon, matching an all-time low. The Nutri Ninja Auto iQ features a 1000 watt motor, three different size blending glasses, and even intelligent blending programs that take the guesswork out of smoothie making. [Nutri Ninja Auto iQ, $100]
It certainly doesn’t look as futuristic as a Nest, but this $85 Sensi thermostat includes Wi-Fi, smartphone apps, and can even Amazon Echo integration. In fact, it’s actually Amazon’s top-selling HVAC controller, and boasts a 4.4 star average on over 1,200 reviews. [Sensi Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat, Compatible with Amazon Echo, $85]
$13 for a Cree LED flashlight with a rechargeable battery would be a good deal on its face, but this model from DBPower is also waterproof, includes a glass-breaking hammer and seatbelt cutter, and can be used as a USB power bank in a pinch. That’s quite a package. [DBPOWER Rechargeable LED Flashlight 5200mAh IPX6280LM Cree, $13 with code LIHLPN9S]
Fitness trackers can help you ward off winter weight gain, but if you don’t want to commit to wearing a bracelet every day, the clip-on Fitbit One is is a great alternative.
In addition to steps, the Fitbit One will monitor calories burned, stairs climbed, and distance traveled, and you can even configure it as a silent, vibrating alarm clock so you don’t have to disturb your sleeping partner. If that sounds like an appealing package, you can grab one on eBay today for $55, one of the best deals we’ve ever seen. [Fitbit One, $55]
If USB battery packs have a shortcoming, it’s that you have to carry a USB wall charger to juice them back up at the end of the day. Not so with this model from RAVPower, which recharges by plugging directly into a wall, while simultaneously acting as an AC charger for your phone. It even comes with a built-in microUSB cable, in addition to a standard USB port, making this a truly self-contained device. [RAVPOwer 9,000mAh Portable Charger With AC Connector, $24 with code 6QLBJT9O]
Apple device owners know that you can never own too many Lightning cables, and $8 for a 2-pack is about as good a deal as we ever see on them. [2-Pack RAVPower Lightning Cables, $8 with code NM3K582E]
For a limited time, Amazon will give you a $25 account credit when you spend $50 on eligible “luxury” beauty and grooming supplies. Included items run the spectrum from shaving gear to lotions to makeup, and that’s just for starters, so chances are, you won’t have any trouble filling your cart. Just be sure to use promo code LUX25BACK at checkout to get the account credit. [$25 Amazon account credit with $50 luxury grooming purchase]
No matter how beautiful your lawn is, you won’t spend much time out there if there’s nowhere to sit or eat a meal. If you’re tight on space (not to mention cash), this Lifetime convertible bench can convert in seconds from a park-style bench into half of a picnic table, and today’s $150 price tag is within a few bucks of Amazon’s all-time low. [Lifetime Convertible Bench/Table, $150]
Newegg Premier is Newegg’s answer to Amazon Prime, and includes free three-day shipping, free returns, exclusive deals, and more. But even if you never use it, this deal is worth it for the discounted gift cards alone.
The 20% coupon is valid on dozens of different Vega items, and will stack with any existing discounts you see on the product pages. Just add your selections to your cart, and you’ll see the final price at checkout. [20% off Vega Protein Products]
Vega has a great calorie-to-protein ratio, but the best thing about their shakes is that they aren’t just about protein. Vega’s shakes typically contain six grams of fiber, 3 servings of vegetables, and good amounts of Omega-3, probiotics, vitamins, and illusive potassium. It’s like a protein shake, a multivitamin, and a bunch of bonuses all in one convenient package.
If you want to stop paying your cable company $100/month for channels you don’t watch, it might be time to cut the cord. Between services like Netflix, Hulu+, Sling TV, and HBO Now, it’s easier than ever to declare cable independence, but a good antenna is still a critical piece of equipment for picking up your local broadcast stations.
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The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer (real name: Marcel Lazăr Lehel) gained infamy in 2013 after hacking the email accounts of several prominent American political figures, including Colin Powell and Clinton-confidant Sydney Blumenthal. Now, his homeland is handing him over.
Romania’s top court approved a request by U.S. authorities to extradite a convicted hacker known as Guccifer for prosecution, a Bucharest-based prosecuting source told Reuters.
“The court approved an 18-month temporary extradition to America for the hacker. This follows a request made by U.S. authorities.”
Email accounts breached by Guccifer gave the world a look at the artistic pursuits of George W. Bush, the private life of Colin Powell, a lot of conspiratorial rambling about a global new world order. Most importantly (by way of Blumenthal’s leaked outbox), Guccifer was the first source to ever reveal the HDR22@clintonemail.com account that Hillary Clinton was using in secret. Guccifer’s peek into the account of one of Clinton’s most prodigious email partners could be of great interest to the FBI, currently investigating her use of the covert server.
Guccifer is already serving a four year sentence in Romania. I’ve reached out to the FBI and DOJ and will update this post if they provide any comment.
Contact the author at biddle@gawker.com. Public PGP key PGP fingerprint: PGP fingerprint: E93A 40D1 FA38 4B2B 1477 C855 3DEA F030 F340 E2C7
Following a disastrous showing at the GOP debate in Detroit Thursday, Donald Trump just unceremoniously pulled out of a scheduled appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, citing a rally in “Witchita, Kanasas.”
CPAC confirmed Trump—who was scheduled to speak at the unholy hour of 8:30 a.m. Saturday—would not be appearing.
In a press release, Trump’s campaign says the “Witchita, Kanasas” event scheduled in Wichita, Kansas, is superseding his previously scheduled appearance.
“The Donald J. Trump for President Campaign has just announced it will be in Witchita, Kanasas for a major rally on Saturday prior to Caucus. He will also be speaking at the Kansas Caucus and then departing for Orlando, Florida and a crowd of approximately 20,000 people of more. Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years. Mr. Trump would like to thank Matt Schlapp and all of the executives at CPAC and looks forward to returning to next year, hopefully as President of the United States.”
The Los Angeles Police Department announced this morning that they are testing a knife once found on property owned by the relatively unknown accused murderer O.J. Simpson.
Per the Los Angeles Times, the knife was turned over to police “a number of years ago” (TMZ says it might have been as long ago as 1998) but is apparently only now being seriously investigated:
The knife was apparently turned over to a police officer a number of years ago by a person working construction at the property, a law enforcement source said.
Detectives more recently learned of the knife’s existence and are now investigating where it came from, according to the source, who cautioned that the investigation is still in its early stages.
The officer who had the knife was retiring and apparently informed Robbery Homicide detectives of the weapons’ existence in the last few months. An LAPD detective informed superiors, who immediately launched an investigation into the knife’s history and ordered a series of forensic tests to determine whether it had any connection with the 1994 murders of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.
It’s amazing that the LAPD was unable to help secure a conviction in this highly scrutinized double murder!
In a press conference held this morning, an LAPD spokesperson said he didn’t think Simpson could be tried again for murder due to double jeopardy laws. Maybe they can try charging him with littering?
We’re here at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and we are women, and that is OK. Better than OK: this year’s CPAC features a notable amount of free swag and purchase-able items aimed at the lady GOP consumer. You can find it easily because most of it is pink. A few highlights:
Women & Guns magazine, “the world’s first firearms publication for women.”
Women & Guns is actually just fine; I learned that a gel-based pepper defense gun is preferable to spray, because it’s less likely to “cross-contaminate the defender.” That’s news I can use!
This bumper sticker, which I should have bought and am now regretting not having done so.
Abortion Hurts! stickers from National Right to Life, handed out by some nice young men with rubber fetus models. The fetuses are not for sale.
The NRL booth also has handouts about fetal pain, which isn’t a real thing, and stickers reading, “When you think Planned Parenthood, Think Abortion!”
A fetal foot pin, represented here via Instagram because I somehow immediately lost the actual pin directly after Gawker news editor Gabrielle Bluestone handed it to me. Symbolism.
Sense & Sexuality: the college girl’s guide to real protection in a hooked-up world, a beautiful and very quotable pamphlet handed out by the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute, an organization which prepares and promotes conservative women leaders.
And you can’t lead conservatively with cervical cancer:
An absolute stampede of elephant clothing and jewelry, much of it from Future Female Leader, “America’s leading social movement for young conservative women.”
There are manhole-sized elephant necklaces, elephant pins, and some very good elephant skirts and dresses, modeled by FFL members who are moving in a large and cheerful #squad.
The FFL also has these ambitious t-shirts about the type of men they’re looking for, a metaphorical blend I find slightly hard to picture.
Gaming’s culture war hasn’t ended. It’s still roiling, with new fights, new targets, new depths of ugliness, but also many of the same tactics.
If you’ve witnessed this kind of “Chanterculture”/GamerGate drama before, you know the playbook: discredit, harass, shame, isolate, maybe find a skeleton in a person’s closet that calls their reputation into question. Today’s most visible target is a woman named Alison Rapp, a mid-level marketing person at Nintendo who has been accused of somehow being a driving force behind the supposed censorship of that company’s games.
She’s not the only target these days, but she’s the favored one. Her enemies, an amorphous group of pissed off gamers, have been relentless. But their furious online petitions, taken down because they violated community guidelines, haven’t ruined her. Digging through her Amazon wish-list and finding links to an anime body pillow to shame her hasn’t worked either. Recently, they’ve been trying to destroy her using a college paper she wrote in 2011.
I’ve been covering the ongoing cultural skirmishes over purported “censorship” of imported Japanese games for the last couple of months. They’re a natural extension of the ongoing reactionary freakout about the influence of so-called social justice warriors, those caricatured feminists supposedly out to sanitize games of sexual content. In these instances, the games in question usually have been changed—outfits modified, controversial sexual content removed, along with more run-of-the-mill changes necessary when translating a full video game—and so in the eyes of the aggrieved, the perceived agents of social justice have had a demonstrable effect.
Some of the hysteria is eye-rolling, but some of it involves understandably distinct perspectives about how a creative work in one culture should be presented in another. Most recently, I spoke with a group of reasonable-sounding fans trying to produce a more authentic translation of that Fire Emblem game. They were heavily critical of the work done by the “Treehouse,” the group at Nintendo who localize Japanese games for an American audience. These fans’ efforts focused on producing a more “authentic” translation.
In reporting that story and others, I kept encountering the darker side of this: the anger, the personal attacks, the departure from reason that leads to smears and character assassination. Here’s just a taste of the ridiculous backlash I got just for the great sin of reporting about the subject:
That’s tame, really. When my article went online, the uglier actors in this drama could be brushed aside as fringe, but that’s changed swiftly and dramatically, particularly in regards to the campaign against Allison Rapp.
Who exactly is going after Rapp? The easy answer is GamerGate, the all-too-familiar amorphous group of gamers who organized in summer 2014 after game designer Zoe Quinn’s sex life was made public and eventually ended up at “ethics in games journalism.” Yet even those within such circles claim this particular incident has nothing to do with GamerGate, but a spin-off group called Revolt. (Confusingly, of course, saying “it wasn’t us” is one of GamerGate’s stock defenses.)
Rapp is currently the target of a social media war attempting to get her fired by accusing her of defending pedophiles. You only need search her name on Twitter to get a taste of what’s been going on for days:
You could also read about it at the Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi and white supremacist website describing Rapp as “the next logical step in the liberal march...toward wherever these women and Jews think it’s marching toward,” the result of “the impact of Jews and feminism on our society.”
The top comment on the story contains the phone numbers and email addresses for a number of top executives at Nintendo. The comment was left by Andrew “weev” Auernheimer, the infamous jailed hacker who once proudly announced he was a “long-time critic of Judaism, black culture, immigration to Western nations, and the media’s constant stream of anti-white propaganda.” Auernheimer encouraged people to contact Nintendo with a very specific tone.
“When you contact these people be very respectful, act as a concerned parent,” he writes of the Nintendo employees he’s listed. “Link to the pro-pedo statements she’s made but obviously don’t link back to DS [Daily Stormer] or she’ll be able to dismiss it as a white supremacist conspiracy.”
Rapp doesn’t translate or localize games, but she has been outspoken on Twitter about online abuse against women in gaming. She’s been labeled an “SJW” and has received the requisite online blowback. Last October she Tweeted a list of abusive comments she said she’s received, people calling her “cancerous” and a “feminazi face piercings bitch.”
Over time, as it became obvious that Nintendo was removing some of the sexualized content from their games as they brought them to America, angry gamers looked for someone to blame and started pointing fingers at Rapp. Those efforts intensified even more in recent weeks with the discovery of a college essay she wrote in 2011 while attending Augsburg College. It’s called “Speech We Hate: An Argument for the Cessation of International Pressure on Japan to Strengthen Its Anti-Child Pornography Laws.” It’s a provocative essay about a deeply sensitive subject and is more nuanced than its detractors portray. Rapp outlines a deep cultural divide between Japan and other countries, pointing out Japan’s traditions of sexualizing young people and its free speech traditions while contrasting them with Western efforts against child porn and what she saw as imperialist pressure by the West to get Japan to change its child porn laws. Rapp, clearly a respectful fan of Japanese culture, distinguishes between exploiting real-life children and the creation of fictionalized sexual material. At no point does she defend or advocate for the abuse of children, and in fact argues for stronger laws against child exploitation.
Tweets she made around the same time that are related to the topic have also been part of the campaign against her, as is the norm when people are targeted as Rapp has been. There’s a vague one, for example, where she’s upset about the arrest of a man found with child pornography after burglars robbed him and tipped off police. The context isn’t entirely clear, but she directs people to her paper, which criticizes the West’s disproportionate effort in tracking down exploitative media compared to identifying the systemic issues causing their creation.
Rapp’s essay isn’t perfect and her tweets suggest she was, at least years ago, someone more comfortable with the ideas of teens being seen as sex objects than the average American might be. But, no shit: it’s an essay written by a young college student who was very into Japanese culture, where societal standards are different. The basic premise of her essay says Japan should be allowed to define its own cultural boundaries and not bow to the pressures of outside forces. Ironically, while Rapp has become a symbol of the supposedly nefarious social justice warriors censoring Japanese games, she’s being attacked with an essay in which she argued that Japanese culture should stay Japanese.
By spending paragraphs explaining Rapp’s essay and pondering five-year-old Tweets, I’ve already fallen into her critics’ trap. I’ve already spent hundreds of words deconstructing a piece of writing that was weaponized for character assassination. It’s a familiar page from the playbook in today’s video game culture wars. It’s about finding a skeleton in someone’s closet—or something that can be construed as such—and using it to undermine them.
We’ve all probably said something on the Internet that’s off-color or offensive, or just not given proper context in the size of tweet. Many of us have held problematic views at different stages in our lives, particularly when engaging in intellectual exercises or writing academic papers. In the past, we’d generally expect to be given a chance to move on and leave our past selves behind. In today’s culture wars, that’s not the case. The past is present, especially when your words are only a Google search away.
It’s easy to rip lines from the essay and make Rapp look awful, which is how the anti-sex trafficking group The Wayne Foundation got involved. On March 1, co-founder Jamie Walton, herself a victim of sex trafficking, began tweeting about how Rapp should be fired from Nintendo.
It appears Walton is a genuine advocate, a victim of a horrifying crime who fights for others. She admitted to being hoodwinked by “third party trolling” in the past and said she’d recant Rapp’s information, were it to be proven untrue. Willingly or not, Walton’s given Rapp’s detractors what they were looking for: legitimacy from outsiders. It’s another weapon.
When I asked Walton how she heard about Rapp’s situation, she responded brusquely.
“I don’t have time for this, TBH,” she said over email. “I’ve been a counter trafficking survivor advocate since 2009. No one is interested in doing press about that for years, but suddenly Gamergate and anti Gamergate insert me into their dispute and the media wants to talk. All that does is break my heart. I want nothing to do with either side, and I find this entire encounter to be ludicrous.”
In the American version of Xenoblade Chronicles X, players could no longer change the bust size of their female character.
Nintendo did not comment for this story, nor did Rapp. The company is notorious for staying quiet and rarely allows employees to speak outside interviews about upcoming games. But it’s not as though Nintendo couldn’t find the essay involved in the latest attacks—it’s prominently on Rapp’s Linkedin page.
Rapp hasn’t ignored what’s going on. She jokingly calls herself a “conspirator in @NintendoAmerica Treehouse” on Twitter and has pushed back against the harassment.
“Aaaahhh, nothing quite like waking up to a bunch of GG-ers and white supremacists in my mentions, trying to ruin my life because video games,” she recently tweeted. “+1 awful thing: gg-ers bastardizing social justice language & feigning concern for at-risk groups so they can appear to be takin high ground.”
These tweets are interspersed with photos and comments about her vacation in Japan, where she’s currently on her honeymoon.
“btw thank you for your support today,” she wrote. “It’s good to hear from friends during this wacky time. Again, thank you for anything and everything you’re doing to keep my mentions from being 100% garby goober garbage.”
The way people talk about Rapp, you’d assume she was involved in the translation of Fire Emblem Fates, a key person behind removing things like the face petting mini-game. Except there’s no proof of this. Months ago, as similar groups raged over Xenoblade Chronicles X, Rapp told me she’s not involved with localization. But in anti-progressive circles, there’s plenty of discussion regarding what she thinks about harassment and sexism. This made her a high-profile target, and the wagons circled. Which is how an essay from 2011 becomes relevant in 2016.
When it comes to Fire Emblem Fates, Rapp has not been the only person of interest. Nich Maragos, a former Atlus USA translator, now works at Nintendo. His first project at Treehouse was Fire Emblem Fates. In recent weeks, he’s been one of the people targeted by this group, in the search for a boogeyman. (I’ve cropped part of it out, but the whole image is here.)
Archive.is links? Check. A crappy photo of the person being profiled to make them look silly? Check. The only thing missing from this image is a bunch of red lines “connecting the dots.”
To give you a sense of the angle of these attacks, when one of Maragos’ critics compiled this information on the pro-GamerGate “Kotaku in Action” (no relation!) subreddit, they concluded by pointing out that Maragos is a “NeoFAG poster,” a reference to the popular gaming message board NeoGAF, which has been hostile to GamerGate and the kinds of things posted on KiA.
Maragos’ grand offense was calling out the sexually provocative Sengan Kagura games. He also financially supports two alternative game critics through Patreon. One of those critics makes a whopping $90 per month. Would it shock you to learn the other was openly critical of the more literal-leaning fan translation of Fire Emblem Fates? Surely not. (Maragos declined comment for this story.)
Another target, Rich Amtower, who’s worked on previous Fire Emblem localizations at Nintendo, was forced to lock his Twitter account because people were combing for ammunition from as far back as 2009. What dark secrets did they find, buried in his ancient tweets? He doesn’t actually speak Japanese. (For what it’s worth, this isn’t altogether uncommon, based on the translators and localizers I’ve talked to.)
Since then, Amtower has deleted some old tweets and unlocked his account—for now.
“Twitter’s too ephemeral to want all of it hanging around forever,” he said. “I saw a lot of things I’d tweeted within a specific context, quoted outside of that context, and it made me sad. You can’t *really* delete your past, but you can acknowledge that past you, present you, and future you may all have very different thoughts.” Amtower did not respond to my request for comment.
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter whether it’s GamerGate, Revolt, or anyone else. The group is irrelevant; it’s that the tactics used to shame and victimize have become disturbingly normalized. When one attempts to assign a name to the group perpetuating the assault—be it GamerGate, Revolt, or whatever else—those groups’ supporters immediately respond by saying that the actions of individuals don’t represent the group. (Perhaps someone can tell that to the people vilifying individuals from a large group within Nintendo.)
In fact, the campaign against Rapp has demonstrated a fascinating collection of fractures within these hard-to-pin-down groups. There’s the alleged censoring of 4chan when it comes to discussion of Alison Rapp:
Others were shaken in different ways. “This has always been THE most difficult part of being in GG for me,” wrote KiA poster Aurondarklord. “Finding that balance of being effective without becoming what we hate. In this case, to be fair, at least, unlike the SJWs, what we’re accusing Alison Rapp of is at least true and we have direct evidence of it. But WHY are we doing this? What has she done, specifically, that makes her deserve to be fired? Has she attacked us in some way? Breached an ethical obligation? Provably lied to the detriment of a person or a game? Done anything other than be an SJW and believe SJW things?”
You’re so close, Aurondarklord. So close.
Others held the line. “If we fail to exert social pressure against these people,” said poster Kaarous in the same thread, “we might as well just close the sub[reddit] right now. More importantly, if we turn the ‘you should be fired’ game against them, they might actually knock it the fuck off when it starts effecting [sic] them personally and financially.”
This is, of course, a muddled and disingenuous argument. “Them?” “These people?” Rapp doesn’t translate or localize games, and didn’t even work on Fire Emblem Fates. She’s just another person who works for a video game company and has publicly supported feminism and social justice. The campaign against her and her colleagues is a witch hunt, and just the latest of many. It won’t be the last.
Image Credit: Jim Cooke
You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.
Every once in a while, BuzzFeed releases an LGBT-centric video that just oozes with sticky pink tolerance for the queer community. They’re about all kinds of things—coming out, misgendering, marriage, and LGBT refugees—and are generally well-intentioned and well-made. And though I might think videos like this one, about how a gay couple treats its dog, are a little smarmy and hideously written/acted, I respect their existence. Truly. I’m happy the channel’s millions of teen subscribers see queer people represented along with all the straight people. Visibility at any cost, and all that. Hell yeah, hand me my rainbow flag.
But though I’m happy BuzzFeed is using their admirably diverse staff and millions of dollars in VC funding to make the occasional piece that gets things right, those are specks of diamond dust in the landfill of eagerly reinforced gender norms and barely buried gay panic that makes up the bulk of BuzzFeed Video. For every upload that asks its young, impressionable audience to treat people of all sexualities and identities with the utmost respect, there are four more that lift up the more traditional (read: straight, cis-gender) values that have made the lives of queer people so miserable for so long.
Today, after watching a video made by BuzzFeed Australia entitled “Iconic Romantic Films Reimagined By LGBT People,” I thought, cool: this is poorly conceived, but ultimately harmless. Then I watched “Questions Brothers Ask Sisters,” and thought, cool: this is poorly conceived, and reinforces the tired idea that all men are dopes who know nothing about women.
BuzzFeed loves reinforcing gender norms in their videos for the sake of easy laughs, as you can see through concepts like:
That last one was from the Try Guys, a much loved group of everydudes who “try” things on camera for a living. Things like wearing wedding dresses, wearing women’s underwear, wearing women’s “sexy Halloween costumes,” wearing makeup, and changing dirty diapers. Notice a trend there? Those are things ladies usually do! But wait, the Try Guys aren’t ladies—they’re guys! Can you believe it? In this day and age? Men changing a diaper? Men wearing dresses? Will someone punch me in the face and wake me up from this dream where I’m somehow not in the nineteen fucking fifties?
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There’s an argument to be made about their wild and crazy antics being meant to pulverize the walls between the constructs we know as the male and female genders, but that argument does not hold water when you watch footage of them screaming “YOU LOOK SO WEIRD” to each other while trying on dresses. And even though, in that same video, Eugene is complimented for looking great in the dress, it’s tough to read that sentiment as progressive when it lives inside a concept that relies entirely on the assumption that audiences will laugh when people don’t perform their genders in they way they’re expected to.
But for years, the people who make BuzzFeed videos have found success by gleefully presenting their childlike (and, frankly, distressing) obsession with gender that hovers only slightly above the level of screaming “BOYS RULE AND GIRLS DROOL.” Just watch these two companion series called “If Guy Best Friends _____ Like Girl Best Friends” and “If Girl Best Friends _____ Like Guy Best Friends.” Is it nice that they’re giving men and women equal opportunities to lampoon each other? I guess! But there’s something dishonest about seeing videos of straight men doing their best and most reductive impressions of women right alongside more serious videos like “What’s It Like to be Intersex.” It’s especially dishonest that BuzzFeed spotlights the latter while gaining enormous amounts of revenue for the former.
You can’t have it both ways, especially when you give the worst of those ways significantly more airtime. You can’t make video after video that attempts to scrape up some entertainment value with what is essentially gay panic, then think it gets canceled out because you had the Try Guys march in a Pride Parade. You can’t get away with hundreds of gay jokes just because you have one gay friend.
Early Thursday morning, Gawker received an anonymous email with an attachment that purported to contain recordings from Donald Trump’s voicemail inbox. Among the recordings were messages left for Trump by various celebrities—most notably, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Tamron Hall.
While Gawker was unable to independently verify their authenticity, the recordings certainly appear to be genuine. In addition to those from the MSNBC personalities, there were messages from longtime Barack Obama advisor David Axelrod, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and boxing promoter Don King, all of whom spoke to Trump in a friendly and familiar manner.
Donald Trump’s primary rivals for the Republican nomination, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, have both called on Trump to authorize TheNew York Times to release a transcript or recording of an interview he conducted with the newspaper, a portion of which was off the record. They think the recording will reveal that Trump is not the version of himself he presents to Republican voters—politically incorrect and unafraid of offending liberal elites—but in fact that the authentic Trump is a creature of elite Manhattan society, who counts among his personal friends many members of the decadent liberal media, and whose natural habitat is an Upper East Side cocktail party. As Cruz has put it, Trump has “New York values.”
These voicemails buttress that argument. They indicate that Trump maintains friendly personal relations with members of the elite political press, even as he demonizes them. While Trump and some of his journalistic interrogators play oppositional roles on the public stage, the voicemails suggest that they are in fact favor-trading pals when the cameras are off.
Though we could not determine the exact dates of the messages, several of them make references to the events of the 2012 presidential campaign season, including those left by a woman who identifies herself as “T Hall,” apparently MSNBC’s Tamron Hall. In one message, Hall says “I’m on my way to Kentucky to cover the vice presidential debate,” a likely reference to the 2012 debate between Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate at the time. Hall covered that debate from Kentucky for MSNBC.
The congenial tone of the messages to Trump stands in contrast with the aggressiveness with which Hall has covered his 2016 presidential run. On Sunday, Hall engaged Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson in a heated, lengthy exchange about the candidate’s refusal to disavow former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke’s support. “There are those who believe here that someone got to Donald Trump and said, ‘You need this vote. You need some of the angriest parts of this party to put you through,’” Hall said to Pierson.
Previously, Hall pressed Trump himself on the contradiction of identifying himself as a Christian while using words like “pussy” to refer to his opponents. “Who is the real Donald Trump? Is he the guy saying the P-word where he knows he can get away with it at this raucous rally? Or is he the guy thumpin’ the Bible because he needs that group? And then will he be the guy later in a general election who becomes the New York liberal that Ted Cruz says you are really hiding under your suit?” she asked.
She might have added an additional option: The guy who did a favor for Tamron Hall. In one of the voice messages, she tells Trump that she was “happy I took your advice” and met with someone named “Matt.” The meeting went well, she says: “I celebrated by going to Gucci, and I’m going to use your discount, because there’s a green dress that’s like $3,000, and I need a discount bigger than the one—my discount.”
A source familiar with the matter explains that Trump has a longstanding discount with Gucci. Trump is the landlord of the retailer’s store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, in the Trump Tower—a fact he mentioned on Thursday, when he claimed, not for the first time, that he has a store that is “worth more money than Mitt [Romney].”
At the close of the Gucci message, Hall says, “I hope you’re bracing for Romney to get his butt whipped tomorrow by Obama,” indicating that it was also left during the 2012 campaign season.
In another message, she expresses her disapproval of an unnamed YouTube video with which Trump was apparently associated. “I saw the YouTube video today. I wanted to chat with you about it, since you know that I’m a huge fan, and I think the world of you. But I think that thing today was not good—not becoming of who I think you are as a person, as a statesman, like your award. I just thought it was just kind of crummy,” she says. (The award to which the caller referred may have been the Sarasota Republican Party’s “Statesman of the Year,” which was awarded to Trump in 2012 and again in 2015. It’s unclear which video Hall is referring to, though in October 2012, Trump released this “major announcement” on YouTube, in which he demanded the release of President Obama’s birth certificate, college records, and passport information.)
The hackers released four voicemail messages from Hall. Taken together with her interviews, they suggest an anchor who has two relationships to Trump—a friendly personal one and an antagonistic journalistic one. To her credit, Hall’s apparent friendship with Trump hasn’t stopped her from covering him critically and aggressively. It’s not clear that all of her colleagues can say the same thing.
Voices belonging Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the co-hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, also appear in one message, the date of which is not clear. The message suggests that Trump has contributed to some sort of public or private charity event involving children.
BRZEZINSKI: Hi, Donald. It’s Mika and Joe calling. Say hi, Joe.
SCARBOROUGH: Hey there, Donald. How you doing?
BRZEZINSKI: We’re just leaving you a message because we’re trying to get in touch with you, but you must be, like, on your jet or something. We’d love to talk to you, so call one of us. What’s your other number, Joe?
SCARBOROUGH: I’m at [REDACTED]. And the kids want to scream “Thank you,” to you, Donald. Say, “Thank you, Donald.”
CHILDREN: Thank you!
SCARBOROUGH: We are so, so grateful for everything, Donald, and we just want to call you and tell you how much it means to us.
BRZEZINSKI: It was amazing. Thank you, Donald. Hope to talk to you soon. Bye.
(We have redacted the voices of the children from the audio presented above.)
Update: In a series of tweets, including one which he deleted, Scarborough confirmed that the voice is his, and that that the message was related to a charitable donation from Trump.
During this campaign cycle, Scarborough and Brzezinski have faced intense criticism from the press for their apparent friendliness with Trump, whose campaign they have covered closely. After it was reported that the Morning Joe hosts visited Trump in his hotel room as the New Hampshire primary results were arriving, CNN reported that there was “widespread discomfort” at NBC about the relationship. NBC and Scarborough have since denied any impropriety.
Less than a week later, Scarborough and Brzezinski conducted an extended “town hall” interview with Trump, which was broadcast live on MSNBC. Audio which was apparently recorded during the event’s commercial breaks was subsequently leaked to the internet radio host Harry Shearer, who broadcasted a clip on his own show.
When the cameras weren’t rolling, the trio let down their guard. At one point, Brzezinski discussed the types of questions the hosts planned to ask in the next segment, and Trump responded, “That’s right. Nothing too hard, Mika.” At another, he remarked that a segment from that day’s Morning Joe made him seem almost like a “legendary figure.” It wasn’t until late last month, when Trump declined an opportunity to categorically disassociate himself from the Ku Klux Klan, that Scarborough finally attempted to distance himself from the candidate.
Trump consistently paints himself as an antagonist to the entire news media. His campaign has ejected several journalists from Trump events, has said that most members of the media are “absolute dishonest, absolute scum,” and has pledged to “open up our libel laws” to make it easier to sue reporters.
Employees of MSNBC, the closest thing the American left has to a counterpart to Fox News, would seem like his natural enemies. But on the recordings, Hall, Scarborough, and Brzezinski are casual, chatty, even deferential to Trump. More than anything, they genuinely sound like his friends.
The voice mailbox also contains several messages from prominent figures who are not members of the media. In one message, David Axelrod, the chief strategist of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, thanks Trump for a check. In November 2012, Trump donated money to Slash the Stache, an organization backed by Axelrod which sought to find a cure for epilepsy.
Tom Brady, whose friendship with Trump is well-documented, opens one message with “Donald, it’s your favorite quarterback.” He opens a second with, “Hey big guy, it’s your favorite NFL quarterback calling.” (Don Yee, Brady’s agent, said his client did not recall leaving any voice messages for Trump and could not speak to the authenticity of the messages one way or the other.)
The outspoken boxing promoter Don King also left multiple messages, addressing Trump as “Big Don.” “You’re a Republicrat, that is so great for America,” he said in one of the messages
All told, Gawker received 35 voicemail messages intended for Trump—many of which appear to have been left by strangers after Trump encouraged supporters to call his cell phone number—totaling 26 minutes and 40 seconds of audio. We are publishing three messages amounting to two minutes and 10 seconds.
Trump’s voicemails were apparently accessed almost by accident. This is particularly interesting given the fact that Trump has consistently blasted Hillary Clinton for her use of an insecure private email server during her time as Secretary of State.
Just a few weeks ago, at a rally in Tampa , Donald Trump expressed shock at the sheer mass of Hillary’s accumulated emails, saying that he himself is not a “big believer” in using email because “once you type it, it’s not good... I go to court and they say ‘produce your emails.’ I say ‘I don’t have any’ and the judges don’t believe it. After you win the case, they say ‘now I know that you’re really smart.’”
Unfortunately for Trump, it would seem that his voicemail isn’t much safer.
Gawker received the audio files anonymously, having had no prior contact with or knowledge of the hackers. A person who claimed to be a member of the group who accessed the voicemails wrote in a message to Gawker that a group of young users of the message board 4chan attempted to find Trump’s number on Wednesday night in order to make a prank call (a not too-difficult task after Donald Trump encouraged people to call him, in response to Gawker’s release of one of his phone numbers several months ago).
While trying to leave their message, the hacker claimed, his group “just kept hitting buttons,” eventually prompting a recording asking them to log in to the voicemail inbox. When the group didn’t enter the correct password, “the call started to transfer us to Verizon. That’s when we decided to see how far we could get.” The hacker wrote that the group was able to convince a customer service representative to reset the password by claiming they had recently purchased a new phone. (Gawker reporters tried to recreate the scenario described by the hacker—being automatically transferred to a Verizon customer service representative after multiple attempts to access the voicemail of a consenting party with an incorrect password—but could not. Rather than being automatically connected, we received automated instructions to contact customer service. A Verizon representative did not immediately return calls for comment.)
The first thing the group did was change Trump’s outgoing voicemail.
What was previously a campaign message from Trump prompting callers to donate to his campaign (which you can listen to in full above), became the following:
It’s Matthew Lillard, also known as TV’s Shaggy Rogers here. And we’re going to make America great again. And this is how you do it. Visit the campaign at boards.4chan.org/b. That’s boards.4chan.org/b. Thank you for supporting Donald Trump. Together, we will make America great again. Hashtag MakeAmericaGreatAgain. Hashtag 1488.
The number 1488 is commonly used as a white supremacist identifier. (None of the hackers, as far as we know, are actually the actor Matthew Lillard.)
A video posted to YouTube on Thursday afternoon appears to contain audio of the hackers recording the new outgoing message.
The core of the criticism of Hillary Clinton’s private email server—a criticism Trump has repeated—is that her use of a private email server was an appalling and disqualifying security risk. With that in mind, it’s notable that, after Trump himself publicly broadcast this phone number, and urged his millions of Twitter followers to call it, he apparently didn’t delete the voicemails saved in this account’s inbox.
We’ve reached out to the people whose voicemail messages to Donald Trump are mentioned in this story, to Donald Trump’s campaign, and to MSNBC. MSNBC did not have an immediate comment for the record. A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign provided the following statement: “We don’t know whether or not this is authentic because this is a public phone, not a private phone. As you know, it is illegal to break into phones. We will hold you and all other parties involved responsible.”
This post was updated to reflect Joe Scarborough’s confirmation of the authenticity of the voicemail messages on Twitter after it was published.
If you care about gay culture and/or good writing, you need to read Garth Greenwell’s debut What Belongs To You. The slim novel, which chronicles a multi-year relationship between its narrator and a hustler named Mitko that he hires after meeting him in a bathroom under the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, has been acclaimed by the likes of the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the New Republic, which called it “the Great Gay Novel of our times.” Since its January release, it’s gone on to become a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
Earlier today, Greenwell sat down with journalist Steven Thrasher (Buzzfeed/The Guardian) and fellow novelist Alexander Chee (whose Queen of the Night has also experienced considerable critical and commercial success) at NYU’s Department of Social & Cultural Analysis. The novelists read from their books and then talked about them. Chee mentioned pushback he’s received as a gay writer who writes gay things. His experiences sounded quite familiar to me. And then Greenwell launched into what amounted to a spontaneous essay on the subject and took me to church. He spoke to so much of how I feel as a gay man who spends a lot of my time writing about gay issues and culture (as well as the forces that ask for us to do this less, prescribing a public sanitization of gay life that strikes me as fundamentally dishonest, at best). He did this with such eloquence that I asked him after the talk if I could publish his words on this website. With his permission, this is a slightly edited (only for repetition and the kind of verbal crutches that are inevitable in speaking) transcript of his answer. (The audio is embedded as well.)
I certainly was aware—and I was aware of this as a reader, and I was aware of this as somebody in the literary community—of this stigma about gay books. And I was also aware of a kind of gap between the generation of these trailblazers like Edmund White and Andrew Holleran, and my generation, in terms of those novels that document gay life at a particular moment. One explanation for that is very obvious: It’s AIDS.
Another explanation for that, though, is, I think, the kind of pressure of this conventional wisdom that I think for a while really did reflect the reality of a market, and then, I think, at a certain point became just a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, which was that if you write a book that is centered on gay lives, it won’t find an audience. And I love that we’re at a moment where—I was just having this talk earlier today with someone who’s considering going to Iowa, who was saying that he’s been hearing from his advisors or from other writers if you write a gay novel it won’t sell—and I love that I can say they’re wrong. It’s just not true.
I would also say that stigma about gay novels, which I do think is often expressed by gay writers who say, “I’m not a gay writer,” or, “This isn’t a gay novel—this might be a novel with gay characters,” or, “I’m a writer who happens to be gay, but that’s not the identity.” I would never want to put any pressure on anyone to identify in any way in any aspect of their lives, but to me it feels kind of desperately urgent to identify as a queer writer, and to say that this is a queer novel. And I think part of that is because of the political moment we’re in.
We’re at this moment where gay people have gotten a kind of mainstream acceptance, and gotten a set of legal rights that was unimaginable even a decade ago. And I think that that’s incredibly important. And I think that marriage equality is incredibly important. And I think the marriage equality battle was important and it’s important that we won it. I also think that it came at a really great cost. And that cost was a marketing campaign that took queer lives and translated them into values that could be appreciated by people who are disgusted by queer people. And that meant presenting one model of queer life, which is a model that looks very much like straight life, which is a monogamous relationship centered on the raising of a child. That’s a beautiful model of human life, and it should be available to queer people. It is not the only model of queer life, and I think it forecloses much of the kind of radical potential in queer life. And that radical potential, I think, inheres in spaces like cruising bathrooms and parks, where the categories by which we organize our lives, like race and class, get scrambled by desire, which is a reason why our culture is so terrified by desire, because it scrambles those things. Without romanticizing those spaces—because they’re spaces in which people are assaulted and robbed and used in instrumental ways—anytime you have face-to-face encounters by human beings across those divides, you have the possibility for a kind of ethical spark that can engage the entire gambit of moral and emotional response. And that seems to me radical.
And if we accept the narrative of queer life that cleanses it—and those are the terms, “dirty” and “clean”—of those spaces and of relationships whose value is not immediately recognizable by mainstream culture, I think we sacrifice too much.
I think for queer writers to say, “This is a queer book. This is a book about queer communities. This is a book that is not going to translate the values of those communities into a mainstream value,” I think that’s important. That’s certainly the work that I want to do.
Toward the end of the talk, Greenwell discussed why he writes about sex in such gorgeous detail:
Even in this moment of marriage equality and the mainstream acceptance of queer life, it does seem to me that queer bodies, and especially queer sexual bodies continue to be despised. I think that one reason it’s important to me to write sex—because that’s a question I get sometimes, like, “Why does there have to be sex in the novel? Why do you have to rub our faces in all the sex? Why so much bad taste?” And the answer is when you write something, you make a claim about it, and especially when you write something, to the greatest extent possible, with sort of these extraordinary resources of the literary tradition, and especially the poetic tradition, and of the lyric tradition, you’re making a claim about it. And you’re making a claim that it has value. And you’re making a claim that it’s beautiful. And so it does seem to me that in the context of a culture in which queer sexual bodies are despised, writing about them in a way that foregrounds beauty is, I hope, a way of cherishing them, and of declaring their value.
The majority of black and Hispanic families have no retirement savings at all; among those who do, their median savings are just $22,000, versus $73,000 for the median white family with savings. The racial wealth gap lasts until you’re dead.
