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More than 100 claims that DOJ grossly mishandled allegations of sexual assault but aggressively prosecuted J6 trespassers

Taxpayers foot $138.7 million bill for DOJ's failure to stop sexual assaults; hush money silenced victim

<p>The Supreme Court has requested a response from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to a petition from a peaceful J6 protestor who is appealing his conviction for disorderly conduct.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>99% rejected</h3><p>The High Court only agrees to grant certiorari, i.e., review a request for appeal, in about <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/11/24/how-the-supreme-court-decides-which-cases-to-hear" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eighty out of seven to eight thousand </a>petitions for “a writ of certiorari” each year. Normally, the justices do not give an indication of whether they are inclined to include a particular case in the one percent that get to the next stage, which includes additional briefs and oral arguments, until after receiving a response to the petition and the petitioner's reply to the response.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Confident feds</h3><p>In the case of J6 protestor Russell Alford, however, the justices may have already signaled that they are inclined to grant certiorari, a decision which would require the agreement of four of the nine justices. Alford filed his petition to cancel his conviction with SCOTUS in early April and the government had 30 days to respond. Instead of responding, however, the DOJ penned a single <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-7158/307520/20240412164019362_Waiver%20Letter%20-%2023-7158.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sentence</a> to the High Court:</p><blockquote><p>The Government hereby waives its right to file a response to the petition in this case, unless requested to do so by the Court.</p></blockquote><p>The justices then announced that they do indeed <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-7158.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">want the DOJ to respond</a>, giving it a May 23, 2024 deadline, indicating their interest in the matter.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As Josh Gerstein just reported at Politico, SCOTUS requested a response from DOJ in petition for writ of cert filed by Russell Alford, convicted by a DC jury of 4 misdemeanors for J6.<br><br>This doesn't mean SCOTUS will take up the case but it does mean they want some answers.<br><br>The… <a href="https://t.co/esI7QgEbam">pic.twitter.com/esI7QgEbam</a></p>— Julie Kelly  (@julie_kelly2) <a href="https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1782798939562905608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>1 act, 13 minutes, 4 convictions</h2><p>Most J6 defendants, facing multiple charges for the one act of trespassing, waived their right to argue that their entrance into the Capital was an unknowing trespass, <a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fearing the potential for multiple prison sentences</a>. Alford, like America's Frontline Doctors' (AFLDS) Creative Director <a href="https://frontline.news/post/bureau-of-prisons-overrides-own-scoring-system-to-incarcerate-j6-defendants-in-more-dangerous-locations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John Strand</a>, was one of the few J6 defendants to refuse a plea deal.</p><p>Alford's trespass was <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/23-3023/23-3023-2024-01-05.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described</a> by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.</p><blockquote><p>Alford remained inside the Capitol for approximately<strong> thirteen minutes</strong>…&nbsp;</p><p>While inside, he <strong>mostly stood to the side and observed. He filmed protestors</strong> chanting “stop the steal” and pounding on a door that led to the floor of the House, behind which sheltered dozens of Congress members. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><p>The court added that Alford left within three minutes of police telling the crowd to leave:</p><blockquote><p>Police arrived within about ten minutes of Alford’s entry and began physically and verbally directing the crowd back out through the Upper House Door. Alford initially moved further down the hallway before turning and making for the exit … He left once someone managed to open the second double door.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>For this, the trial court convicted Alford on four separate counts, all stemming from that 13-minute walk during which he did <a href="https://www.conservativenewszone.com/articles/big-supreme-court-signals-it-may-throw-out-1000-january-6-convictions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not so much as yell</a>. He was given the maximum sentence for each charge, to be served concurrently, resulting in a 12-month sentence for:</p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Remaining in a restricted building</li><li><strong>Disorderly or disruptive conduct</strong> in a restricted building</li><li><strong>Disorderly or disruptive conduct</strong> in the Capitol Building and parading</li><li>Demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building [Emphasis added.]</li></ol><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Overcharging banned; not banned</span></h3><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);">The DOJ is actually </span><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);">prohibited</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"> from engaging in so-called overcharging, particularly in the the District of Columbia Circuit, in which Alford's trial court sits, where the circuit's appellate court has, for more than 50 years,&nbsp;explicitly </span><a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4792425287924462607&amp;q=Scott+v+United+States,+135+US+App+DC+377&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=2003"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>banned the practice of overcharging defendants</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"> where the intent is to coerce a guilty plea on a lesser charge:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"><strong>. . . the prosecutor&nbsp;<u>clearly cannot</u> have carte blanche to apply whatever&nbsp;<u>tactics</u> he wishes&nbsp;<u>to induce a guilty plea</u>.&nbsp;</strong>A policy of&nbsp;<strong>deliberately&nbsp;<u>overcharging</u> defendants with no intention of prosecuting on all counts simply in order to have chips at the bargaining table would</strong>, for example,&nbsp;<strong>constitute&nbsp;<u>improper</u> harassment&nbsp;</strong>of the defendant. [Emphasis added.]&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><p>Nonetheless, J6 protestors have been uniformly subjected to multiple charges in the absence of separate actions. Technically, though, Alford's case does not fit this classic definition of overcharging, since the DOJ, perhaps sensing a jury pool antagonistic to J6 protestors, did in fact prosecute Alford on multiple charges. But it is not, in any case, overcharging that is at issue in the petition to the Supreme Court.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Not disorderly; disorderly</h3><p>Alford appealed his convictions on the two charges requiring the government to prove “disorderly or disruptive conduct.” The trial court refused Alford's motion to acquit on those charges, despite the lack of any evidence of such conduct, arguing that he should be held guilty on account of the actions of (a small minority) the other protestors:</p><blockquote><p>Mr. Alford’s mere presence inside the Capitol disturbed the public peace or undermined public safety” and that “<strong>his presence was an aspect of the disorder and disruption</strong> of the Capitol.” <span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);">[Emphasis added].</span></p></blockquote><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>“Even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly”</h2><p>The appellate court <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/federal-court-rules-even-passive-jan-6-protestors-who-were-inside-capitol-can-be-convicted/ar-AA1my8bN" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agreed</a> with prosecutors and the lower court:</p><blockquote><p>The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that <strong>trespassers </strong>in the Capitol during the riot <strong>did not need to be acting "disorderly" or "disruptive" to be found guilty of disorderly conduct</strong>, because such definitions “are nebulous but time has given them concrete contours in two ways important here.”</p><p>"First, it is well-established that whether conduct qualifies as disorderly <strong>depends on the surrounding circumstances</strong>," the court wrote …</p><p>"Second, it is equally clear from caselaw that <strong>even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly</strong>," the ruling continued. <span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);">[Emphases added].</span></p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JUST IN: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCOTUS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCOTUS</a> signals it may undermine more common <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jan6?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jan6</a> charges as justices ask DOJ to respond to petition challenging 'disorderly or disruptive' charges v. Russell Alford. DC Cir ruled charges valid even for nonviolent protesters. Earlier: <a href="https://t.co/QMDbF9UM7z">https://t.co/QMDbF9UM7z</a></p>— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1782793703788077417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>It is this ruling, that "passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly,” that is at issue in Alford's appeal to the Supreme Court.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>High Court may help … others</h4><p>Should the nation's highest court rule that such peaceful behavior as Alford's cannot be the basis for a disorderly conduct conviction, it may not actually benefit Alford, as his two convictions for “remaining” and “demonstrating” in the Capital would still stand and for each he was sentenced to the maximum prison time, as mentioned above, to run concurrently.&nbsp;</p><p>Since the maximum sentence for the charge of merely remaining in a restricted building is <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one year</a>, even vacating the two disorderly charges would still leave Alford facing a year in prison, though he could argue that, without the disorderly charges, one year is excessive for trespassing.</p><p>Alford is far from the only peaceful J6 protestor to be charged with disorderly conduct, however. <a href="https://www.conservativenewszone.com/articles/big-supreme-court-signals-it-may-throw-out-1000-january-6-convictions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to <i>Conservative Zone</i>, 1,156 of those protestors were charged with disorderly conduct despite their peaceful conduct.</p><blockquote><p>1,156 peaceful January 6 protesters have been charged with engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct. 1,021 have been charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building. About 1,000 of them have been hit with both misdemeanor charges. These are the most common charges that the 1,300+ total January 6 peaceful protesters have been hit with.</p><p>None of the people facing these charges did anything violent or caused any property damage. They were welcomed into the building by police officers who were high-fiving them and holding doors open for them, they wandered around for a while, and they peacefully left when asked to do so.</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>See our other coverage of Jan 6 defendants:</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/mr-biden-wheres-dr-golds-pardon-for-peaceful-capitol-speech"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Mr Biden - Where is Dr Gold's pardon for peaceful medical speech at Capitol?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds coerce Jan 6 defendants into waiving right to appeal jail time</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds pressure Jan 6 defendants to falsely confess to ‘knowingly’ trespassing</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/judge-in-dr-gold-case-applauded-anti-free-speech-socialists-disrupting-scotus"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Judge in Dr Gold case applauded anti-free speech socialists disrupting SCOTUS</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/fbidojcourt-jail-dr-simone-gold-for-trespass-politicizing-medicine"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Politicizing medicine: FBI/DOJ/Court jail Dr Simone Gold for trespass</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fbi-no-time-to-interview-rape-victims-plenty-for-jan-6-trespass"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>FBI - No time to interview rape victims; plenty for Jan 6 trespass</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/aflds-founder-waives-selective-prosecution-defense-accepts-misdemeanor-plea-deal-for-delivering-medical-talk-on-govt-property"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>AFLDS founder waives ‘selective prosecution’ defense; accepts misdemeanor plea deal for delivering medical talk on gov’t property</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/congressman-introduces-j6-bill-to-counter-political-prosecutions"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Congressman introduces ‘J6 Bill to Counter Political Prosecutions’</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">&nbsp;</span></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/judge-allows-doj-to-hide-exculpatory-evidence-from-january-6-defendants"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Judge allows DOJ to withhold exculpatory evidence from J6 defendants</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/j-6-prisoner-of-conscience-punished-with-isolation-after-jailhouse-interview-analysis"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>J6 prisoner of conscience punished with isolation after jailhouse interview - analysis</u></span></a></li></ol>

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High Court could vacate more than one thousand sentences 

SCOTUS asks DOJ to defend disorderly conduct convictions of J6 protestors who were not disorderly

<h1>Correct, now go to the principal's office</h1><p>North Carolina high school student Christian McGhee was suspended for asking his teacher which of two possible meanings was intended by the word “alien” included on a vocabulary list the class was instructed to learn. Law Enforcement Today <a href="https://lawenforcementtoday.com/debate-ignites-free-speech-vs-cultural-sensitivity-at-central-davidson-high" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recorded</a> the teen's question, as relayed by his mother:</p><blockquote><p>Christian McGhee’s teacher assigned vocabulary words during class last Tuesday, including the word "alien." According to his mother, Leah McGhee, Christian responded to his teacher, asking,<strong> “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?” </strong>[Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW: North Carolina high school student Christian McGhee was suspended from school for saying "illegal alien" in the classroom.<br><br>Calling an illegal alien and illegal alien is not offensive, it's just a fact.<br><br>McGhee was suspended for three days after doing an assignment in… <a href="https://t.co/TUPX0sRmtg">pic.twitter.com/TUPX0sRmtg</a></p>— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1780341543439602050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Threaten fellow student - get <i>him </i>suspended</h2><p>The teacher might have been expected to be impressed with the 16-year-old student, as he demonstrated a familiarity with both possibilities for the word's definition. Perhaps the teacher would have been, had it not been for another student who “took offense to the question and threatened physical violence against Christian.”</p><p>At that point, one might assume that the teacher would refer the student who threatened Christian for administrative action. But it was Christian who, after being sent to the assistant principal, received a three-day suspension, prompting concern from his mother that he may lose out on college scholarship opportunities with an infraction for racist language now on his record.</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>It's OK when the government does it</h3><p>Christian argued that he did not anticipate his question being objectionable since, “‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.” X users bolstered his argument, noting that the federal government refers to migrants from foreign nations as "aliens,” and suggested that he file a lawsuit that would get him at least as much as a scholarship would offer.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey Christian McGhee’s Mama…<br>Stop worrying. Sue them. It’s a term used in our DHS handbooks. Your boy may have just gotten his tuition covered  <br><br>This is one screen shot with alien throughout — head to the website, and it’s like a treasure trove of the word “ALIEN” … <a href="https://t.co/X5NNz9Qpv6">pic.twitter.com/X5NNz9Qpv6</a></p>— Heatherheather007 (@LibertyValkyrie) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibertyValkyrie/status/1780344554949951962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Let's get political</h3><p>Education is a hot issue with voters and Christian's punishment for using vocabulary accurately could make it easy for politicians to score points in an election year. One presidential candidate appears to have weighed in already on the controversy:&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Donald Trump invited Christian McGhee and his family to join him yesterday at his rally!<br><br>Hate it had to happen this way but glad to see the support for this family.<br><br>This was the student suspended for using the term "illegal alien". <a href="https://t.co/tki3WXUyJO">pic.twitter.com/tki3WXUyJO</a></p>— Haley Kennington (@ladykennington) <a href="https://twitter.com/ladykennington/status/1782056146548695419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Been there</h2><p>Christian is not the first to suffer censorship and punishment for perfectly appropriate use of language. In 1999, David Howard, an aide to the then mayor of Washington, D.C., was pressured to resign when other city employees were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_14" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">offended</a> that he “used the word ‘<strong>niggardly</strong>’ in describing <strong>how he would have to manage a fund's tight budget</strong>.” &nbsp;[Emphasis added].</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bill Maher: Remember David Howard fired for using the word "niggardly", which means stingy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeathByPC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DeathByPC</a> <a href="https://t.co/tw146Zs4fh">pic.twitter.com/tw146Zs4fh</a></p>— Butch Mailhot (@ButchMailhot) <a href="https://twitter.com/ButchMailhot/status/871024582140076032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>The word has caused a problems for others as well, despite both its meaning and its use having nothing to do with race. The word is thought to have developed in northern Europe in a <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/niggardly" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">homogeneous</a> racial environment with reference <a href="https://twitter.com/mikacooper/status/1105964911618912259" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">only</a> to the use of money.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Niggardly<br>As in the manner many people are paid. <a href="https://t.co/t03L7AvF9x">pic.twitter.com/t03L7AvF9x</a></p>— Джим Робинсон (@528i) <a href="https://twitter.com/528i/status/1780737096334119359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>And in 2002, an elementary school teacher from the same state as Christian wound up with a <a href="https://www.johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/Culture/niggardly.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reprimand </a>and mandatory retraining after a parent complained about her use of the word to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120117090222/https://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article/?ArtNo=209040302&amp;Category=NEWS&amp;Date=20020904&amp;Profile=1004&amp;Ref=AR&amp;Site=WM&amp;template=printart" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">describe </a>a literary character:</p><blockquote><p>Stephanie Bell, a fourth-grade teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been <strong>reprimanded </strong>for using that word in a classroom discussion about literary characters. A parent, one Akwana Walker, declared herself offended by the usage. Ms. Bell has been hustled off to <strong>“sensitivity training”</strong>… [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Pushback</h2><p>Not all such “infractions” have ended in punishment, however. A University of Wisconsin professor guilty of using the same word in 1999 escaped punitive action and even inspired <a href="https://www.badgerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Still8.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">resistance</a> to the attempt to censor him:</p><blockquote><p>A junior enrolled in Professor Standish Henning’s class on English literature, [Amelia] Rideau came to the Faculty Senate to complain of his use of the word “niggardly” — which means stingy or miserly — in a classroom discussion about Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval classic, “The Canterbury Tales…</p><p>Rather than chalk it up as a lesson in<strong> mistaken homophony (also not an offensive term, by the way)</strong>, Rideau took the classroom incident to another level. She brought three black friends to her next class with Henning for “support,” and then cited her experience to the Faculty Senate … [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>A backlash ensued that included editorials in local papers supporting the professor:</p><blockquote><p>“So, what other words are to be purged from our vocabulary because they sound like words that may offend?” wrote history professor John Sharpless in a Wisconsin State Journal “guest column” a few days later. “Thespian? Philatelist? Tips? Peanuts? Homogenous?”</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>You knew, and you're still offended?</h4><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It didn't help Rideau's case that she informed the Faculty Senate that she knew what the word meant.</p><blockquote><p>But wait, it got better: <strong>Rideau said she knew what niggardly means but was upset </strong>that too many people associate that word with the slur. She did not claim ignorance as a defense. Rather, she was upset that some classmates spelled the word as “niggerly” in their notes. In the real world outside the Madison campus, this produced a curious reaction.&nbsp;</p><p>Shouldn’t taxpayers be upset that students in a fairly sophisticated UW-Madison class on English literature have never heard the word “niggardly” or, at least, cannot spell it? &nbsp;… [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Victory</h4><p>Rideau had hoped to use the incident to make the university's existing faculty speech code more stringent so that it would cover even unintentional offenses. Instead, the university cancelled the speech code altogether:</p><blockquote><p>In a matter of days, <strong>protectors of the code were in a retreat that would lead to its virtual repeal</strong> within a month. The same university that had been the first in the nation to adopt a faculty speech code in 1981 would soon become the first to abandon it — <strong>a remarkable step away from the “politics of identity” that threatens to ruin some of America’s finest colleges </strong>and universities.</p><p>Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that <strong>the great state University of Wisconsin should encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.</strong> [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Related Article:</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/homeschoolers-top-government-schooled-children-in-everything"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Homeschoolers top government-schooled children in … everything</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/reagan-and-trumps-vows-to-defund-government-education"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Reagan's and Trump’s vows to defund government education . . .</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pay-twice-to-escape-government-education"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Pay twice to escape government education?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fox-censoring-tucker"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Who's behind Fox censoring Tucker? Third rail issues blocked</u></span></a></li></ol>

Alien.jpg

Latest institution to punish accurate use of language

Student suspended for asking whether 'alien' on vocabulary list means 'space aliens' or 'illegal aliens'

<p>Joe Biden called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after Iran <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-shows-remains-of-iranian-ballistic-missile-that-fell-in-dead-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fired</a> "500 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as attack drones” at Israel to “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-called-off-retaliatory-strike-on-iran-after-call-with-biden-new-york-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissuade</a>" him from ”greenlighting an immediate retaliatory strike.”</p><h1>Let the Ayatollah be</h1><p>Axios provided more <a href=" https://www.axios.com/2024/04/14/biden-netanyahu-iran-israel-us-wont-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">details</a> on the White House pressure on Israel to drop pre-approved plans for retaliation:</p><blockquote><p>"You got a win. Take the win," Biden told Netanyahu, according to the official.&nbsp;</p><p>The official said that when Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations, Netanyahu said he understood.</p></blockquote><p>The <i>Times of Israel </i><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-shelved-pre-approved-plans-for-immediate-iran-reprisal-after-biden-call-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that plans for retaliation were pre-approved before the Biden call:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Netanyahu shelved plans that had been prepared for retaliation against Iran’s weekend barrage after speaking with US President Joe Biden</strong> immediately following the attack…</p><p>… the cabinet had already approved a series of possible responses depending on the scope of the Iranian attack, which were slated to be carried out immediately following the Iranian fusillade early Sunday.</p><p>“The response won’t be what was planned any longer; diplomatic sensitivities won out,” a senior source was quoted as telling the broadcaster…</p><p>The report noted the comments likely pointed to a<strong> weaker response</strong> than what had been approved. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><p>That “weaker response” turned out to be, thus far, just <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas-war/no-damage-to-irans-nuclear-sites-after-israeli-strike-iaea-109413374?id=108860743" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">three missiles</a> aimed at an air defense system in Iran <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/israel-strike-iran-limited-attack-143042469.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">after</a> “the Pentagon urged what amounted to what one senior U.S. official called a <strong>‘signal, not a strike</strong>,’ with minimal chance of casualties.” [Emphasis added.]</p><h1>Good news for Khamenei; not for Iranians</h1><p>Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran since 1989, certainly welcomed the news, as Iranian dissidents had been hoping to capitalize on a major retaliatory strike by Israel to precipitate mass protests against the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East. This after already being disappointed by a lack of support from Biden during protests in 2022 that “raged across Iran despite the brutality of the government’s response,” according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/29/iran-protests-us-media-coverage-mahsa-amini" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>The Guardian</i></a>, which detailed that brutality:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Over 400 people have been killed</strong>; an unknown number of <strong>journalists and demonstrators have been imprisoned or disappeared</strong>. <strong>Hundreds have been blinded</strong> by rubber bullets and metal pellets fired into crowds of protesters. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h4>Media in lockstep</h4><p>Biden's lack of support for the protestors against their despotic leaders led <i>The Guardian</i> to title their article, "Why are Americans ignoring the protests in Iran?" The article noted that, in addition to Biden's muted response, comprising but a short, ambiguous mention within his September 2022 UN speech mostly devoted to Ukrainians, mainstream media left Americans in the dark about the protests.</p><blockquote><p>Coverage of the uprising has been notably sporadic; we search our screens and front pages, mostly in vain.</p></blockquote><p>Even in the absence of mass protests, executions in the totalitarian terror state have continued, with Amnesty International <a href="https://amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/iran-executes-853-people-in-eight-year-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reporting</a>&nbsp;<s> </s>in 2023 that, “Iran executes 853 people in eight-year high amid relentless repression and renewed ‘war on drugs.’” &nbsp;</p><h2>Iranian hope</h2><p>Despite prior letdowns, many Iranians hoped that foreign powers would finally intervene to provide protests a chance at success this time around, even taking the risk of publicizing their hopes:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Graffiti on a wall in Iran reads: <br>Hit them, Israel<br>Iranians are behind you <a href="https://t.co/JcW7ZPqSas">pic.twitter.com/JcW7ZPqSas</a></p>— 南洋辉叔 Uncle Hui (@alexcmhwee) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexcmhwee/status/1779845454655897802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>One Iranian even pleaded with Israel to directly attack Khamenei:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="et" dir="ltr">Graffiti in Tehran: “Israel, strike the supreme leader's [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] house!” <a href="https://t.co/uQ7D7nN8vP">pic.twitter.com/uQ7D7nN8vP</a></p>— Adam Albilya - אדם אלביליה (@AdamAlbilya) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamAlbilya/status/1781342418689835072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>Support for Israeli attacks on Iran's dictators by America, the leader of the free world, would have particularly provided wind to the sails of Iranian dissidents.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Carter</strong></p><p>The State Department's failure to fully back dissidents in Iran is particularly noteworthy in light of the role of previous administrations in each of the revolutions that brought totalitarian leaders to power.</p><p>Prior to the Iranian revolution of 1979, the nation was led by the popular Shah (King) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife Shahbanu Farah Diba She wears a green dress, a crown, and a diamond necklace set with emeralds. <a href="https://t.co/CKsJ6uZ5L3">pic.twitter.com/CKsJ6uZ5L3</a></p>— Il lupo Viaggiatore (@E_TaherAlbaghli) <a href="https://twitter.com/E_TaherAlbaghli/status/1599855051761385472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p><i>The New American </i><a href="https://thenewamerican.com/us/culture/history/iran-and-the-shah-what-really-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detailed</a> the lengths to which the Carter administration went to bring down the Shah:</p><blockquote><p>The <strong>Carter </strong>administration’s<strong> continuous demand upon the Shah</strong>: liberalize. On October 26, 1978, he freed 1,500 prisoners, but increased rioting followed. The Shah commented that “the more I liberalized, the worse the situation in Iran became. Every initiative I took was seen as proof of my own weakness and that of my government.” Revolutionaries equated liberalization with appeasement. <strong>“My greatest mistake,” the Shah recalled, “was in listening to the Americans on matters concerning the internal affairs of my kingdom.”</strong></p><p>Iran’s last hope: its well-trained military could still restore order. The Carter administration realized this. Du Berrier noted: “Air Force General Robert Huyser, deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe, was sent to <strong>pressure Iran’s generals into giving in without a fight</strong>.” “Huyser directly <strong>threatened the military with a break in diplomatic relations and a cutoff of arms </strong>if they moved to support their monarch.”</p><p>“It was therefore necessary,” the Shah wrote, “to neutralize the Iranian army. It was clearly for this reason that General Huyser had come to Teheran.”</p></blockquote><p>The White House did not even try to hide the purpose of sending a top general to Iran during the protests:</p><blockquote><p>Huyser only paid the Shah a cursory visit, but had three meetings with Iran’s revolutionary leaders — one lasting 10 hours. Huyser, of course, had no authority to interfere with a foreign nation’s sovereign affairs.</p><p>Prior to execution later by Khomeini, General Amir Hossein Rabbi, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Air Force, stated: <strong>“General Huyser threw the Shah out of the country like a dead mouse.”</strong></p></blockquote><p>The Shah finishes the story in his own words:</p><blockquote><p>U.S. officials pressed the Shah to leave Iran. He reflected:</p><p style="margin-left:36px;"><strong>You cannot imagine the pressure the Americans were putting on me, and <u>in the end it became an order</u> </strong>…. How could I stay when<strong> the Americans had sent a general, Huyser, to force me out? How could I stand alone against </strong>Henry Precht [the State Department Director for Iran] and <strong>the entire State Department?</strong> [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h2>Keep Khamenei for stability?</h2><p>The White House has justified its calls for almost no retaliation against Iran with claims that strong strikes could widen Israel's war and destabilize the region with the conflict “<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/biden-endeavors-to-prevent-spread-of-conflict-after-iran-attack/ar-BB1lFk8Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">escalating</a>."</p><p>In fact, Iran has already destabilized the region, using Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria, and Houthi terrorists in South Yemen to attack Israel on five fronts. The <i>NY Post</i> <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/world-news/iranian-american-lawyer-blasts-supporters-of-islamic-regime-calling-for-war-with-israel-we-want-peace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">covered</a> Elica Le Bon, a British-born, American-educated lawyer and popular TikToker of Iranian descent, making this very point:</p><blockquote><p>Le Bon further argued that far from being the victim, Iran was the aggressor responsible for creating Hamas and Hezbollah, as well&nbsp;as the Houthis in Yemen, <strong>for the sole purpose of destabilizing the region. </strong>[Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><p>Le Bon emphasized this point to her 300,000 followers:</p><blockquote><p>How about the terror proxies that the Islamic Republic has created to foster regional instability … What did you think Hezbollah was there for … , Hamas, Houthis. Their miliita groups in Iraq and Syria.&nbsp;</p><p>Did you think they were there to instigate a system of public schooling, education, to feed the poor, house the unhoused? … Are the rockets that Hamas fires into Israel on a near daily basis an act of war?</p></blockquote><p>She also clarified the difference between the regime and the population they rule:&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>First of all, you're not talking about Iran, you're talking about the Islamic Republic…</p><p>Iranians don't want war with Israel. We want peace with Israel. Iranian people inside of Iran have come out and said this over and over and over again. It's you [the regime] that wants war with Israel.</p></blockquote><p>The <i>NY Post </i>also notes Le Bon's complaint that the regime's oppression of Iranians is ignored by Hamas supporters:</p><blockquote><p>“When we were screaming that they were killing Iranian women for not wearing a hijab, where were you?” Le Bon demands to know in the video, which has gone viral with more than 1 million views.</p><p>“When they were lynching Iranian men from cranes for protesting, where were you? When we were explaining that it’s a terrorist occupying force, where were you?” &nbsp;</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH<br><br>An Iranian in the UK responds with "BS" to those who claim that "Iran has the right to defend itself."<br><br>Via <a href="https://twitter.com/elicalebon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elicalebon</a> <a href="https://t.co/o90RoF4taw">pic.twitter.com/o90RoF4taw</a></p>— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) <a href="https://twitter.com/Osint613/status/1779767681471721564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h4>Gazans too</h4><p>Hamas supporters not only fail to show concern for Iranians oppressed by dictators — they also fail to show concern for those <a href="https://frontline.news/post/globalists-cremate-care-for-gaza-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">suffering</a> under tyrannical Hamas terrorists. While <a href="https://cis.org/Bensman/Government-Admission-Biden-Parole-Flights-Create-Security-Vulnerabilities-US-Airports" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flying </a>thousands of illegal adult, male migrants into the U.S. from nations at peace, Secretary of State Antony Blinken labeled the relocation of even women and children in Gazan war zones a “<a href="https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/1714301727782871512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1714301727782871512%7Ctwgr%5E76189453f9bc921d7260794b364a8ab4877de088%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffrontline.news%2Fpost%2Fglobalists-cremate-care-for-gaza-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">non-starter</a>.”</p><h2>Future Shah?</h2><p>Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of the last Shah of Iran and the last heir-apparent to the throne of the Imperial State of Iran, currently in exile in the United States, advocates for Middle East stability through the removal of Iran's leaders and a restored peace with Israel, as he writes on X:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For years I have said the fates of Iranians and Israelis are uniquely intertwined. We have common hopes for peace, but are denied it by a common enemy: the Islamic Republic. This regime poses an existential threat to both Iran and Israel that will continue as long as this regime…</p>— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) <a href="https://twitter.com/PahlaviReza/status/1779310516273332273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>An Iran ruled by Pahlavi would be expected to immediately defund Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and bring stability to the region.</p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"><i><strong>S</strong></i></span><i><strong>ee our additional coverage of the Middle East:</strong></i></p><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/hamas-long-term-strategy-revealed"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>Hamas' long term strategy revealed</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-was-hamas-thinking"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>What was Hamas thinking?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/how-to-spot-a-fake-uprising-and-keep-america-out-analysis"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>How to spot a fake uprising - and keep America out - analysis</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pallywood-palestinian-hollywood-generating-fake-anti-israel-videos"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>'Pallywood': Palestinian Hollywood generating fake anti-Israel videos</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/5-gazans-crushed-by-airdropped-food-packages-as-helicopters-try-to-avoid-hamas-rockets"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>5 Gazans crushed by airdropped food packages as helicopters try to avoid Hamas rocket</u></span></a></li></ol>

iran protest.jpg

World News

Carter pressed Shah to leave Iran; Biden pressed Israel to leave Khameini regime intact

White House chooses Khamenei over Iranian people, again

<p>On Monday, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) sent a letter co-signed by other congressmen to the federal government's Department of Education (DOE), demanding that the department carry out an internal investigation of its agents' decision to issue a $37.7 million fine to Grand Canyon University (GCU), the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2018/05/02/how-grand-canyon-university-became-the-worlds.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">world's largest</a> private Christian school.</p><h2>Record fine</h2><p>The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) <a href="https://www.wnd.com/2023/12/biden-sues-nations-largest-christian-university-hitting-huge-fine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claimed</a> the university “used deceptive advertising and engaged in illegal telemarketing” when slapping the school with a record breaking fine.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In its latest assault on institutions that fail to adhere to its ideological bent, the Biden administration just imposed the largest fine in the history of the U.S. Department of Education on Grand Canyon University (GCU) — a school whose motto is "private, Christian, and…</p>— Mike Netter (@nettermike) <a href="https://twitter.com/nettermike/status/1734238940524315027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>By way of comparison, the $37.7 million fine <a href="https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/biden-just-imposed-the-largest-fine-ever-on-a-christian-college/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">far eclipses</a> fines doled out to other schools for conduct that endangered their student bodies, according to the Goldwater Institute:</p><blockquote><p>And incredibly, the penalty is 10 times bigger than that levied against schools who covered up some of the worst sex offenders in U.S. history.</p></blockquote><h2>Coincidence?</h2><p>Interestingly, the investigation and fine of GCU came just as the federal government was investigating and fining another Christian school, Liberty University, as noted by Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At the same time, the biggest Christian Universities in America —Grand Canyon University and Liberty University are being fined $37 million each by the Biden administration. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenCorruption?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenCorruption</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/gcu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gcu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LibertyUniversity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LibertyUniversity</a> <a href="https://t.co/jSXaJGIovm">https://t.co/jSXaJGIovm</a></p>— Kari Lake (@KariLake) <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1727202515392041305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Case collapses</h2><p>GCU was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing by multiple state agencies, which found that the federal allegations “could not be substantiated,” as <a href="https://www.wnd.com/2024/04/state-investigation-clears-christian-school-feds-dont-drop-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> by WND:</p><blockquote><p>The report revealed a review from the state auditor, through the Arizona State Approving Agency, found that risks identified by Biden's allegations "could not be substantiated, which means the private nonprofit's students can still use GI bill funding to pay tuition."</p><p>The report said University President Brian Mueller told KSTAR, "They said, 'Zero findings. Not a single one. Not one.'"</p><p>School spokesman Bob Romantic said in an interview with The College Fix that the audit covered all three allegations charged by the Biden regulators …</p><p>While the FTC claims the school misrepresented its cost, the report said "a degree calculator function on their website currently states the average number of continuation courses required for past students for each doctoral degree program in clear, red font above the program’s price listings."</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Grand Canyon University <a href="https://twitter.com/gcu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GCU</a> has been cleared of wrongdoing by multiple state agencies while still facing a $37 million fine from the Biden administration. <a href="https://t.co/saA8GXnvDd">https://t.co/saA8GXnvDd</a></p>— The Lion (@ReadTheLion) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReadTheLion/status/1777362747275002312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h3>Malicious?</h3><p>Despite Arizona's findings, the federal government refuses to back down and drop their fine, with Mueller suggesting that “Biden is ‘maliciously targeting’ the school.” This prompted a number of congressmen to take action and demand an investigation.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“A group of House Republicans, led by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, sent a letter Monday to the Department of Education demanding an investigation into their $37.7 million fine recently imposed against Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest private Christian school in the U.S”… <a href="https://t.co/XUQ0LekZVi">pic.twitter.com/XUQ0LekZVi</a></p>— American Principles  (@approject) <a href="https://twitter.com/approject/status/1778148979605201382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>If malice is at play, it didn't start with the DOE or the FTC, though they are not as commonly perceived as corrupt as other agencies:</p><h2>DOJ</h2><p>Many Americans have gotten used to the idea of a politicized Department of Justice (DOJ) throwing the book at small government activists, such as unwitting Jan 6 trespassers donning patriotic symbols, while <a href="https://frontline.news/post/mr-biden-wheres-dr-golds-pardon-for-peaceful-capitol-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dropping charges</a> against revolutionary rioters hoisting the hammer and sickle:&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"><strong>Zero prison time</strong> was given to 209 of the 210 people charged with felony rioting for violence at the 2017 inauguration<strong>&nbsp;</strong>that <strong>injured six police officers</strong> and caused more than $100,000 in damage, with <strong>charges dropped altogether against 189 rioters </strong>… [emphasis added].</span></p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alexander Starks, self-described antifa, attacked the office of a GOP senator with an ax. Given probation and the FBI gave him his ax back. <a href="https://t.co/XooVebWOUO">https://t.co/XooVebWOUO</a> <a href="https://t.co/pFaxtiZExL">pic.twitter.com/pFaxtiZExL</a></p>— Renna (@RennaW) <a href="https://twitter.com/RennaW/status/1535018770153951232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>Political persecution extends to additional federal agencies, however.</p><h2>IRS</h2><p>The IRS was accused of meddling in the 2012 election <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1CV1TX/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">by</a> "targeting organizations with such words as ‘Tea Party" or ’patriots' when they applied to the agency for tax-exempt status, starting in 2010." Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversaw tax-exempt groups, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-admits-targeting-conservatives-for-tax-scrutiny-in-2012-election/2013/05/10/3b6a0ada-b987-11e2-92f3-f291801936b8_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">admitted</a>, after the election, that the IRS created delays in processing requests by sending those groups “burdensome questionnaires and, in some cases, improper requests for the names of their donors — simply because of the words in their names.”</p><blockquote><p>The IRS admitted it was wrong when it based screenings of the groups' applications on their names or policy positions, subjected the groups to heightened scrutiny and delays and demanded unnecessary information from the groups, the agreement in the Washington case said.</p><p>The IRS "expresses its sincere apology," it said.</p><p>Senior management within the IRS's Exempt Organizations Division "was delinquent in its responsibility to provide effective control, guidance, and direction over the processing of applications for tax exempt status filed by Tea Party and other political advocacy organizations," the settlement document said.</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hillary Clinton wasn’t indicted for mishandling classified information.<br><br>Lois Lerner wasn’t indicted for the IRS Targeting Scandal and for being held in contempt of Congress.<br><br>Hunter Biden won’t be indicted for numerous financial crime.<br><br>Joe Biden won’t be indicted for…</p>— David Giglio (@DavidGiglioCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidGiglioCA/status/1661418632298237953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>BOP</h2><p>One would hope that, in the unfortunate event they entered the federal prison system, prisoners would be treated no differently no matter whether they identified with the political Left or Right. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), however, has been accused of politicizing its role in the justice system, endangering peaceful Jan 6 trespassers by placing them <a href="https://frontline.news/post/bureau-of-prisons-overrides-own-scoring-system-to-incarcerate-j6-defendants-in-more-dangerous-locations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">together with violent felons</a> and imposing <a href="https://frontline.news/post/congressional-representatives-set-october-6-deadline-for-bop-to-explain-solitary-confinement-of-j6-prisoner-of-conscience" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extended solitary confinement for minor infractions </a>such as mentioning their daily schedule in a phone call.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt Gaetz and MTG visit J6 prison housing Owen Shroyer, John Strand, after disturbing allegations of political retaliation.<br><br>They placed Owen Shroyer back into solitary confinement for 30 days simply for speaking.<a href="https://t.co/6j9KC22ZaG">https://t.co/6j9KC22ZaG</a></p>— Americat  (@catmurphy209) <a href="https://twitter.com/catmurphy209/status/1722604149332676614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>Check back as we examine corruption at other three-letter agencies.</p><h4>Related Articles</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/bureau-of-prisons-overrides-own-scoring-system-to-incarcerate-j6-defendants-in-more-dangerous-locations"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Bureau of Prisons overrides own scoring system to incarcerate J6 defendants in more dangerous locations?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/mr-biden-wheres-dr-golds-pardon-for-peaceful-capitol-speech"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Mr Biden - Where is Dr Gold's pardon for peaceful medical speech at Capitol?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds coerce Jan 6 defendants into waiving right to appeal jail time</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds pressure Jan 6 defendants to falsely confess to ‘knowingly’ trespassing</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/fbidojcourt-jail-dr-simone-gold-for-trespass-politicizing-medicine"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Politicizing medicine: FBI/DOJ/Court jail Dr Simone Gold for trespass</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fbi-no-time-to-interview-rape-victims-plenty-for-jan-6-trespass"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>FBI - No time to interview rape victims; plenty for Jan 6 trespass</u></span></a></li></ol>

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Education

State investigators clear university; feds won’t drop record fine

Congressmen demand investigation into Feds' treatment of world's largest Christian school

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White House demands ceasefire before Hamas removed from power despite historically low civilian-casualty rate

Extraordinary Gaza achievement overlooked - 200 terrorists eliminated in hospital; none of 6200 human shields killed

<p><i>Frontline News </i>recently reported that FDA officials concede that, “<a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-safe-and-effective-really-means" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no pharmaceutical is a hundred percent safe</a>" and many actually <a href="https://frontline.news/post/pharmaceuticals-that-cause-the-very-ailments-they-re-supposed-to-treat-or-prevent" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cause the very ailment they are supposed to treat.</a>&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In 1995, a drug to increase bone density came out. It didn't sell until Merck put bone density scanners everywhere and mass marketed "pre-osteoporosis."<br><br>Unfortunately, Fosamax made bone more brittle and had many severe side effects...including fractures.<a href="https://t.co/7C0IpjkWLS">https://t.co/7C0IpjkWLS</a></p>— Pierre Kory, MD MPA (@PierreKory) <a href="https://twitter.com/PierreKory/status/1774132321236771120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>The task of informing patients of potential side effects is undertaken by <a href="https://frontline.news/post/whose-job-is-it-to-tell-you-about-side-effects-doctor-pharmacist-pharma-patient" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drug manufacturers themselves as well as doctors and pharmacists&nbsp;</a></p><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Big Pharma writes the patient inserts</h2><p>Pharma plays a direct role in determining what side effect information is available to patients as the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fdas-labeling-resources-human-prescription-drugs/patient-labeling-resources#inserts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drug manufacturers themselves</a> prepare Patient Package Inserts (PPIs), also known as “Patient Information,” although they sometimes need to adapt their initial draft to obtain FDA approval. According to <a href="https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/why-do-drug-companies-love-long-lists-of-side-effects" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peoples Pharmacy</a>, a long list of adverse effects in the inserts may actually <i>not </i>have the effect of discouraging the drugs' use.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>We used to think that pharmaceutical companies reluctantly included long lists of side effects because the FDA <i>made</i> them do it. That is no doubt true, but there may be a more self-serving reason.</p><p><strong>Telling patients about lots of nasty adverse reactions might provide a legal defense</strong> in case of litigation. <strong>And people tend to zone out after about the tenth</strong> or eleventh side effect anyway.</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If the RX side effects list rhymed  <a href="https://t.co/pVTsaB3H2d">pic.twitter.com/pVTsaB3H2d</a></p>— Elle Cordova (@ellerhymes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ellerhymes/status/1774510207646986299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Big Pharma guides doctors on presenting side effects</h2><p>Pharma also plays an indirect role in how doctors present the potential for side effects to patients.</p><p>The <i>Washington Post</i> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/doctors-often-dont-tell-you-about-drug-side-effects-and-thats-a-problem/2017/07/28/830fbaf6-715c-11e7-8839-ec48ec4cae25_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published</a> a piece in 2017 detailing the reasons why many doctors fail to warn patients of a drug's adverse effects, casting light on doctors' training in the area both in medical school and afterwards through continuing education seminars:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Doctors often don’t tell you about drug side effects, and that’s a problem</strong></p><p>… <strong>Doctors learn about drugs in medical school and later during continuing-education programs. But those programs are often funded by drug companies</strong>, according to J. Douglas Bremner, a professor of psychiatry and radiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.</p><p>Bremner said <strong>pharmaceutical companies even reach medical students by influencing those who train them.</strong></p><p>“They’re not really trained to be scientists, they’re trained to be apprentices,” Bremner said. “That’s what <strong>the drug companies know </strong>. . .<strong> If they can get the person who trains them to change what they’re prescribing, they can get them to</strong>.” [Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Slides and all</h3><p>Professor Bremner wasn't just conjecturing about continuing education instructors — he was one himself. But he was not like the rest. The drug companies wanted him to use their prepared slides in his presentations, but he eventually saw the bias it created and balked, even though it would mean more work for him as he would need to create the slides himself.&nbsp;</p><p>In actuality, it meant less work — as he was not longer selected as a presenter, sending a message not just to Bremner but to any of his colleagues who might get the idea of preparing their own slides.</p><blockquote><p>When Bremner taught continuing-education sessions,<strong> the pharmaceutical companies that paid him provided the slides. Because the slides seemed to favor those companies’ drugs, he started using his own.</strong></p><p><strong>“When I did that several times, they stopped asking me,” </strong>Bremner said. &nbsp;[Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>'The people in control of prescribing drugs know the least about the drugs'</h3><p>If researchers are discouraged from doing their own research and preparing their own slides, what of the physicians who attend their lectures? They “prescribe irrationally,” according to a pharmacology professor. By irrationally, she means irrational from a patient perspective, but perfectly rational from a profit incentive, as newer, more expensive but less tested drugs are preferred to older ones with a lot more information about their safety and efficacy:</p><blockquote><p>Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center, said <strong>doctors often “prescribe irrationally,” pushing branded over generic drugs, new over old, and suggesting medication for diseases invented or exaggerated by drug companies.</strong></p><p>“We’re in sort of a bad situation now where<strong> the people in control of prescribing drugs know the least about the drugs</strong>,” said Fugh-Berman, who directs PharmedOut at Georgetown, which researches drug marketing and educates health-care professionals about its influence …</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Patient experts</h4><p>The result, according to the professor: patients are left with no choice but to do their own research:</p><blockquote><p>Fugh-Berman said<strong> patients need to become their own experts, researching drugs on websites </strong>— such as the government database <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/">MedlinePlus</a> — <strong>that are "free of [the pharmaceutical] industry."</strong></p></blockquote><p>Independent research gives patients the confidence to challenge a doctor who immediately dismisses a pharmaceutical, whether a medicine or a vaccine, as the cause of a medical issue. In fact, patients should not only know the potential side effects, but should also demand of their treating physician that they not dismiss the pharmaceutical as the cause of a new problem "until proven otherwise."&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>Doctors have a responsibility to listen to their patients about side effects, too, she said.</p><p>“I tell medical students: <strong>If a patient develops a symptom after they’ve gone on their drug, it’s always the drug’s fault until proven otherwise</strong>,” said Fugh-Berman.</p><p>Amy Thompson, a clinical pharmacist and an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s College of Pharmacy, said <strong>doctors have plenty of knowledge about drugs, but there are so many available they don’t know the possible side effects of all of them</strong>.</p><p>“But they have access to look into it,” she said, referring to online databases, continuing education and pharmacists …</p></blockquote><p>Such foreknowledge empowers parents to be insistent when a doctor asks, “What happened?” the parent responds, “Nothing, except that the child just got a shot,” and the doctor, having learned that the shot is safe, cuts the parent off with, “No, it's not that.”</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The medical literature suggests legitimate concerns with certain childhood vaccinations.<br><br>You owe it to your child to check the validity of ANY vaccine regardless of what the pediatrician says. <a href="https://t.co/yMSnxJ6Am0">pic.twitter.com/yMSnxJ6Am0</a></p>— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1740216227329376724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h4>&nbsp;</h4><h4>Cycle of misinformation</h4><p>The <i>Washington Post</i> adds that the faith that doctors have in Pharma's assertions that drugs are safe leads them to fail to ascribe adverse events to the drugs and they therefore fail to report them. This in turn lowers the reported side effect rate, making drugs appear safer than they are.</p><blockquote><p>Marlene Beggelman, founder and chief executive of Enhanced Medical Decisions, a health information technology company in Cambridge, Mass., said <strong>the FDA might be underestimating side effects because doctors often don't report them</strong>. Although the FDA collects reports on its Adverse Event Reporting System, the reporting is voluntary and adverse reactions are considered underreported. Beggelman described her own experience with side effects in a blog post on KevinMD.com.</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Under-Reporting of Adverse Drug/Vaccine Reactions<br>Only about 1% -10% of harm caused by pharmaceutical drugs/vaccines is reported<br>Drug side effects are under-reported to extent they can be 100 times more harmful than we are told<br>This blog looks at why<a href="https://t.co/vhNd8thPzb">https://t.co/vhNd8thPzb</a></p>— Steve Scrutton (@stevescrutton) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevescrutton/status/1413433614965133314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>But maybe they meant well:</p><blockquote><p>Beggelman, an internal medicine physician, said doctors mean well even when the care they deliver has negative consequences.</p><p>“I think that very often it’s a human quality of not wanting to think that what you’re doing to try to help people is actually causing problems,” she said. &nbsp;[Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Related articles:</strong></p><blockquote><ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/whose-job-is-it-to-tell-you-about-side-effects-doctor-pharmacist-pharma-patient"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Whose job is it to explain side effects?&nbsp; Doctors?&nbsp; Pharmacists?&nbsp; Pharma?&nbsp; Yours</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pharmaceuticals-that-cause-the-very-ailments-they-re-supposed-to-treat-or-prevent"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Pharmaceuticals that cause the very ailments they're supposed to treat or prevent</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-safe-and-effective-really-means"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>What 'safe and effective' really means</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/when-public-hears-safe-and-effective-they-hear-100-safe-and-effective"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>When public hears 'safe and effective' they hear ‘100% safe and effective’</u></span></a></li><li style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://frontline.news/post/doctors-under-the-influence">Doctors under the influence</a></li></ul></blockquote>

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Medical

Pharma funds continuing education classes and even 'provides the slides'

Big Pharma guiding doctors on how to discuss side effects

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Government officials and mass media pushing fraudulent clips

'Pallywood': Palestinian Hollywood generating fake anti-Israel videos

<h2>Whose job is it?</h2><p><i>Frontline News </i>recently reported that many <a href="https://frontline.news/post/pharmaceuticals-that-cause-the-very-ailments-they-re-supposed-to-treat-or-prevent" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pharmaceuticals cause the very ailment they are supposed to treat</a> and that FDA officials concede that, “<a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-safe-and-effective-really-means" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no pharmaceutical is a hundred percent safe</a>.” So whose job is it to warn patients of potential side effects?</p><h2>The patient's job?</h2><p>The FDA appears to put the onus on patients to discover the potential adverse reactions that may take place after taking a pharmaceutical, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-consumers-and-patients-drugs/finding-and-learning-about-side-effects-adverse-reactions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advising</a> people to initiate conversations with their doctors about adverse effects and to check product inserts:</p><blockquote><p>There are several ways to learn about side effects for your prescription drugs and to reduce your risk of experiencing a side effect.</p><ul><li><strong>Ask your health care professional about any possible side effects </strong>and what, if any steps should be taken to reduce the risk when you are prescribed a drug . . .</li><li><strong>Ask your health care professional for information about the drug </strong>when you receive your prescription (FDA approved labeling for patients include Medication Guides and Patient Information). These documents will include possible common and serious side effects.</li><li><strong>Read the pharmacy label</strong> and any stickers that may be attached to the prescription bottle or box. [Emphases added.]</li></ul></blockquote><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>The doctor's job?</h2><p>Professor Derjung Tarn <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4347985/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> on the extent to which “physicians communicate the adverse effects of medications,” determining that in theory they should follow each pharmaceutical's “Patient Counseling Information section for healthcare providers.”&nbsp;He deems, however, that it's not practicable for physicians to do so. The professor adds that there's actually no data available on just how much adverse event information is commonly passed on by doctors:</p><blockquote><p>Guidelines specify the content of adverse effect education for medications associated with common adverse events, such as warfarin, NSAIDs and aspirin. In addition, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), <strong>prescribing information must include a Patient Counseling Information section for healthcare providers to use when counseling patients.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>However, the information in the FDA prescribing information is voluminous and incompatible with office discussion. Physicians have little guidance about which adverse medication reactions to discuss with patients </strong>and it is unknown which potential adverse effects are commonly discussed by physicians. [Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p><i>MedShadow </i>also <a href="https://medshadow.org/side-effects-doctor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">examined</a> the extent to which doctors should mention side effects, concluding that doctors have lots of leeway in order to allow them to avoid discouraging the use of a medication. Like the FDA, they appear to ultimately put the onus on patients to get information on adverse effects:</p><blockquote><p><strong>People are different, and doctors are called upon to use judgment all the time. </strong>Even doctors who try to relay all possible side effects are challenged to know when to stop.<strong> Listing all the rare adverse events could scare the patient out of getting needed care.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>Which side effects are common enough to be mentioned</strong>, and <strong>which are rare enough to be left unsaid?</strong></p><p><strong>This is a good discussion to have with your doctor</strong>. You might not want to know all the possible minor irritations that could be caused by a medicine. A warning of the most significant possible adverse events and a general comment that any new symptoms are probably from the medicine might be all the information you want.</p><p>Others might want to discuss the drug in detail and have a strategy for coping with side effects.<strong> It’s your body, your appointment, and the doctor is your consultant. Ask for the information </strong>you want and know when to say, “Enough.” &nbsp;[Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><h2>The pharmacist's job?</h2><p>Publications directed at pharmacists encourage them to share side effect information in order to fill the gap between what patients hear from their doctors and what they need to know.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hadar_zaman1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hadar_zaman1</a> explains how community pharmacists are ideally placed to help patients manage side effects.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mentalhealth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mentalhealth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Imaanhealthcare?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Imaanhealthcare</a> <a href="https://t.co/3vWCcGzAMr">pic.twitter.com/3vWCcGzAMr</a></p>— GreenLife Pharma UK (@GreenLPharmaUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenLPharmaUK/status/861580886697025536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>Many of these journals emphasize discussing medications in ways that “don't scare” the patients. <i>Rxrelief, </i>for example, titled one article: "<a href="https://www.rxrelief.com/blog/pharmacy-communicate-side-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Don’t Scare Your Patients: How to Communicate Side Effects Without Scaring Patients</a>."&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p><strong>Don’t Scare Your Patients: How to Communicate Side Effects Without Scaring Patients …</strong></p><p>There is now a <strong>lack of communication between patients and healthcare providers about medications</strong>, and as a result, <strong>patients are not getting all of the information they need about the benefits and risks </strong>of their medication. To put patients at ease, pharmacists need to give them the information they need, listen to their concerns and show empathy …</p><p><strong>The pharmacist should learn about all the medications that the patient is taking. </strong>Then, the pharmacist should talk with the patient to see how well the person understands why he or she is receiving the particular prescription. The pharmacist also needs to address any concerns or issues the patient may have …</p><p>When the pharmacist talks about the medication, he or she needs to cover the following issues – the name and potency of the drug, why the physician has prescribed it and how it works, how to take it, how long to take it, how it will help,<strong> possible side effects</strong>, the amount of time elapsed before the patient will see improvement, and what to do if the patient misses a dose …</p><p><strong>Talking About Side Effects With Pharmacy Patients</strong></p><p><strong>The pharmacist needs to inform the patient about potential common and severe side effects, what the patient can do to prevent or minimize them, and what the patient should do if he or she experiences any of the side effects</strong>, which includes contacting his or her physician, pharmacist or another healthcare provider.</p><p>When talking to the patient, the pharmacist needs to <strong>use language that the patient understands </strong>and lay out the information in a logical order. [Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p>Another publication geared toward pharmacists, <i>SingleCare, </i>lays out <a href="https://www.singlecare.com/blog/explain-side-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">six way</a>s to avoid frightening patients:</p><blockquote><p><strong>How to explain side effects without scaring patients</strong></p><p>There are always risks when taking drugs—whether they are prescription or over-the-counter medications … As a pharmacist, you have to fully understand, and clearly explain the potential risks to everyone who picks up a prescription.</p><p><strong>How do you explain side effects without scaring patients?</strong> …</p><p><strong>1. Stay calm.</strong></p><p>One of the best ways to put patients at ease is to model composure and compassion when speaking to them …</p><p><strong>2. Explain all the details.</strong></p><p>Everything is a little scarier when you don’t know what to expect …</p><p><strong>3. Suggest calming techniques.</strong></p><p>Remind patients that the medication was specially chosen to make them feel better and return to good health … Offer ways to fend off initial anxiety, like taking some deep breaths together, to help patients stay calm and process the information.</p><p><strong>4. Get to the root of the anxiety.</strong></p><p>Tell patients, “if you communicate a specific reason why you are anxious (for example, you’re worried about becoming addicted to pain medication), that can help me offer more specific advice" …</p><p><strong>5. Remind patients that serious side effects are unlikely.</strong></p><p>… Richard Harris, M.D., Pharm.D., founder of Great Health and Wellness, reassures the patient that none of the side effects are set in stone or absolutely imminent … “I let them know that we are covering a wide range of possibilities and none of them may actually happen. Also, that few medications when used properly lead to permanent or terminal side effects.”</p><p><strong>6. Focus on the positives.</strong></p><p>… “review the direct benefit of the medication over the potential side effects” … Patients who are worried about adverse effects are less likely to take their medications. By taking the time to soothe their fears, you’re making sure they’ll be feeling better, sooner.</p></blockquote><p>Judging by these publications, doctors cannot be relied upon to provide sufficient information about side effects and patients cannot be relied upon to read and understand the warnings in package inserts, but pharmacists can fill in the missing information about potential side effects, albeit in a non-alarming way designed to make the patient better informed without running the risk of discouraging them from opting out of using the drug.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Check back</strong> for the next installment of our series on adverse events as we look at Big Pharma's involvement in how doctors discuss side effects with patients.</p><p><strong>Related articles:</strong></p><blockquote><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pharmaceuticals-that-cause-the-very-ailments-they-re-supposed-to-treat-or-prevent"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Pharmaceuticals that cause the very ailments they're supposed to treat or prevent</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-safe-and-effective-really-means"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>What 'safe and effective' really means</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/when-public-hears-safe-and-effective-they-hear-100-safe-and-effective"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>When public hears 'safe and effective' they hear '100% safe and effective' - Congressman Brad Wenstrup</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/tragedy-8-year-old-featured-in-covid-propaganda-video-dies-after-cardiac-arrest"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Tragedy: 8-year-old featured in COVID propaganda video dies after cardiac arrest</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/doctors-paid-per-vaccine-jab"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Frontline Facts: Are doctors paid per vaccine jab?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/despite-government-claims-myocarditis-found-not-temporary-after-covid-m-rna-injection"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Despite government claims, myocarditis found not temporary after COVID mRNA injection</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/neurological-complications-turbo-cancers-after-covid-shot"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Neurological complications, turbo cancers after COVID shot</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/government-withholds-vaccination-status-for-9-year-old-israeli-girl-dead-from-cardiac-arrest-during-rocket-siren"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Government withholds vaccination status for 9-year-old Israeli girl dead from cardiac arrest during rocket siren</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/moderna-using-celebrity-reports-of-side-effects-to-monitor-victims-rather-than-warn-others"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Moderna using celebrity reports of side effects to monitor victims rather than warn others?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/news/post/highly-biased-paper-shifts-myocarditis-blame-from-vaccines-to-long-covid/"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>‘Highly biased’ paper shifts myocarditis blame from vaccines to ‘long COVID’</u></span></a></li></ol></blockquote>

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Pharmacists told: 'Don’t scare your patients'

Whose job is it to explain side effects?  Doctors?  Pharmacists?  Pharma?  Yours?

<h1>US and Brazil on the same path?</h1><p>After Wellington Luiz Firmino was given a 17-year sentence by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, for essentially trespassing at a political rally, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green took the opportunity to compare the Biden administration with that of Brazil's socialist president, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What’s the difference in Brazil and America?<br><br>Nothing. <a href="https://t.co/b7EOgu8Dci">https://t.co/b7EOgu8Dci</a></p>— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1767701123022889432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Fighting those who fight voter fraud</h2><p>Like January 6, 2021 protestors in the U.S., those who participated in the January 8, 2023 rally at Brazil's seat of government were demanding that fraudulent votes in their national elections be nullified; thus protesting on an almost identical date for an identical demand.</p><h2>Selective prosecution</h2><p>The DOJ has aggressively prosecuted non-violent January 6 protestors, <a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">overcharging</a> them in order to coerce guilty pleas even as they <a href="https://frontline.news/post/fbi-no-time-to-interview-rape-victims-plenty-for-jan-6-trespass" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dismiss</a> charges against Antifa rioters. Brazil's prosecutors have done the same, with&nbsp;<s> </s>131 January 8 protestors having been locked up so far.</p><p>Firmino is a motorcycle courier who had a clean record prior to receiving the abovementioned 17-year sentence. He continues to maintain<s>ed</s> his innocence, as seen from machine translation of a statement <a href="https://g1.globo.com/sp/sorocaba-jundiai/noticia/2024/03/09/reu-que-fez-video-em-cima-de-torre-do-congresso-durante-atos-golpistas-esta-entre-os-15-condenados-pelo-stf.ghtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recorded</a> by <i>Sorocaba E Jundiai:</i></p><blockquote><p>I've been working since I was 12 years old, I'm a job creator and not a criminal. According to the laws that are being applied to me, a drug dealer or murderer has more rights than me …&nbsp;</p><p><strong>I did not break absolutely anything, quite the contrary, I filmed those who were actually doing any damage to public property.</strong> <strong>I was condemned </strong>by the Supreme Court for reasons without any evidence, <strong>with a political bias.</strong> [Emphases added.]</p></blockquote><p>The owner of X appears to agree:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unless something is missing here, the punishment is far in excess of the crime</p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1767709890384929107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Government appeared to condone</h2><p>In another haunting similarity to January 6, Firmino added that government authorities gave him the impression that he was allowed to be where he was:</p><blockquote><p>I'm innocent, I just exercised my right to raise the flag from my country to the highest point of Brasília, <strong>with full permission from the authorities who were there in that place. </strong>[Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h2>Collective punishment</h2><p>In yet another similarity, Brazilian authorities prosecuted defendants not just for trespass but also for supposedly supporting the violent acts of some of the thousands of other protestors. In Firmino's case, he was punished for “celebrating” the acts of other protestors, as the rapporteur of the case pleaded to the court:</p><blockquote><p>Although the defense claims that the defendant's entry into the National Congress took place for tourism, what can be observed is that the <strong>defendant adopted an intense stance of celebration</strong> for the 'taking over' of the building. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h2>Candidates of the elite</h2><p>Turning to the leaders behind the prosecutions, they share a similarity beyond their Left-leaning policies. Like Joe Biden, Lula da Silva is backed by his nation's elite, as <i>Fox News </i><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/who-is-brazils-socialist-ex-convicted-candidate-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>:</p><blockquote><h3>Who is Brazil's socialist, ex-con candidate for president?</h3><p>. . . Tiago Cortez, a political adviser for Brazil's Republican Party … made the point that<strong> Lula is very popular in elite circles: "Lula is greatly favored by the media, the artistic class and part of the business community</strong>, which spent a decade getting favorable treatment through the National Development Bank. These are sectors that end up making a great financial and media contribution" to his campaign. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h3>Persecuting opponents</h3><p>Biden and Lula share more similarities, including their <a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/boomerang-brazils-lula-weaponized-the-january-8th-riots-but-now-he-wants-to-avoid-a-parlamentary-investigation-at-all-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attempts</a> to keep from the public the details of law enforcement activities that day (possibly including whether police were told to stand down, to not block trespass, or even to riot while dressed as protestors) and their criminal <a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/breaking-former-brazilian-president-bolsonaros-home-raided-passport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prosecutions</a> of the very political opponents for whom the protestors were rallying.&nbsp;</p><h4>The defendant describes his persecution</h4><p>Firmino may be seen in the below video, with an option for automated subtitles in English, defending his actions.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="1920" height="710" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Co0tEBUFoGo" title="Condenado pelos atos de 8 de Janeiro de 2023 desabafa sobre o caso" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><h4>Related Articles</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds coerce Jan 6 defendants into waiving right to appeal jail time</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Feds pressure Jan 6 defendants to falsely confess to ‘knowingly’ trespassing</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/judge-in-dr-gold-case-applauded-anti-free-speech-socialists-disrupting-scotus"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Judge in Dr Gold case applauded anti-free speech socialists disrupting SCOTUS</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/fbidojcourt-jail-dr-simone-gold-for-trespass-politicizing-medicine"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Politicizing medicine: FBI/DOJ/Court jail Dr Simone Gold for trespass</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fbi-fails-to-act-on-evidence-of-planned-shootings"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>FBI fails to act on evidence of planned shootings</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/police-plant-drugs-on-minorities-to-meet-arrest-quotas"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Police plant drugs on minorities to meet arrest quotas</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/police-chiefs-discourage-violent-crime-complaints-to-give-appearance-of-reduced-crime"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Police chiefs discourage violent crime complaints to give appearance of reduced crime</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fbi-no-time-to-interview-rape-victims-plenty-for-jan-6-trespass"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>FBI - No time to interview rape victims; plenty for Jan 6 trespass</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/blm-pushes-gun-laws-that-may-have-led-ohio-man-to-flee-police"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>BLM pushes gun laws that may have led to deadly police shooting of black man</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/congressman-introduces-j6-bill-to-counter-political-prosecutions"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Congressman introduces ‘J6 Bill to Counter Political Prosecutions’</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">&nbsp;</span></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/hate-crime-laws-selectively-enforced"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>'Hate crime' laws selectively enforced</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fbi-won-t-investigate-politico-for-supreme-court-leak-after-raiding-project-veritas"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>FBI won't investigate Politico for Supreme Court leak; raided Project Veritas over leaked diary</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/judge-allows-doj-to-hide-exculpatory-evidence-from-january-6-defendants"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Judge allows DOJ to withhold exculpatory evidence from J6 defendants</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/bureau-of-prisons-overrides-own-scoring-system-to-incarcerate-j6-defendants-in-more-dangerous-locations"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Bureau of Prisons overrides own scoring system to incarcerate J6 defendants in more dangerous locations?</u></span></a></li></ol>

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'What’s the difference in Brazil and America? Nothing' - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

January 8 protestor sentenced to 17 years for climbing atop Brazilian National Congress

Eliyahu Tulshinski

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