Did Michelle Malkin Lie About White House And Tucson Memorial?
Did Michelle Malkin, America’s Hypocrite, lie about Tuesday’s memorial for the victims of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona? She writes the day after the memorial:
President Obama used to preach that there was no “Red America†and no “Blue America,â€Â just one America.
But tonight at the memorial for the Tucson massacre victims, it will be a sea of blue as the White House unveils the “Together We Thrive†logo and slogan.
Yes, the Tucson massacre is being branded:
All the University of Arizona buses in Tucson have been flashing the slogan on their digital signs.
Attendees at the memorial tonight report that they are being handed out the blue and white t-shirts as they enter the venue.
A reader in attendance tells me via Twitter that volunteers will be wearing red-and-white shirts. He’s going to try and upload a photo.
Here is a photo of the blue and white t-shirts being laid out at the stadium for tonight.
And here is a screenshot from the Arizona Republic of more volunteers setting out tonight’s costume props:
Will there be giant foam fingers and blue cotton candy, too?
Isn’t the churning of the instant messaging machine a bit, well, unseemly?
Can’t the Democrat political stage managers give it a break just once?
Update: As noted above, the University of Arizona announced the Together We Thrive event — and a few readers write in to say that the campus initiated the logo/campaign. Given U of A president Robert Shelton’s embarrassing, thinly-veiled partisan cheerleading for Obama tonight, it may indeed be a 100 percent-campus-initiated campaign. Given the Obama White House’s meticulous attention to stage prop details, however, I would say the odds of involvement by Axelrod/Plouffe & Co. are high.
If there’s one thing you can say about Malkin, she doesn’t let fact-checking get in the way of a juicy hit-piece. Nate Silver is far too kind to her, but says of Malkin’s claim that there were two million people at Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Project, “Malkin herself did not lie; she merely repeated a lie. It does not particularly call into question her character. It does, however, call into question her judgment.” (In fact, there were 70,000.)
Fortunately, we have the fine folks at Politifact who work very hard to check the facts. And they checked Malkin’s facts (something she should try every once in a while!) Via Politifact:
The University of Arizona memorial service for the victims of the Tucson, Ariz. shootings was called “Together We Thrive.” But Michele Malkin claimed the slogan was cooked up by the White House
In an opinion piece about the Jan. 12, 2011, memorial event, Malkin, a conservative pundit, accused the White House of “branding” the memorial service with the slogan, complete with its own logo.
Malkin noted that all 13,000 people who attended the “Together We Thrive” event were given blue and white T-shirts with the logo.
“Can’t the Democrat political stage managers give it a break just once?” Malkin wrote in her column.
The Drudge Report subsequently ran a headline atop its web page, “Political Theme, T-Shirts at Memorial?” It linked to an AP photo of “Together We Thrive” T-shirts draped over the back of chairs before the memorial service at McKale Memorial Center on the University of Arizona campus.
But officials at the University of Arizona said the White House had nothing to do with the name or the logo.
“The name of the event and the logo for the event were done entirely by the university,” said Johnny Cruz, a spokesman for the University of Arizona. “Branding of the event was not done in consultation with the White House, or any elected officials or political organization.”
The T-shirts were also the university’s doing, Cruz said.
“That was the university’s idea,” he said. “We wanted to give people something to remember, to symbolize the community spirit.”
The university bought the shirts without the use of taxpayer dollars, although he wasn’t sure if the cost was borne by donations.
“Almost everything was done by the university,” Cruz said, including selection of the location for the event and planning the agenda. Once the president accepted an invitation, he said, the White House helped coordinate some logistics, such as security, but that was the extent of the White House involvement.
And “Together We Thrive” was conceived by a University of Arizona student, he said.
White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said during his briefing that the university was responsible for logistics. “I think it’s important to understand we were invited to and accepted quite happily the invitation of the university,” he said.
We should note that Malkin later added an update to her blog posting that stated, “As noted above, the University of Arizona announced the Together We Thrive event — and a few readers wrote in to say that the campus initiated the logo/campaign. Given U of A president Robert Shelton’s embarrassing, thinly-veiled partisan cheerleading for Obama tonight, it may indeed be a 100 percent-campus-initiated campaign. Given the Obama White House’s meticulous attention to stage prop details, however, I would say the odds of involvement by Axelrod/Plouffe & Co. are high.”
But university spokesman Cruz said all of the “stage prop details,” as Malkin called them, were entirely conceived by and arranged by the college.
The burden of proof is on Malkin and she has failed to prove any White House involvement. She may believe she sees the handiwork of the White House at play, but there’s no evidence to back that up. Certainly not enough to justify her claim the White House used the shooting tragedy as an opportunity to orchestrate a “branded” political event. We rate Malkin’s claim False.
If you visit their site you’ll also notice they checked Malkin’s facts the same day she published her piece. That was three days ago. Has she retracted it? No. Taken it down? No. All she did was update it snidely, which I included above, while not acknowledging her false assumptions.
Malkin is a foul–mouthed bigot, a race-baiting conspiracy-theorist, and a hypocrite willing to trade her vote to not pay taxes.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
The White House has yet to comment after classified information reportedly appeared on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency website — information related to one of the federal government intelligence agencies his SpaceX company does business with.
“Elon Musk’s team at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has posted classified information about the size and staff of a U.S. intelligence agency on its new website, raising bigger concerns about where Musk’s programmers got this information and what they are doing with it,” HuffPost reported Friday afternoon.
“DOGE’s database provides details on the National Reconnaissance Office, the federal agency that designs, builds and maintains U.S. intelligence satellites. Not only are NRO’s budgets and head counts classified, but the prospect of Musk’s tech team meddling in sensitive personnel information is setting off alarms for some in the intelligence community,” HuffPost explained. “Musk can’t claim he wasn’t aware that the National Reconnaissance Office is one of the nation’s intelligence agencies. His company, SpaceX, has a $1.8 billion contract with NRO to build hundreds of spy satellites.”
READ MORE: ‘United States of Extortion’: New Trump Ukraine ‘Shakedown’ Called ‘Cheap Mafia’ Move
A Senate staffer who works on intelligence matters told HuffPost that DOGE sharing this information “is absolutely a problem under the current intelligence standards.”
“These 25-year-old programmers, I don’t think they have enough experience to know what they don’t know,” the aide said. “Really, the question is: Where did they get this information and what are they doing with it?”
HuffPost also reported that a White House spokesperson “did not respond to a request for comment on where DOGE workers got this information, why they are sharing it publicly and if the president is concerned about DOGE workers accessing sensitive data.”
National security and civil liberties journalist Marcy Wheeler directed her ire at U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
“I’m curious if you’re at all alarmed that one of USG’s Satellite Contractors, Elon Musk, just leaked details about satellite intelligence agency NRO on his DOGE site?” she asked in a social media post.
READ MORE: ‘Disgust’: Vance’s ‘Disturbing’ Speech Alarms Europe, Sparks Foreign Policy Fears
Image via Reuters
Just weeks into his second term, President Donald Trump’s administration is not only grappling with a growing colossus of self-inflicted crises, but is now igniting international tensions as well. The administration is pressuring Ukraine to relinquish rights to half of its valuable precious metals—just as Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare to begin negotiations to end Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.
“Multiple lawmakers here in Munich told me the U.S. Congressional delegation presented Zelensky with a piece of paper they wanted him to sign which would grant the U.S. rights to 50% of Ukraine’s future mineral reserves,” Washington Post foreign policy and national security columnist Josh Rogin reported Friday afternoon from the Munich Security Conference.
“Zelensky politely declined to sign it,” he added.
Trump has made it clear he expects Ukraine to hand over the rights to its rare earth minerals, which are extremely valuable.
READ MORE: ‘Disgust’: Vance’s ‘Disturbing’ Speech Alarms Europe, Sparks Foreign Policy Fears
“Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems, and other electronics. There are no viable substitutes,” Reuters reported. The news outlet also noted that Trump “said on Monday he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country’s war efforts against Russia.”
“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Trump said. “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things.”
Trump’s expected haul: “close to $300 billion,” or more.
“We are going to have all this money in there, and I say I want it back. And I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500 billion worth of rare earth,” Trump said Monday, CBS News reported. “They have essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid.”
The New York Times on Wednesday suggested Kyiv may be willing to play ball with the billionaire businessman.
“President Trump says he wants to make a deal for minerals from Ukraine in exchange for aid. That followed a long effort by Ukrainian officials to appeal to Mr. Trump’s transactional nature.”
Earlier this week Bloomberg reported on Trump’s call with Putin, saying, “European leaders, who were broadly aligned with Washington under Biden, were stunned to learn of the call and some said it appeared to signal that Trump was selling out Ukraine.”
“Trump is skeptical of providing more aid,” Bloomberg continued, “and if he does then he wants the US to be compensated – perhaps in the form of access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in Kyiv today to work on that part of the deal.”
READ MORE: ‘Brazen Criminality’: Allegations of ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Fly After Border Czar’s Admission
Garry Kasparov, the internationally famous Russian chess grandmaster and now vice president of the World Liberty Congress, likened Trump’s demand to that of a Mafia don.
“Trump wants to give Russia something for nothing and expects Ukraine to give America something for nothing. Cheap mafia behavior,” he charged.
Olga Lautman, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and researcher of organized crime and intelligence operations in Russia and Ukraine, deemed the move “extortion.”
“This extortion by the [Trump] regime is outrageous. Europe needs to step up asap and help Ukraine,” she urged.
Professor Roland Paris, director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, doubly mocked the administration: “The United States of Extortion. (Can Google update its maps with this new name?)”
The Atlantic’s David Frum, a Bush 43 speechwriter, declared it, “Gangsterism.”
Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor for the right wing National Review, blasted the administration:
“The United States ought to back Ukraine because it is the right thing to do, morally, and, above all, because it is in the hard U.S. interest to do so. To shake down a country that is struggling for its very existence is, to my sense, repulsive.”
The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called it simply, “A shakedown.”
READ MORE: Trump Admin Orders Immediate Mass Firing of Some Federal Workers — 200,000 Possibly at Risk
Image via Reuters
JD Vance’s speech on Friday at the Munich Security Conference deeply offended European leaders, drawing widespread criticism and fueling serious concerns about President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
“Hard to convey the level of disgust with and rejection of Vance remarks,” explained veteran foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen, “which included lecturing Europe to be more open to Musk promoting the German far right party and which ignored Russia.”
Vance’s speech, Rozen continued, “was not about Europe doing more to protect European security. It was telling them how to be internally—more open to right wing/ hate speech/techno oligarchd/Russian election interference.”
“Truly disturbing,” she concluded.
READ MORE: ‘Brazen Criminality’: Allegations of ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Fly After Border Czar’s Admission
The New York Times did not hold back. Its headline reads: “Vance Tells Europeans to Stop Shunning Parties Deemed Extreme.”
A member of France’s armed services committee “could not believe [Vance] did not mention Ukraine/Russia,” Rozen noted, while adding that “the German defense minister was the most forceful in expressing his rejection.”
Indeed, Tom Nutall, the Berlin Bureau Chief for The Economist wrote: “Blistering response by Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, to JD Vance’s speech.”
Nutall quoted the minister as saying: “Democracy does not mean that a vociferous minority can decide what truth is…democracy must be able to defend itself against extremists.”
Pistorius continued, describing himself as “a staunch believer in the Transatlantic Alliance,” and “a staunch ally and friend of America,” Real Clear Politics reported.
“The American dream is something that has always fascinated me and influenced me, and this is why I cannot just ignore what we heard before, I cannot not comment on the speech we heard by the U.S. Vice President.”
“This democracy … was just called into question by the U.S. vice president. And not just the German democracy, but Europe as a whole, he spoke of the annulment of democracy and if I understood him correctly, he compares the condition of Europe with the condition that prevails in some authoritarian regimes.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is not acceptable. That’s it. This is not acceptable,” Pistorius declared.
Damian Boeselager, a member of the European Parliament, wrote: “JD Vance speech at the MSC was a disgrace. Telling Europe how to run a democracy and free speech while centralizing all power in the hands of a couple of power hungry people is a horrible cynicism.”
READ MORE: Trump Admin Orders Immediate Mass Firing of Some Federal Workers — 200,000 Possibly at Risk
The Guardian reported that the European Union’s “foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, reacting to US vice president JD Vance’s speech, said it felt like Washington was ‘trying to pick a fight’ with Europe.”
Other experts also agreed with Rozen’s remarks.
“This is definitely how most foreign policy elites in Europe interpreted US Vice President Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference,” wrote Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and Americas program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, and a professor of international relations at the University of London.
“Exactly this. Another disturbing glimpse into MAGA thinking,” added David Hartwell, a former UK Ministry of Defense intelligence analyst.
“Shocking hypocrisy from Vance – lecturing Europe on democracy when he serves as vice president to a man who attempted a coup in the US,” wrote Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times.
“It does not appear,” noted former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who has a Master of Arts in international and global security studies from Johns Hopkins University, “that Vance, Hegseth or Trump on the same page when it comes to Europe, Ukraine, Russia. No coherent message. The world has no idea what American foreign policy is right now. I don’t think [the Trump] team knows either.”
Watch a portion of Vance’s remarks below or at this link.
.@VP JD Vance: “The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe, it’s not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.” pic.twitter.com/3lQYV2gFYu
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 14, 2025
READ MORE: ‘Corruption’ Claims Fly Over Musk’s Modi Meeting as Trump Shrugs: ‘I Don’t Know’
Image via Reuters
‘Disgust’: Vance’s ‘Disturbing’ Speech Alarms Europe, Sparks Foreign Policy Fears
‘Brazen Criminality’: Allegations of ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Fly After Border Czar’s Admission
White House Mum After Classified Info Reportedly Appears on Musk’s DOGE Website
‘United States of Extortion’: New Trump Ukraine ‘Shakedown’ Called ‘Cheap Mafia’ Move
White House Mum After Classified Info Reportedly Appears on Musk’s DOGE Website
‘United States of Extortion’: New Trump Ukraine ‘Shakedown’ Called ‘Cheap Mafia’ Move
‘Disgust’: Vance’s ‘Disturbing’ Speech Alarms Europe, Sparks Foreign Policy Fears
‘Brazen Criminality’: Allegations of ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Fly After Border Czar’s Admission
Trump Admin Orders Immediate Mass Firing of Some Federal Workers — 200,000 Possibly at Risk
News4 days ago‘Not Legal’: Trump May Dissolve Dept. of Education in Days, Democrat Warns
News3 days agoMusk Complying With Federal Laws White House Says — Will Not Release Disclosure
News4 days ago‘Serious Injuries to Public Health’: Judge Scorches Trump Removal of Health Websites
News4 days agoGeneral Slams Pentagon’s ‘Racist’ Decision to Drop Key Black Engineers Recruitment Event
News1 day agoTrump Admin Orders Immediate Mass Firing of Some Federal Workers — 200,000 Possibly at Risk
News3 days ago‘Trumpflation’: Blaming Biden, Trump Slammed for Breaking ‘Day One’ Promise as Prices Jump
News2 days ago‘Palpable Harm’: Hegseth Slammed for ‘Screwup’ of ‘Biggest Foreign Policy Issue’
News1 day ago‘Corruption’ Claims Fly Over Musk’s Modi Meeting as Trump Shrugs: ‘I Don’t Know’