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The Department of Justice is targeting a Texas whistleblower who exposed Texas Children’s Hospital secretly performing attempted gender-transition procedures on children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced Monday that it had indicted 34-year-old Eithan Haim for “obtaining protected individual health information for patients that were not under his care and without authorization.”
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 maximum possible fine.
Texas Children’s had publicly said in March 2022 that it would no longer perform attempted gender-transition procedures on kids. In May 2023, Haim provided journalist Christopher Rufo with documents showing that Texas Children’s was “lying to the public about the existence of its transgender-medicine program,” as Haim later revealed in an explosive January 2024 piece.
“I worked at the hospital as a surgery resident, and I knew that these interventions didn’t stop,” Haim wrote. “Three days after the announcement, a surgeon implanted a hormone device in a healthy 11-year-old girl for gender dysphoria. Over the next year, the frequency of these procedures increased, and potentially hundreds more children received hormone interventions for gender dysphoria.”
“Meantime, the director of a program that supposedly no longer existed was given the opportunity to speak at the hospital’s most prestigious lecture series in January 2023,” he continued. “I knew that it was my moral responsibility to expose what was happening to these children.”
Haim told The Free Press that before he gave Rufo any of the documents, he made sure that the patient’s names and identifying information were redacted (to protect himself from violating HIPAA and to protect the patients’ privacy).
The very next day after Rufo published Haim’s (then anonymous) May 2023 expose, the Texas Legislature banned these experimental gender-transition attempts for minors.
A month later, two federal agents came to Haim’s home to speak with him. They told him that he was a “potential target” of an investigation into federal criminal violations related to medical records.
“It was clear to me that this was a political investigation; I refused to submit to an interview without an attorney,” he wrote in City Journal.
After this, Haim went public with his story.
“To these agents, the prosecutor, and their political handlers, I was a criminal because I had told the truth,” he wrote. “It didn’t matter that we exposed the fact that the largest children’s hospital in the world was lying to the public about the existence of a program in which children were manipulated, mutilated, and even sterilized. It didn’t matter that the practice that they were lying about had now become illegal. It didn’t matter that I had committed no crime.”
“None of this mattered, I believe, because I had exposed a truth that threatened their ideology,” Haim added. “This was the reason for their frightening show of force. The intent was to intimidate me. If I agreed to stay silent, though, I would be legitimizing their lies and sacrificing the truth. Instead, I decided to fight back.”
Haim is now set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Yvonne Y. Ho in Houston, Texas.
“The four-count indictment alleges Haim obtained personal information including patient names, treatment codes and the attending physician from Texas Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) electronic system without authorization,” says the U.S. Attorney’s Office release. “He allegedly obtained this information under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH.”
Texas Children’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal.
Haim joined “The Daily Signal Podcast” in March to share his story.
“What’s going to happen now is we’re going to do everything we can, [with] every fiber of my being, to hold them accountable,” Haim told The Daily Signal at the time. “We’re never going to stop until we succeed. So they thought they were going to intimidate me. They thought I was going to bend the knee to their evil ideology, like most doctors would have done. But as they were coming to find out, they had knocked on the wrong door.”
Haim is one of a number of Americans who have faced DOJ charges related to hot-button culture war issues. Armed FBI agents arrested Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven and pro-life activist, in front of his children over an incident outside an abortion clinic that had been dismissed by local authorities.
The post Texas Doctor Faces Prison for Whistleblowing on Secret Child Gender Procedures appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Newly released pages purportedly from the Nashville Covenant School shooter’s manifesto indicate that the shooter was strongly fixated on gender ideology and deeply held anger against Christianity.
In the pages, released Wednesday by The Daily Wire, trans-identifying shooter Audrey Hale condemns her parents, harshly criticizes Christians, and fantasizes about her “imaginary penis.” The pages come after months of stonewalling from authorities, who refused to confirm or deny a previous set of manifesto pages commentator Steven Crowder released in November.
“Officials have denied that there was evidence suggesting that The Covenant School, a private Christian school that the shooter attended as a child, was targeted because of animus toward religion,” The Daily Wire’s Brent Scher reported. “The mentions of Christianity, which appear throughout the journal entries, suggest that it certainly may have been a factor.”
“The remainder of the four pages, however, revolves around the shooter’s fixation on being a man, and suggests a serious case of gender dysphoria,” Scher added, noting that Hale “fantasized about what it would be like to have a penis.”
The trans-identifying shooter, who killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, in March 2023, before dying in a shootout with police, accused her parents of “selfishness” for refusing to support her desire to be a man.
“Pain of loosing [sic] a daughter?” she wrote, according to The Daily Wire. “That’s not pain, that’s selfishness. Just like any rest of the parents with that mindset. They are full of shit.”
“How could they not ever think of their own child suffering, and that they hate their gender so bad they cut + want to kill themselves?” the shooter reportedly continued. “F—ing parents like them who think of themselves first and their preference of conservative religion-gay shit make them believe that the child they are given should stay that way.”
2/ In one passage, the shooter rails against “Christian friends” that her parents have encouraged her to make. She writes, “Parents actually believe religion can change nature. That could explain why I don’t practice religion anymore. Let kids think for themselves.” pic.twitter.com/04xRXvBspj
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 12, 2024
“I’d kill to have parents who would let their child be happy no matter how different it is to their viewpoints or don’t agree, or scared of it,” she allegedly added. “I’d kill to have had those resources; 2007 was the birth of puberty blockers and a newfound discovery for treatment of non-conforming transgender children.”
“Aren’t parents manipulative? It’s total ignorance when parents step in + try to change their child’s environment,” the shooter wrote in another passage published by The Daily Wire. “Make them go to youth group + force Christian friends in their life because the old ones were a ‘bad’ influence. … Parents actually believe religion can change nature. That could explain why I don’t practice religion anymore. Let kids think for themselves … “
The Nashville Police Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s inquiry to confirm or deny the authenticity of the new pages.
The FBI previously warned Nashville police, in a May 11, 2023, memo, that the release of a school shooter’s writings might result in “false narratives” that “may lead to unintended consequences for the segment of the population more vulnerable or open to conspiracy theories.” The Tennessee Star first reported on the memo’s existence in early June.
Authorities have remained cagey on both the shooter and her documents, refusing to verify the authenticity of Hale’s alleged manifesto to The Daily Signal and other media outlets.
During the mass shooting last year, Hale killed three children and three adults—Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9; Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61, according to Fox News.
Armed with two rifles and a handgun, the killer shot through the school’s locked door at about 10 a.m. that day, Fox reported. Hale then went upstairs to the second floor, where she reportedly opened fire.
Police officers first received the 911 call at 10:13 a.m., and Metro Nashville Police Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo were among the dozens of officers who rushed to the building, The Tennessean reported. By 10:24 a.m., Engelbert and Collazo had taken out the shooter.
The post LEAKED: Trans Nashville Shooter Allegedly Wrote Scathingly About Christians, Fantasized About ‘Imaginary Penis’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Canada's largest cancer charity has apologized to the transgender community for using the word "cervix" to refer to the organ in the female reproductive system instead of "front hole."
The post Canadian Cancer Society Renames Cervix as ‘Front Hole’ to Include Trans People appeared first on Breitbart.
A transgender woman has sparked backlash for calling for a uterus transplant in order to get pregnant, then have an abortion, in a viral video.
The post Man Goes Viral for 2023 Video Dreaming of Uterus Transplant so He Can Have the First Transgender Abortion appeared first on Breitbart.
A 77 percent majority of Americans say politicians use transgenderism to distract voters from important political fights.
The post Poll: Most Americans Say Transgenderism Is a Political Distraction appeared first on Breitbart.
The IOC's "Portrayal Guidelines" has declared it "harmful" to reference transgender athletes as "biological male" or "biological female."
The post Olympics Media Guidelines: ‘Harmful’ to Call Transgender Athletes ‘Biological Males’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Note: This article contains language some readers might find offensive.
The city of Alexandria, Virginia, is drawing fire for painting Pride flags that include transgender symbols over the crosswalks in historic Old Town Alexandria.
The rainbow crosswalks are permanent, City Council member R. Kirk McPike told a local publication, The Zebra.
“Last June, in response to resident requests, I brought a memo before [the] Council, which my colleagues supported, asking staff to put together a proposal for permanent Pride street artwork,” McPike told The Zebra. “Staff brought a proposal to us last fall, which [the] Council approved, leading to these beautiful new crosswalks.”
He also said in a tweet that the unveiling of the rainbow crosswalks was met with “great media fanfare” and an “exciting drag story time” in which men dressed as women in drag read books and danced for children.
In addition to his role on the Alexandria City Council, McPike serves as chief of staff to a California Democratic congressman, Rep. Mark Takano. McPike is married to a man.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What a great time at the Alexandria Pride Festival! We opened the rainbow crosswalk with great media fanfare, had an exciting drag story time, and dozens of booths offering information and services to the many residents who came by! pic.twitter.com/dykdeAEKPh
— R. Kirk McPike (@KirkMcPike) June 1, 2024
Images of the flags prompted strong criticism from users of X, formerly Twitter.
“Every day is difficult, but June is incredibly hard if you are a parent trying to save your child from the clutches of the trans cult,” tweeted Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice.
Every day is difficult but June is incredibly hard if you are a parent trying to save your child from the clutches of the trans cult. https://t.co/PTAoH6w2cL
— Tiffany Justice (@4TiffanyJustice) June 10, 2024
Writer James Lindsay called the gender ideology-promoting crosswalks “a deliberate provocation,” while activist “Billboard Chris,” who advocates against attempted gender-transition procedures for children, argued that the modern era of LGBTQ promotion will “go down in history as the era when humans adopted a sexual deviance and child mutilation cult as the state religion.”
Looks like shit https://t.co/avthLEQxQk
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) June 10, 2024
Republican communications adviser Sophie Delquie called the move a “disgrace.”
“Historic Old Town, Alexandria painted the trans flag on the crosswalks outside City Hall, *permanently*,” she tweeted. “Historic Old Town was founded in 1749, making it older than Washington DC, Georgetown, and Maryland, and is a landmark to our nation’s history. What a disgrace.”
Historic Old Town, Alexandria painted the trans flag on the crosswalks outside City Hall, *permanently*.
— Sophie Louise Delquié (@SophieDelquie) June 10, 2024
Historic Old Town was founded in 1749, making it older than Washington DC, Georgetown, and Maryland, and is a landmark to our nation’s history.
What a disgrace. https://t.co/PRahDHgPjj
The city of Alexandria kicked off its “Alexandria Pride” activities with a “Pride fair” on June 1 and a “drag story hour” inside City Hall. Images of the drag story hour show toddlers examining a book held by what appears to be a drag queen—a man wearing a wig with makeup on.
“The City offers residents a variety of events and opportunities to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) Pride Month in June and to recognize LGBTQ+ people and their contributions to Alexandria’s diverse community and the nation,” the city’s website states.
“The Alexandria LGBTQ+ Task Force in partnership with the Alexandria Library, Department of Community and Human Services, and many community partners hosts an annual Alexandria Pride fair,” the website continues. “Previous Fairs have provided information about LGBTQ+ inclusive services in Alexandria, free and confidential health testing and vaccines, LGBTQ+ Family Storytime, art and poetry workshops, music, refreshments and LGBTQ+ Pride swag.”
The post Alexandria Slammed for Painting ‘Permanent’ Trans ‘Pride Artwork’ Over Crosswalks in Historic Old Town appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Audrey Hale, who shot and killed six at a Nashville Christian school in 2023, wanted to return home after the attack and kill her father.
The post Transgender Nashville Christian School Shooter Wanted to Return Home and Kill Her Dad After Massacre appeared first on Breitbart.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a bill on Wednesday requiring transgender individuals to use restrooms and public facilities that match their biological sex, which will take effect on August 1.
The post VIDEO: LA Gov. Jeff Landry Signs Bill Requiring Transgenders to Use Restrooms Aligned with Biological Sex appeared first on Breitbart.
A report from the Tennessee Star indicates that Audrey Hale, the 28-year-old transgender woman who shot and killed six people on March 27, 2023, bought her guns with federal grant money.
The post Report: Transgender Who Killed 6 at Nashville School Bought Guns with Federal Grant Money appeared first on Breitbart.
The left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center has put a group run by gays on its "hate map" because the group opposes transgendering children.
The post SPLC Targets Gay Group as ‘Hate Group’ for Opposing Transgenderism appeared first on Breitbart.
The Miss Maryland USA beauty pageant has crowned its first-ever transgender winner, with contestant Bailey Anne Kennedy taking the top prize this week.
The post Miss Maryland Crowns First Transgender Winner: ‘I Knew It Would Mean a Lot for All the LGBTQ Kids Out There’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale left behind handwritten notes allegedly focused on her "imaginary penis," a report from the Tennessee Star claimed.
The post Report: 28-Year-Old Transgender Who Killed 6 in Nashville Christian School Wrote About Her ‘Imaginary Penis’ appeared first on Breitbart.
A transgender runner is complaining of the "unsportsmanlike" comments thrown his way by his female competitors after taking a girls title.
The post Transgender Athlete Complains of Unsportsmanlike Comments After Winning Girl’s Title appeared first on Breitbart.
Activision Blizzard is facing severe blowback after releasing a special cosmetic pack featuring LGBT-themed weapon and ammunition skins for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone. Bullets in the colors of the transgender pride flag have resulted in sharp criticism of the gaming company in the wake of trans mass shootings like the 2023 Nashville school shooting.
The post Pride Month Sickos: Activision Adds Transgender-Themed Ammo to ‘Call of Duty’ in Wake of Trans Mass Shootings appeared first on Breitbart.
Polls are showing that as more Americans learn about transgender athletes, opposition to allowing them to compete against women is increasing.
The post Poll: Support for Allowing Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports Dramatically Declines appeared first on Breitbart.
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A new lawsuit alleges that Vermont blocked two families from fostering children, despite the state’s foster care system crisis, because the families held traditional, religious views on gender and sexuality.
Brian and Kaitlyn Wuoti and Michael and Rebecca Gantt accused the Vermont Department for Children and Families of mandating an “ideological position at the expense of children” in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Both Brian Wuoti and Michael Gantt are pastors, and both families hold traditional, Christian religious views.
The Daily Signal is first reporting the existence of the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, Windham Division. The Daily Signal also exclusively sat down with both the Gantt family and the Wuoti family for interviews in Vermont, where they described how they were prevented from adopting or fostering needy children due to their religious beliefs.
“Although the Wuotis and Gantts have adopted five children between them, the Department has determined they are unfit to foster or adopt any child solely due to their religiously inspired and widely held belief that girls cannot become boys or vice versa,” the filing states.
“And Vermont applies this policy categorically—whether applicants want to adopt their grandchild, provide respite care for an infant for just a few hours, or foster a child who shares all of their religious views,” the complaint continues. “Vermont would prefer children have no home than to place them with families of faith with these views.”
Vermont foster officials have described a “desperate need for emergency foster homes” as recently as Dec. 19. In an email obtained by The Daily Signal, Foster/Kin Care Manager Carrie Deem told foster families that she was “reaching out for help,” describing an “urgent” need.
“The raw honesty behind this message is that of desperation,” she wrote in the email, sent shortly before Christmas. “We need you! Family Services is in a crisis beyond what we have seen before.”
Vermont’s own Department for Children and Families website notes that “we always need more foster families in Vermont.” The crisis has become so extreme, particularly due to the opioid endemic, that some children in need of homes have been forced to stay in hospital emergency rooms or police departments.
Typically, there are about 1,060 children in state custody, the Vermont Department for Children and Families told a local outlet in May 2023, and approximately 900 licensed foster families.
The Wuoti parents, inspired by their Christian faith, decided to answer the state’s call to help vulnerable children and first became foster parents in 2014. The lawsuit describes how they “adopted two precious brothers who have become an integral part of their family.”
The Gantt parents, who have four biological children, began fostering in 2016. They have since adopted three “beautiful children,” as the lawsuit says, noting that they “have a heart for children with fetal alcohol syndrome and those born addicted to drugs.”
When the Wuotis sought to renew their license in 2022, the lawsuit says, one caseworker described them as “AMAZING” and said she “probably could not hand pick a more wonderful foster family,” while their licenser said he had “no doubt” they would gladly welcome any child into their home.
“But when the Wuotis politely shared that they were Christian,” the lawsuit states, “and that they could not say or do anything that went against faith-informed views about human sexuality, Vermont revoked their license anyway.”
Similarly, the Department for Children and Families asked the Gantts to take in an emergency placement that involved a baby about to be born to a homeless woman who was addicted to drugs. Before the Gantts could agree to do so, the department sent out an email letting families know that they must accept the State’s views on gender ideology “even if the foster parents hold divergent personal opinions or beliefs,” according to the lawsuit.
“The Gantts responded that they would unconditionally love and support any children placed with them, but they would not forsake their religious beliefs that people should value their God-given bodies,” the lawsuit states. “The Department refused to let the Gantts take the baby in need and instead revoked their license.”
The Gantt and Wuoti lawsuit argues that Vermont Department for Children and Families’ policy not only harms children and “hinders their chance to find forever homes,” it also violates the First Amendment.
“It requires parents to speak the State’s controversial views, while restricting parents’ ability to politely share their commonsense beliefs to any child in any context—categorically excluding disfavored viewpoints from the foster-parent pool entirely,” the filing states. “Vermont’s regulations also target particular religious views for unequal treatment through an exemption-riddled system of individualized assessments.”
The Vermont Department for Children and Families, reached for comment by The Daily Signal, shared some of the segments on gender from its website. Section 200 of the licensing rules states that “all foster parents are prohibited from engaging in any form of discrimination against a foster child based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or disability.”
Section 201.10 calls for applicants and foster parents to show “respect for the worth of all individuals regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, culture, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual identity, and physical or mental ability.”
The licensing rules specifically order foster parents to “support children in wearing” any items affirming their racial, cultural, tribal, religious, or gender identity.
Both the Wuotis and the Gantts told The Daily Signal that they would have loved and cherished any children put in their care by the state. But the Department for Children and Families had asked them if they would be open to taking their foster children to pride parades or using preferred pronouns to refer to the children. The Wuotis and the Gantts both said no.
“We were surprised, because they are typically always trying to match children with families as best they can, and so we assumed maybe they would say, ‘Ok, maybe we won’t place an LGBT child with this family,’” said Brian Wuoti.
“We were offered to be reeducated and given the choice that they could either revoke our foster license or we could take some education materials, and they could give us up to a year to change our faith,” added Michael Gantt. “And I said, ‘No, we are not going to change our faith in the next year; absolutely not.’”
Kaitlyn Wuoti said that she herself had experienced gender dysphoria at a young age, saying that she “desperately wanted to be a boy.” Her father affirmed to her that she was, in fact, a girl, but encouraged her to be interested in tomboy pursuits like model cars.
“My parents loved me, let me like the things I liked, never lied to me about who I was, and never encouraged me to hate my own body,” she explained.
The Wuotis believe that background gives them special insight into helping a child struggling with gender dysphoria.
“They … genuinely think that this is the care of these children that are in need, so I understand, in a way, where they are coming from,” Brian Wuoti added. “But we also know, in the way that Katie had been loved and cared for by her parents, that there can be wonderful, flourishing outcomes for children even in a home that doesn’t agree with the state on these issues.”
Watch The Daily Signal’s interviews with the Wuoti and Gantt families here:
The post EXCLUSIVE: Vermont Blocked Christian Families From Fostering Over Gender Ideology, Lawsuit Alleges appeared first on The Daily Signal.
A convict who is a man living as a woman has been transferred out of a women's prison after being indicted for raping a woman in the shower.
The post Transgender Convict Moved out of California Women’s Prison After Being Indicted for Rape appeared first on Breitbart.
Several federal agencies are championing what the Biden administration and society have deemed “pride” month, pushing societal celebration of all things LGBTQ2S+.
The post Federal Agencies Go All In for Pride Celebrating LGBTQ2S+ appeared first on Breitbart.
President Joe Biden addressed "transgender children" in his White House LGBTQI+ proclamation, asserting that his administration is protecting them from "discrimination."
The post Joe Biden Addresses ‘Transgender Children’ in LGBTQI+ Pride Proclamation appeared first on Breitbart.
During a speaking appearance over the weekend in Massachusetts to celebrate the movie "Jaws," actor Richard Dreyfuss reportedly blasted parents who allow their children to become transgender, saying it constitutes bad parenting.
The post Report: Richard Dreyfuss Ripped Parents Who Allow Children to Go Transgender appeared first on Breitbart.
The first transgender actor to claim Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday launched a legal complaint over a "sexist insult" from a French politician after the win.
The post Cannes: ‘Emilia Perez’ Star Files Complaint Against French Politician for Saying ‘A Man Has Won the Best Actress Prize’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Chris Rufo wrote “America’s Cultural Revolution” last year as a warning to conservatives about the radical Left‘s takeover of institutions—from business and government to education and entertainment. In addition to being an exposé, it also served as a call to action.
Now, a year later, Rufo is optimistic that Americans, including some to left of center politically, are “waking up.” He attributes the change to the gruesome and deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and the Left’s unflinching (and often antisemitic) criticism of Israel that followed.
“After 10/7, when those same people who were marching for [Black Lives Matter], who were pushing trans in schools, who were ramping up DEI, when they’re out there celebrating the terrorists who butchered, raped, and murdered innocent people, I think it caused this moment of horror, but also this moment of clarity,” Rufo told The Daily Signal.
The popular writer, filmmaker, and activist—whose work is available at ChristopherRufo.com—was in Washington, D.C., last week to accept The Heritage Foundation’s prestigious Salvatori Prize.
Listen to the interview on “The Daily Signal Podcast” or read an edited and abridged transcript below.
Rob Bluey: It’s almost a year since you published “America’s Cultural Revolution.” It was a call to action for Americans to wake up to what’s going on in the Marxist ideology that’s infused so many of the institutions in this country. Do you feel that people are heeding that call today?
Chris Rufo: I think so. You always want a greater number of people to heed the call.
The story that I told in the book was certainly revealed to be true at the time, but it took on a new dimension following the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7 of last year. That has just accelerated this waking up that is happening in the United States, and in particular on the center-left. A lot of people who would say, “Oh, woke is so overblown, it’s not so bad. DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] is good. Maybe it’s not perfect, but maybe we can improve it.” But those were rationalizations.
Today is the day. My book "America's Cultural Revolution" goes into publication as the #1 bestseller on Amazon. I put my whole heart into writing this book, hoping to reshape the national narrative and create a path for a conservative counter-revolution.https://t.co/u0eGLgCaRL
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) July 18, 2023
And after 10/7, when those same people who were marching for BLM, who were pushing trans in schools, who were ramping up DEI, when they’re out there celebrating the terrorists who butchered, raped, and murdered innocent people, I think it caused this moment of horror, but also this moment of clarity, “Oh, all of that leads to this.”
I’ve never seen anything like it. You’re seeing a lot of shift right now, not just in public opinion, but in political alliances. You’re seeing a shift in financing people pulling back from giving money to universities, including the Ivy League universities.
Bluey: Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, says that he’s very optimistic that the American people will take back their country from the elites that have set us down this path.
Rufo: That’s the right attitude. That’s what I love about Kevin. Maybe it’s a Texas thing, a little Alamo spirit, but I share the same conviction.
And look, a lot of people on our side are down in the dumps. They’re demoralized, they’re feeling pessimistic. We all feel that at times, of course, but we have to also have some greater historical perspective and read the history of the founding, read the history of the Civil War, read the history of the Second World War, read the history of the ’60s and ’70s. We’ve been through much more difficult challenges in the past.
The question is, can we meet the standard of the past? That’s the real question. It’s a question of our own culture, our own spirit, our own character.
I certainly feel doubts about that sometimes. Even in the pre-revolutionary period, the Patriots of the American Revolution doubted themselves the whole time. Even in January of 1776, all of the smart opinion in the Colonies was that most Americans did not want revolution. Most Americans did not want to separate from Britain. Most Americans would refuse to participate.
History is full of surprises, and I hope that we’re fortunate again, as we’ve been so many times in our past.
Bluey: You recently hosted a conversation with some individuals who go by pseudonyms who have been doxxed by what you call the left-wing smear machine that is quite coordinated in some of its activities. But you also sounded somewhat hopeful that maybe things were changing in that regard.
Rufo: Absolutely, yes. There’s a whole range of reputational destruction mechanisms and some of them are formalized, like the SPLC [Southern Poverty Law Center], for example, which is kind of a sham organization that would try to put you on a list and refer you to law enforcement for protesting a school career. They’ve run out of actual true hate groups. So, they have now labeled everything a hate group. It’s absurd.
But then down to the doxxing. A lot of people online want to maintain pseudonyms. Again, America has a long tradition of pseudonyms. The Founders wrote under pseudonyms for many of their works. Thomas Paine wrote anonymously “Common Sense,” which is the kind of literary work that helps spark the revolution. And then, as now, unmasking people as a way to put them toward reputational destruction. There are even more personal tactics to intimidate you, harass you, whatever.
Counterrevolution #3: The Left-Wing Smear Machine by Christopher F. Rufo
Pseudonymity, doxing, and the dissident Right.
Read on SubstackTwo things are happening, though. Those tactics have lost their steam. Those tactics have lost their effectiveness. Conservatives are getting much tougher and much smarter and much more courageous and much more sophisticated and adept at responding to those reputational attacks. Our audience, our supporters, our people automatically discount them: “Oh, OK, another person on the so-and-so list.” “Oh, OK, another person gets a smear piece and the X, Y, and Z, The Guardian, whatever publication.”
It was so overused for a period that it lost its rhetorical force, and conservatives have successfully adapted.
It can still be damaging to people who are in a vulnerable position—if you’re an employee at a big corporation, yeah, maintaining your anonymity is probably smart. But if you’re in politics or in the political world, we now have the tools, and we have now the support where some of these reputational attacks can be successfully countered.
Bluey: What keeps you going? You are sometimes outgunned 100 to 1, 500 to 1, maybe more, and yet it doesn’t seem to deter you.
Rufo: I love it. I enjoy it. I love the challenge. I enjoy the fight. I savor victories when they come and then I try to learn from defeats, which are inevitable. But I love the process and I enjoy the drama. I enjoy the conflict. All the things that you’re supposed to not like about politics.
The longer that I’ve been studying it and then participating in it, I realized that, actually, that is kind of the core of political life. And for whatever reason, I’m suited to it. And I find it to be an intellectual challenge, emotionally challenging, professionally challenging. It’s challenging from a business perspective. Of course, I run my own little shop as well as partnerships with these great institutions. And so, every day is an immense challenge, and the odds are often stacked against you. And that, for me, is an ideal environment.
It’s an environment that I love and I hope that it also inspires others. And I know that it has inspired many others to kind of follow suit and to try to really get in the fray.
The other thing that has been helpful is understanding that politics hasn’t really changed in a long time. And so, I’m realizing over the last few years, it’s like, all right, I have many flaws and many limitations, but I maybe have one gift. And it’s in the art of rhetoric, broadly speaking.
And so, I’ve been reading a lot of the old works from Greece and Rome about rhetoric, and it could have been written yesterday. It’s amazing. You’re reading Aristotle’s Treatise on Rhetoric and you say, “This is incredible.” It’s like nothing has changed. These guys were going down and they were duking it out intellectually in the Agora or in Rome, in the senate.
And, of course, they have grandeur that we don’t have. We live in a different era, but you get a sense in participating in something greater, you’re participating in a tradition that we’ve had in the West. For me, that is also a source of joy, a source of sustenance.
Bluey: With that being said, is there a particular goal that you have for 2024 or something that you’re working on, an objective that our audience may be able to support what you’re doing?
Rufo: I’m still finishing up this campaign to abolish DEI, which we launched last year. That’ll take me through the summer. The 18-month campaign cycle is probably the max, where after that, you start to lose effectiveness.
My goal is always to launch campaigns, entrepreneurial, from scratch, and then hand them off to others once they’re well developed. Launching critical race theory, launching trans ideology in schools, launching abolish DEI, launching this campaign against Harvard. Now others have taken up the mantle on many of those campaigns.
I feel like almost like a venture capital investor, startup operator. The startup phase is exciting. I like it. And then I hand it over when these campaigns are mature.
I’ll tell you, though, I don’t know what’s next. I know that we’re going to wind down abolish DEI. I do know that I’ll be hiring some additional staff in the coming months, but coming up with a campaign is not a work of mathematics. It’s a work of art. And so, part of the artistic process is the mystery of inspiration. I know that is maybe contrary to some other organizations that are a bit more logical, a bit more rational.
I tell my funders and supporters, like, “Alright, supporters want to support the work.” And I say, “Well, what’s the next thing?” It’s like, I don’t know, we’ll figure it out. But something will happen. And part of the success in political activism is sensing opportunity. Some of the best campaigns kind of emerged spontaneously or emerged by accident. Like a novelist or writer, sometimes you’re just waiting for that moment of inspiration.
There’s no end point to politics. I know that as long as I’m alive, there will be something to think about, something to fight about, something to work on. It’s just a matter of time before the next thing comes up.
Bluey: What are some of the ways that you would encourage people to follow your work or financially support you?
Rufo: Follow @realChrisRufo on X. Follow christopherrufo.com. On Substack, small supporters can become paid subscribers, $8 a month or $80 a year. We have a huge and growing audience there. And philanthropic donors can reach out to me. There’s a contact form on my site.
On the support side, it’s been really unreal. We have incredible people in our country that want to see success. And I actually don’t do any outbound fundraising. I don’t do any solicitation. I don’t do any calls. But people have just come out of the woodwork saying, “Hey, I love what you’re doing. I want to support it.” That’s a very encouraging sign because what it shows is that there are people around the country that have the sophistication, the means, the inspiration, the capacity. They want to see something better.
P.S. If you want to support further investigations into plagiarism at America's Ivy League universities, become a paid subscriber to my Substack. I have already committed $10,000 to this project, with the potential for more: https://t.co/etKtrVPEmL
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) February 22, 2024
The voting public, if you measure public opinion, has the right idea on many, many issues, if not most issues. The limitation is not the public. The limitation is not the funders or the philanthropists.
I’m sure anyone in this world can grumble about specifics, but actually, limitation is us as political leaders, as intellectual leaders, as movement leaders. I’m more and more convinced that the raw materials are there. It’s really up to us to shape them, to direct them, to point them in the right place, and to mobilize people in the most effective way possible. And so that, to me, is the big limitation right now. And a limitation is just another word for a challenge.
There’s a rich vein of opportunity there. It really is truly a rich vein. How do we get these? I mean, Hillsdale College is incredible, the Manhattan Institute, The Heritage Foundation, a whole range of other groups. We have brilliant people, we have great supporters, and now it’s time for action. And that’s really what I’m hoping that we’re driving toward.
Bluey: What’s holding us back then? Do you think that there’s an impediment, or is there a challenge that you want to leave us with and our audience?
Rufo: Yes, there are many challenges. Conservative institutions have to radically modernize the way they approach politics. They have to have an understanding of how media works in the 21st century. They have to have an understanding of how politics works.
We have to reconnect with the essence of political life, and we have to understand politics for what it is. We have to really refine our rhetorical sensibilities. … And then, of course, translate into administrative success. We’re actually fairly well there. But the rhetorical part is really the missing element on the Right.
If you actually look at the great political leaders in history—from the Greeks and Romans to the American Founders, to [Abraham] Lincoln, to, I mean, even in a less classical way, but of course, [Ronald] Reagan—they were very serious about rhetoric.
I actually think that that is the missing link. And rhetoric in a postmodern environment means media activism, mass persuasion, elite influence, digital communications, all of those five areas are how modern rhetoric plays out. If we can really radically modernize on those five practices, everything that we do could be much more successful.
The post Defeating the Radical Left: Chris Rufo Talks Strategy and Resilience appeared first on The Daily Signal.
The California state legislature is considering a new bill that would prevent schools from notifying parents if their children decide to change genders.
The post CA Legislature Considers Bill Banning Schools from Notifying Parents of Gender Changes appeared first on Breitbart.
Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is being roasted for launching an online support group to help little children become transgenders.
The post ‘Sick Degenerate’: Ex-NBA Star Dwyane Wade Blasted for Launching Support Group for Trans Children appeared first on Breitbart.
The California senate passed a bill that essentially bans notifying parents of child gender transitions — a biological impossibility.
The post California Senate Passes Ban on Notifying Parents of Child Gender Transitions appeared first on Breitbart.
A transgender high schooler won the girl's title in the Washington State championships on Saturday, beating the next closest girl by a second
The post VIDEO: Trans Runner Takes Girls Title in 400-Meter Dash at Washington State High School Championships appeared first on Breitbart.
For the first time in Cannes history, a male actor is a recipient of the festival's best actress prize.
The post Cannes Goes Trans: Spanish Father Named ‘Best Actress’ Alongside Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana appeared first on Breitbart.
Walmart is getting skewered on social media after unveiling its "Pride Always" collection prior to what society has deemed "pride month" in June, as shoppers express disappointment, irritation, and disgust.
The post Walmart Skewered for Pride Collection Unveil: ‘You Glorify Everything in This World Except What God’ Established appeared first on Breitbart.
Nintendo has officially confirmed the inclusion of a transgender character named Vivian in the highly anticipated remake of the classic role-playing game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch.
The post What Are Luigi’s Pronouns? Nintendo Adds Transgender Character in “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door” Remake appeared first on Breitbart.
'USA Today' secretly deleted a previously published op ed that spoke in opposition to transgender athletes with notification to its author.
The post REPORT: USA Today Deletes U.S. Senator’s Op-Ed Opposing Trans Athletes, but Never Informed Him appeared first on Breitbart.
A couple in Montana claims that without a warrant, social workers took their teenage daughter, who wanted to transition to a boy.
The post Montana Couple Says Pro-Transgender CPS ‘Illegally’ Took Daughter to Canada, ‘Ignored Religious Freedom’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Dwayne Wade announced this week that he will be launching Translatable, a new online community dedicated to support transgender children.
The post Dwyane Wade to Launch Online Community Supporting Transgender Children appeared first on Breitbart.
On the other side of faith are "things you could not have even imagined," Jessica Tapia, a California teacher who was fired for refusing to bow down to the school district's woke policies, said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily, stressing the role her relationship with the Lord played in her decisions to stand up for what is right.
The post Exclusive — Christian California Teacher Fired for Standing Against Trans Policies Discusses Role Faith Plays appeared first on Breitbart.
South Carolina's Republican governor has signed a "Help Not Harm" law that shields children and teenagers from risky transgender medical procedures.
The post South Carolina Gov. Signs ‘Help Not Harm’ Law Protecting Children from Transgender Procedures appeared first on Breitbart.
The last thing Americans need is further indoctrination in schools "at the expense of teaching the basics," Trump-endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers (R) told Breitbart News in reaction to the viral letter from a Michigan school executive banning staffers from using the terms "boy" and "girl."
The post Exclusive — Trump-Endorsed Michigan Senate Candidate Mike Rogers: School ‘Indoctrination’ Comes at Expense of Basics appeared first on Breitbart.
A Michigan school executive has banned the terms "boy" and "girl" among school staff, contending that using the terms essentially constitutes a "harmful" practice.
The post Michigan School Executive Bans the Terms ‘Boy’ and ‘Girl’ Among Staff appeared first on Breitbart.
A court document that is a part of the lawsuit against the Biden Administration for its expansion of Title IX claims that a transgender middle school athlete in West Virginia knocked female athletes out of competition over 700 times.
The post West Virgina Trans Athlete Defeated Girls in Track Events over 700 Times, Court Doc Claims appeared first on Breitbart.
Nicola Sturgeon admitted that it was the backlash against her woke views on transgenderism that led her to resign from office last year.
The post Ex-Scottish Leftist Leader Admits She Resigned over Backlash Against Her Transgender Ideology appeared first on Breitbart.
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) will reportedly ban girls from speaking out against transgenders in their sports.
The post VIDEO: Parent Claims Oregon Athletics Association Threatens to Ban Girls Who Speak Out Against Trans Athletes appeared first on Breitbart.
The Labour Party is reportedly preparing to make legally changing one's gender easier, potentially by allowing just one doctor to sign off on the decision.
The post Labour Party Plans to Simplify Legal Process to Change Gender, But Critics Warn of Self-ID Loopholes appeared first on Breitbart.
A transgender actor starring in the new movie Emilia Perez at the Cannes Film Festival said that gender should be “unimportant,” adding that trans individuals are “normal people.” Karla Sofía Gascón — who was born male and now identifies as
The post Trans Actor Karla Sofía Gascón Tells Cannes: ‘We’re Normal People,’ ‘We Have Our Body & We’re Allowed to Change It’ appeared first on Breitbart.
The crowd at an Oregon track event loudly booed the winner of a race at a girls' track event. Why? Because the winner of the race was not a girl.
The post WATCH: Crowd Boos Transgender Winner at Girls’ Track Event appeared first on Breitbart.
On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher reacted to the United Kingdom and Scandinavian nations walking back transitioning children by saying that America has tried to be so progressive, it’s actually behind the rest of the world
The post Maher: U.S. Medical Establishment Too Scared to Admit Child Gender Transitions Are Dangerous Like Other Nations Have appeared first on Breitbart.
The CEO of Trail Life USA, an alternative to what used to be called the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), said the company was "saddened" by the BSA's recent name change to Scouting America.
The post CEO of Boy Scouts of America Alternative: ‘Saddened’ by Scouts Name Change appeared first on Breitbart.
A California school district has agreed to pay a Christian ex-teacher $360,000 in a settlement after she was fired following her refusal to hide students' "gender identities" from parents and use students' "preferred pronouns."
The post California School District Settles with Christian Ex-Teacher Fired After Rejecting Transgender Policies appeared first on Breitbart.
NBC's Peacock is proudly releasing a series to push the LGBTQIA2S+ agenda, featuring what they describe as gay and transgender animals, as the preview for the series concludes that "the idea of just having to fix sexes is clearly out of style."
The post ‘It Never F**king Ends’: Peacock Launching Series on Gay and Transgender Animals appeared first on Breitbart.
Eighteen states filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Monday, saying it is illegally enforcing pro-transgender rules on companies and their employees.
The post 18 States Sue Biden Administration over Transgender Workplace Mandates appeared first on Breitbart.
The U.S. medical establishment is dismissing a prestigious science report sponsored by the U.K. government that is critical of transgenderism
The post U.S. Transgender Industry Rejects Warnings from British Science Report appeared first on Breitbart.
The government of Peru signed a Supreme Decree this weekend defining transexuality as a mental disorder as part of an update to the nation's Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS), prompting outrage from the LGBTQIAP2S+ community.
The post LGBTQIAP2S+ Outrage over Peru Declaring Transgenderism a Mental Illness appeared first on Breitbart.
Schools in England will be told by the government not to teach young children about progressive theories on so-called "gender identity".
The post Schools in England to Be Banned from Teaching ‘Gender Identity’ to Young Children appeared first on Breitbart.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill into law that will prohibit students from using restrooms in public schools that do not correspond to their biological sex.
The post Mississippi Governor Signs Transgender Restroom Ban in Public Schools appeared first on Breitbart.
Vaunce News 