WND Asks: 'Is Zika A Sign It's Time, Again, for DDT?' (No, But They'll Never Admit it.)
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily is just asking, in an anonymously written Aug. 8 article headlined "Is Zika a sign it's time, again, for DDT?" It includes the usual bias: that DDT isn't harmful to humans, that Rachel Carson falsely "convinced the public that DDT represented a threat to bald eagles," that Jane Orient of the far-right Association of American Physicians and Surgeons says to bring it back.

What you won't see, however, is the main reason not to bring it back: that, as we've documented, most mosquitoes are immune to DDT's effects due to past overuse and, thus, it wouldn't be effective.

That's one reason the WND reporter may have decided to remain anonymous. Another one: he or she stole a quote she didn't cite. That would be this:

“It’s a difficult question, and it’s a very controversial question,” says Jonathan Chevrier, an assistant professor at McGill University, of how policymakers weigh the use of DDT to protect public health. “What the Zika virus is potentially doing is terrible. But using any pesticide needs to be considered very, very carefully.”

That's actually from a Time magazine article, but the article does not credit Time. That article also notes another reason not to use DDT: The current way it is mostly used -- on the walls of indoor dwellings, mostly in Africa -- may not be effective in other application methods or for the specific type of Zika-carrying mosquito (in addition to the resistence factor).

The anonymous WND article also quotes the Jillian Kay Melchior of the right-wing Independent Women's Forum asserting that DDT is "reasonably safe" and that Rachel Carson peddled "junk science."

But as the Time article also notes: "Research has suggested that DDT has the potential to disrupt the human nervous system in the same way it does to insects. That may mean cancer, infertility and other long-term health effects including developmental problems in young children. DDT remains in the environment where it’s sprayed for years, potentially affecting multiple generations."

So WND wants to bring back a chemical for political reasons, a chemical whose full effects are still not completely known. We're not surprised.

What Is WND's Farah Lying About Today?
Topic: WorldNetDaily

It's astonishing the extent to which WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah just can't stop lying.

In the midst of an Aug. 9 rant against Chelsea Clinton and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky -- unsubtly headlined "The Clinton crime family -- the 2nd generation" --  Farah huffed: "Marc and Chelsea represent the second generation of royal privilege. They’re in their 30s and own a $10.5 million apartment in New York City. They got married in George Soros’ mansion."

Nope: As Snopes points out, Clinton and Mezvinsky were married "at the Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, New York, an historic property owned by Kathleen Hammer and Arthur Seelbinder."

Farah also uses his column to push lies by proxy, writing:

You might also recall that Hillary Rodham Clinton served on the staff of the [Richard Nixon] House impeachment inquiry, but she was fired for ethical breaches by her boss, the late Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat and general counsel, not to mention a friend of mine in his later years.

As we first documented back in 2008, when Zeifman first surfaced to oppose Hillary's presidential bid, he's on record as saying he didn't have the power to fire Hillary from the impeachment inquiry, which makes anything else he has to say highly dubious. That also includes the fact that fact-checkers have found no evidence Hillary was fired from that inquiry -- she apparently remained on the inquiry panel until Nixon resigned from office.

Zeifman's lack of truthfulness also applies to his claim of being a "lifelong Democrat," which he appears to be trading on solely to get published on right-wing websites as a "Democrat" who bashes other Democrats. Plus, the fact that Farah is declaring that Zeifman is "a friend of mine" is a dead giveaway that he's not a real Democrat, or even a Democrat at all.

WND Getting Desperate for Travelers On Its Holy Land Trip
Topic: WorldNetDaily

For months, WorldNetDaily has been heavily promoting a trip to the Holy Land in November, to be hosted by WND editor Joseph Farah and WND fave author, messianic rabbi and Obama-basher Jonathan Cahn. But in an apparent reflection of its financial problems, WND is having trouble getting enough people to sign up.

In a June 5 article, WND declared that "Registration and deposits must be completed by June 10," adding that "your opportunity is fading fast. The final deadline for the 2016 WND Israel Tour is almost here." The article also asserted, "The window of opportunity to join in this extraordinary quest is almost closed. Travelers need to register now or it will be gone for good. And an experience which even the first man on the moon called the highlight of his life will be lost to you forever."

Well, not so much. Just a week later, WND announced that the "final deadline" had been extended month, which it furiously spun by asserting there was so much demand it had no choice but to extend it:

The calls and emails were frantic and desperate. And they all had the same message – we need more time!

They got what they asked for. In response to a last minute surge of registrations, the deadline to sign up for the WND Israel Tour has been extended to July 9. More than 300 people have registered for the extraordinary trip – and registrations are still pouring in. But the window of opportunity can’t be held open much longer.

“We’ve got hundreds signed up for participation in this spiritual trip-of-a-lifetime and still plenty of space to be part of it – but time is our enemy,” said WND Founder and CEO Joseph Farah. “If you yearn to be with us, now’s the time to register. We will not be able to guarantee your participation for much longer.”

It’s urgent anyone who wants to join this incredible pilgrimage go to the official website at WNDIsraelTour.com or call Coral Tours toll-free at 1-866-267-2511 and register right away. Registration and deposits must be completed by July 9.

An article on June 26 pushed the July 9 deadline, but a July 3 article made no mention of it, claiming vaguely that "The window of opportunity ... is closing quickly" and adding that "Cahn pleaded with believers not to wait, as reservations and openings may be limited."

A July 10 article -- a day after the previous deadline expired -- pushed the tour again without imposing a new deadline, repeating the exhortion that "Cahn pleaded with believers not to wait." A July 17 article was effectively a repeat, again with no deadline.

Nearly two months after the original "final deadline," WND was still promoting the tour. A July 31 article stated this:

Hundreds of people already have signed up, and while space remains open, organizers are encouraging those interested to sign up quickly, since airline seats are filling up, and when that happens, fares will increase, possibly substantially.

But if "hundreds of people already have signed up," there wouldn't need to be such a heavy push nearly two months after its initial deadline to add more. And we thought that in tours that include air travel, the price for the flight is negotiated beforehand as part of the total tour package and not subject to change afterwards barring unusual circumstances (of which there are currently none; prices for flights have been trending downward this summer).

An Aug. 7 article, however, pretty much eliminates all deadline urgency, beyond copying-and-pasting the claim that "Cahn pleaded with believers not to wait, as reservations and openings may be limited."

It seems that even WND is giving up on the possibility of a successfully filled package tour.

WND Goes Further Down the Conspiracy Rabbit Hole With Clinton Body Count Speculation
Topic: WorldNetDaily

After WorldNetDaily plunged into the conspiracy-theory pool with dubious speculation about Hillary Clinton's health (something it's been doing for months, actually), it's treading quickly toward the deep end with another old conspiracy chestnut: the Clinton Body Count.

The fact that it's been discredited hasn't kept WND from trying to revive it for the 2016 election, or from trying to add to it. Dutiful WND stenographer Bob Unruh cranks it up for n Aug. 9 article, declaring that "Three people with tangential connections to Bill and Hillary Clinton have died in unusual circumstances over the last few weeks, sparking a renewed interested in the so-called 'body count' of people who allegedly got in the way of the 'Clinton machine.'"

Note the word "tangental." That tells us WND knows this is utter bull, but its utter hatred of all things Clinton compels it to pretend said bull as legitimate.

One of these purported Clinton-linked deaths, according to Unruh: "Seth Rich, a DNC staffer, reportedly was shot in the back on July 10 in Washington while he apparently was walking home from his girlfriend’s apartment. Reported [right-wing column ist Rachel] Alexander: “Some are speculating that Hillary Clinton is behind the murder, because Rich could have been the DNC staffer responsible for leaking the 20,000 damaging DNC emails to WikiLeaks." Unruh added that "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared to suggest Tuesday that recently murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich, a 27-year-old Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot near his townhouse in Washington, D.C. last month, was the source of the WikiLeaks-exposed DNC emails."

Unruh trires to do a pre-emptive runaround of a Snopes item debunking various conspiracy theories around Rich's death by quoting Alexander huffing, "This is strange, since how does Snopes know that it is false? The police haven’t even completed their investigation yet, which Snopes admits. Many murders go unsolved, including several of the strange deaths of people associated with the Clintons.”

Another of the new persons on Unruh's list is actually a rehash: "WND reported just weeks ago on the death of former U.N. official John Ashe in his New York home. Some have speculated whether it was a case of 'Hillary Clinton silencing people who ‘know too much.'" As we've documented, Snopes debunked this conspiracy, which Unruh doesn't mention.

Unruh also added:

Alexander also noted: “Victor Thorn, who wrote four books exposing the Clintons, reportedly killed himself with a gun on his 54th birthday, August 1, while on top of a mountain near his Pennsylvania home. The books he wrote were ‘Hillary (And Bill): The Sex Volume,’ ‘Hillary (And Bill): The Drugs Volume,’ and ‘Hillary (And Bill): The Murder Volume,’ and his latest which was published in February, ‘Crowning Clinton: Why Hillary Shouldn’t Be in the White House.'”

She continued, “According to the Inqisitr, Thorn had appeared multiple times on The Russell Scott Show and told the host, ‘Russell, if I’m ever found dead, it was murder. I would never kill myself.'”

Neither Unruh nor Alexander mentioned that Thorn was a Holocaust denier who blamed Israel for the 9/11 attacks and wrote for a website considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Perhaps if WND wouldn't traffic in politically motivated conspiracy theories, it wouldn't be in such deep financial trouble.

WND Doubles Down on Hillary Health Conspiracy Theory
Topic: WorldNetDaily

The whole Hillary-is-a-criminal thing isn't working out for WorldNetDaily.

At a time when three anti-Hillary books are at the top of the New York Times' nonfiction bestseller list, WND's attempt to play to the anti-Hillary crowd, Jerome Corsi's "Partners in Crime," is tanking -- ranking a dismal 11,703rd at Amazon as of this writing, a terrible showing for a book out only a week on a candidate for president. Perhaps Corsi's track record and the fact that the book is dedicated to a convicted criminal has something to do with it.

Obsessing about Hillary Clinton's purported health issues, however, is apparently drawing enough eyeballs to the website -- never mind that it's mostly bogus, but when has that ever stopped WND before? -- so WND is doubling down. Bob Unruh does the stenography job this time around:

Two prominent physicians sounded an alarm about Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s suspect health just as a video of her appeared revealing what the Drudge Report labeled “another brain freeze.”

There long have been questions about Clinton’s health, from her tripping and falling, to reports of blood clots, to special glasses that she used during the Benghazi congressional hearings.

But those incidents happened before she formally entered the presidential race.

Now that she is running, the “seizures,” the “brain freeze” and the fact she was helped up steps are raising red flags, according to Fox News “Medical A-Team.”

Appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Dr. Marc Seigel and Dr. David Samadi both insisted Clinton’s health is a campaign issue.

[...]

“The picture going up the stairs speaks a million words,” Samadi told Hannity. “Is she fatigued? Is she dehydrated? One of the main reasons she fell in 2012 and had the concussions was severe dehydration. They’re holding her and going up the stairs. So she may be really dehydrated, she may have arthritis, she may have back pain, she may have fallen again. We don’t know. There are questions that are unanswered. What we know today is she’s on thyroid medication, she suffers from hypothyroid, low thyroid, that can cause fatigue and gaining weight and all of that.”

Needless to say, Unruh doesn't mention that Samadi is a urologist who specializes in prostate surgery, so he cannot possibly add anything relevant to Hillary's health to the discussion.

Unruh fills out the rest of his article with right-wing conspiracy theorists and armchair analyses of alleged professionals who have never examined Clinton.

Unruh followed that with another article breathlessly declaring that "Fresh questions are being raised about Hillary Clinton’s health, including her mental well-being, after a new photo emerged that appears to show an aide holding her up at a campaign event." LIke the right-wing blogger from whom he lifted the information, Unruh offers no context for the months-old photo but insisted that the image "suggest[ed] a physical problem."

WND also published a column by right-wing doctor and misinformer Jane Orient, who goes full conspiracy theory:

While we don’t have Mrs. Clinton’s medical records, it is widely stated that she experienced a fall that caused a concussion. Since then, she is sometimes seen wearing eyeglasses with prisms, as are used to correct double vision.

Concussions often cause traumatic brain injury, which might not be visualized on a standard CT or MRI. Many of our veterans who experienced blast injury from improvised explosive devices suffer from it. These are some symptoms: difficulty thinking, attention deficits, confusion, memory problems, frustration, mood swings, emotional outbursts, agitation, headaches, difficulties with balance and coordination, and seizures. Many veterans with such an injury cannot hold a job or interact normally with their families.

Obviously, it would be very dangerous for a person subject to symptoms like this to be dealing with foreign leaders or making critical decisions. The president of the United States may have to make world-changing decisions on a moment’s notice. For example, should we launch nuclear-armed missiles? And if the commander in chief is confused, who will make the call?

[...]

Is it conceivable that Hillary supporters would really be voting for Huma Abedin, Clinton’s top aide, or for the first first-man president, Bill Clinton? The American people are entitled to know the objective medical facts about Secretary Clinton.

The American Medical Association discourages doctors from speculating on the health of a public figure. Orient might want to look into that sometime.

WND Columnist: Vote Trump Because Obama Wasn't Qualified Either
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Observe the interesting bit of talking down of qualifications Ben Kinchlow does in his Aug. 7 WorldNetDaily column, effectively claiming that Donald Trump should be elected despite his manifest disqualification to hold the office. His defense: Obama wasn't qualified (and apparently wasn't born here, proving that Kinchlow is a discredited birther), and people will vote for Hillary only because she's a woman!

There is one overriding factor that will be at the forefront of the upcoming election, just as there was a similar factor in play regarding the election of our last president. Remember, this was/is a man who had, in effect, done nothing of significance in life, has no definitive proof of American citizenship, bowed to the Saudi king and has called the Islamic call to prayer “one of the most beautiful sounds” on earth.

So why was Obama elected president? It wasn’t because he was the most eminently qualified individual, but because America wanted to prove to itself, and the world, that it was not racist – ergo they elected Barack Hussein Obama.

Today we come face to face with another issue confronting the American voting public. America has an extremely high percentage of voting-age college students, millennials, transsexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals and feminists. In addition, many normal Americans want to demonstrate that they are not racists, homophobes or anti-feminist.

So, let’s cut to the chase.

Actual qualifications (ala Obama) have little to do with the matter, and since most politicians have a few blots on their public records, we, the voting public, are willing to overlook some of their missteps. Consequently, in order to prove, as Americans have previously done, that they were not racists by electing a black person, they now want to demonstrate they are not anti-feminist by electing a woman. Yes, you read that right. This not about qualifications, character, ability, experience, the American way, etc. This is about electing the first woman president in our history.

Don’t believe me? Point out one continuing negative stream of reportage (absent Fox News) regarding Hillary Clinton. You will find high-ranking Republicans criticizing Trump and media reports on his gaffs and misstatements. Has Trump made dumb statements? Spoken out of turn? We all know the answer to those questions; now ask those same questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[...]

Let me reiterate: America voted in Barack Hussein Obama to prove that we were not racists – and now comes the opportunity to demonstrate to the world (and ourselves) that we are not anti-feminist, sexist bigots.

So, the question is: Will it be “hooray for Hillary” – regardless of qualifications – other than the fact that she’s a woman?

Is Kinchlow really claiming that Clinton isn't qualified to do the job? Sheesh.

WND Tries, Fails To Raise Questions About Hillary's Health Again
Topic: WorldNetDaily

For months now, WorldNetDaily has attacked Hillary Clinton by forwarding armchair analyses by so-called health experts who have never examined her (and Dolly Kyle) pontificating on Hillary's purportedly fragile health. Well, as part of WND's effort to avoid discussing Donald Trump's mental health issues, it got to do so again in an unbylined article regurgitating dubious speculation by other dubious right-wing websites:

In this heated presidential race where being “fit” and “stable” have become terms in the arsenal of both campaigns, startling photographs emerged Sunday showing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton apparently getting help in climbing up some stairs.

The photos, published by the Reuters and Getty news agencies, show Mrs. Clinton, 68, receiving help as she tries to ascend a staircase in front of a home. The images were actually taken in February when the former first lady was campaigning for president in South Carolina.

The popular Drudge Report splashed a banner headline Sunday evening that stated, “2016: Hillary conquers the stairs.”

[...]

Reporter Kyle Olson of the American Mirror asked in a brief article about the new photos on the stairs, “At what point is the mainstream media going to question Clinton’s health status?”

Of course, a six-month-old of Hillary being helped up stairs proves absolutely nothing -- not that WND will ever admit it, of course. As the Washington Post' David Weigel pointed out, this barrage was part of how "the Drudge Report, WorldNetDaily and a small army of would-be Twitter sleuths tried to build the case that the Democratic nominee for president has serious health issues and only they had noticed." 

Weigel goes on to further bust WND:

Indeed, for other websites critical of Clinton, the "stairs" photo was just one part of a #HillarysHealth mosaic. It gave WorldNetDaily a hook to resurrect "a July 21 video posted on YouTube [which] shows Clinton’s head suddenly turning and shaking vigorously for several seconds." That video, titled "Hillary Clinton has seizure/convulsions - tries to play it off making fun of seizures," was also robbed of its context. Two clips of Clinton bobbing her head had been looped and slowed down, as ominous music and voice-overs played behind them — a combination that helped the clip score 1.4 million views.

The clip wasn't from July 21, and (as the scrum of media should have indicated) it wasn't rescued from pro-Clinton censors. It was from June 10, when Clinton, fresh off a series of wins that effectively locked up the Democratic nomination, held a few events ahead of the District of Columbia's primary. Beat reporters followed Clinton to a coffee shop in the Shaw neighborhood; CNN's Dan Merica, to her left, asked her about the breaking news of President Obama's official endorsement. Then, to her right, the Associated Press's Lisa Lerer asked a question about Elizabeth Warren, whom Clinton had met with as vice presidential speculation swirled.

The reporters, who had covered Clinton for a year, interpreted her exaggerated head-bobbing as a joke at how she'd been suddenly surrounded — and as a successful attempt at ending the scrum. It did not occur to them that it would become seen as evidence of a "seizure," as people suffering from seizures do not typically laugh and continue to hold cups of coffee.

In WorldNetDaily's coverage, the evidence that Clinton's bobble-head moment resembled a seizure is that bloggers said it did.

WND's article, meanwhile, devolves into a rehash of its previous attempt to avoid talking about Trump's mental health issues by trying to raise questions about Clinton's mental health -- which is lazy padding and, frankly kinda sad.No wonder WND is in financial trouble.

Questions About Trump's Mental Health Are Driving WND Crazy
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Questions about Donald Trump's mental health have gotten WorldNetDaily in a froth. Not that it's treating those questions seriously with sober examination, mind you -- far from it. WND knows that the questions are legitimate, so it must do everything it can to change the subject.

WND managing editor David Kupelian's outright denial of Trump's issues in furiously attempting to distract by focusing on President Obama and Democrats was only the tip of the iceberg, it turned out.

Trump-fluffer Kent Bailey -- last seen here cheering Trump's appeal to whites -- chimed in with an Aug. 4 column denouncing the people making armchair diagnoses while reminding his that he's "a retired professor of clinical psychology with 32 years of experience in teaching, research and writing, and in practicing and supervising students in personality assessment and psychotherapy." And his own armchair diagnosis finds Trump to be crazy ... about America!

There is no evidence whatsoever that Trump is suffering from any psychiatric disorder or pathology. However, as do most rich, powerful and influential persons, Trump has a number of personal quirks and eccentricities that sometimes get in the way of being “presidential” in the soft and sensitive girly world we live in. And to be truthful, even his closest and most loyal family and friends may, at times, recoil from his insensitivity, social missteps and unforced errors. Nevertheless, he is a bona fide member of the warrior class, and such alpha super-males often make waves in times of peace.

But in the “dark” kind of times outlined in the Republican convention, the sharp-edged warrior becomes a life-or-death necessity. In dark times, superficial things like the “first woman,” “I feel your pain” and high-sounding, socialist giveaway programs are literal threats to national survival. With terrorism rampaging in Europe and literally knocking at our door, I for one believe we are in dark times indeed – both domestically and internationally. Moreover, we need all the warriors we can get at every level of government – and that includes the president of the United States.

In a subtle way, we have implicit evidence that Donald Trump will bring fellowship and order to a world reeling from both domestic and worldwide violence and terrorism. Just look at the respectful, orderly and well-behaved masses of people at Trump’s meetings and the Republican Convention versus the hateful divisions, the need for massive police presence to maintain order and the overall chaos that defines the highly divisive Democratic/socialist way of life. At the Republican Convention talk was realistically harsh and critical, but people were exceptionally orderly and well-behaved. By contrast, the Democratic Convention was characterized by “talk sweet and then hit the streets and destroy cities if you do not get your way.” We already have ample evidence that Trump is truly the “law and order” candidate as advertised.

Gina Loudon -- another armchair-diagnoser -- also chimes in with her Aug. 7 column, and she goes the denial-and-distraction. She doesn't even mention Trump in her column, but she's quick to diagnose Hillary Clinton with a litany of mental illnesses:

Mental illness is nothing to ignore. It is dangerous to all involved. Hillary’s behavior might indicate a much deeper, darker mental condition that is flatly ominous. She has had visual, memory and reasoning issues in recent years following her head injury. She has endured many subsequent falls, which would be obvious indicators of traumatic head injury. Instead of running for president, Hillary could be seeking a medical battery of testing that could get to the heart of what may be a worsening mental disorder, as well as intense therapy and perhaps medication (if she isn’t already medicated), before more lives are lost at the hands of her incompetence.

Most devastatingly, the symptoms Hillary exhibits may be indicative of a deeper, progressive psychosis. A NIHMS study showed that pathological liars had increased white matter volumes in the orbitofrontal, inferior frontal and middle frontal cortices. Another theory said long-term use of lying may actually cause regional increase in white matter volume, and that repeated lying could cause permanent changes in brain chemistry. Whether the most caustic disease model of lying is caused by genetic factors or environmental influences is still up for major debate among experts.

If the condition of someone with such systemic mental conditions worsens, their decision-making capacity and overall ability to distinguish truth from fantasy could be impaired. This would be dangerous for the leader of a family, or a company, but it could be devastating for a national leader.

Only after making this declaration, though, does she concede that "Only testing and analysis by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist could say for sure, and I am neither, nor have I ever examined Hillary in a clinical setting." Still, she goes on to declare that "it might be a healthy decision for Secretary Clinton to step back from the limelight, and instead seek some testing or therapy to determine her mental fitness before endangering more lives." She makes no such recommendation for Trump.

An Aug. 7 WND "news" article by Paul Bremmer also goes the distraction route, asking, "But while everyone is discussing Trump’s sanity, what about Hillary’s?" In addition to summarizing the attacks from Loudon and Kupelian, Bremmer calls in WND friend Michael Savage (conveniently, author of a book called "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder") and expertise-denying WND author Marc Fitch to denounce anyone who passes judgment on Trump's psyche as people who "are trying to give the impression that they are reasonable and rational – medical, if you will – thinkers, so the public will look up to them as the kings and queens of smart."

Fitch didn't mention Savage's book -- savage likes to present himself as an expert --  or a book sold at WND by Lyle Rossiter, who uses his psychiatric training to paint liberals as suffering from "psychopathology" that "threatens to destroy the West's greatest achievement: the American dream of civilized liberty."

Needless to say, at no point does Bremmer actually address the issue of Trump's mental health, merely serving as a stenographic gateway to attack anyone who actually does raise the issue.

Again, the fact that  WND is hitting back so forcefully strongly suggests that it knows Trump has mental health issues and it could be a legitimate avenue of attack. So as committed Trump fans, WND must attack and deny. Which may be a mental illness in itself.

The Snapping of David Kupelian's Mind
Topic: WorldNetDaily

We've documented the mental contortions WorldNetDaily had to undergo in order to justify abandoning his far-right sense of morality and endorse Donald Trump, trying to console himself by clinging to the belief that Trump's "heart is good."

Well, there's no actual evidence that it is, and Kupelian doesn't want to admit it. And now all those contortions are apparently to rot his brain.

As evidence keeps mounting of Trump's apparent mental instability and rampant narcissism, Kupelian has to try and change the subject, so he dedicates an Aug. 2 column to going into full denial mode, addressing the issue of Trump's mental health by changing the subject:

Having recently researched this subject while writing my new book, “The Snapping of the American Mind,” allow me to bring a few startlingly eye-opening facts to the forefront of this challenge to the Republican candidate’s sanity.

First, rewind to the start of Obama’s presidency. In 2009, Obama’s Department of Homeland Security singled out conservatives, pro-lifers, constitutionalists, critics of illegal immigration and returning war veterans as potentially violent “rightwing extremists.” Later, peaceful tea-party folks were accused by “mainstream media” pundits of acting like “terrorists,” “vampires,” “zombies” and “cannibals.”

There are many such examples. During the Obama administration we have witnessed, non-stop, the modus operandi of the left, wherein those who through monumental deceit have conspired to transform Judeo-Christian America, upend her Constitution and impose an alien new system of governance and morality upon her, have the audacity to accuse the traditionally minded American middle class, which just wants its country back, of being ignorant, deranged and dangerous.

Psychologists call this “projection,” where one person or group literally projects its own wrongs onto another. Thus, for decades, the left – which throughout the 1900s gave the world its bloodiest century in history – has been busy denouncing and “diagnosing” conservatives and Christians. In the Soviet Union, this practice was integral to the ongoing operation of the communist state. Dissidents – the sanest and most courageous people in the country – were confined to psychiatric hospitals for “treatment.” If you had a problem with communism, you were mentally ill and diagnosed with made-up conditions like “philosophical intoxication” and “sluggish schizophrenia.”

Actually, the DHS was prescient -- and correct in identifying right-wing extremists as potentially violent (remember the Cliven Bundy standoff and the armed takeover of the Oregon wildlife refuge?) and identifying military veterans as potential recruits for violent extremism (it has repeatedly happened, from Timothy McVeigh to the Wisconsin Sikh massacre to the Dallas police shooting).

At no point in his column does Kupelian even try to defend Trump -- it's all the projection he claims liberals engage in. So far in denial is Kupelian that he writes this:

Ironically – almost comically – the most oft-cited armchair diagnosis of Donald Trump is narcissism. Really? After eight years of Barack Obama, whose behavior as president matches perfectly the clinical symptoms of “narcissistic personality disorder,” now his die-hard supporters are going to try to make that stick to Trump?

Actually, it's pretty easy. Did Obama ever do anything like this at any Democratic convention?

 

'Nuff said.

But Kupelian has a lot invested in his Obama-is-a-narcissist narrative. WND's Whistleblower magazine, which Kupelian is in charge of, dedicated an entire issue in 2012 to the subject "Why Obama Lies," and it starred an essay by Kupelian denouncing Obama as a "super-ambitious and vainglorious person" suffering from "extreme narcissism." Kupelian ultimately declared, "Obama lies because that’s how he gets his way, and getting his way is all he cares about."

All of that, of course, much more accurately applies to Donald Trump, and Kupelian could swap "Obama" for "Trump" in his armchair psychoanalysis and be much more accurate. Trump really is the narcissistic sociopath Kupelian has accused Obama of being, but he'll will never admit it because he wants Trump to win so badly he's in serious denial.

Kupelian should probably talk to a mental health professional about his condition soon.

Watching Kupelian's mind deteriorate further as he keeps on turning a blind eye to Trump's growing demonstrated lack of fitness for the presidency in order to justify his hatred of Hillary Clinton will be sadly, weirdly entertaining.

WND's Farah Doesn't Read His Own Website
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Does Joseph Farah even read the website he runs? It appears not.

In his Aug. 2 WorldNetDaily column bashing Khizr Khan for criticizing Donald Trump, he takes issue with Khan pointing that Donald Trump wants a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S.:

Despite what you hear, see and read in the Big Media on a daily and hourly basis, Donald Trump is not suggesting a ban on Muslim immigration. From the very beginning, Trump said he was concerned about the way Obama has been actively importing Muslim refugees into the U.S. by the tens of thousands without any ability to know if they represent a threat to the safety and security of the American people. At most, Trump called for a moratorium on such immigration, not a ban. Doesn’t that make sense? Who in their right mind could argue with such a policy – besides Obama and Hillary Clinton, the latter proposing a 500 percent increase in Muslim “refugee” resettlement?

Actually, a moratorium is a ban. The fact that it's presented as temporary -- Trump has not said how long his moratorium would last, if he even intends to lift it at all -- does not make it less of a ban.

Farah then bashes Khan again: "Instead, knowingly or unknowingly, he is perpetrating a fraud. No one believes all Muslims represent an inherent threat to the safety and security of the American people. That would be foolish."

Farah apparently hasn't read the WND "news" article that appeared thet same day as his column, in which Leo Hohmann cheered that a "mega-mosque" in Virginia would not be built due to "resistance from residents." Hohmann approvingly quoted one resident opposing the mosque:

At one meeting in November, a sheriff’s deputy reportedly halted the meeting after one man got a little too riled up. The male resident was captured on video pointing a finger at the imam and saying, “You’re a terrorist. Every one of you is a terrorist, I don’t care what you say. You can smile at me, you can say whatever you want, but every Muslim is a terrorist.”

Is Farah going to go up to that man opposing the Virginia mosque and tell him that he is foolish? 

Farah also seems to have missed WND's entire coverage of settling Muslim refugees in the U.S., in which the word "refugee" is put in scare quotes, as if to suggest that all Muslims are would-be criminals, if not secret terrorists.

Of course, if Farah's not reading his own website, he's far from alone -- to the point that Farah must beg for money to keep WND alive.

WND's Big Fail in Kansas
Topic: WorldNetDaily

On July 31, WorldNetDaily's Garth Kant wrote a glowing profile of Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, touting how "Kansas voters have always liked him. But the Republican establishment apparently loathes him." Kant gave Huelskamp an open platform to attack his Republican primary opponent, Dr. Roger Marshall -- Kant did not give Marshall an opportunity to respond to the attacks -- portray himself as an enemy of the Republcian establishment despite running for his fourth term in Congress and tout how well his secret polls have him doing:

One Kansas poll has the race as a dead heat, while Huelskamp’s own polling gives him a nine-point lead. 

[...]

A poll commissioned by the Topeka Capital-Journal published on Sunday showed a dead heat, with Marshall at 40.9 percent of likely voters, and Huelskamp at 40.3 percent. A significant number, 15.3 percent, are still undecided.

According to the paper, “If Republican voters oust Huelskamp, it would send a shock wave through Washington, D.C.”

But Huelskamp’s campaign criticized the poll’s methodology of surveying random Kansas landline and cell numbers.

“Our internal poll, taken during the same time by a reputable polling firm with a 100 percent track record, surveyed twice as many respondents and showed congressman Huelskamp with a strong 47-38 lead,” a Huelskamp spokesman told the paper.

Well, the election was Aug. 2, and well, somebody's polls didn't work out so well: Huelskamp lost to Marshall by a whopping 13 percentage points.

Kant had to figure out a way to spin this embarrassing loss -- which he portrayed as unlikely if not impossible in his puff piece -- somehow. He went with the war-on-right-wingers approach.

In an Aug. 3 article, Kant portrayed Huelskamp as a victim of GOP infighting and how the "establishment" -- which, curiously, Huelskamp was not a part of despite holding his seat for many years -- targeted those who are too far to the right:

There are two schools of thought among conservatives. Some extremely prominent commentators such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter have portrayed the Kansan’s defeat as vindication for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom Huelskamp initially opposed, then endorsed. But others, particularly the congressman’s right-leaning colleagues in the House, warn it is nothing less than an all-out assault by House Speaker Paul Ryan and the GOP establishment on conservatism itself.

Worse yet, they see it as a template the GOP establishment, having tasted initial success, will now use to try to drive conservatives out of the Republican Party for good.

That template is said to employ a wolf in sheep’s clothing ploy: harnessing the prevailing deep anti-Washington sentiment among Republican voters to gin up support for an establishment-backed insider pretending to be an outsider, while portraying an incumbent conservative as an entrenched D.C.-insider.

Kant also recruited WND author Daniel Horowitz to go further into right-wing freakout mode: "This is a warning shot. This is very disturbing,” he warned, because this means that conservatives now have no place in their own party. You’ll be taken down by the special interests. You can have delegations of people that go with Democrats left and right, and that’s no problem. ... Conservatives are now just as welcome in the Republican Party as they are the Democratic Party."

Kant made no mention of the rosy -- and wildly inaccurate -- electoral predictions in his previous article, and he once again failed to contact Marshall to let him have his own say instead of being repeatedly maligned by his opponents and critics.

UPDATE: Kant also failed to report that Huelskamp's loss was apparently part of a larger revolt by Kansas voters against right-wing politicians in general. Under right-wing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, the state is runing large deficits, education and highway funding is in trouble and its credit rating has been downgraded.

Shocker: WND Engages In Actual Journalism!
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Even WorldNetDaily, the least credible news operation in America, can stumble upon doing some actual journalism on occasion -- stopped clock, and all that -- and we would remiss if we didn't recognize it.

Art Moore traveled to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland -- since WND is a little short of funds these days, we suspect Moore lives close to Cleveland and went there on his own dime -- and interviewed a couple people, both of whom were critical of Donald Trump. Surprisingly, Moore let them have their say, portrayed their comments fairly, and even posted the full video of the interview:

• A Colorado delegate pointed out that conservatives do not trust Trump and that he's willing to let Hillary Clinton win in 2016 in order to save conservatism.
• A black Cleveland resident pointed out that the Trump campaign dragged out the Melania Trump plagiarism controversy much longer than it needed to go, that the convention was too negative about Hillary and that Trump himself was too negative. The resident also noted that contrary to "a lot of people" Moore cited, he didn't think racial relations have gotten worse during the Obama presidency, adding “With me being an African-American male, I’ve dealt with this all of my life."
  

Odly, neither interview was conducted at the convention site itself: The Colorado delegate was interviewed at the airport, and the Cleveland resident was interviewed "while traveling on a commuter train west of downtown after the Republican National Convention."

That's not to say Moore didn't try to guide the conversation WND's way -- which is, Hillary must be destroyed at all costs. Moore told the Colorado delegate:

There are some who would argue that we've had eight years of fundamental transformation, as Obama promised before he took office, and four years even -- let alone eight years of Hillary would more or less cement that fundamental transition for generations. We're talking about Supreme Court picks -- could be 30 years that one of those picks would serve in a court that right now is 4-4 divided. With Trump at least you can roll the dice and there's a chance. With Hillary there's no chance you'll get a Scalia. So how would you argue with somebody who's saying, look, we don't have another four years, we understand the whole concept of a war but the war could be over before the next four years is up?

See, WND? Actual journalism -- as opposed to the biased right-wing advocacy that normally passes for "journalism" -- isn't that difficult. You even have employees who are capable of doing it if they are allowed. Y'all should try it a little more often if you want to have any chance at all of restoring your credibility.

WND's Corsi Dedicates His New Anti-Clinton Screed To a Convicted Criminal
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Jerome Corsi's new WorldNetDaily-published anti-Clinton book, "Partners in Crime," is scheduled to be released today as part of WND's anti-Clinton jihad-slash-witch hunt. Given Corsi's penchant for promoting lies, there's a track record to consider, and thus, there's no reason for anyone to believe he's telling the truth in this book either.

Also of import regarding Corsi's book: It's dedicated to a convicted criminal.

That would be fellow Clinton- (and Obama-) hater Dinesh D'Souza. In a WND video, Corsi explains that he dedicated "Partners in Crime" to D'Souza because he is "a true U.S. hero and a personal hero of mine." Corsi falsely claimed that "Barack Obama tried to imprison Dinesh D'Souza for a technical violation of the FEC laws" -- an offense that, "if a Democrat had done the offense, would have been overlooked with a minor hand slap and a fine" -- in order "to politically silence him."

Corsi, needless to say, provides no evidence that Obama personally went after or "tried to imprison" D'Souza over the election law violation (for which he pleaded guilty, by the way). While D'Souza could have been imprisoned for up to two years for his crime, he was instead sentenced to eight months in a halfway house and five years probation. The judge who sentenced D'Souza noted that he had taken no responsibility for his actions and beleived his sentence needed to have some teeth.

The judge also found no evidence to substantiate D'Souza's claim that he's a political prisoner, adding that "the defendant’s claim of selective prosecution, legally speaking, is 'all hat, no cattle.'"

In other words, Corsi is lying again. If Corsi is putting that much work to creating lies to justify his book's dedication, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the book.

WND's Coverage of Trump's Remarks on Khan Censors the Controversy
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Is Donald Trump one of the contributors to WorldNetDaily's plea for cash to stave off its existential financial crisis? If he isn't, he should be.

The Trump campaign's PR flacks couldn't have written a better "news" article spinning away the firestorm of controversy over Trump's attacking a Muslim couple whose son died in the Iraq war for committing the offense of criticizing him at the Democratic National Convention than the unnamed WND writer who managed to address the controversy by ignoring it completely in his or her July 30 article:

Donald Trump wants to set the record straight about his interview with ABC News “This Week” in which he has been accused of diminishing the sacrifice of Humayun Khan, a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, with others.

Trump Saturday night called Khan “a hero,” urged vigilance in defeating radical Islamic terrorism and attacked Hillary, again, for destabilizing the Middle East with her policies as secretary of state.

At the Democratic convention, Khan’s father, Khizr Khan, had leveled criticism at Trump in support of Clinton for president.

“Captain Humayun Khan was a hero to our country and we should honor all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe,” Trump said in his statement. “The real problems here are the radical Islamic terrorists who killed him, and the efforts of these radicals to enter our country to do us further harm. Given the state of the world today, we have to know everything about those looking to enter our country, and given the state of chaos in some of these countries, that is impossible. While I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things. If I become president, I will make America safe again.”

Trump continued: “Further, Hillary Clinton should be held accountable for her central role in destabilizing the Middle East. She voted to send the United States to war against Iraq, helped lead the disastrous withdrawal of American troops years later that created the vacuum allowing the rise of ISIS, and has never met a regime change she didn’t like (which have all been disasters) – not to mention her invasion of Libya and her abandonment of American personnel in Benghazi. The loss of these lives in Libya is directly traceable to Clinton, but their families’ testimonials were rejected by the media. Clinton’s actions have been reckless and have directly led to the loss of American lives. And her extreme immigration policies, as also laid out by American victims in Cleveland, will cause the preventable deaths of countless more – while putting all residents, from all places, at greater risk of terrorism. As Bernie Sanders said on numerous occasions, Hillary Clinton suffers from ‘bad judgement.’ She is not qualified to serve as commander in chief.”

Below is the full, unedited transcript of Trump’s interview with George Stephanopoulos On “This Week.”

It's nothing more than a mild rewrite of Trump's own press release, which also includes the interview transcript.

WND doesn't seem to understand that stenography -- which is what reproducing a transcript is, especially when Trump is not disputing the accuracy of any of the things it was reported he said -- is not journalism. Nor is simply rewriting someone's press release to put it in inverted pyramid form while retaining the Trump campaign's dishonest spin.

Trump would normally have to pay a news outlet under the table (as it's alleged he has with Breitbart) to get that kind of fawning, uncritical coverage. Joseph Farah and WND could certainly use the cash right now, and we doubt Farah is above accepting money for favorable coverage.

In cash-strapped WND, Trump can buy himself an entire "news" outlet on the cheap -- if he hasn't already.

WND Buries Real Motive of German Gunman, Instead Plays Up Unverified 'Allahu Akbar' Angle
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily's unbylined July 22 article on a mass shooting in Munich begins the way you'd expect it to: with a headline screaming "'Allahu Akbar' gunman slaughters children in Munich" and a lead paragraph stating "A gunman shouting “Allahu Akbar” burst out of a bathroom at a McDonald’s restaurant and opened fire on children before rampaging through a nearby shopping mall."

But if you read the article further, it's clear that the “Allahu Akbar” claim has not been substantiated -- WND cites only a single witness making the claim.

And it's not until the 30th paragraph of the unbylined article that what appears to be shooter Ali David Sonboly's real motive gets mentioned:

Sonboly’s apparent interest in mass shootings may possibly explain his choice of July 22 to carry out the attack.

The Mail noted the Munich shopping center shooting happened exactly five years after “far-right activist Anders Breivik” shot and killed dozens of people on a Norwegian island.

It was July 22, 2011, when Breivik exploded a car bomb in Oslo that killed eight people. He then drove to the island of Utoya where he gunned down 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a youth summer camp.

The scare quotes WND put around Breivik's description are kinda cute, considering that Breivik's manifesto followed WND's anti-Muslim, anti-multiculturalism and anti-feminist agenda so closely that he cited WND six times in it. WND has never told its readers about that, by the way.

Since then, it's been revealed that the Iranian-German Sonboly considered himself "Aryan," was proud that he shared his birthday with Adolf Hitler, hated Turks and Arabas and that all of his victims were immigrants. WND hasn't reported that yet -- perhaps because, as with Breivik, Sonboly's political views are basically those of WND taken to a murdrerous level.

Despite the fact that WND has never offered any evidence that the "allahu akbar" claim has been corroborated, WND repeated it in a July 29 article asserting that Sonboly "reportedly yelled the Islamic battle cry 'allahu akbar' while shooting." And again, that came before WND's admission that "authorities believe Sonboly was acting along [sic] and was simply obsessed with mass shootings."