Topic: Newsmax
Following in the footsteps of CNSNews.com, Michael Dorstewitz used his April 16 Newsmax column to lash out against President Biden's nominees, declaring that they "are becoming an embarrassment — not just for his administration, but for the United States as well." He attacked David Chipman, nominated to head the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, by claiming:
During a September 2019 "Ask Me Anything" session in Reddit, Chipman falsely claimed that Branch Davidians shot down two government helicopters during the 51-day standoff and subsequent massacre.
"At Waco, cult members used 2 .50 caliber Barretts to shoot down two Texas Air National Guard helicopters," he wrote in his answer. "It is true we are fortunate they are not used in crime more often."
Although several helicopters sustained fire, none were shot down, and no government personnel manning them were injured. Chipman knew his claim was a lie — he was an ATF case agent in the Branch Davidian trial.
That's not quite the gotcha Dorstewitz thinks it is. The fact that Branch Davidians didn't shoot down any government helicopters doesn't mean it's any less horrific that, as he concedes, the helicopters were shot at with the intention of shooting them down. And why is Dorstewitz defending the honor of cult members wholacked the sense to get out of a burning building, anyway?
Dorstewitz also dutifully repeated the right-wing narrative on Kristen Clarke, nominated to head the Justice Department's civiil rights division:
Finally, while serving as Harvard's president of the Black Studies Association in 1994, Clarke wrote a letter to the Harvard Crimson describing her views on "race science."
She explained there were genetic differences among the races due to the pineal gland and "neuro-melanin."
Clarke believed that Black people had "'greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities' than other races due to higher levels of melanin."
Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson called those statements "legitimately shocking" in a recent broadcast, adding, "That is a direct quote from the person Joe Biden is about to put in charge of this country's civil rights laws."
As we've pointed out, Clarke was engaging in satire in response to the racially charged book "The Bell Curve."
Dorstewitz concluded by whining: "Early on, Biden promised to appoint a cabinet that "looks like America." Evidently, he thinks America is populated with liars, cop-haters, bigots, race-baiters, America apologists, and anti-Semites." Says the guy who's defending the honor of a violent cult that refused to save its own members from a fire.
