Instead Of Actual Content, Enjoy Some Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg Congressional Hearing Memes and Links

April 11th, 2018

Here is a long, thoughtful essay on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance before congress.

Ha, just kidding! Work and taxes are sucking up all my time, so have a shotgun scatter of links, tweets and memes on the same subject:

According to sources from within Facebook headquarters, interns and staffers at the social network were training Mark Zuckerberg on how to act human ahead of his expected congressional testimony this week.

The team of employees instructed the Facebook CEO in disciplines like smiling without looking like a robot, laughing at the correct moment, and not calling everyone he meets a “pathetic meatsuit.”

“Try to blink every few seconds—no Mark, not that rapidly, that looks creepy,” one staffer said while teaching him how to respond to questions while appearing to be a real flesh-and-blood person with emotions and empathy. “Good, that’s—that’s almost passable, Mark. Great job. Now let’s work on getting rid of your vacant stare that’s obviously bent on world domination.”

Staffers also had to focus on the Facebook CEO’s vocabulary. Many of the interns present were forced to continually remind Zuckerberg not to use phrases like “you stupid dumb#$%^” and “flesh-covered weaklings” while addressing members of Congress.

“We didn’t have a lot to work with,” Facebook’s human behavior specialist told reporters. “He kept using terms like ‘assimilate all earthlings,’ ‘world conquest,’ and ‘everyone will die in a fiery death but I will go on.’ I think we’ve made a lot of progress, all things considered.”

And here’s Ted Cruz grilling Zuckerberg.

Viktor Orban Wins (Yet Again) in Hungary

April 10th, 2018

Over the weekend, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an outspoken opponent of unassimiliated Muslim immigration, won a third term in resounding fashion:

It was a landslide by the most exacting standards — which more or less destroys the arguments of his opponents and critics that his governing Fidesz party could win only through authoritarianism, gerrymandering, and the dominance of the media by Fidesz and its business allies. What made this landslide still more unexpected, even shocking, was that throughout yesterday the opposition parties had been growing more optimistic about their prospects of scoring an upset victory. The visiting media — to be on the safe side — were hesitating between the headlines “Opposition Wins” and “Democracy Dies.”

Yet when the smoke of battle was clearing last night, with 80 percent of the vote counted, Orban’s governing party had won 49 percent of the popular vote and 134 seats in the 199-seat parliament. It had an almost clean sweep of the single-member constituencies outside Budapest. And it seems likely to obtain a two-thirds parliamentary majority again and thus the continued right to amend the Hungarian constitution. (All the results cited here might change marginally when the final votes have been counted.) This is as clear an endorsement as any government has received from an electorate — and it was given in the teeth of disapproval from the dominant political and cultural elites in Europe.

That’s significant. It can no longer be plausibly argued that Orban is pushing through his “revolution” either by stealth or undemocratically. Voters knew exactly what both Orban and his opponents stood for, and they plumped strongly for him. Certain conclusions flow from that.

The first is that democracy is vital and active in Hungary. Turnout was the largest since 1998 (coincidentally the election that first brought Orban to power). There were long queues outside the polling booths, which in some cases stayed open to ensure that no one who joined the line by the official closing time was denied the chance to vote. And the result — one party winning half of the vote — was conclusive. It simply cannot be explained away as the result of gerrymandering, since a 49 percent share of the total vote would mean a landslide in seats under almost any multi-party electoral system.

Nor can it be attributed to the Right’s dominance of the media, which was anyway exaggerated — there were newspapers, magazines, television stations, websites, and hoardings putting across the slogans and arguments of both Left and Right opposition parties, and they were every bit as brutal as the Fidesz propaganda machine. They were not as numerous as those making Orban’s case, but enough to get the message through to the voters. It was simply that the voters preferred Orban’s message to that of his opponents.

The second is that though Orban’s campaign was very negative, it contained some important positive messages. Yesterday I gave four reasons why he would almost certainly win here: the broad economic success of the government, agreement with Orban’s opposition to mass migration, admiration for his personal leadership qualities, and a badly divided opposition. The results bear out that analysis, to which I would add one further point: a significant number of voters agree with Orban’s criticism of the European Union as an undemocratic and overly bureaucratic body and support his broad strategy of trying to return powers from Brussels to national capitals. A defense of democracy and the demand for more of it came from the Hungarian Right as well as from its opponents. So one significance of the landslide is that it marks a positive democratic shift among voters to the kind of “national conservatism” that Orban advocates.

Snip.

As in other recent elections across Europe, the Left has suffered major losses and is now on the verge of ceasing to function as a standalone political force. Only eight years ago the Hungarian Socialists, supported by a left-liberal coalition partner, were the main governing party. On this occasion the Socialists won 12 percent of the popular vote and 20 seats, and the Democratic Coalition (an imperfect successor to the left-liberal party that has since disbanded) won less than 5 per cent and nine seats. Neither party has much of a presence outside the capital. They won only three of the single-member constituencies outside Budapest. (Fidesz won 81.)

Naturally the Eurocrats are not pleased, and the usual idiots are throwing around words like “fascist.”

For an example of the usual idiots, here’s Howard Dean:

“He’s going to go to Poland! And Bulgaria! And Romania! And Austria! And Italy! And France! And Germany! And then he’s going to go Brussels and take back the EU! YEAAAAHHH!”

Sorry.

Lefty EU types have accused Orban of antisemitism, but when you research their claims, it turns that Orban’s “antisemitism” consists of fiercely criticizing George Soros. In fact, Orban has explicitly condemned antisemitism. And Orban is so antisemitic that Israel’s Prime Minister congratulated him for his win and thanked him for support of Israel:

If you’re wondering what Orban’s views are, this piece of his in National Review from last year should help clarify his positions:

The main threat to the future of Europe is not those who want to come here to live but our own political, economic, and intellectual elites bent on transforming Europe against the clear will of the European people.

Indeed, it is plain to see that on this issue, the European Union is divided into two camps: unionists and sovereignists. The unionists call for a United States of Europe and mandatory quotas, while the sovereignists desire a Europe of free and sovereign nations and will not hear of quotas of any kind. That is how the mandatory migrant quota has come to encapsulate and symbolize our era. It is an important issue in and of itself, but it also possesses symbolic significance as the distilled essence of everything we find undesirable and disruptive among the nations of Europe. We cannot allow Brussels to put itself above the law. We cannot allow it to shift the consequences of its own policy onto those who have abided (as we have) by each and every treaty and piece of legislation.

Snip.

In Western Europe, the center Right (the Christian Democrats) and the center Left have taken turns at the helm of Europe for the past 50 to 60 years. But increasingly, they have offered the same programs and thus a diminishing arena of political choice. The leaders of Europe always seem to emerge from the same elite, the same general frame of mind, the same schools, and the same institutions that rear generation after generation of politicians to this day. They take turns implementing the same policies. Now that their assurance has been called into question by the economic meltdown, however, an economic crisis has quickly turned into the crisis of the elite.

More important, this crisis of the elite — sprouted from the economic crisis — has now become a crisis of democracy itself. Large masses of people today want something radically different from what traditional elites want. This is the deep cause of the restlessness, anxiety, and tension erupting on the surface time and again in the wake of a terrorist attack or some other act of violence, or when we confront a seemingly unstoppable tidal wave of migration. We grow ever more apprehensive, because we feel that what happens today in Nice, Munich, or Berlin can happen in virtually any other corner of Europe tomorrow.

EU globalists are upset because Orban is throwing more sand into the gears of their neoliberal superstate dreams. Like Brexit and Donald Trump’s election, his ascension is a direct affront to their agenda, and thus the shrill nature of their attacks.

Israel (Probably) Bombed Syria Last Night

April 9th, 2018

Somebody hit a Syrian airbase near Homs last night; we’re denying it was us, and both Syria and Russia are pointing the finger at Israel:

The Syrian government and its ally Russia have blamed Israel for a deadly attack on a Syrian military airport.

Monday’s attack hit the Tiyas airbase, known as T4, near the city of Homs. Observers say 14 people were killed.

Israel, which has previously hit Syrian targets, has not commented. Syria initially blamed the US for the strike.

The incident comes amid international alarm over an alleged chemical attack on a Syrian rebel-held town. The US and France had threatened to respond.

US President Donald Trump said there would be a “big price to pay” for the alleged chemical attack in Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital Damascus. He branded Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad an “animal”.

Snip.

Syrian state news agency Sana, quoting a military source, reported that air defences had repelled an Israeli missile attack on T4, saying the missiles were fired by Israeli F15 jets in Lebanese airspace.

If true, these would likely be F-15I Strike Eagles firing Israeli Popeye missiles.

Russia’s defence ministry said that, of eight missiles, five were shot down and three reached the western part of the aerodrome.

I would take any sort of Russian claims about Israel missiles being shot down with several grains of salt. Maybe they were, and maybe they weren’t. Either way, Russian air defense systems have not exactly covered themselves in glory in the Syrian conflict.

Israel rarely acknowledges carrying out strikes, but has admitted attacking targets in Syria dozens of times since 2012. Its heaviest air strike on Syria, in February this year, included targeting the T4 air base.

That followed an incursion by an Iranian drone into Israel and the shooting down by Syrian air defences of an Israeli F16 fighter jet.

Israel has said it will not allow Iran, its arch-foe, to set up bases in Syria or operate from there, something Israel considers a major threat.

The Israeli military said Iran and its Revolutionary Guards had long been active in the T4 base, and were using it to transfer weapons, including to Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, an enemy of Israel.

Israel also hit a Hamas military compound in Gaza.

One interesting aspect to the strike was that all the major new services seemed asleep at the switch while reports of the strike from sources on the ground in Lebanon and Syria went out in real time. So if you want to launch a military strike in the Middle East, Sunday night seems to be the time to do it…

Texas Democratic Lawyer Mark Benavides Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking

April 8th, 2018

Democratic Lawyer Mark Benavides may be a small fish (he lost his only district court race), but his crimes stand out for their sheer depravity:

A Wilson County jury on Friday sentenced a former San Antonio attorney to 80 years in prison on each of the six counts he faced for coercing clients into sex.

Mark Henry Benavides will have to serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

Snip.

“This is human trafficking,” Chacon said. “He transported, coerced, threatened and made them feel they had no choice. This jury understood that.”

Benavides was convicted Tuesday of continuous trafficking of persons and faces 25 to 99 years or life in prison. Six women he had represented in prostitution or drug cases testified he coerced them into having sex to keep them out of jail or lessen their legal troubles, and videotaped the encounters, which were shown to the jury.

Investigators seized 246 mini DVDs that contained hundreds of videos of Benavides and the former clients engaged in various sex acts, in which he could be heard directing the women and telling them what to do and say.

More details:

During the trial, San Antonio Police Department detective Manual Morales testified that police found a filing cabinet at Benavides’ home containing 246 of what the detective called “pornographic DVDs” that showed Benavides having sex with women who police said were Benavides’ clients.

Some of the graphic and sexually explicit videos were played for jurors. A video was so graphic that a female juror fainted as the panel left the courtroom last Tuesday.

The women testified that in addition to recordings made in a motel, Benavides also had sex with them in jury and witness rooms at the courthouse.

At least one of the victims in the indictment was a minor.

I’m seeing various reports that Benavides’ coerced sex acts involved torture, but I am unable to find any mainstream media reports confirming those allegations, despite the fainting juror. Might have to wait for the official trial transcript…

What Germany Needs…

April 7th, 2018

…is stricter van control:

A German police spokesman said Saturday that 4 people have been killed and 20 have been injured – some seriously – after a delivery van rammed into a crowd of people in the center of Munster.

The incident unfolded near the Kiepenkerl statue in Munster’s old town, a popular tourist area. It’s believed the van rammed into diners who were seated outside at the Kiepenkerl, a restaurant that is popular with tourists.

AFP reported that six of the injured are in critical condition.

I wonder what ethnic/religious group the perpetrator is a member of?

Cue up the “We may never know the reasons for this senseless act.”

And when will Germany have a serious national conversation on van control?

(Shtick stolen from Dwight.)

LinkSwarm for April 6, 2018

April 6th, 2018

Welcome to another Friday LinkSwarm! Today’s LinkSwarm runs the gamut from Ann Althouse to Zsa Zsa Gabor. So dig in…

  • This New York Times piece on the Islamic State is must reading for its glimpse as to just how the murderous would-be caliphate was able to hold on to and rule significant swathes of territory for years at a time. In short: Bureaucrats and taxes.

    Weeks after the militants seized the city, as fighters roamed the streets and religious extremists rewrote the laws, an order rang out from the loudspeakers of local mosques.

    Public servants, the speakers blared, were to report to their former offices.

    To make sure every government worker got the message, the militants followed up with phone calls to supervisors. When one tried to beg off, citing a back injury, he was told: “If you don’t show up, we’ll come and break your back ourselves.”

    The phone call reached Muhammad Nasser Hamoud, a 19-year veteran of the Iraqi Directorate of Agriculture, behind the locked gate of his home, where he was hiding with his family. Terrified but unsure what else to do, he and his colleagues trudged back to their six-story office complex decorated with posters of seed hybrids.

    They arrived to find chairs lined up in neat rows, as if for a lecture.

    The commander who strode in sat facing the room, his leg splayed out so that everyone could see the pistol holstered to his thigh. For a moment, the only sounds were the hurried prayers of the civil servants mumbling under their breath.

    Their fears proved unfounded. Though he spoke in a menacing tone, the commander had a surprisingly tame request: Resume your jobs immediately, he told them. A sign-in sheet would be placed at the entrance to each department. Those who failed to show up would be punished.

    Meetings like this one occurred throughout the territory controlled by the Islamic State in 2014. Soon municipal employees were back fixing potholes, painting crosswalks, repairing power lines and overseeing payroll.

    “We had no choice but to go back to work,” said Mr. Hamoud. “We did the same job as before. Except we were now serving a terrorist group.”

    Snip.

    After seizing huge tracts of Iraq and Syria, the militants tried a different tactic. They built their state on the back of the one that existed before, absorbing the administrative know-how of its hundreds of government cadres. An examination of how the group governed reveals a pattern of collaboration between the militants and the civilians under their yoke.

    One of the keys to their success was their diversified revenue stream. The group drew its income from so many strands of the economy that airstrikes alone were not enough to cripple it.

    Ledgers, receipt books and monthly budgets describe how the militants monetized every inch of territory they conquered, taxing every bushel of wheat, every liter of sheep’s milk and every watermelon sold at markets they controlled. From agriculture alone, they reaped hundreds of millions of dollars. Contrary to popular perception, the group was self-financed, not dependent on external donors.

    More surprisingly, the documents provide further evidence that the tax revenue the Islamic State earned far outstripped income from oil sales. It was daily commerce and agriculture — not petroleum — that powered the economy of the caliphate.

    They also seized land and goods from Shia, Christians, etc. and redistributed it to their followers as ‘war spoils.”

    Also this: “Mr. Hamoud noticed something that filled him with shame: The streets were visibly cleaner than they had been when the Iraqi government was in charge.”

    Read the whole thing.

  • Last week: Kevin D. Williamson leaves National Review for The Atlantic. This week: The Atlantic fires Kevin D. Williamson for wrongthink. Well, there goes my chance to snag the Sarcastic Texan Chair at National Review
  • Black people should stop mindlessly voting for the Democratic Party says…Donna Brazile?

    “We have to stop giving up our votes. I have done just about everything in the Democratic Party but run for office – everything that they have asked me to do. I have done it. I have registered millions of people in my lifetime. I have knocked on so many doors that I cannot even see the black of my own knuckles. I have carried their water,” Brazile said during her keynote address at the Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon last week, which was organized by Trice Edney Communications.

    “I have put their platform within my heart to support. I have championed their issues. And when it came time for me to say what I believed was important, they said ‘shut up, Donna’ and I said ‘hell no, I am not shutting up,’” she added.

    Forgive me if my enthusiasm for Brazile’s truthtelling is tempered by the suspicion it comes less from deep philosophical conviction than resentment at taking the fall for Hillary’s dishonest and incompetence.

  • “Study: 70% of Europeans see rapid population growth of Muslims as a serious threat.”
  • “Anti-Mass Migration Sweden Democrats Polling First Among Young Voters.” It’s almost like a party standing against rape is more popular than the party standing for “multiculturalism.”
  • Chicago suburb Deerfield, IL passes law allowing confiscation of modern sporting rifles if they have more than a ten shot magazine. (Gun owners have already filed a lawsuit, backed by the NRA-ILA.) So remember: When Democrats state they “don’t want to confiscate your guns,” they’re lying. (Hat tip: Director Blue)
  • EPA Director Scott Pruett ends “secret science” (i.e., regulating on the basis of unpublished, unverifiable studies), and the New York Time (naturally) goes crazy. And here’s the debunking of same. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
  • 68% of India’s military equipment is “vintage” (i.e., old Soviet crap).
  • Apple to drop Intel? Maybe, but not until 2020. If so, does this mean Apple will build their own fab? That would be an expensive proposition, but one Apple would be one of the few companies in the world capable of affording. Or they could keep getting their chips fabbed by TSMC. (Or, the hybrid option, pay TSMC to open up a fab dedicated to producing the new chip at x number of years for y price, after which TSMC would own and run the fab, a technique Apple has used for other component manufacturers before.)
  • Man using the lady’s room at Target exposes himself to little girl. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
  • Kurt Eichenwald pens a bold screed at the evil conspiracy to make him look foolish, mentioning Parkland kid Kyle Kover but oddly omitting a certain media figure whose initials are “K.E.”…
  • Republican Tim Pawlenty to run for Minnesota governor again, an office he held from 2003 to 2011.
  • If you view the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as Christ having “masochistic sexual relations with his own father,” then maybe you shouldn’t be teaching at Holy Cross.
  • Ann Althouse watches and annotates an episode of Roseanne so you don’t have to. However, one correction: I’m pretty sure that the Conners don’t think of themselves as “poor,” they think of themselves as “broke.”
  • Speaking of Roseanne Barr, never forget that she’s a nut case. Indeed, back in 2012 I got into a tiny Twitter spat with her over whether HAARP controlled the weather…
  • When it comes to basic technical facts about firearms, liberal gun grabbers are proudly ignorant.
  • ESPN’s revamped morning SportsCenter is losing to Peppa the Pig. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
  • If you ever wanted something from the Zsa Zsa Gabor estate, now’s your chance. Especially if you wanted a painting of Zsa Zsa or her sisters: she had plenty…
  • Waco Biker Trials Update Update

    April 5th, 2018

    Somehow, when compiling the info for this piece on Waco biker trial news, I missed this update, which notes the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office dismissed cases against Cody Ledbetter and George Bergman.

    Ledbetter, who has said he has been ready to go to trial for almost three years because he didn’t commit a crime, witnessed his stepfather, Daniel Boyett, get shot during the May 2015 brawl at the former Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco between two rival biker groups. Boyett died from his wounds.

    “Give me a break,” [Ledbetter’s attorney Paul] Looney said Monday after learning of the dismissal. “Cody never should have been filed on in the first place. He has had this case hanging over his head for three years and when we finally get a trial setting, they say never mind. That is just cruel beyond description. My client has lived with the thought of 15 years to life in prison for nearly three years on a case I guess they never prepared for trial or never intended to prepare for trial.”

    Neither McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna nor Jarrett returned phone messages Monday.

    Looney, who called the Twin Peaks cases “the most bizarre saga in the history of American criminal law,” added that he is happy for Ledbetter but “just repulsed at the system.”

    “It looks like they have mishandled this case to the point that nine people died and nobody gets prosecuted. How bizarre. This is an impossible outcome. That can’t be the case, but it looks like they are going to end up there,” he said.

    In other Waco biker trial news, “Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of Austin, conducted a status conference Monday in a portion of the 133 Twin Peaks civil rights suits and extended by at least 90 days a stay that has been in place for almost two years.”

    Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Bandidos members John Xavier Portillo and Jeffrey Fay Pike are on trial for federal racketeering charges.

    Trump To Democrats: “You Didn’t Clap Loud Enough! DACA is Dead!”

    April 4th, 2018

    President Donald Trump is saying that Democrats missed their window to make a DACA deal.

    Monday morning, Trump unleashed a round of tweets blaming Mexico and the Democrat party for contributing to America’s Dreamer crisis, picking up a thread he began Sunday on the same subject.

    DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the controversial policy created extralegally by President Obama, was rightly kicked to the legislature to legally codify protections for individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children without any legal immigration status.

    Whether DACA is actually dead, or whether this is just another of President Trump’s persuasion ploys and agreement on those 24-year old “dreamers” can be had in exchange of real border security (e-verify plus a wall plus an end to the diversity lottery plus real enforcement) remains to be seen, but I doubt Democrats will go for it, insomuch as they only care about “dreamers” insomuch as they can keep their base riled up with outrage. They don’t want a narrow amnesty for “deserving” illegal aliens, they want a broad amnesty and an unending stream of illegal aliens to help prop up their electoral chances.

    “What Democrats really want aren’t a lot of Hispanics, but an endless firehose of first generation immigrants.” That’s why they’re so fervently against e-verify and a wall. “A wall doesn’t just cut off the pathway of illegal aliens into this country; it cuts off the pathway of the Democrats to their new majority.”

    Democrats will continue to favor illegal aliens over Americans until they pay the electoral price for it.

    YouTube Shooter a Vegan Animal Rights Activist

    April 3rd, 2018

    YouTube shooter, who wounded three then killed themselves, has been identified.

    MSM: “Please let the shooter be a conservative Republican male! Please let the shooter be a conservative Republican male! Please—”

    “Nasim [Aghdam] the Persian Azeri female vegan bodybuilder, also animal rights activist promoting healthy and humane living—”

    MSM: “GOD DAMN IT!”

    She evidently had a grudge against YouTube, though whether they had “demonitized” her channel (as they have done to so many conservative and gun channels) is unclear.

    Evidently you can check a whole lot of “intersectionality” boxes and still be a crazed shooter. Who knew?

    Update This is evidently her old web page. Relive the glory days of Geocities! (Hat tip: Jubal E. Harshaw’s Twitter feed.)

    Voltron of Sucky Religions Update

    April 3rd, 2018

    Remember my piece on the teamup between Scientology and the Nation of Islam?

    Well, there’s more on that subject:

    An independent Scientology news service, @IndieScieNews, first tipped me off to the connection. On October 20, the Church of Scientology honored the Nation of Islam’s Tony Muhammed with its Freedom Award in Inglewood, Calif., in recognition of his “humanitarian” efforts. What, exactly, are those efforts? Muhammed travels the world showing a documentary on vaccines, claiming they cause autism. Just this week, Nation of Islam members held a blessing and naming ceremony for Tony Muhammed at the Scientology Land Base Chapel in Clearwater, Fla.

    The individual behind IndieScientologyNews told me:

    The extent of the integration of Scientology into the Nation of Islam is demonstrated by the fact that members of the Nation of Islam are not only practicing the religion of Scientology, they are also becoming Ministers and Ministers-in-Training of the Church of Scientology.

    The connection between the two groups goes far deeper than just a gala or a naming ceremony. One of the stars of Leah Remini’s docuseries, Aaron Smith-Levin, laid out the financial connection and the incentive for Nation of Islam members to become involved in the Church of Scientology, and vice versa. Smith-Levin explained to me:

    Louis Farrakhan is entitled to personally receive a 10% commission on all money NOI members pay for Scientology auditing and a 15% commission on all money NOI members pay for Scientology courses. I don’t know what Farrakhan’s compensation plan is within the NOI, but with ~40,000+ NOI members, the relationship between the NOI & the Church of Scientology, Farrakhan stands to personally earn an awful lot of cash.

    During his keynote address to members of the Nation of Islam last year, Farrakhan seemed to take aim at Remini. Writing at his blog, Ortega explains,

    He then cited a chapter from the Koran, and used it to say that he was interested in useful knowledge, whatever its source.

    “I’m just setting the record straight. I’m not a Scientologist but I respect L. Ron Hubbard. I know that this is the time that they’re making an all out move to destroy Scientology. But what I ask Mrs. Remmy, or whatever her name is, she’s going in hard. She’s hurt, by something.”

    Farrakhan then seemed to go on a tangent, talking about his followers looking for understanding but worrying that it was coming from sources that weren’t “perfect.” It was difficult to tell whether this was another reference to Hubbard and Scientology. But he concluded this section of remarks with this line: “The more we strive to make ourselves better, the better we will become in being disciples of Christ or Muhammad or anybody we think we should follow.”

    The message seemed pretty clear: Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam will stand by the Church of Scientology as it is marked for destruction by a hurt Leah Remini.

    And both, of course, are willing to silence their critics and defecting former members by any means necessary…