Patterico's Pontifications

4/1/2012

Is the media ever going to ask ‘Lefty Dream Boat’ Van Jones about Freedom Fighter Music?

Filed under: Scum — Morgen @ 11:27 am



[Posted by Morgen]

[The following post is by Morgen, formerly of Verum Serum. Morgen is a uniquely talented researcher and writer who has broken several major stories. (When I say “major” I am not exaggerating. For example, Morgen is the guy who found the video of Sonia Sotomayor talking about how courts make policy — and the infamous “wise Latina” speech. Major, OK?)

The video embedded in this post is classic Morgen. It’s worth watching all the way to the end.

I am thrilled to have even one blog post from Morgen, and I hope he will consider submitting many more. Please give him a warm welcome. — Patterico]

So Van Jones was on ABC’s This Week today. I didn’t watch it but he was there to pitch his new book, Rebuild the Dream, so it’s a safe bet that he spoke about how corporations and the 1% have been benefiting at the expense of the middle class. Fair enough. He won’t get an argument from many Tea Partiers that the political influence exerted by big corporations has corrupted our society, and government. But what sort of alternative does Van Jones ‘dream’ about?

Van Jones does not deny his radical roots but the way he speaks about this would lead most people to believe that he is referring to his youth. That it’s ancient history. I don’t know about you, but the years immediately following 9/11 are not ancient history to me. Like a lot of Gen X’ers, 9/11 was a wake-up call for me to get serious about life, and the challenges facing our nation. Van Jones is only slightly older than I am, and I suspect this was no different for him.

So is Van Jones ever going to answer for the fact that in 2002 he conceived and created a music label, Freedom Fighter Music, which published at least two highly incendiary albums, advancing views far, far outside the mainstream? In 2009 I exposed Freedom Fighter’s WarTimes, leading CBS to speculate whether this was the final straw leading to Jones’ resignation from his role in the White House. But no comment from Jones. WarTimes is just god-awful, narrated by Mumia Abu-Jamal, with an interview appearance by Van Jones himself, and featuring lyrics calling for the defeat of the U.S. in Iraq, proclaiming Uncle Sam the ‘real terrorist’. And even worse, if you can believe. (You can view a YouTube video I created with excerpts from WarTimes here.)

But with so much media focus now on racial violence, and the liberal media – and the White House – seemingly doing nothing to try to calm things down, I think it’s a good time to expose another track produced by Van Jones and his organization. In another era, with a Republican in the White House, this is how Van Jones saw fit to contribute his time, money, and promotional clout to the cause of ‘racial justice’:



[UPDATE BY PATTERICO: So it’s clear, the visuals starting at 3:10 are Morgen’s editorial comments.]

Simply despicable…and it’s outrageous that the person behind this is parading around the country lecturing America about ‘fairness’, when in a rational world, one where the mainstream media still did real reporting, he would have absolutely zero credibility and moral authority.

Which brings me to my closing question: does the New York Times consider Van Jones a ‘lefty dream boat‘ in spite of…or because of…his past advocacy of violent, anti-American views?

— Morgen

Addendum [Morgen]: Thanks for the warm welcome, and for not knocking me around for asking you to sit through a 4+ minute video like this. To follow up on Patterico’s note above, I actually produced the entire video. Working with the original audio of course. I’m sort of hoping one of Jones’ defenders tries to deny he had anything to do with this. April’s Fools joke? Yeah, they wish. So let me save Media Matters a little time. The name of the album this track appears on is Shame the Devil: Hip-Hop Tells The Truth About The Prison Industrial Complex. You can see a reference to it on the old Freedom Fighter web site here. The actual audio came from here – the track is called ‘John Law’. Who knows, there is probably worse than this on the album, have yourself a listening party if you want. But I keyed in on this track because the members of the band who wrote and performed this (the Red Guard) were former employees of Van Jones and remain closely connected to him (or at least organizations he founded). I see no point in dragging them into this, but there is really no way Van Jones can deny culpability for putting out this garbage. And the media can easily confirm all of this…if they had any desire to. But I guess it’s no fun to embarrass one of your heroes.

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Thanks to Ace for the link.

45 Responses to “Is the media ever going to ask ‘Lefty Dream Boat’ Van Jones about Freedom Fighter Music?”

  1. Did everyone watch the video until the end? It’s really worth it.

    Patterico (ce48b8)

  2. Welcome, Morgen.

    I want an award for sitting through that vile piece of crap – all the way to the end. It would seem the only part they got right was AB’s quote re Van Jones.

    With that said, there is no word more misused, more malleable or more in a continual state of flux than justice. Whether racial justice, gender justice, economic justice, social justice, educational justice, etc., it conveniently becomes what your agenda requires it be. No one on the left seems to question the usage of it, assuming on their side the oppression is real, the injustice across the board, and the blame out there, not from within.

    What a loaded term and most useful to support anyone’s claim of having been treated unfairly, or worse, a shameful broad brushing of an entire group of people (see: police). Why it has almost become a tool of…. hate.

    Where’s the love?

    Dana (4eca6e)

  3. 911 is what turned me. I wasn’t really that political before then but I was sort of a lefty I guess (mostly because I knew very little lol).

    Noodles (3681c4)

  4. They just cannot help themselves, Patterico. But, of course, it is far, far safe to attack dead people.

    I do think that, as the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant. So playing this video and asking Obama how this promotes racial harmony would be superb. His friends, right? Or throw them under the bus.

    Morgen, that was well written and thoughtful. I hope that you consider writing at Patterico’s place more often.

    Simon Jester (9aa8cd)

  5. I’m impressed with your work, Morgen, and thank you for posting here.

    Van Jones’ philosophy remimds me of Helter Skelter.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  6. It would seem the only part they got right was AB’s quote re Van Jones.

    Actually, that quote, and the Breitbart bit at the end, was Morgen’s addition. Basically he’s giving you the nasty crap about killing cops — and then adding Breitbart’s correct observations about Van Jones at the end.

    Patterico (ce48b8)

  7. It’s interesting that President Obama didn’t call Van Jones after tendering his resignation. Perhaps there was no political benefit in doing so…

    Dana (4eca6e)

  8. Patterico @ 6,

    Ah. That makes sense … I won’t even say aloud what I thought might have motivated them to put in the AB bit. Nothing nice. Thanks for clarifying.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  9. Welcome, outstanding start here Morgen. Looking forward to seeing more.

    Van Jones and the NYT have the same goals… making America great for once (of course, their definition of “great” is far different than most Americans would accept.)

    They envision a fundamental transition of America into something where they’re on top and the less-worthy serve in a docile manner.

    Stashiu3 (cd7afe)

  10. Dana, this all goes back to Inigo Montoya’s comment from “The Princess Bride.” “Racism” means something different to the people using that term today.

    For example, look at this:

    http://www.katu.com/news/national/7-California-boys-arrested-in-attack-on-teen-145286335.html

    Notice that Sharpton and Jackson don’t have much to say about it. Not many marches.

    But there is something more important still. What percentage of black people are killed by other blacks? But we cannot talk about black-on-black violence, without being called racist. Yet that is the problem that the “black community” should be most concerned about. Me, I think all this has to do with economics and the breakdown of the family.

    Because “racism” means something different to folks like Sharpton (did he ever apologize for the Tawana Brawley thing?) or Jackson. In this context, to people like Sharpton, Jackson, and Jones, “racism” means “a way to gain personal political power.”

    Simon Jester (9aa8cd)

  11. What does Patterico do to keep getting these awesome cob-loggers?

    It’s been a while since I’ve seen any good coverage of Van Jones and I appreciate this. This goes directly to the judgment of the Obama administration.

    Dustin (330eed)

  12. Dustin,

    Apparently not being funny has something to do with it! 🙂

    Patterico (ce48b8)

  13. I can’t elaborate right now; perhaps some day. Morgen understands…

    Patterico (ce48b8)

  14. Ditto, recall that Beck didn’t want Van Jones fires
    (he though properly it’s safer when he’s out in the open,) he just wanted the White House to answer some questions, about some of his beliefs, and whether the WH agreed with it, Now Jarrett admitted
    they had been following his progress in Oakland, so they were fairly apprised of what he was.

    narciso (099a7b)

  15. ==I want an award for sitting…==

    Oh Dana. You too? Another victim fallen to the “everybody gets a trophy” mentality?

    elissa (c9d3f1)

  16. Heh. I think in this case, it’s warranted, elissa!

    Dana (4eca6e)

  17. Compare the incendiary, aggressive rhetoric on the video (“Fuck the pigs” and “this little piggy is a target”) to the victimized tone Jones took today on ABC:

    “As a black parent, I don’t know how to protect my sons,” the former White House environmental policy adviser said. “When you are a victim of a crime, if something happens to your child, the only upside is that the police are going to be on your side. If your child dies at the hands of somebody who’s armed — until now, here I am as a black parent … I don’t know if the cops are on my side.

    Jones acts like the Trayvon Martin case was the reason he began to doubt the police, but the video puts the lie to that.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  18. does the New York Times consider Van Jones a ‘lefty dream boat‘ in spite of…or because of…his past advocacy of violent, anti-American views?

    This is an interesting question.

    Some folks are just fooled or are forgiving. They don’t hate this country. they think radicalism is not serious… perhaps some kind of youthful indiscretion.

    But some folks are radicals. Some folks admire radicals and even like radicals who pose as moderates. I think this is one of those special skills Obama had. Some think he’s a formerly radical now centrist moderate. Some think he’s a radical who is smart enough to keep that on the down-low.

    As for the NYT, they are firmly part of the group that prefers the latter.

    911 is what turned me.

    Noodles’s comment reminds me of the NYT on 9/11. That was the day Bill Ayers had a fawning bio with a photo of Bill Ayers, unrepentant terrorist, standing on the US flag.

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xP9T984MKQw/TweCQS39lxI/AAAAAAAACtY/lDydd_jFFlI/s400/William+Ayers+American+Flag+poster.jpg

    “I don’t regret setting bombs.”

    Unfortunately, the NYT is not a fan of our country.

    Dustin (330eed)

  19. Morgen – Welcome and good work.

    Any idea if that work was ever performed at the White House?

    ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  20. Any idea if it is on President O’Blameless’s iPod or that of Michelle of Valerie Jarrett?

    Wasn’t it Jarrett who did the most cheerleading about Jones?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  21. ==Wasn’t it Jarrett who did the most cheerleading about Jones==

    Yes it was. I don’t think Ms. Valerie has gotten nearly enough attention (by any new or old media form) for her major role in getting Barack Obama elected– and her key decision-making and policy-maling roles within the Obama White House.

    elissa (c9d3f1)

  22. The president confirms Jarrett’s tremendous cache with him, personally and politically. In July, Obama told New York Times reporter Robert Draper, “I trust her completely…She is family.” Obama trusts Jarrett “to speak for me, particularly when we’re dealing with delicate issues.” When asked, he admitted he runs every decision by her.

    If Jarrett failed to anticipate her power, she acknowledges her closeness to the leader of the free world. “We have kind of a mind meld,” Jarrett said about Obama. “

    Jarrett and the President are one.

    Jarrett on Van Jones,

    Jarrett gushed to the Netroots Nation conference: “We were so delighted to be able to recruit him into the White House. We were watching him…for as long as he’s been active out in Oakland. And all the creative ideas he has. And so now, we have captured that, and we have all that energy in the White House.”

    Dana (4eca6e)

  23. eh. Link.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  24. Racists

    Patterico (840f91)

  25. As a friend of mine points out all the time, we should all fear justice, and instead pray for mercy.

    A point I think Van Jones and company had best start contemplating. There’s no such thing as “social” or “racial” or “gender” justice; and there’s a reason justice is portrayed as blind, and carrying an unsheathed sword.

    Dianna (f12db5)

  26. This brings us back to Thomas Sowell’s concept of Cosmic Justice.

    Here is a good introduction:

    http://www.tsowell.com/spquestc.html

    Simon Jester (9aa8cd)

  27. _______________________________________________

    Simply despicable…and it’s outrageous that the person behind this is parading around the country lecturing America about ‘fairness’,

    He reminds me of a very leftwing person I was speaking with a few months ago. The person in question has a huge soft spot in his heart for the Occupy Wall Street crowd, and, in turn, was resentful and incredulous when I told him that America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world—and apparently now THE highest since even Japan has lowered its rate. To try to give some credo to my comment, I even specified that the issue had been detailed on CBS’s 60 Minutes, a program and news operation not exactly identified with the right.

    The kicker is this dyed-in-the-wool liberal has actually traveled outside of California to buy a car in order to avoid paying the state’s higher sales tax. He also has done a contortionist routine to keep from paying more taxes than necessary on a business he manages, including designating employees as “independent contractors,” therefore tossing out the rules and regulations (and expenses) that are required for in-house workers compared with freelancers.

    I think he’s typical of far too many of those who lean left, including the guy now in the White House and all his sycophants (or visa versa), including Van Jones.

    Mark (31bbb6)

  28. incredulous when I told him that America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world

    Wow.

    That’s a shame. The key is education and media. People need to be informed. Too often we’ll see a radical assert that there is plenty of money to fund this government (and indeed a much larger government) if we just tax the rich the ‘fair’ amount. And of course, no amount is high enough to be fair. But no amount of taxation for the top few percent is high enough to fund the government, either.

    It’s just math. We have a spending problem that is so great that taxing can’t even solve it. Even insano shut down the economy levels of taxing. The only solution is to spend less. And the only way to put that on the political table is education.

    Which is why a lot of the Van Jones of the world wind up focused on education.

    Dustin (330eed)

  29. I’m no fan of law enforcement, but there’s a line. The sad thing is, I probably agree with Van Jones about police brutality and giving the police less authority. But killing a police officer in any situation other than self defense is, not only evil, but also will give police more power, not less. He knows it, too. That’s why it’s so disingenuous. He worked in the damn white house. He’s met Eric Holder.

    Van Jones doesn’t want the police to have less authority, he just wants his people to be the police. Not in an Eric “Our People” Holder way, in the ideological way. He would be perfectly happy to see a hundred Bill Ayers with shotguns patrolling the streets.

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  30. The video disappeared for a few minutes but it’s back. And Morgen has an addendum to the post, so check that out.

    Patterico (840f91)

  31. If Obama gets reelected I predict Van Jones will soon have a new job that will not need confirmation (or will ignore the requirement).

    SamIam (a38394)

  32. In the morally relativistic universe of the postmodern left, and the thugs they embrace, the pigs are an enemy force.

    the electorate should know that people like this van jones guy are CLOSE pals of obama and jarrett and ayers and wright and are the same ilk as the pali’ jihadists.

    and vote accordingly.

    reliapundit (32879d)

  33. Morgen,

    Original reporting like this is very impressive. It’s not easy to think of something, research it, and commit the time to follow it through to a finished product. What led you to get interested in topics like this? Is it a hobby and, if so, how do you find the time (because I know how much time this takes)?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  34. Morgen, I enjoyed reading this post — even down to the category tag you chose for it, “scum.” Van Jones reminds me more than a little, in fact, of Bill Ayers, someone who I consistently and, I believe, appropriately describe as a “twisted dollop of evil scum.” Three-plus years into the Obama presidency, I remain concerned by that he relies upon so many old friends who could also justify this particular quick-reference category tag. I look forward to seeing more of your writing here if you and our host are so inclined.

    Beldar (6709d2)

  35. Bah, as is probably clear from the context, “I remain concerned by that he relies upon so many old friends” ought to have read simply “I remain concerned that he relies upon so many old friends.” Sorry for the confusion.

    Beldar (6709d2)

  36. Beldar,

    Good point, and it is a huge sticking point for me, too. Obama surrounds himself with people whose values are not at all like mine, and not like anyone with whom I would associate. Nor are they the values that made our country great. That’s why I support efforts like this to vet Obama and the people like Van Jones who he (apparently) trusts and admires.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  37. Thanks DRJ.

    Is it a hobby and, if so, how do you find the time (because I know how much time this takes)?

    It’s a struggle. Definitely more of a hobby than a profession. Really the only secret is focus. You won’t see me blogging about the story of the day much. I save the limited time I have for digging into more complex stories like this, and might only publish something once or twice a month.

    Morgen (a179aa)

  38. You have a lot to offer. I hope you decide this is someplace you’d like to blog.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  39. I like that Morgen is absolutely not a mendoucheous twatwaffle. And prolly racist.

    JD (c73bec)

  40. Ann held her own well enough…an odd panel combo. Is it just me, or are the expert panelists becoming exponentially more willfully ignorant? I can barely watch them anymore. Schumer could make someone become a rage-aholic…or worse. It seems like All/Obama all-the-time…in olden times things were at least posed as objective, weren’t they? Lefty Dream Boat? He’s a freaking idiot.

    dudeabides (3b611c)

  41. It’s hard for me to get angry anymore, but I do sometimes. Welcome to this cesspool of right-wing racism, Morgen.

    nk (dec503)

  42. I hope you know me as a long-time right-wing, racist commenter, here, and know I meant the “welcome”.

    nk (dec503)

  43. Patterico,

    I just can’t follow your prescription for commas. Commas are my enemy, always in the wrong place. I feel the same way about hyphens.

    (That’s how Patterico let’s me talk here, Morgen, hope you will too.)

    nk (dec503)

  44. I would like to watch this video, so I keep refreshing the page, but the video link does not load. Can you give me a link to the video?

    BryceB (aaa111)

  45. Isn’t it weird that Van Jones seems to be everywhere lately? Someone (Breitbart.com I think) said it’s because he has a book out.

    So if Charles Manson puts a book out will it be promoted everywhere on the MSM?

    I’m not saying he is Charles Manson, but he’s not exactly Ward Clever either.

    I guess what I am trying to say is THE MEDIA IS THE ENEMY!

    Noodles (3681c4)


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