Classes are underway again at The George Washington University in the nation’s capital amid renewed anti-Israel demonstrations on campus. DMV Students for Justice in Palestine, a coalition of anti-Israel, pro-Palestine groups, led a march through GW’s campus Thursday night, demonstrating outside the home of university President Ellen Granberg. They’re back ??@DMVSJP leading a pro-Palestine procession through George Washington Univerity’s campus right now. The fall semester started TODAY. pic.twitter.com/1mN6fptn1A— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyJr1) August 22, 2024 Classes resumed Thursday at GW. Last spring, GW students joined outside anti-Israel groups to establish an illegal encampment in University Yard from late April to early May. This coalition of pro-Palestine demonstrators demanded that GW divest from all companies doing business with the Jewish state. At its height, the anti-Israel encampment, or “Liberation Zone,” comprised over 50 tents. ?A quick tour of the pro-Palestine encampment on the campus of George Washington University in D.C. pic.twitter.com/rHrj1j5AG1— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) April 29, 2024 In an online welcome letter to students dated Monday, Granberg and other university administrators touched on the Nov. 5 presidential election, calling it a “pivotal moment” in the nation’s history. The George Washington University is one of the 10 top most politically active schools in the U.S., according to The Princeton Review. Over the summer, Granberg and other GW administrators reflected on last semester’s pro-Palestine demonstrations. GW released a new iteration of its existing Plan to Strengthen our Community. The plan, first unveiled in January, lists examples of permitted and prohibited “Expressive Activities.” Prohibited activities seemingly draw inspiration from last spring’s pro-Palestine, anti-Israel episode. Among them: —“Engaging in harassing conduct, including uttering statements directed to others on the basis of their race or national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics) or other protected characteristics.” —“Occupying university premises after being directed by university officials to disperse.” In November, the university suspended GW Students for Justice in Palestine, a leading anti-Israel student, when members of the group projected antisemitic slogans on the university library. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that university officials suspended other prominent anti-Israel student groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace, ahead of the fall semester, effectively revoking campus funding from the groups. These student groups surfaced at GW and other university campuses across the nation after Hamas terrorists went on a rampage of rape, torture, and murder Oct. 7 in southern Israel, leaving 1,200 dead and taking 250 hostages. Hamas is the elected government of the adjacent Gaza Strip, where Israel since has conducted military operations to root out the terrorist organization. The Daily Signal asked GW about the status on campus of GW Students for Justice in Palestine. “GW takes seriously our commitment to free expression, ensuring the safety of our community, and maintaining our education and research missions,” a university spokesperson said, adding: “As is appropriate for institutions of higher education, GW also has an obligation to address violations of university policy, and does so without regard to the content of the message those demonstrating seek to advance. It does so through a Code of Student Conduct that provides a fair review process that includes student peers.” According to the university’s Division for Student Affairs, the chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is on disciplinary probation, meaning it no longer is in “good judicial standing” and may be excluded from co-curricular activities. Students for Justice in Palestine may host a limited number of social events or other activities that include alcohol. The sanction is set to expire in December. Students for Justice in Palestine GW’s chapter didn’t respond to the Daily Signal’s questions sent Wednesday via social media. Neither did GW Hillel, the largest Jewish student organization on campus, whose members organized a counterprotest to last spring’s encampment. “First Amendment protections do not apply to GW students, faculty or staff,” according to GW’s “community” plan, because it is a private university. GW administrators crafted their own free expression guidelines, featured in the revised Plan to Strengthen Our Community. In the document, the university places limitations on expression, saying that   speech is not protected when it rises to the level of prohibited harassment based on a person’s protected characteristic (examples include age, disability, ethnicity/national origin, gender, race, religion/faith tradition, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, and many others) as defined by state, local, and federal anti-discrimination laws and university policies. NPR and other outlets reported that Jewish Voice for Peace’s national chapter breached Capitol Hill security July 24, the day Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress. Hundreds of protesters flooded into the Cannon House Office Building. U.S. Capitol Police told The Daily Signal on Aug.16 that the agency arrested 248 protesters that day, charging them with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding under D.C. law (Section 22-1307). The post GW Braces for New Pro-Palestine Protests in Nation’s Capital appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Do you dream of delicious homegrown garlic, straight from your garden to the kitchen? Come learn how to successfully grow garlic at home! This post will cover everything you need to know to grow the best crop possible: when and how to plant garlic cloves, where to get seeds, tips for soil prep, our “secret soak”, disease control, and more. The best news is: garlic is easy to grow in any climate. It even does well in pots, perfect for container gardens. The key is choosing the right type of garlic for your location, so we’ll talk about the difference between softneck and hardneck garlic varieties too. I hope this guide will help make all of your homegrown garlic dreams come true! RELATED: If you’ve already planted your garlic and need tips on harvesting, curing, and storage, see How and When to Harvest Garlic for more detailed information. Disclosure: Homestead and Chill is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.  When to Plant Garlic Garlic is cool-season crop which takes about 8 months to grow from seed (cloves) to harvest. Garlic is usually planted in the fall, sometime between late September to late November depending on your climate. Mid-October is a safe bet for most locations. See our planting calendars below for more information. They’re available for every growing zone! After planting, the cloves should begin to sprout in the fall, and also start to establish their root systems. They’ll go dormant over the winter (in freezing climates), resume growth in the spring, and be ready to harvest early to midsummer. If you miss the window for fall planting, you can also plant garlic cloves in late winter to early spring, as soon as your soil thaws enough to work. However, fall planted garlic will produce bigger, superior bulbs. Here on the Central Coast of California, we often wait to plant our garlic in late January to help avoid garlic rust, a persistent fungal disease in our area. Get free planting calendars for every USDA hardiness zone here Where to Buy Garlic Seed Garlic doesn’t grow from typical tiny garden seeds. Instead, garlic is grown by planting individual garlic cloves, just like the ones you peel and cook for dinner! Each single garlic clove that is planted will grow into a new large head or bulb of garlic with 5 to 12 paper-wrapped cloves. Even though you won’t plant garlic until fall, it’s a good idea to plan ahead and buy garlic seed (cloves) in advance. Most online retailers do pre-orders for garlic during the summer, and will ship it out in late summer to early fall. Some reputable places to buy garlic seed include High Mowing Seeds, Botanical Interests, Seeds Now, Peaceful Valley, or Adaptive Seeds to name a few. In addition to ordering online, garlic seed is sometimes available for sale at our local Farm Supply or Ace Hardware nursery thought the varieties are limited.In a pinch, you can plant organic garlic cloves from the grocery store, but then you can’t choose varieties suited for your zone (stores usually sell softneck). If you do go this route, I emphasize: get organic! Non-organic produce is often irradiated or treated with sprouting inhibitors that can hinder success. Check your farmer’s market too. The garlic they sell locally should grow well in your region. Choosing Garlic Varieties to Plant There are dozens of varieties of garlic to choose from. Inchelium Red, Music, German White, Creole, Spanish Roja, and California Early White are a few popular options. Some are more spicy or mild, better for storage, larger or smaller bulbs, or earlier-maturing. However, out of all of the many types, garlic will fall into one of two categories: hardneck or softneck (explained below). It’s essential to choose the right type for your climate! A softneck Inchelium Red (our favorite!) on the bottom, and a hardneck Moroccan Creole on top. Softneck vs Hardneck Garlic Here are a number of key differences between hardneck and softneck garlic varieties: Climate: Hardneck varieties tend to thrive in regions with more harsh freezing winters. They require a greater period of vernalization, or prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. On the other hand, softneck varieties tend to do best in regions with significantly milder winters, like here on the Central Coast of California. Softneck garlic can grow and survive with some freezing temperatures though! Especially if provided a good deep layer of mulch for added protection. Number of cloves: Softneck garlic varieties usually produce a larger bulb, with more individually-wrapped cloves inside. In contrast, hardneck garlic typically has fewer individual cloves, but each clove can be larger, with thinner skin that is easier to peel. Storage Potential: Because softneck garlic cloves are so tightly wrapped, they have a longer shelf life: up to 9 months when cured and stored properly. On the more tender side, hardneck garlic has a shorter storage life, usually lasting only 3 to 4 months post-harvest and curing. Therefore, you’ll want to use it, re-plant some as seed, or preserve it within that time frame. Scapes: Close to harvest time, hardneck garlic will grow an edible flowering stem called a garlic scape. Garlic scapes are like delicious garlic-flavored, long tender green beans – an awesome addition to pesto or any meal! Softneck garlic does not produce scapes. For even more information, please see this guide: The Difference Between Softneck and Hardneck Garlic. It also explores the top 12 garlic varieties! Preparing Garlic Seed to Plant Once you have your garlic seed, carefully break apart the whole bulbs into individual cloves. Leave the papery cover on each clove though! Removing the paper can make the cloves rot more readily in the soil. It is recommended to break up the bulbs at least a day or two before planting to give them time to dry out. If you have more seed than you can plant, select the largest cloves of garlic to plant! Big cloves are said to produce the largest bulbs. Vernalization Garlic requires a period of vernalization, or exposure to cold temperatures below 40 to 45°F for several weeks. This chilling period helps to stimulate strong root development, sprouting, and growth. Hardneck garlic varieties are especially dependent on vernalization, often requiring up to two months of cold exposure, though three to five weeks is usually adequate for most varieties. In most places, vernalization happens naturally while the garlic is in the garden soil over the cold winter months. However, if you live somewhere with temperate winter weather, you can “fake” vernalization by putting your garlic seed cloves in the refrigerator for several weeks (I recommend at least a month) prior to planting to help ensure success. Soaking Garlic Cloves Before Planting (optional) Prior to planting garlic, we typically soak our garlic cloves in a mixture of seaweed extract and baking soda. This optional step helps provide the garlic seed with additional nutrients and anti-fungal ingredients, helping to jump-start sprouting and fight disease! With this, our garlic always sprouts within just a matter of days. To create a garlic clove soak, combine 1 Tbsp of baking soda and 2 Tbsp of liquid seaweed per gallon of water. Given the modest amount of garlic we plant (about two pounds of cloves) we only make a quarter of the recipe, using 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda and a ½ tablespoon of seaweed extract per quart jar of water. In a pinch, you can also use kelp meal instead of liquid seaweed extract – just double the amount. Mix well, distribute into your soaking vessels of choice, and add the garlic cloves. Soak the garlic seed in this solution for several hours or even overnight, but no more than 18 hours. We keep each variety separate in it’s own marked container to keep track. One final optional step is to give the garlic cloves a quick dunk in rubbing alcohol (just for a minute or two) prior to planting to help further kill any bacteria or fungal spores that may be present. This is particularly useful if you’re re-planting garlic harvested from your own garden, where the likelihood of disease may be higher than fresh seed garlic.  Soaking garlic cloves in kelp meal, baking soda, and water before planting. Where to Plant Garlic Garlic grows best in a location with full sun, or at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. If you’re not using raised garden beds, choose a spot in the ground that doesn’t easily collect and pool water, which can lead to rotting. Avoid planting garlic in the same place year after year, or in the same location that other alliums like onions were recently grown. Good crop rotation practices are important to help prevent disease, pests, and nutrient deficiencies! Garlic makes a great companion plant to grow near tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and members of the cabbage family, but isn’t as compatible to plant near peas or beans. Soil Preparation Garlic thrives in rich, loose, well-draining soil. If your soil is compact and dense, loosen it to about a foot deep and consider adding some potting soil, horticultural sand, and/or pumice to fluff it up. Before planting, work in several inches of organic compost to your chosen planting location, along with a top dressing of slow-release organic fertilizer. Go fairly light on the fertilizer at the planting stage however, and plan to add more in the spring.  Planting Depth and Spacing Plant each garlic clove 2 inches deep, about 4 to 6 inches apart. I usually pre-poke all the planting holes in the designated bed, and then pop in each clove one by one.  Place the garlic clove in the hole with the flat root end down and the pointy end facing up. For larger varieties like Elephant garlic (which is actually a member of the leek family), provide more spacing between the cloves – up to 12 inches apart, and 4 to 6 inches deep. Garlic seed companies should also include planting instructions with spacing guidelines for you to follow. Mulching Garlic In cold northern climates, it’s important to apply several inches (4 to 6 inches) of loose deep mulch on top of the soil to protect garlic over winter. Straw, shredded leaves, grass clippings, and fluffy well-aged compost are all good mulch options. Apply the mulch before the first hard freeze. There is no need to remove the mulch in spring however – it will help to suppress spring weeds too! Since we live in an area with mild but rainy winters (frost and hard freezes are rare here), we skip the deep mulch so the bulbs won’t stay soggy and accidentally rot. Instead, we apply just a modest layer (an inch or two) of compost mulch on top. Rather than going dormant, our garlic continues to slowly grow through winter. Young garlic just starting to sprout up. We use compost and a fine woody “soil building conditioner” as mulch in our raised beds. Water Garlic enjoys routine deep water, but not too much. Allow the top inch or two of soil to dry out between watering. If it’s raining, snowing, or otherwise damp in the winter, do not apply additional water. It’s important to not overwater so the bulbs won’t rot, especially when the garlic isn’t actively growing over winter! Once spring comes and temperatures rise, maintain the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Fertilizer Garlic is a fairly heavy feeder. Once things start to warm up in the spring, add a fresh layer of compost between the rows and/or a side-dressing of balanced slow-release organic fertilizer. This will give them some much-needed energy as they begin to fatten up! We also try to water our garden with either dilute seaweed extract or homemade compost tea a couple times throughout the summer growing season to support overall soil health. Growing Garlic in Pots Garlic grows quite well in pots! In addition to raised garden beds, we’ve planted garlic in various containers over the years including in Earth Box planters, 15-gallon grow bags and half wine barrel planters. To grow garlic in a pot, follow the same tips provided in this guide: use moderately rich but well-draining soil (such as quality potting soil), fertilize once at the time of planting and again in spring, provide full sun, routine water, and deep mulch during winter. Ensure the container has excellent drainage since garlic will rot if the soil becomes water-logged. A simple moisture meter can help you determine how wet (or dry) the soil in your pot is before watering again. FAQ: What size pot is best for garlic? That depends on how much garlic you want to plant! Keeping in mind that garlic cloves should be spaced 4 to 6 inches apart, I recommend using a wide container with ample surface area (as opposed to a deep narrow pot) to maximize the number of garlic cloves you can plant. Garlic has fairly shallow roots (but needs to be planted 2 inches deep), so choose a pot that is at least 8 to 10 inches deep. My friend Rose’s @little_rose81 hardneck garlic, grown in large containers in her Ottawa Canada garden Rose’s @little_rose81 potted garlic harvest Garlic Diseases and Pests Thankfully, most common garden pests prefer to stay away from garlic. In fact, garlic is often used as a companion plant to naturally deter pests instead! Aphids did attack our garlic crop one year, but that was only because the plants were already stressed (we forgot to turn on the automatic irrigation – oops!) and struggling plants are always more attractive to pests. On the other hand garlic is prone to several diseases, including Basal Rot, White Rot, Downy Mildew, Botrytis Rot, Penicillium Decay and more. Cornell University explains that “most of the major garlic diseases are soil-born, so proper site assessment and yearly rotations are crucial in maintaining a healthy garden of garlic.” The only disease we’ve personally encountered is garlic rust. Garlic rust is a fungal disease that only affects the allium family (garlic, onions, leeks, and shallots) and causes orange rusty-looking spots on the leaves. It is common in humid, damp conditions like we often have in the winter, and is virtually impossible to treat organically once it appears. Minor cases are mostly a cosmetic nuisance, but severe infections can lead to decreased bulb size and lessened life in storage. Despite our best crop rotation efforts, we usually end up with some rust. If it’s really bad, we sometimes have to harvest our garlic early (resulting in green garlic) to prevent the spread of rust spores. Here in California, we’ve also learned that we can successfully prevent (or at least greatly reduce) garlic rust by planting our garlic in late January instead of fall! A pretty severe case of garlic rust in our garden A harvest of immature garlic (aka green garlic) when the garlic rust was too bad to let it continue to grow. Learn all about ways to use and preserve green garlic here. Harvest, Curing and Storage Garlic is typically harvested in early to midsummer. Close to harvest time, the garlic leaves start to turn yellow or brown, shrivel, and dry up, and you can also feel developed bulbs below the soil. It’s important to stop watering garlic for a couple weeks prior to harvest, which helps it start to dry out for curing. After harvest, garlic should be cured for several weeks (with the green tops and roots still in tact) to prepare it for long-term dry storage. Please visit our detailed guide on How to Harvest, Cure and Store Garlic for more information. It also includes some of our favorite ways to preserve garlic, such as making homemade garlic powder or fermented garlic honey. And that’s how to plant and grow garlic. So, what do you think? Are you going to grow hardneck garlic, softneck, or maybe a little of both? I hope you found this article to be interesting and informative! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below. May you be blessed with delicious homegrown garlic. Don’t miss these related articles: When to Harvest Garlic, Plus Curing and Storage Tips The Difference Between Hardneck and Softneck Garlic + Top 12 Varieties Easy Fermented Garlic Honey Recipe + Benefits and Uses Roasted Two-Bite Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes Preserving Garlic: How to Make Homemade Garlic Powder Did you enjoy this article? Want to hear more? Stay in touch! Sign up below to receive weekly updates on new posts from Homestead and Chill. The post How to Plant and Grow Garlic: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Homestead and Chill.

A woman from Chicago says that a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital spayed her dog instead of the teeth cleaning the dog was scheduled for on Monday, August 05.

Watch the Protection Racket Media Get 'Tough' With Kamala

Secret Service Agents Placed on Leave Over Trump Assassination Attempt

Democrats Are Convinced the Media Is Being Too Tough on Kamala Harris

The government, for the past year, has overstated joblessness by 818,000 jobs. That revision comes on top of the monthly revisions already made. It is probably not a conspiracy to help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris look good or they would have waited until after the election, not before early voting, to announce the revision. But it is troubling that the government data was off by so much and equally as troubling that politicians and the press together have lectured Americans that the public did not know what they knew. Last week, former CNN host Don Lemon went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to interview people on the boardwalk about the election. One man said he made more money under Donald Trump. Lemon proceeded to tell the man he was wrong because “the data” show Americans are doing better now. Lemon behaved like much of the press and so many Democratic politicians. If you tell the press you are worse off now than you were four years ago, the press claim you have been spun into believing lies. But the lie was that the economy and job creation were far better than they were. Americans knew. The experts got it wrong and the press enforced groupthink by the expert class. Where once an American’s lived experience had to be accurately captured by the press, when that experience conflicts with the popular narrative, the narrative must prevail over the truth. The narrative, these days, favors whatever it will take to keep Donald Trump out of office. The narrative is we have won the fight against inflation as a nation. Never mind that salaries are only starting to grow again and prices are still increasing, just not as fast. A 3% increase after a 30% increase is not much of a victory for working Americans. It is everything to the Democrat elite and press. The pattern is consistent. Americans should not believe their eyes or experience. They should believe what they are told. Only when everyone collectively sees the same thing at the same time does it become too inconvenient for the press and politicians to keep lying. Everyone seeing Biden onstage at the CNN debate was just much too much. He had to be discarded. But pay no attention to the same people tossing Biden overboard begging Biden, only a year ago, to replace Harris because of her weaknesses as a candidate This week, Americans are being told the “vibe” has shifted to Harris and the Democrats are back. We are, at best, back to polling in February that had a tied race and key swing states leaning to the Republicans. Pay no attention to Donald Trump historically outperforming his polling by a few percentage points. Pay attention only to the shift to Harris. Pay no attention to Tim Walz’s lies about his family’s use of IVF, his military record, the arrest rates in Minneapolis after the 2020 riots or how long he kept kids out of Minnesota schools. But pay extreme attention to JD Vance going to Yale, just not to how he got there or from whence he came. The elite and press are beclowning themselves. The Bureau of Labor Statistics performs an annual audit of data in August every year looking back over the prior year’s data to make sure its numbers are accurate. Financial institutions have known for some time the numbers would come back and be revised downward substantially after month over month annual revisions downward. Still, the government’s revision was the largest revision in the data since 2009. Reporters lecturing Americans on how well off they are even if they do not feel like it should probably pause a bit and reflect. They will not, of course. They never do. Meanwhile, Republicans have yet another issue that they can put forward to the public. The economy has not been firing on all cylinders. Fewer jobs were created than claimed. And Harris’ first day on the job was 3 1/2 years ago. The message matters. The “vibe” may favor the Democrats. The data favors Republicans. But Republicans must press their advantage.

NBC’s Today couldn’t measure up to the hackery on ABC and CBS Friday morning in recapping the final day of Democratic National Convention, but they still delivered plenty of pathetic lines cheering “moderate” Vice President Kamala Harris’s “impassioned speech framing the election in historic terms...and delivering a searing rebuke of” Donald Trump but hoping to govern from “the center”. “Living history...Kamala Harris makes it official, the first woman of color to reach a major party ticket with an impassioned speech framing the election in historic terms...and delivering a searing rebuke of her rival...This morning, her vision for the future, Donald Trump’s real-time reaction, and where the 2024 race goes from here,” co-host Savannah Guthrie announced in a tease. Chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander again led off and, this time, he touted Democrats as having told him “this was an exhilarating week”.  Alexander had his own valentines to hand out: “Kamala Harris in front of an arena bursting with energy, acknowledging her sudden rise to the nomination and saying that she is no stranger to unlikely journeys, hoping this one ends in the Oval Office. Vice President Kamala Harris taking a step toward history...Harris weaving her life story into a vision for the country[.]” While he gushed that she “end[ed] with optimism” and threw a fawning question of “what did it feel like” to her in the hallways under the United Center, Alexander acknowledged Harris was partisan by telling viewers she “spent considerable time criticizing former President Trump.” Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker upped the bias by admitting “a lot of Americans aren’t that familiar with her history...and what her vision is for the future” and then conceding the policy elements of her speech were “largely built on the Biden agenda” and thus “didnt...lay out where she might differ from” him.     Welker then dropped the m-word: “[S]he cast herself very carefully as someone who was moderate, so that could potentially reach out to some of the moderates, independents who are going to be critical in winning this election.” Guthrie agreed, adding she “donn[ed] that aura of a prosecutor that feels comfortable to her” by “us[ing] sometimes legal language in making the case against Donald Trump...and she did seem to move to the center, talking tough on immigration, for example.” Senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson agreed, highlighting “the Democratic strategy, to broaden the number of people that will come into the tent and vote for Kamala Harris.” Alexander returned in the second hour to again sing Harris’s praises and fawn over a New York Times photo of Harris from the view of her grandniece, Amara Ajagu (click “expand”): [Catching Harris in the hallway] was pretty good fortune at the end of this last week. It’s been fun to be with you here in Chicago, Savannah. Kamala Harris in front of this arena was that bursting with energy, acknowledging her sudden rise to the nomination and saying she is no stranger to likely journeys with Democrats saying she will end up in the Oval Office. (....) Harris never explicitly acknowledged the historic nature of her candidacy, but this photograph by The New York Times really spoke volumes. Take a look at this. There is Harris on the stage accepting the party’s nomination. And that is her great niece right in the first row as Harris spoke about the possibility that she could be the first woman of color to serve as this country’s president. To see the relevant NBC transcript from August 23, click here.

The party that constantly wants to fundamentally change America into a facsimile of a socialist European state apparently really loves America, according to the stacked panel of liberals on Friday’s Morning Joe. The MSNBC gaggle seriously suggested that the size of the flags at the Democratic National Convention showed a correlation to their love of America; further insisting that, by the end of the event, patriotism was “fully reclaimed” from Republicans. After playing a couple of minutes of Harris’s speech from Night Four, co-host Joe Scarborough opined that “the convention went better than I've seen it go.” He went on to commend Harris for talking about how great America was, contrasted with how former President Trump described it: And Willie, I must say, again, even in that line, that punch line right before you accept your party's nomination, she talked about the greatness of America. She talked about the very things that Republicans used to talk about, until they started running down America, saying what a horrible country it was. Donald Trump saying what a failed country it was, what a nation in decline it was. She went there, and I thought, Willie, most importantly, the Democratic National Convention went there all week with chants of "USA," with flags waving, with one speaker after another going on and on about how great America was and how this could only happen in the United States of America. Scarborough later cited a comment from reporter Bill Bradley, who compared the 2024 DNC to the 1984 Republican National Convention. “And joy and patriotism were combined in a way -- I heard Bill Bradley say yesterday, joy and patriotism combined in a way that he has not seen since Ronald Reagan in 1984, morning in America we took 49 states,” he touted.     Co-host Willie Geist remarked on how “the flags got bigger as the night went along” and inexplicably tied the size of the flags to how patriotic Democrats supposedly were. “So, everyone had a small flag in their hand to wave for the speech, and then they brought out the big flags for Kamala Harris' speech. Chants of ‘USA,’ patriotism fully reclaimed,” he declared. The gush continued with Geist suggesting the energy in the arena rivaled that of when the Chicago Bulls was winning championships in the ‘90s: This building has seen a lot, Joe and Mika. Michael Jordan won three championships in here. They've had some electric nights. But I would hazard to guess that this was right on par with some of those nights in terms of energy in the building, John Lemire. And you and I were watching. We got sort of the full scope from section 315 up there, looking down at this tableau of a party that has truly been energized. Geist even dared to flash a sense of pride in how the Democratic Party had “transformed from its dread and despair that Joe Biden was too old and that they were going to lose to Donald Trump, and how are we going to deal with this guy for another four years; to a party now, at the end of this week, that truly feels, not in an overconfident way, truly feels it now has the upper hand.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s Morning Joe August 23, 2024 6:03:40 a.m. Eastern (…) JOE SCARBOROUGH: I thought the convention went better than I've seen it go. And Willie, I must say, again, even in that line, that punch line right before you accept your party's nomination, she talked about the greatness of America. She talked about the very things that Republicans used to talk about, until they started running down America, saying what a horrible country it was. Donald Trump saying what a failed country it was, what a nation in decline it was. She went there, and I thought, Willie, most importantly, the Democratic National Convention went there all week with chants of "USA," with flags waving, with one speaker after another going on and on about how great America was and how this could only happen in the United States of America. WILLIE GEIST: Yeah. In what Vice President Kamala Harris called in her speech the greatest country on Earth. You're right, Joe, being in this arena last night, the flags got bigger as the night went along. So, everyone had a small flag in their hand to wave for the speech, and then they brought out the big flags for Kamala Harris' speech. Chants of "USA," patriotism fully reclaimed. A focus on the military, on veterans, also, last night. And her speech was -- this building has seen a lot, Joe and Mika. Michael Jordan won three championships in here. They've had some electric nights. But I would hazard to guess that this was right on par with some of those nights in terms of energy in the building, John Lemire. And you and I were watching. We got sort of the full scope from section 315 up there, looking down at this tableau of a party that has truly been energized. And, in some ways, over the last month or so, transformed from its dread and despair that Joe Biden was too old and that they were going to lose to Donald Trump, and how are we going to deal with this guy for another four years; to a party now, at the end of this week, that truly feels, not in an overconfident way, truly feels it now has the upper hand. (…) SCARBOROUGH: And joy and patriotism were combined in a way -- I heard Bill Bradley say yesterday, joy and patriotism combined in a way that he has not seen since Ronald Reagan in 1984, morning in America we took 49 states. (…)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rebuked the Biden-Harris administration for exploiting government power to censor their political opposition. During an announcement speech suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump, RFK. Jr. addressed reporters in Arizona and directly cited Big Tech censorship as a main reason for not winning the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2024 election. Mincing no words, he blasted the federal government and the Democratic National Committee for their involvement. “What most alarms me isn't how the Democratic Party conducts its internal affairs or runs its candidates; what alarms me is the resort to censorship and media control, and the weaponization of the federal agencies,” RFK Jr. said while standing before a podium with two American flags behind him. RFK Jr.: “What most alarms me isn't how the Democratic Party conducts its internal affairs, or runs it candidates. What alarms me is the resort to censorship and media control, and the weaponization of the federal agencies. When a U.S. President colludes with or outright coerces… pic.twitter.com/pX8uYucHPg — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 23, 2024 During his speech, RFK Jr. highlighted the damning consequences of the censorship collusion between Biden officials and social media platforms to censor constitutionally-protected, yet inconvenient free speech. “When a U.S. president colludes with, or outright coerces media companies to censor political speech, it is an attack on our most sacred right of free expression, and that’s the very right upon which all of our other constitutional rights rest,” the now-former presidential candidate warned. Expanding on this sentiment, RFK Jr. labeled the Democratic Party as “the party of the war, censorship, corruption, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Ag and Big Money,” referring to the largest corporations that control the pharmaceutical, social media, agriculture and financial industries. The RFK Jr. campaign faced mounting censorship attacks from the largest social media companies in the country as reported in several MRC Free Speech American studies. For instance, in June 2023, a Meta spokesperson cited an "error" as the reason behind the censorship of RFK Jr.'s Instagram account. The account was reinstated several weeks after RFK launched his presidential campaign. According to MRC's CensorTrack Database, RFK Jr. has been censored at least 35 times in one year. Before You Go! Read MRC’s CensorTrack Cases of RFK Jr. Censorship Here! Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.