The ultra-left, supposed equalitarian 99% movement that was designed to champion the people has taken another turn for the worse in Oakland where three Occupy protestors have been charged with hate crimes.

According to police who reportedly have video of the incident, the underlying crime was actually a strong-arm robbery in which the protestors surrounded a 42-year old woman on the streets of Oakland in February to take her wallet and an Obama pin on her clothing after she told them not to riot in her neighborhood.

“She was surrounded by three protestors and battered as they yelled vulgar epithets regarding their perception of her sexual orientation,” Oakland Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said. Her wallet was taken during the crime. The victim broke away from the group and called the police who were able to arrest one person by the scene.”

So far, prosecutors have charged Michael Davis, 32, Nneka Crawford, 23, and Randolph Wilkins, 24, and two other suspects were recently located on February 29 and arrested during an Occupy Oakland protest. The first three have been charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office with felony counts of robbery and hate crimes. The three suspects are currently jailed at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Bail for Crawford and Wilkins is $105,000 and Davis is being held on $100,000 bail.

Although video of the incident was captured by a fellow protestors, the incident has not been reported on the Occupy Oakland site.

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Breitbart reporters monitoring the Occupy Oakland movement have learned that the movement–arguably the most violent in the country will try to intimidate Israeli President Shimon Peres in San Francisco when he speaks Monday to a crown at Temple Emanu-El.

Peres is scheduled to give a talk titled, “Israel and the Jewish People: A Vision of Tomorrow.” The Occupy Oakland movement has reported on their site that they “we want to show Peres what our vision of tomorrow would look like by warmly greeting him with a mass protest against apartheid outside of the temple.”

The “warm greeting” language suggests a bitter, sarcastic foreshadowing to intimidation or an attempt to create fear to shut down the event.

The Occupy Oakland movement’s decision to target Peres signifies the dawn of a new possible evolutionary stage of the Occupy movement, which is now branching out into foreign policy matters in addition to simply protesting capitalism and greed on Wall Street in the United States.

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the Republican caucuses in Washington state, following his victories in Arizona, Wyoming and Michigan–a huge boost only days before Super Tuesday, the results of which will most likely determine the Republican presidential nominee.

As of early Sunday morning at 5:19 a.m. and 99 percent of the polls in, Romney had 38%, Texas Rep. Ron Paul received 25%, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had 24% and House Speaker Newt Gingrich 10%.

The Boston Globe reported Romney’s victory late Saturday night projecting that the win was a forecast of an even bigger victory that was almost imminent on Super Tuesday. The Globe’s opening paragraph said, “Mitt Romney rolled to a double-digit victory in Washington state’s Republican presidential caucuses Saturday night, his fourth campaign triumph in a row and a fresh show of strength in the run-up to 10 Super Tuesday contests in all regions of the country.”

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In the three and a half years I knew Andrew Breitbart, I did not revere him as a hero of the conservative movement as so many others did. I deeply admired him as a compassionate and honorable person whose sense of morality dictated that he vindicate those who were wrongly accused by the media.

Despite what his rivals on the left often say about him, his emotions were a product not of anger, but of deep sympathy, and a genuine love for what was right. This was why I admired Andrew.

Andrew hired me last year because I had worked as a mainstream media investigative journalist for CBS, Gannett and TIME Magazine, and he wanted an objective reporter who would be dogged, but compassionate–and Andrew appreciated my most unusual background.

When I was 25 years old I left my job covering the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with the tabloids and reported my editors to the FBI for felony crimes. I did this because when I saw the cruelty they inflicted upon their victims, and the powerlessness they felt to fight back it enraged me.

For years I wished someone would create an outlet that would expose the lies of the media, and I found such a place a day after the election of Barack Obama in November 2008 when Andrew first reached out to me.

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I Own The World has come up with a way to honor the memory of Andrew Breitbart that would make the “merry prankster” himself smile:

It’s obviously a Photoshop, but author BigFurHat has taken the “Breitbart Is Here” design and adapted it for a Gravatar/Twitter icon, t-shirts, and other memorabilia. How you spread Andrew’s memory through this meme is entirely up to you; go out and cause some beautiful mayhem. The site says that once prices for the merchandise are worked out, a fund for the Breitbart family will come from their proceeds.

Find more information here. (more…)

Britain’s Liam Fox has a warning for America: Fix the debt problem now or suffer the consequences of less power on the world stage. The former U.K. secretary of state for defense visited Heritage to explain why the America’s debt is a national security issue.

Fox explained that both Britain and America should be concerned about the impact our national debt has on our security. “The real issue is the indebtedness of Western nations,” he stressed, “Here in the United States, there is a certain irony in the fact that in order to maintain debt interest payment by the national government, America is having to cut its security budget so that some of that money on the debt interest ends up in Moscow and Beijing.” He underscored to the need for serious reforms to tackle what he described as our “absolutely unsustainable” level of national debt. Western economies, he warned “are up to their necks in debt and if they don’t do something about it, [they] will drown in that debt.”

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The fight for freedom lost its chief warrior with the sudden passing of Andrew Breitbart early Thursday morning.

Andrew was determined to take the fight directly to the enemies of American exceptionalism.  His resolve to proudly carry the torch of liberty gave thousands of conservatives across the nation courage, a voice and a platform.

I am looking forward to launching his newest site, BigEducation.com, as its editor in April. We will continue his work of exposing the radicals who have overtaken our public education system.

While a prominent flag bearer of the fight for American freedom has fallen, the battle that he led will continue on.

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All of us at the MacIver Institute are shocked and saddened to hear of Andrew Breitbart’s passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues. I first met Andrew during the Capitol Chaos in here in Madison last February.

He was many things, a journalist, a pundit, a provocateur. Above all, he was a happy warrior in the battle of ideas.

Andrew provided a national platform for much of our work when he began to post my blog on his BigGovernment.com website and for that I will always be in his debt.

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Words cannot express my grief at the loss of this wonderful, generous, courageous, conservative lion. He lived what he preached and what he preached was the truth. He faced down hordes of the enemy, usually alone, and sent them scurrying for cover. This is a devastating blow to the conservative movement at a time when we need strong, brave voices exposing and opposing the radical socialist policies of this virulently destructive administration and its leftist allies.

Andrew’s speech at CPAC may well be the one remembered as his last, although he has made others since. But that speech, worth watching in its entirety, not only captures the spirit and dedication of the man we knew, but carries with it a profound message:

This is my war cry for 2012. You need to join me in this war against the institutional left. This is not your mother’s Democratic Party. John Podesta, George Soros, this is not your mother’s Democratic Party either… I don’t care who the candidate is, and I haven’t since the beginning… Ask not what the candidate can do for you; ask what you can do for the candidate. And that’s what the Tea Party is. We are there to confront them on behalf of our candidate. I will march behind whoever our candidate is because if we don’t, we lose. There are two paths… one is America and the other one is Occupy… Anyone that’s willing to stand next to me to fight the progressive Left, I will be in that bunker. And if you’re not in that bunker because you’re not satisfied with this candidate, more than shame on you, you’re on the other side!

This is a message we dare not ignore, and I tell you, right here, right now, that I stand with Andrew.

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I was, yet again, set to write about the reprehensible behavior of the Republican presidential candidates and their enabling by the Republican National Committee when news broke of the passing of Conservative new media publisher and advocate, Andrew Breitbart. To be certain, the loss of Mr. Breitbart, at the incredibly young age of 43, is not only a loss for the Conservative political community, it is a tragedy for his family – his wife and four young children, and for the cause of preserving our country for the next generation.

In the interest of transparency, I am honored and privileged to be a contributing writer to BigGovernment.com, Mr. Breitbart’s signature publication. He and his managing editors – Michael Flynn (EiC) and Alexander Marlow – have facilitated the showcasing of many important stories as well as a litany of fact-based introspect into the ever-expanding list of issues facing our country. From BigGovernment.com, BigJournalism.com,  BigPeace.com, BigHollywood.com to Breitbart.com and BreitbartTV.com, Andrew Breitbart provided the citizenry with publications through which they could glean facts, information and perspective, and he provided a potent platform for writer/editors like me, by which we might be able to share our knowledge, research and thoughts about the many issues of the day.

I could chronicle the many stories that Mr. Breitbart’s publications have broken – the corruption of ACORN, the sexploits of Anthony Weiner and the many quasi-criminal actions of labor union operatives, among them. But it is more important – and more appropriate – to expound on why people like Mr. Breitbart are moved to do what they do; are moved to do what he did so well.

Put succinctly, Mr. Brietbart – as well as the rest of us who toil in the ideological trenches – despised bullies, cheats, liars and disingenuous opportunists. And instead of doing what an overwhelming number of Americans do, sadly – complain about it and little else, he decided to put his money, his reputation and, to a great extent, his life on the line to do something about it. He decided to stand-up. He chose to act.

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Probably one of the most unique telephone conversations I have ever had was with Andrew Breitbart.

A couple of years ago, having written a few op-eds for the Washington Examiner, I decided I wanted to write more often about what was happening to our country under the Obama administration. I had a few ideas, and read the BIGS sites regularly, so decided to email Andrew Breitbart to see if I would qualify as a blogger for his sites.

Not more than five minutes after I emailed him, my phone rang, and it was Andrew. I was amazed, because it usually takes longer for my own husband to get back to me. After thanking him for returning my call so quickly, I started to tell him about my ideas for some articles, and my prior op-eds for the Examiner. He listened for a second, then said, “That sounds great. You know what I’m doing now? I was thinking about Ahmadinejad and how we could do an analysis of him.”

With that, Andrew proceeded to tell me his thoughts about the Iranian dictator, radical Islamists, and other not totally related ideas. What fascinated me about listening to Andrew was that he was speaking to me as if we knew each other. I had to keep reminding myself that I had never spoken to Andrew Breitbart before in my life. It was like speaking to an old friend, maybe someone I hadn’t spoken to in awhile, but someone I could easily pick up with where I left off the last time I talked to him.

When I sensed a pause in Andrew’s stream of consciousness- and that was kind of difficult to do- I asked, “Do you think I could be a blogger for your sites?” He replied, “Absolutely. It would be great to have you join us. This is what I do. This is what ‘citizen journalism’ is. You are going to help do the job that the mainstream media is not doing.”

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I’m trying to write. Just re-listened to the first interview radio I did with Andrew Breitbart. It’s weird to hear yourself interview a friend. It’s harder to say goodbye to one.

In one sense, that interview seems like yesterday, in another, yesterday seems like forever ago. I’m still in shock. Disbelief is fading, but part of me won’t let go of the hope that he’ll pop up on Twitter with a big “I was just kidding.”

He can’t, of course, but a gut-punch like this you don’t see coming is never easy to take. It’s not so much the jolt of the hit that gets you, it’s the waves of pain and disbelief after. I’m stuck somewhere in one of those ripples.

I first met Andrew 4 or 5 years ago when I was on a kick of taking pictures of people in a Snuggie I’d bought on a late-night drunken whim. I knew he was in town, he was coming to my office the next day, but springing a Snuggie on him there seemed less than professional.

I’d been told he was stopping by a happy hour at bar on Capitol Hill, so I set off to find him there.

The day I met Andrew Breitbart

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I never personally knew Andrew. I never had the chance to shake his hand, chat with him about politics, or thank him for his impact on the conservative movement- and on me. I first saw Andrew on an episode of Red Eye shortly after he launched Big Hollywood. His wit and sheer passion for conservatism left an impression on me. He was unapologetic and defiantly principled. The man charged at every challenge to conservative ideas bravely without hesitation.

In so many instances, conservatives have backed down from the fight. Fear of being called a racist. Fear of being called homophobic. Fear of reprisal. Fear of being disliked. Andrew may seem larger than life, but he was not. He was real. He experienced doubt and fear. He was human. But Andrew never let the enemy see through him.

His life stands as a reminder- bystanders never make a difference and are rarely remembered. Andrew stood proudly for what he believed in. As we were reminded yesterday, man is fallible, he is imperfect, and he is mortal. But the ideas Andrew promoted and defended were perfect- he knew that every time he confronted liberal ideology.

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Like so many, I was stunned and immensely saddened to hear of Andrew Breitbart’s passing.  After all, I had just come from morning mass–what could have happened in an hour?  I had only met Andrew once at CPAC a couple of years ago, but that meeting left a lasting impression.  He was intense, passionate, and even though he was off to visit a friend in the hospital and appeared rushed, he was cordial and took the time to speak with those he encountered.  He had the ability to soak up all the energy in a room and everyone gravitated to him.  He was also bold, sharp-witted, and quick-thinking, but so matter-of-fact and so relevant.

With his “Big” sites, Andrew provided the platform for so many great minds to flourish, published hard-hitting news and reports, and there was no denying the Left feared him.  His site, Big Government, was the holy grail of blogging, if you will.  Andrew was always open to new talent.   And Andrew was also the only one who said yes.

People often ask me how I started writing at Big Government.  I simply state, “It started with one Tweet to Andrew Breitbart.”  I asked Andrew a question, and he simply replied, “Yes.”  One word.  Yes.  That one word unlocked a door that was closed– and I was blown away that he said yes–I mean this was Breitbart!  But, because this was Breitbart, I also knew excellence was in order.  Posts had to be accurate, articulate, and thought-provoking.  I had a serious respect for Andrew, learned not to back down, and it was an honor to write for him.

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From the first time Andrew Breitbart materialized in my studio along with his pal Jude to yesterday’s interview just a few hours before he died, Andrew was never not full of energy, great good humor, enormous energy and passionate commitment to the causes he embraced and the people he loved. When I met his wife it was obvious he was smitten with her and when he spoke of his family it was as the proudest of dads. While he led an extraordinary life, he was very much regular guy and a loving husband and father.

But of course he did lead an extraordinary life, and the word Jonah used –revolutionary– is so apt as to displace all others. With a handful of others including his friend Matt Drudge, he pioneered a genuinely new thing and changed the way everyone communicates, and not just in the news.

He passionately hated haters, and when we were together with Juan Williams at a public forum arguing for school choice, we had an extended argument on the wisdom of his practice of retweeting hate, an argument he referenced at CPAC and which I alluded to in our chat yesterday. He simply would never not fight, a new media duelist who as far as I can tell never lost when it came to new media’s many versions of grass before breakfast.

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From Mark Levin:

As I think back on my friendship with Andrew, I realize how brief it was. I was not among his earliest friends. I was not among his closest friends. I don’t drink, so we never went out for drinks. I don’t go to many dinners or lunches, so we didn’t do that either. But we were friends. We exchanged emails and phone calls, sometime fairly regularly. It usually depended on him — what he was working on, what he wanted us to do, etc. I saw him at various events, most recently in November at the Americans for Prosperity conference in Washington, DC.

Andrew was an energetic, entertaining, and thoughtful person. He was also an entrepreneur, a strategic thinker, and a patriot. He had little use for the Left, especially the media, which he felt was intellectually corrupt and devious. Andrew sought unleash a citizen journalism to compete against it, and he surely did.

On the occasions I was with him at public events, I noticed Andrew had a real connection with young people. They loved him. They’d laugh as he would skewer the Left with one-liners, one after another.

I regret not having spent more time with Andrew. He was always accessible, not just to me but anyone. It is my great loss.

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Cross-Posted: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)