Thursday Morning Breakfast For The Brain

Good morning Deplorables, that long holiday weekend just got a day closer…

Woke to Broke: Beto’s Fall From Grace

Via The Washington Free Beacon

Beto O’Rourke did all the right things to prepare for a successful presidential campaign. He married a real-estate heiress. He saved money by refusing to give to charity. He served in Congress. He ran for Senate against a loathed Republican incumbent. He was lauded in the press, and cheered on by celebrities. He played guitar with Willie Nelson. He accepted defeat, unlike Stacey Abrams. He soul searched. He blogged about his interactions with real Americans. He live-streamed his dental exam. He was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair. With a dog. Wearing jeans.

In the words of perhaps the most successful political leader in American history: “What the hell happened?”

Beto’s campaign has sputtered violently since getting off the ground in March. His announcement was met with considerable excitement in some liberal circles. He was even described as a “White Obama.” Since then, Beto’s poll numbers have been approaching “statistically insignificant” territory. He’s been overtaken by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, aka the “Gay Obama,” and is struggling to stand out in a Democratic field teeming with generic white males.

Speaking of which, Beto is constantly fending off questions about his “white privilege.” He can’t stop apologizing. He insulted Stacey Abrams, the self-proclaimed governor of Georgia, by suggesting her as a potential running mate. In an effort to “reboot” his campaign, and dispel notions that his candidacy is little more than a “vanity project,” he livestreamed his haircut. He’s circling the drain.

Read the entire article HERE.

CNN’s Favorite Con Artist Michael Avenatti Indicted For Stealing Stormy Daniels’ Book Advance

Via The Federalist

Federal prosecutors in New York charged attorney and alleged con artist Michael Avenatti on Wednesday for stealing from and forging the signature of his former client, Stephanie Gregory Clifford, who uses the name Stormy Daniels. This indictment comes on the heels of separate fraud and extortion charges filed against Avenatti in March.

Avenatti allegedly stole the $297,500 Daniels was owed for a book advance from her literary agent. The indictment says he did so by sending Daniel’s agent a “fraudulent and unauthorized letter” with a forgery of his client’s signature and instructions to send the money to a bank account controlled solely by Avenatti.

Avenatti then allegedly used the money to pay his personal and business expenses, including: payroll for employees at his law firm, payroll for employees at his coffee business, a monthly $3,900 car payment for his leased Ferrari, airfares, dry cleaning, hotels, restaurants, and car services.

Daniels says she did not sign or authorize any such letter, and that she was not even aware of such a letter’s existence. When she asked Avenatti about her missing payments, he allegedly lied to his client, telling her that he was still trying to get the money from the publisher.

Read the entire article HERE.

Mueller “Team” Does Not Want Special Counsel to Testify…

Via The Conservative Treehouse

Can you imagine the questions:

Q: Mr. Mueller, did you go to Oval Office on May 16, 2017, because you wanted to apply for the job of FBI Director?
A: No.
Q: Mr. Mueller, was the mysterious cell phone you left behind in the oval office that day actually yours?
A: No.

And then, as Rod Rosenstein takes a hard and uncomfortable swallow, the Weissmann constructed house-of-cards starts to collapse….

Read the entire article HERE.

The World Is Getting Increasingly Dumber, Study Finds

Via Zero Hedge

Western Europe is home to a cluster of developed economies that boost some of the highest standards of living in the world. But that could soon change. Because as Evan Horowitz writes on NBC News’s new “Think” vertical, IQ scores in France, Scandinavia, Britain, Germany and even Australia are beginning to decline.

The trend has been well-documented across Western Europe, and could soon carry over to the US as well. Which means the data have confirmed what millions of Americans who have watched cable news or logged on to twitter over the past three years probably already suspected: The world is getting dumber.

And just like that, another sign of the ‘Idiocracy’ apocalypse has emerged. Though, unlike the movie, which posits that the population of Earth will become steadily dumber as stupid people outbreed their more intelligent compatriots, the cause of the trend in Europe has yet to be determined, because even the children of relatively intelligent Europeans are getting dumber.

Read the entire article HERE.

Chicago High School Falls for ‘OK Sign’ Hoax, Spends $53K Reprinting Yearbook

Via PJ Media

A few weeks ago, the Chicago Cubs banned a fan for playing the Circle Game on live TV. Supposedly, making a circle with your thumb and forefinger, commonly known as the “OK sign,” is now an indicator of white supremacy. Except, of course, it’s no such thing. The Cubs fell for a dumb hoax perpetrated by some Internet pranksters who wanted to see if they could trick people into believing that the most innocuous gesture in the world is actually bad. It worked.

Another pack of rubes in Chicago just fell for the same hoax, and it’s going to cost them a pretty penny. Steve Schering, Chicago Tribune:

The Oak Park and River Forest High School board has decided to reprint the 2018-2019 yearbook after more than a dozen photos of students engaging in the “circle game” were discovered inside.

Read the entire article HERE.

Be sure to subscribe to Def-Con News to get Breakfast For The Brain in your morning mailbox.