NOTE: This piece first appeared on FLGulfNews.com.
By Richard Luthmann with Michael Volpe
Erdogan’s Cartoon Crackdown Triggers Turkish Censorship Scandal
A Turkish journalist begged for a political cartoon to be removed from an article, out of fear. The cartoon depicted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and drew the ire of authorities.
“The photo used in the piece is causing serious tension with the authorities here in Turkey… I kindly but urgently ask that you remove only the image,” the journalist pleaded in an email.
Co-host Richard Luthmann said the cartoon was “too piercing” for the thin-skinned regime. He already complied to protect the source, who writes under a pseudonym. Luthmann blasted Turkey’s heavy-handed reaction. “Turkey is not a democracy… It’s a dictatorship,” he declared.
He vowed to republish the Erdoğan cartoon in a future piece, comparing the situation to how 19th-century political cartoons helped topple New York’s corrupt Boss Tweed.
The hosts agreed that free speech is dead under Erdoğan. Critics face prison for mocking the powerful.
“He’s sending his authorities to crack down… this has to be shouted from the rooftops,” Luthmann warned.
The chilling incident spotlights an alarming crackdown on press freedom abroad.
YouTuber Jeremy Hales Caught Lying About ‘Service’, Plots Revenge on Critics
Internet star Jeremy Hales – host of a YouTube channel with 750,000 followers – is under fire for a bizarre legal vendetta. Hales has been suing critics “frivolously” as part of his business model.
One target is co-host Richard Luthmann, whom Hales sued for “saying mean things” about him. Hales repeatedly bragged online that he “served” Luthmann with the lawsuit. In reality, it never happened.
“I was never served in this case,” Luthmann said. “He lied… there’s no service on me.”
Luthmann slammed Hales as “a pathological liar.”
Co-host Michael Volpe publicized Hales’s lie, demanding proof. None was provided. Instead, Hales’s angry fans harassed Volpe for exposing the truth.
Hales didn’t stop at lying – he threatened personal retaliation. He boasted that local authorities and even federal agents would get involved in Volpe’s child custody dispute as payback.
“Jeremy Hales claims he is gonna intercede in my child custody case,” Volpe recounted, calling it an intimidation tactic.
So far, those threats rang hollow. But Hales’s antics earned him a new spotlight – as a fabulist using his platform to mislead followers and menace opponents.
Luthmann warns that the YouTuber’s legal case is on thin ice. If Hales can’t properly serve papers before the deadline, his lawsuit could get tossed for good.
Megan Fox Deletes 51 Videos to Erase Former Friend After Feud
Former allies have become bitter enemies in the wake of a “What the Halesz” YouTube breakup. Commentator Megan Fox, a former close collaborator of Michael Volpe, has removed Volpe from her YouTube channel. She quietly removed over 50 videos that featured Volpe after their falling-out.
“51 unavailable videos are hidden… She removed 51 videos, including the documentary that she created,” Volpe revealed.
The purge included an investigative film they made together exposing family court corruption. Fox’s reason? Pure spite, according to Volpe. Co-host Richard Luthmann didn’t mince words about Fox’s character.
“She’s a hideous person, not because of how she appears, but because of how she treats other people,” he seethed.
Luthmann launched into a scathing tirade, calling Fox “hideous on the inside” and “petty and pathetic” for erasing their work. He even joked that Fox should retire to a “hamlet of hideous” alongside other reviled figures.
The dramatic fallout has left their audience shocked. Fox and Volpe once teamed up to expose corrupt guardians and judges; now Fox has seemingly disowned that crusade.
Instead, she’s replaced serious journalism with fluff, Volpe suggested. He noted Fox’s recent interviews include YouTube personalities and even a comedian, a far cry from the hard-hitting reports they once did together. By scrubbing their shared legacy, Fox may be trying to rewrite history.
But Volpe isn’t letting the truth vanish so easily – he’s publicly calling her out and preserving the record of what they accomplished before their feud.
Beermann’s ‘Munchkin’ Attorney Accused of Judge-Rigging and Courtroom Shenanigans
A powerhouse Chicago divorce firm stands accused of playing dirty behind the scenes. Beermann LLP and its diminutive lawyer Matthew Elster face allegations of manipulating judges and bending court rules. Volpe nicknamed Elster “the munchkin” – not for his stature alone.
“He’s really short… and also really corrupt,” Volpe explained bluntly.
Luthmann quipped that calling Elster a munchkin was too kind: “You do a disservice to the munchkins by comparing him to them,” he joked, likening Elster instead to a “house troll” or “orc” lurking in the legal system.
Beyond the insults lie serious claims. In one ongoing case, Volpe noticed something suspicious in the Cook County court. When a judge recused herself, the replacement judges were supposed to be chosen at random from a “wheel.” But certain judges’ names were oddly missing.
Volpe suspects those were the honest ones. He believes Beermann’s team ensured friendly judges took the case instead.
He reported that these missing judges were likely the only ones “who aren’t bought off by Beerman.” The aggrieved father in that case has filed a federal RICO lawsuit accusing Beermann and several judges of a conspiracy.
Elster’s courtroom behavior also raised eyebrows. Volpe personally witnessed a judge ask Elster to draft a court order – effectively letting the lawyer write the judge’s decision.
It’s a “dirty little secret” in divorce court, Volpe said, where lazy judges rubber-stamp orders ghostwritten by attorneys.
When Volpe confronted Elster in open court – “Do you normally write orders? Is that appropriate?” – Elster scurried off to complain to a bailiff.
The hosts mocked the cozy collusion on display. They argue it exemplifies how certain lawyers manipulate the system while complicit judges turn a blind eye. The Beermann firm, they claim, wields outsized influence to the detriment of justice.
Rabbi’s Landmark Win Cracks Shield Around Family Court Officials
In a precedent-setting victory, a Colorado rabbi scored a rare win against the family court establishment. Rabbi Jacob Bellinsky had sued a group of family court players – including lawyers and guardians – for an alleged conspiracy that violated his civil rights during a custody battle.
Such lawsuits are typically dismissed, shielded by judicial immunity and abstention doctrines. But not this time.
“They said, ‘You’re right. You have a case. We’re gonna reverse and remand…’,” Richard Luthmann explained, describing the appellate court’s bombshell decision.
A federal appeals panel reinstated Bellinsky’s lawsuit after a lower court had dismissed it. The higher court found that Bellinsky’s claims of fraud and constitutional violations deserved to be heard.
“This is… a RICO type case… civil rights violation by state actors… They have to go back and take this seriously… This is a landmark case for the family court,” Luthmann said.
The ruling specifically rejected the usual escape hatches that family court judges use to duck accountability. The court held that the Younger abstention and Rooker-Feldman doctrines – often cited to block federal intervention in state family matters – “do not apply in this case.”
Those doctrines have long acted as an impenetrable shield insulating family courts. Now, that shield has a crack.
“It’s huge,” Volpe noted.
Family court victims nationwide are watching closely.
Luthmann urged them to study Bellinsky’s approach: “Look at what he’s done… model your complaints on what Rabbi Bellinsky filed.”
With this win, the door is open for parents to sue corrupt family court officials in federal court for violating their rights. As Luthmann put it, “Rabbi Bellinsky… has cracked the nut.”
The case is moving forward to discovery, and beleaguered parents are hopeful it will shine a light on a system many describe as rife with “systemic corruption.”
Judge Gags Protective Mom as Well-Connected ‘Robot Dog’ Dad Gets FEMA Promotion
A Washington, D.C. mother fighting to protect her children has been muzzled by a judge’s stunning gag order – even on medical decisions for her kids. Meanwhile, the children’s politically connected father just landed a top government job despite scandalous behavior.
Co-host Richard Luthmann exposed the saga involving D.C. Superior Court Judge Veronica Sanchez and Department of Homeland Security official Jay Scallan. Scallan, whom Luthmann mockingly calls the “robot dog daddy,” was caught on video napping during work calls.
Yet Scallan just got promoted to FEMA Chief of Staff.
“Breaking news… he has been promoted. He is now the Chief of Staff of FEMA,” Luthmann announced.
Scallan hails from a wealthy “deep state” family and even holds a membership at the elite Chevy Chase Country Club.
“It just goes to show that he has the right connections… He doesn’t have the right abilities,” Luthmann remarked.
As Scallan climbs the ladder, Judge Sanchez has been accused of doing his family a favor at the expense of justice. Sanchez issued a gag order against the mother, Victoria (last name withheld), that Luthmann called “insane.” The order bars the mom from speaking to the press or anyone about the case – she isn’t even allowed to share evidence with an advocate or friend.
Worse, Sanchez put the children’s healthcare under court control. According to Luthmann, the judge ruled that the mother “cannot go to the urgent care for an emergency… You need to call the court first before… getting the advice of a doctor.”
In other words, a child’s trip to the ER requires a judge’s permission.
“It’s totally unconstitutional, totally insane,” Luthmann fumed. He argued that Judge Sanchez “should be impeached for this order alone.”
Volpe noted this isn’t an isolated incident – judges under fire often seal cases and gag parents to avoid scrutiny.
The Sanchez-SCALLAN affair reeks of favoritism. The father’s influential family appears to be getting special protection, while the mother is silenced and stripped of parental rights. The hosts dubbed it a classic deep-state cover-up.
In Luthmann’s view, the scandal shows that in D.C. family court, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” An inept “robot dog” dad can fail upward to a federal post, as long as he has friends in high places – and a judge willing to trample a mother’s rights to keep those friends happy.
