Posts on Saturday, January 16, 2021
Union City’s mayor and other officials condemned a “White Lives Matter” banner found Saturday morning at a city intersection. City officials called the incident—which happened the weekend before the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday and 10 days after the pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol—racist. The banner was found “illegally placed” on the corner of Smith and Dyer streets and removed on Saturday morning, city officials said. A police report was filed, but Union City police could not be reached for comment on Saturday. “The city is disgusted by this despicable act of vandalism that has occurred on the heels of the insurrection
Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world and a self-described nerd who is known for his early programming skills rather than his love of the outdoors, has been quietly snatching up 242,000 acres of farmland across the U.S.—enough to make him the top private farmland owner in America. After years of reports that he was purchasing agricultural land in places like Florida and Washington, The Land Report revealed that Gates, who has a net worth of nearly $121 billion according to Forbes, has built up a massive farmland portfolio spanning 18 states. His largest holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres),
A Florida teacher found herself out of a job after a rant to a classroom full of students in which she blamed Antifa for the Capitol riots. The unidentified substitute was filmed by a Bok Academy student who later posted the meltdown on the Instagram account @knowyourracists. According to the Lake Wales’ school principal Dr. Damien Moses, she was dismissed from school system, TMZ reported. The post began: “Teaching kids that Antifa broke into the Capitol. … She was a substitute teacher in the middle school’s language arts class. She has been dismissed from the Lake Wales Charter School System.
“She just RANDOMLY started talking
The political Left and their allies in the mainstream media have gloated over the second impeachment of Trump. In record time, an article of impeachment alleging President Trump incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol were filed and approved (Snip)
Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. (Snip) according to a new report from CNN, “Evidence uncovered so far, including weapons and tactics seen on surveillance video, suggests a level of planning that has led investigators to believe the attack on the US Capitol was not just a protest that spiraled out of control, a
President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion relief package that includes a third stimulus check of $1,400, in addition to the $600 direct payment issued last month. But Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts thinks struggling Americans need more cash to weather the ongoing pandemic. Markey called for Congress to pass his proposal of $2,000 monthly stimulus checks in a statement on Friday. "The $1,400 in direct cash assistance is a down payment that will help families make rent, put food on the table, and pay the utility bills after Senate Republicans blocked that additional funding back in December," the
Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie
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Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
(Snip)
We live in troubling times. The American election is over but the popular belief that it was fraudulently engineered shows no sign of abating. The evidence that a vast conspiracy has occurred, particularly in several swing states, is convincing for a significant portion of the electorate, and the complicity of a censoring media apparatus is undoubted. Even reputable conservative thinkers and writers, while deploring the current state of political events, seem to take cover by speaking ill of Trump, or repeating Democratic Party talking points, or doing their best to waffle the issues. Republican congressmen and women justify their pusillanimity
As Marxist Democrats, #NeverTrump Republicans, and the deep state conspire to create the false narrative that the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building earlier this month was a) ‘incited’ by President Trump; and 2) an ‘insurrection,’ it should be noted that very similar acts occurred in Washington, D.C. just four short years ago when Trump was inaugurated.How that all turned out will infuriate most readers.As of this writing, the FBI and other authorities have arrested at least 120 people in connection with the Capitol riot – and that’s all it was, by the way, just a riot. Not a coup. Not a plot to overthrow the government.
Across the internet and social media I’m reading a variety of stories about how the Justice Department and the Courts are managing the process of arresting dozens — maybe a hundred or more — persons being charged in connection with protesters storming the Capitol on January 6. Let me clear up some confusion on the process and how things are playing out in the initial proceedings which are happening in courts all across the country — and that is the first issue everyone needs to understand about what is taking place. The US Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia has jurisdictional responsibility for prosecution
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday released 11 transcripts of depositions conducted as part of the committee’s investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe. Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said in a statement that he “decided to release all transcripts of depositions involving the committee’s oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,” adding, “We have released as much material as possible, but some classified material has still been withheld.”The 11 transcripts include one from “Case Agent 1,” who was identified as Stephen Somma by The New York Times in February 2020. As The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reported at that time, Somma was blamed for “some of the most
Pentagon officials confirm break from tradition,
will not host Armed Forces Farewell
tribute to Trump replies
will not host Armed Forces Farewell
tribute to Trump replies
This year, for the first time since its inception in 1989, the Armed Forces Farewell event will reportedly not be held for an outgoing president.“The Pentagon, in a break with recent tradition, will not host an Armed Forces Farewell tribute to President Donald Trump. … Two senior defense officials confirmed … Thursday that no military farewell is being planned for the commander in chief,” Defense One reported Thursday.No reason was specified for the break in tradition. It’s also not clear whether the event was canceled by military brass or by the president himself. The latter scenario seems unlikely given his love for the military.
It’s the worst nightmare for public health officials and it appears to be coming true. Los Angeles County is experiencing a health emergency as hospitals are literally filling up with COVID patients. Ambulances circle the city waiting for a spot to open up in emergency rooms. The ICU’s are at zero capacity. They are running out of oxygen. The emergency rooms are treating six patients at a time. There are people in hallways waiting for a bed. The COVID crisis is hitting hospitals across the U.S. although none appear to be in as bad a shape as LA — for now. But the dramatic rise in positive tests
The timeline and nature of events on January 6th at the Capitol continue to unfold. However, because of what happened that day and what federal law enforcement sees as credible threats, the security around Inauguration Day is taking on an ominous tone with at least 20,000 National Guard troops deployed. Jack Murphy is a political commentator and a resident of Washington, D.C. This morning, he put out a Twitter thread about his observations of what is happening in the nation’s capital. To put it bluntly, members of our military have been deployed on American soil in what appears to be a temporary occupation around the area of the inauguration.
Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal has compared the MAGA riot to the evolution of Al-Qaeda saying in both instances people followed a 'powerful leader' who 'justified their violence', as he warned America is headed for a homegrown insurgency. McChrystal, the former commander of American troops in Afghanistan, said there are terrifying parallels between the birth of the terrorist group responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks and the violent siege on the US Capitol last week that left five dead and sent shockwaves around the world. Donald Trump has given his supporters 'legitimacy to become even more radical', he told Yahoo News,
Because the political-media swamp in DC is filled with terrible human beings, they are going to try and make sure that whenever President Donald Trump’s name is mentioned, he will only be remembered for two things: Twice impeached, and ‘inciting insurrection’ at the U.S. Capitol Building.But thankfully, some of the president’s supporters are already documenting the full history of Trump’s presidency.Writing at Fox News, National Review Online editor and senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research Delroy Murdock recounted an extensive list of Trump’s accomplishments during a single term in office, many of them historic – and most of them so angering to the DC Swamp because
During his first days in office, President-elect Joe Biden plans to send a groundbreaking legislative package to Congress to address the long-elusive goal of immigration reform, including what’s certain to be a controversial centerpiece: a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the country without legal status, according to immigrant rights activists in communication with the Biden-Harris transition team.The bill also would provide a shorter pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of people with temporary protected status and beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Where did COVID-19 come from?
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The coronavirus that conquered the world came from a thumb-sized bat tucked inside a remote Chinese cave. Of this much, scientists are convinced. Exactly how and when it fled the bat to begin its devastating flight across the globe remain open questions. In just one year, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has infected 100 million people and killed 2 million, 400,000 of them in the U.S. Answers could stop such a calamity from happening again. Researchers in China, under government scrutiny, have been investigating since January. This week, a World Health Organization delegation of scientists from 10 different nations finally
So here was the headline from The New York Post: "AOC says Congress may form commission to ‘rein in’ media after Capitol riot." Said the Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “There’s absolutely a commission that’s being discussed but it seems to be more investigating in style rather than truth and reconciliation,” she said “I do think that several members of Congress in some of my discussions have brought up media literacy because that is part of what happened here,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) went on. “We’re going to have to figure out how we rein in our media environment
John Weaver, a longtime Republican aide and one of the co-founders of the Lincoln Project, has admitted to sending 'inappropriate messages' to men promising them employment.
The letter from Weaver, obtained by Axios, comes as several men have come forward this week sharing DMs the political adviser allegedly sent them.
'To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry,' said Weaver, who is married with two kids, but admitted to being gay in the letter.
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said that the house violated six independent points of the Constitution when impeaching President Donald Trump.
(Snip) Dershowitz said: “They violated the free speech provision. They violated the impeachment criteria. They violated the bill of attainder. They violated due process, on and on and on.”
“How can you impeach a president for a speech that is constitutionally protected?” (Snip) they have protection from culpability for what they do on the Senate floor.
“But the only sanction is to vote them out of office and to bring them to trial in the court of public opinion,”
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Members of the Church of Satan are grieving the destruction of a historic “Halloween House” north of New York City that authorities say was set ablaze this week by an unidentified arsonist. The historic home, built in 1900, served as an Addams Family-style hub for local adherents of the religion, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports. One member of the church likened the arson to a terrorist attack. The home on South Clinton Street was decorated with devil sculptures. A hearse long sat in its driveway, and a sign over the garage read “Devil's Garage.” The exotic house served
Federal agents arrested a self-admitted anarchist and “hardcore leftist” on Friday on suspicion of plotting to violently disrupt planned election-related protests at the Florida state Capitol.
Prosecutors said they “averted a crisis” at the Capitol by arresting 33-year-old Daniel Baker, taking him into custody on a charge involving making a threat to kidnap or injure,(Snip)
“Baker issued a call to arms for like-minded individuals to violently confront protestors gathered at the Florida Capitol this Sunday,” (Snip) “He specifically called for others to join him in encircling any protestors and confining them at the Capitol complex using firearms.”
It was just a few days ago that the Texas State Capitol opened up for the new session of the Texas legislature. The top concern at that time was protecting lawmakers, staff, and visitors from the coronavirus. Now the capitol building and grounds have been closed and it has nothing to do with COVID-19. Threats of violent protests that have come into all 50 states, including Texas, caused the Texas Department of Public Safety to abruptly close the capitol Friday night. The building and the Capitol grounds were closed due to new intelligence coming in that intensified safety concerns
President-elect Joe Biden just unveiled his proposal for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Democrats insist it is targeted to respond to the crisis and only full of “commonsense” measures and much-needed emergency spending.
Yet, even a cursory glance at the specifics of the package reveals that it’s a Trojan horse for a sweeping liberal agenda that Biden could never otherwise get passed.
Yes, the proposal does include billions for vaccine distribution, testing, school reopenings, and the like. But it also includes blatant partisan priorities, such as a federal $15 minimum wage.
Biden knows that this far-left, job-killing policy would never make it out of Congress
PHOENIX -- Federal prosecutors who initially said there was “strong evidence” the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials” backed away from the allegation after the head of the investigation cautioned Friday that the probe is still in its early stages and there was no “direct evidence” of such intentions.
The accusation came in a court filing by prosecutors late Thursday in Phoenix in the case against Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who took part in the insurrection while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns.
An internal Capitol Police intelligence report issued three days before the January 6 riot warned that 'Congress itself' could be the target of MAGA protesters. The report noted that Trump supporters saw January 6—the day that Biden's electoral college win would be certified by Congress—'as the last opportunity to overturn the results of the presidential election.' 'This sense of desperation and disappointment may lead to more of an incentive to become violent,' the report warned. It continued that the rioters' potential targets were 'not necessarily the counter-protesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself.' Meanwhile, Capitol Police confirmed Friday
Much of the National Mall is set to close to the public ahead of Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., another security crackdown as armed men and women in military uniforms guard streets, federal buildings and monuments including the Lincoln Memorial. Several bridges between D.C. and Virginia also will be closed. Businesses have boarded up their windows near the zone of closed-off streets where President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are set to be inaugurated on Wednesday. Several bridges between Washington, D.C., and Virginia will be closed for the inauguration next week.
The National Parks Service and U.S. Park Police said
Memphis, Tenn.—The remains of General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife are set to be removed from Health Sciences Park in Memphis soon. A controversial figure, Forrest’s statute was removed from Health Sciences Park in 2017, but his remains and those of his wife’s were not. Now years later, the family has agreed to move the remains to Columbia, Tennessee, the home of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Edward Phillips is the attorney representing the family. He said they were shocked when the statue was taken down, but has agreed to move the remains so they can put this all behind them.
China has come up with a new ice cream no one wants to try. During routine government testing recently, three samples from a northern China ice cream company came back positive for COVID-19. Officials now believe that 4,836 boxes of the ice cream may have been contaminated—more than half of which had already been distributed for sale when the test results came back, Sky News reported Friday. Only 2,089 boxes of ice cream could be confiscated in time, the report said. The ice cream was produced by the Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company, where the 1,662 employees were tested Thursday, and were quarantining.
Our Mounting Orwellian Nightmare
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So we are to imagine that those who objected to Biden's having stolen the election are responsible for the violence at the Capitol? And that, going forward, any public official who questions Biden's win should be removed from office, and that any corporate leader who objects should be fired? All this when the truth is that Trump in all likelihood won the election.It is the perfect example of Orwellian speech. In his classic essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell spoke of the condition where "words and meaning have almost parted company." If that "almost" is a measure of Orwellian speech, then today's Democrat leaders
On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” incoming member of the Biden administration’s White House Council of Economic Advisers Heather Boushey stated that deficit spending can cover Biden’s coronavirus relief package, so how to pay for Biden’s economic agenda is “not tonight’s problem, but it’s certainly something that we’re going to be talking about in the weeks and months to come.” And there are many different options.Host Judy Woodruff asked, “And, finally, in a nutshell, what is it going to take in the way of higher taxes, higher revenues, in order to pay for some of these things that you’ve been describing? What income level is going to be hit
The Ralph Lauren Corporation is cutting ties with golfer Justin Thomas over his use of a homophobic slur. Thomas apologized for the incident, which occurred at a PGA Tour tournament in Hawaii last Saturday. "There's no excuse," Thomas told the Golf Channel in an on-air apology immediately after his round. In a statement, the company said it was discontinuing its sponsorship of Thomas because of his use of the slur, which the company said inconsistent with its values.(Snip) A former world No. 1, Thomas is now third in golf's rankings. "As we make this decision, our hope is that Mr. Thomas
'Never Trump' kingpin John Weaver
admits uninvited gay sexting to
multiple men: 'I am truly sorry' replies
admits uninvited gay sexting to
multiple men: 'I am truly sorry' replies
John Weaver, a co-founder of the anti-Trump conservative group Lincoln Project, admitted Friday to sending several men sexually explicit messages and propositions for sex, according to a report. Reports of his uninvited homosexual advances surfaced this week but Mr. Weaver, a longtime Republican operative, acknowledged the behavior Friday, according to Axios. “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Mr. Weaver told the news website. The propositions sometimes were “coupled with
Although they aren’t exactly scientists, the media said that COVID vaccines would take years or even decades to develop and test and that they would probably be only about 50-60% effective.
It’s not clear whether the media really believed their own dire predictions, or whether they were just rooting for the virus because they thought it hurt Trump and hurt America, both of which they like to see hurt. Although (or perhaps because) they’re not scientists and not very smart, they are Democrats after all.
Fox News reportedly
considering top executive
firings over their
post-election ratings collapse replies
considering top executive
firings over their
post-election ratings collapse replies
If Fox News wants to restore its cable news ratings dominance, changes will have to be visible far lower in its organization than what is being reported.
Though I was angry over its election night coverage and have been dismayed at the behavior of a number of its on-air personalities, I take no joy in the ratings crisis that seems to be engulfing Fox News. For all its faults, its reach, resources, and stable of outstanding talent like Tucker Carlson make it an essential voice
Ajudge ordered Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital last week to give a Covid-19 patient an experimental treatment, and her family and attorneys say they believe that saved 80-year-old Judith Smentkiewicz's life. The drug Ivermectin – a pill sometimes used to treat children with head lice or to rid dogs and cats of worms – is not yet approved by the federal government for use against Covid-19. But Smentkiewicz's son and daughter call it “a miracle drug” in their court papers.
The leaders of Cook County’s criminal justice system are planning on resuming jury trials in February, after months of courts being in a near-total shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown has deprived accused offenders of their right to a speedy trial and left victims waiting for justice. But the proposed reopening worries court employees who believe leaders are rushing the process and jeopardizing their health. (Snip) Sources say leaders are aiming to have the first jury selection happen on Feb. 16. And they say questionnaires were being sent out Friday to potential jurors asking about underlying health issues and other COVID-19 related concerns.
America seems to have gone mad. It still is the world’s richest and most powerful country, with the oldest continuous government on earth. Yet it is in deep crisis, and divided between hostile camps that reject each other’s legitimacy. Paradoxically, what made America strong also makes it inherently fragile. Joshua Mitchell, a professor of government at Georgetown University, presents a cogent diagnosis of America’s dark night of the soul in a remarkable new book. A Chinese acquaintance quips: “Now you are having your own Cultural Revolution.” In fact, the criticism and self-criticism sessions imposed on corporate employees and school personnel
Ensigns bearing Confederate and neo-Nazi imagery defined the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. But for Vietnamese Americans, it's the sight of a defunct flag — representing a country that ceased to exist nearly a half-century ago — that brought up painful questions about identity, trauma and the legacy of U.S. imperialism. The yellow-and-red-striped banners of the former South Vietnam flew above crowds of rioters all over the Capitol grounds. Many of the flag carriers were Vietnamese Americans who, in support of President Donald Trump, have often used the emblem to express nostalgia for a lost home and opposition to communism.
A group of students at Harvard University are demanding that the degrees earned by Trump allies be revoked as punishment for their political opinions.“Harvard must revoke the degrees of alumni whose incendiary language and subversion of democratic processes—rooted in a history of white supremacist voter suppression—incited the violent insurrection on January 6,” the petition said, which was obtained by Fox Business. “This includes all who have used their platforms to deny the validity of the presidential election. They do not and should not represent a university committed to ‘strengthening democracy’
Moving day approaches- “deep cleaning” of
White House, Jill Biden’s $1M bathroom
renovation plan replies
White House, Jill Biden’s $1M bathroom
renovation plan replies
Pallets of empty cardboard boxes were delivered Wednesday to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Moving day is less than a week away and preparations are underway for Trump’s departure and the Bidens arrival. Before the Bidens arrive, deep cleaning is scheduled to take place in the White House and Jill Biden has plans for a million-dollar bathroom renovation in the East Wing. We are still in a pandemic so it’s reasonable that intense cleaning will happen as one group leaves and another moves into the White House. This year the cleaning that takes place during the transition between two administrations is more intense (and costly) than normally done.
President-elect Joe Biden vowed to his supporters that, on his first day in office, he will begin removing any legal recognition of the two sexes by adopting pro-transgender polices. (Tweet) Biden’s campaign website promises: On his first day in office, Biden will reinstate the Obama-Biden guidance revoked by the Trump-Pence Administration, which will restore transgender students’ access to sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity. He will direct his Department of Education to vigorously enforce and investigate violations of transgender students’ civil rights.
Steve Scalise says Jake Tapper needs to
apologize for ‘disgraceful’ slam against
GOP veteran amputee replies
apologize for ‘disgraceful’ slam against
GOP veteran amputee replies
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise defended his colleague Rep. Brian Mast in the wake of a “disgraceful” insult from CNN’s Jake Tapper.The Louisiana Republican lit into Tapper during an appearance on Fox News, demanding the CNN host apologize to Mast after his comment about his military service. Tapper took a jab at Mast, a retired staff sergeant who served in Afghanistan, for his challenge of the Electoral College vote in the presidential election.“That was a disgraceful comment,” Scalise told The Story host Martha MacCallum on Thursday.“Jake Tapper needs to just apologize and admit what he said was wrong. I’m dear friends with Brian Mast. Brian Mast and I went
Accused Capitol rioter John Sullivan — an anti-Trump activist who allegedly infiltrated the off-the-rails rally — has a history of violence at protests and “thrives on chaos,” a federal prosecutor warned in a failed bid to lock him up as his DC case proceeds.“He thrives on chaos,” DC-based federal prosecutor Bryan N. Reeves told a judge in Sullivan’s home state of Utah during a Zoom hearing there Friday night, at which he was ordered released to house arrest over prosecution objections.“The defendant uses messaging apps to set up meetings and set up riots,” Reeves told the judge.
Oklahoma Senator James Lankford Apologizes To Black Constituents
For Challenging Electoral Votes replies
For Challenging Electoral Votes replies
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford apologized to his black constituents for challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, saying that he failed to recognize that his actions casted “doubt on the validity of votes” in majority black cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Lankford, who originally joined a group of senators led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that said they would object to Biden’s victory unless Congress launched a commission to audit the results, ultimately withdrew his objection after being trapped in the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6.
The Capitol Police have over 2,000 sworn officers. A police force dedicated to protecting Capitol Hill has more personnel in its service than the police forces of most of the country.
Congress' private cops are the 19th largest police force in the country. It’s a larger force than the police forces of Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, or Milwaukee with a massive $460 million budget.
It’s the only legislative federal force in the country that is answerable exclusively to Congress.
While Democrats advocated defunding the police, their private police force budget shot up from $375 million in 2016 to $460 million in 2020. After the Capitol Hill riot, expect it to go higher.
Much higher.