Category: Congress

Baltimore is Burning

July 31, 2019

Baltimore IS on fire — and it HAS been for some time. We’ll get into specifics in a moment that bears this out. The last few days have found the President and Baltimore resident Congressman Elijah Cummings going after each other in the press. And it’s ugly.

It’s ugly, not because Democrats and their communications arm — the Mainstream Media — pipe in and all in unison cry “Trump is a racist! His attacks on Rep. Cummings and the city of Baltimore are racist! He’s a racist…..”

Racism is NOT Baltimore’s problem! Or is it?

The “Problem”

Baltimore’s problem is not unique. In fact, large cities across the nation face the exact same problem. The problem is NOT that they need more money. The problem is the money they have that comes in total from taxpayers is NOT being used wisely. AND THERE’S NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE WASTE AND CORRUPTION THAT THOSE DOLLARS FUND!

The Problem’s Source

The source seems to be the plethora of money from the Feds to help Baltimore fix itself: fix its high crime rate, raging unemployment, incorrigible public education, homelessness, corruption in local government, etc. Baltimore’s political leadership can cry “foul” as loud as they want against the Trump Administration, but those cries fall on deaf ears. The federal government has buried Baltimore in free taxpayer dollars. And it began with President Obama.

Free Money

President Barack Obama said, ”Massive investments in urban communities could make a difference right now.” Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said, “We have to invest in our cities and our children.” And House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who also represents Maryland, said, “But we’re going to have to as a country invest if we’re going to have the kinds of communities we want.”

But the idea that we haven’t been “investing” in Baltimore is nonsense.

Federal and state money poured into the city for decades. From fiscal years 2003 to 2013 (the last year for which these reports are available), Baltimore received at least $2.4 billion in federal assistance and another $1.8 billion in state aid. The city also received roughly $1.8 billion in federal stimulus money. And this doesn’t count the billions of dollars received directly by the people who live in Baltimore through various social welfare programs.

Yet nearly a quarter of the people in the city still live in poverty, 65 percent above the national level. We’ve clearly been throwing a lot of money at poverty in Baltimore with very little (if any) positive results.

Part of the problem, unsurprisingly, is that the city does not make very good use of the money it receives.

Under Obama, Baltimore received $9.5 million in federal funds to deal specifically with the city’s growing homeless problem. But according to an audit by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city did not properly monitor the homelessness funds, paid providers according to a preset formula rather than actual expenditures, lost track of money in several instances, and paid city staffers based on estimates, not the actual time they spent on grant activities. The city ended up having to repay nearly a third of the money. Not to worry, though: Baltimore expects to receive another $20 million+ in homelessness assistance from the feds this year and EVERY year.

Similarly, the city may end up having to repay a federal education grant designed to help the city’s poorest schools, after an audit by the Department of Education found that much of the money was actually used for dinner cruises, makeovers, and meals.

And a new audit of a city program to help low-income families with heating and energy bills found that nearly 20 percent of payments were unsupported by paperwork, and others had missing or incorrect information. Some bills were paid multiple times, while still other payments were made to families that didn’t live in the city.

But it’s not just a question of waste, fraud, and abuse. Even when the money was spent as intended, it has done little good.

Remember that $1.4 billion in federal stimulus spending? $1.4 Billion: how many thousands of jobs should that have created? Well, according to the government’s official website Recovery.gov, that spending generated just 64 permanent jobs. (you do the math)

The Washington Post reported how the federal and state governments spent more than $130 million rejuvenating the Sandtown area in Baltimore where Freddie Gray was arrested. Barely half of the working-age population is employed, according to a recent report from the Justice Policy Institute and the Prison Policy Initiative. The neighborhood lacks a supermarket or a single restaurant, not even a fast-food outlet. More than 60 percent of people over 25 have less than a high school diploma, and almost half of current high school students are chronically absent. Life expectancy is 10 years lower than the national average.

Baltimore spends $16,578 a year per pupil in schools, roughly 52 percent above the national average, and the fourth most of any major city. The majority of that money comes not from the city itself but from the state and federal governments. Yet more than a quarter of Baltimore students fail to graduate from high school. Fewer than half of Baltimore high school students passed the last Maryland High School Assessment test. SAT scores for Baltimore students are more than 100 points below the national average.

Why do we think it will be any different this time if we simply throw more money at the problem? Worse, the focus on spending more money distracts us from those things we know actually do lift people out of poverty.

There are few better routes out of poverty than a job. Fewer than 3 percent of those working full time live in poverty. Yet Maryland has one of the most anti-business tax and regulatory climates in the nation. And Baltimore adds its own layer of excessive taxes and regulatory bureaucracy.

Education reform is another key to lifting people out of poverty. Drop out of school and you are likely to be poor. Graduate from college and you won’t be. Yet, Maryland radically restricts parental choice and teacher accountability.

And any effective anti-poverty program will try to reduce out-of-wedlock birth and single parenting. Households headed by a single mother are more than five times more likely to be poor compared with married-couple families, but in Baltimore two-thirds of the births in the city are to unmarried mothers, and almost 60 percent of households are headed by single parents. Yet our welfare system continues to discourage family formation.

Of course, we need to do something to lift the people of Baltimore and other struggling cities out of poverty. But that something is not continuing to throw good money after bad.

Baltimore’s Current “Numbers”

Real estate: The median home value in Baltimore is $113,500, according to Zillow. Baltimore home values have declined 3.2 percent over the past year and Zillow predicts they will fall 4.2 percent within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Baltimore is $144, which is lower than the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metro average of $190. The median rent price in Baltimore is $1,400, which is lower than the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metro median of $1,650.

Jobs: The unemployment rate in Baltimore city was at 5.10 percent in May. Compare that to Maryland state’s 3.8 percent unemployment rate in June, while the national average sits at 3.7 percent.

Income: The typical household income in Baltimore was $46,641 in 2017, while the average family in the U.S. saw annual earnings of $57,652, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Poverty: According to Census Bureau data, the poverty rate in Charm City came in at 22.4 percent in 2017, compared to the national average of 12.3 percent.

City leadership ranking: Baltimore ranked as No. 129 out of 150 — (or 21 spots from the bottom of the list) — in WalletHub’s list of 2019’s best- and worst-run cities in America.

Crime: The city also took the No. 3  spot on 24/7 Wall Street’s recent list of the most dangerous cities in America. The No. 1 spot went to St. Louis, Missouri, while Detroit, Michigan took the No. 2 spot.

Retail sales per capita: In 2012, Baltimore rang in $5,871 in retail sales per capita, compared to the national average of $13,443, according to the Census Bureau.

The Cummings/Trump Feud

It has been brutal! It is no secret that Rep. Cummings as head of the House Oversight Committee has steadily attacked President Trump personally and professionally since 2016. Mr. Trump ratcheted up the feud last week with a series of tweets excoriating the deplorable conditions in Baltimore placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the MD Congressman. It’s not surprising that Cummings has continually fired back in like kind.

But what is shameful is that the allegations made by the President were not original. In fact, Trump’s statements of Baltimore being “rat-infested,” and in “horrible condition” have been previously touted by numerous others in politics — and not Republicans — several of which are Maryland resident politicians. In fact, the Baltimore mayor (who recently resigned) stated herself that the city was rat-infested. Of course, Democrats and members of the Mainstream media immediately turned Trump’s criticism of Baltimore into pure racism. Why? Cummings is African-American, so any criticism of any kind of him professionally, the city of Baltimore or the state of Maryland could certainly be driven only by racism, right?

But here’s a word for Mr. Cummings, all other Democrats, and Baltimore residents and politicians: Baltimore IS burning! It’s on fire with racism, crime, poverty, poor public education, healthcare, much homelessness, and government waste and corruption.

Summary

Let’s end this today with a topic that is political, personal, divisive, and controversial at best: Racism. The cries of “Racist” have been hurled at President Trump nonstop over his very visible public attacks against the conditions in Baltimore. Of course, he has labeled as primarily responsible Baltimore’s leading federal advocate and resident, Representative Elijah Cummings. The Democrat heavyweight wields significant power in D.C. He’s Chairman of the House Oversight Committee which supervises pretty much every department in the Executive Branch of government. And in his gun sights has been this president who Mr. Cummings detests vehemently and never misses an opportunity to tell those on the other end of a network microphone and tv camera. Cummings didn’t just recently start his Trump attacks. And they’ve been extraordinarily crude and derisive since the 2016 election.

Naturally joining Mr. Cummings in his cries of racism against this president are most Democrats in federal and state offices and, of course, the fawning media. And this topic is what we will close this story with today.

Elijah Cummings and the rest of American Democrats are either innocently or purposely missing what’s really going on in this spat between Trump and Cummings. And what’s going on has NOTHING to do with racism. Further, it is beyond disingenuous for Cummings, all these Democrat presidential candidates, House and Senate Democrat leaders, and EVERY Democrat who has joined in the mob cries of racism. Why is that? Pay close attention to what we are saying:

  • First, Mr. Trump is by far not the first to reference the rat infestation in Baltimore. In fact, Baltimore’s mayor — an African American female — stated just months ago she could smell the rats infesting the city;
  • Secondly, Mr. Cummings in all of his hate-filled attacks against President Trump has NEVER sought actual and real and specific federal government assistance. In fact, in the Freddie Gray demonstrations-turned-riots, Baltimore made very clear they did not want federal help. And regarding additional federal financial support, Cummings has been virtually quiet. Why is that?
  • It could be because Department of Housing and Urban Development regional administrator Lynne Patton appeared just days ago on Fox News and took note of just how much federal money has been steered into Cummings’ district, which is nearly 53% percent black.“President Trump has given $16 billion in 2018 alone to Elijah Cummings’ district in federal grants,” Patton explained. “We have given more money in homeless funds to Baltimore than the last administration. We have given more money in ‘community development grants.’”Patton then asked, “What are you actually doing with the money so that it benefits residents in the community for once instead of deep-pocket, crooked politicians?”

It’s blatantly clear that what is being heard from the White House about Baltimore certainly CANNOT be initiated by racism. Say what you want about the President’s tweets, his “in-your-face” response to the myriad of personal and political attacks from all sides, screaming about his insistence for federal law enforcement persons to do exactly what they are supposed to do: enforce the law! By the way, every one of those federal lawmakers — EVERYONE — with one hand raised and one on a Bible pledged to support and defend the Constitution — which is the laws of the United States that members of Congress crafted, agreed to, and were signed into law.

How is it OK for ANY of them to want laws of the country to NOT be enforced! And should they not expect this president — ANY president — to see to it that those who serve in the Department of Justice do just that: enforce U.S. laws? These 2020 Democrat presidential candidates are to a person advocating for illegal immigrants AND American citizens to violate existing federal laws. And many of them actually serve in the House and Senate where any laws they don’t like and think should NOT be enforced can be changed!

The problem today is not Elijah Cummings and is not Donald Trump. And it’s NOT racism. No, Donald Trump is NOT a racist. He has a fifty + year business reputation that dramatically evidences exactly the opposite. And think about this: one of the certainties in the life of every bigot and racist is that they not only verbally attack people of other races vehemently, but their attacks are also always the denigration of them specifically because of their skin color. Trump has NEVER done that. And for anyone that disagrees, feel free to send me specific examples — quotations and/or video proof — and we’ll certainly post it here with an apology.

So what is the problem?

When people scream that others are racists without citing specific examples that prove their allegations, what they are doing IS the real problem! Racism IS a serious problem. There are many ways to deal with it. And screaming ad nauseum that someone is a racist is NOT one of them.

But it comes to this: “If” Mr. Trump is a racist, why would he authorize his Department of Urban Development to invest $16 billion in Baltimore for its many issues in just one year? Secondly, if he IS a racist, nothing anyone says will change that.

In case you’ve forgotten, here are the 3 Websters definitions of racism: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others; Discrimination or prejudice based on race; The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.

Go ahead: send some specific examples that prove Mr. Trump is racist.

In the meantime, do you want to know what really is wrong in Baltimore? The cause certainly is not money. The cause is poor planning, poor leadership, and virtually NO accountability for local and state government. How else can a city receive several billion federal dollars specifically to address those issues followed by $16 billion more and achieve NO POSITIVE RESULTS?

Rep. Cummings, other Democrats, and the Media can cry “Racist!” all they want at the President. But they’re saying that does not make it true. And even if it IS true, how does that cause all the crap in Baltimore? It’s been happening for many years before a Trump presidency.

(I apologize: I said “all the crap” and should have said “all the rats” instead. Sorry!)

 

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Nadler and Schiff Busted! Nadler Exposed

July 28, 2019

Today, as promised, we will look closely at the past and present of the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who has released a non-stop barrage of accusations against President Trump on many levels. His attacks have lasted for more than a year. In those attacks, he has accused President Trump of collusion, obstruction of justice, criminal violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, racism, sexism, misogyny, and for being just an all-around horrible person.

Nadler has been joined by many in the Democrat Party, none more vocal than Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who has — in addition to his echoes of Nadler’s allegations of the President — claimed non-stop for more than a year that he has uncontroverted proof already of Trump’s multiple acts of obstruction of justice.

We will complete today’s story with the promised information hiding in plain sight about Rep. Nadler. But let’s begin by looking at all these allegations of Trump’s collusion with Russia in 2016.

Collusion

Collusion is not a federal crime (except in the unique case of antitrust law), so we should all just stop using “collusion” as a short-hand for criminality. But that doesn’t mean that the alleged cooperation between the Trump campaign and Russia is of no criminal interest. To the contrary, if true, it may have violated any number of criminal prohibitions.

For example, if Donald Trump Jr. sought “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from the Russians, he might be charged with conspiring to violate the election laws of the United States, which prohibit foreign nationals from contributing any “thing of value” to an electoral campaign. The opposition dirt is at least plausibly a thing of value. And to the extent that the Trump campaign aided, abetted or advised the Russians (or any other hackers) about what would be most useful to steal from the Democrats or how best to enhance the impact of their release, they may well have violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The word “collusion” has been a terrible one to use in the Trump-Russia saga, since it doesn’t accurately describe either the criminal or counterintelligence aspects of what we know. On the criminal side, the word that would best describe an agreement between the Trump campaign and Russia to commit any number of crimes (say, election fraud) would be “conspiracy”—something that the recent release of Donald Trump Jr.’s email chain might support.

Collusion is the descriptive word the news media has settled on to cover many alleged potential illegal actions by the Trump campaign, which could range from aiding and abetting (18 USC 2) to conspiracy per se (18 USC 371) to conspiring to violate several potentially applicable laws like: 18 USC 1030—fraud and related activity in connection with computers; 18 USC 1343—wire fraud; or 52 USC 30121—contributions and donations by foreign nationals. Also, 18 USC 2381—for, contrary to a widespread belief that there must be a declared war, the Justice Department as recently as 2006 indicted for “aid and comfort” to our enemies, the form of collusion better known as treason. Collusion is the perfect word to cover such crimes, pejorative and inclusive.

Adam Schiff KNOWS Trump is guilty — PERIOD!

“The Russians offered dirt on Hillary Clinton in writing and sent it to [Donald Trump Jr.],” Schiff stated. “And Don Jr.’s response was in writing and said, ‘As for your offer of foreign illegal help, I would love it.’ He accepted the offer.”

Noting that Team Trump later lied about the meeting and that represented the “personification of collusion,” Schiff added that Mueller had a different question—whether he could prove the crime of conspiracy.

“And as you know, well before the Mueller report, I was pointing out to the public, there is a difference between what we understand is collusion and whether you can prove all the elements of crime,” he said.

Schiff didn’t stop there. Even after the Mueller Report was released and Special Counsel Mueller testified before both the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees and even in answering continual committee questions from Democrats on the alleged Trump crimes and Mueller’s testimony that did NOT formally or informally indict Trump, Schiff doubled down on his “knowledge” of Trump wrongdoing.

Before we summarize and give you the information we uncovered on Nadler, it’s important to emphasize to you the following:

Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them Aid and Comfort has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort have been given.

Remember that while listening to this short interview that Schiff believed was with Russian officials but were on-air radio announcers in the U.S. tricking Schiff. But participating in this interview, Schiff actually committed the exact same acts that he has continually accused Donald Trump Jr. committing, calling them Obstruction of Justice! (THIS AUDIO OF THE SCHIFF RADIO INTERVIEW CAN BE HEARD ONLY ON THE PODCAST)

First, by even taking this phone call from someone Schiff THOUGHT were Russians, he has committed exactly what he accused Don Jr. of doing talking with an accepting a meeting in that famous Trump Tower meeting. Secondly, he accepted their offer of sending to Schiff the “fake” proof of Trump collusion.

According to Schiff’s own words, he was guilty of the same crime he has alleged of Trump!

Jerrold Nadler

Nadler has never seen a camera he didn’t like, a microphone that he did not “know” was specifically for him, and never shunned participating in an interview to bash the President. But Nadler forgets about the documentation of EVERYTHING official committed by members of the federal government — including the Congressional Record.

The same man who once showed clear favoritism for President Clinton, an admitted perjurer, is now hellbent on continuing the witch hunt against President Trump despite the fact that Trump has been cleared by the special counsel. Will the hypocrisy never end with this man?

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Nadler made veiled threats, innuendos, and salacious accusations against President Trump that have since been disproven. “When the full scope of the president’s misconduct has been revealed, when his lies are debunked and his abuses have been laid bare, I believe that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will draft legislation to curb the worst of his offenses,” he wrote. “Put another way: If President Trump’s behavior wasn’t criminal, then perhaps it should have been.”

When the shoe was on the other foot, and Clinton had actually committed a crime, Nadler did his best to cover for him. Now that the fake collusion allegations against President Clinton have been thoroughly discredited and rejected by the special counsel, he’s looking for crimes that “should have been.”

Nadler was a young Congressmen during the Clinton White House years. He was there during the impeachment proceedings against President Trump. He voraciously stood with the President defending him against impeachment proceedings and blasting Republicans for taking any actions. What justification did the junior New York Congressman give for his insistence to NOT impeach Mr. Clinton? The exact same things he himself is using in his current demands to impeach Donald Trump!

Don’t take our word for it. Let’s go to the official record: Rep. Nadler’s actual speech before Congress. His speech is lengthy, so we will not put the entire speech in this story. Below in bullet points, we share the salient points of his contentions that will shock all, especially in light of his current rants against the President.

Nadler’s Speech before the House of Representatives regarding Bill Conton’s Impeachement: December 18, 1998

  • “The effect of impeachment is to overturn the popular will of the voters. We must not overturn an election and remove a President from office except to defend our system of government or our constitutional liberties against a dire threat, and we must not do so without an overwhelming consensus of the American people.

  • There must never be a narrowly voted impeachment or an impeachment supported by one of our major political parties and opposed by another. Such an impeachment will produce divisiveness and bitterness in our politics for years to come and will call into question the very legitimacy of our political institutions.

  • Some members of the House may think the people have chosen badly, but it is the people’s choice and we must respect it absent a threat to our democracy that would justify overturning the repeated expression of their will at the ballot box. Members of Congress have no right to arrogate to themselves the power to nullify an election absent that compelling case.

  • This House is not a grand jury. To impeach the President would subject the country to the trauma of a trial in the Senate. It would paralyze the government for many months while the problems of Social Security, Medicare, a deteriorating world economy, and all our foreign concerns festered without proper attention. We cannot simply punt the duty to judge the facts to the Senate if we find mere ‘‘probable cause’’ that an impeachable offense may have been committed. To do so would be a derogation of our constitutional duty. The proponents of impeachment have provided no direct evidence of impeachable offenses. They rely solely on the findings of an ‘‘independent’’ counsel who has repeatedly mischaracterized evidence, failed to include exculpatory evidence, and consistently misstated the law.

  • Is the President above the law? Certainly not. He is subject to the criminal law — to indictment and prosecution when he leaves office like any other citizen, whether or not he is impeached. And if the Republican leadership allows a vote, he would likely be the third President in U.S. history, and the first since 1848, to be censured by the Congress. But impeachment is intended as a remedy to protect the nation, not as a punishment for a President.

  • The case is not there — there is far from sufficient evidence to support the allegations, and the allegations, even if proven, do not rise to the level of impeachable offenses. We should not dignify these articles of impeachment by sending them to the Senate. To do so would be an affront to the Constitution and would consign this House to the condemnation of history for generations to come.

  • The American people are watching, and they won’t forget. You may have the votes, you may have the muscle, but you lack the legitimacy of a national consensus and the Constitution. This partisan coup d’etat will go down in the history of this nation in infamy.”

Summary

What is most amazing to me and many other conservatives is that these Democrats who control the House believe they can lie, again and again, misrepresent acts committed by others they label as “illegal” while doing the same things themselves with impunity, and misrepresent the laws of the United States. What else? They categorically are doing their very best to remove a President that was duly and legally elected by the People of the United States!

This is an egregious moment in American history. If allowed to fulfill this travesty, it will destroy our election system, our trust in government, and send the nation back to the political environment in which it was first birthed — 250 years behind where we are today.

Do you know what’s saddest? They’re doing this with the deference if not full support of millions of Democrats who refuse to ferret out the truth for themselves. And these members of Congress are lying to their followers with no consideration for the Rule of Law, the Constitution, the will of the American voters, all the while trampling on the Truth.

Jerrold Nadler MUST be removed from the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee. Adam Schiff MUST be removed fro the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee. And Americans who voted constitutionally and elected Donald Trump President of the United States MUST have their will rule over a group of tyrants who have been for 2.5 years attempting what is literally a coup to overthrow the presidency put in place not by members of Congress, but by millions of voters who those in Congress work for.

Wake up America. Or get ready for REAL Mob Rule.

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The Mueller Debacle: Parts 1 and 2

July 25, 2019

Before the House Judiciary Committee and then before the House Intelligence Committee, Robert Mueller testified (if one can call it that) in Democrat’s pathetic attempt to with their last gasp try to garner support for filing Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. By all accounts, they came away empty-handed.

Sure, there are Democrats that are gloating once again, intimating that Robert Mueller laid out strong evidence from his Report proving that Mr. Trump was/is guilty of obstruction of justice. Honestly, even with a long-arm and a far-reach, I cannot come up with anything at all to support any excitement for the Media. In fact, the few in the Media who have even a shred of credibility remaining sighed sadly to see their already fleeting hope to “get Trump” fade into the sunset as their beacon of justice — Robert Mueller — fumbled to answer most of the questions. Actually, Mr. Mueller proved to many what had been suspected anyway: that he personally performed only minimal investigatory work over the last 2.5 years, relying on those 18 anti-Trump lawyers he made part of his team to do the heavy lifting. That was glaringly apparent as he in both House hearings often looked surprised at several of the questions and simply did not have answers.

I’ll make my prediction right here rather than wait as is normal to release in our summary. Then I’ll get to the point of this writing tonight:

Donald Trump WILL be re-elected in 2020. The only question at this point is how wide will his be margin of victory.

Now that we’ve put that mystery behind us, let’s get to the meat of today’s conversation.

Democrat Party Dysfunction

According to a Gallup poll released in May 2019, here are the top three concerns that will impact registered voters in the 2020 election:

  • Immigration
  • Government Leadership
  • The Economy

Those may change in the next year, but they certainly will play a key factor in the levers voters pull.

Democrats promised voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections if given control of the House, Democrats would immediately attack EVERY issue important to voters. It is safe to assume their promise included taking care of these three key voter issues.

That has NOT happened.

So what have Democrats done? Rather than simply list their accomplishments, let’s examine first what they have NOT done.

House of Representatives Democrat Control

When a party wins control of either the House or Senate or both, management and control switches to the new party. That applied to the midterm elections: Nancy Pelosi regained her spot as Speaker of the House. Doing so is a REALLY big deal. The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful individuals in the U.S. government’s legislative branch. The leader of the national House of Representatives and second in the line of succession to the presidency, the speaker sets political agendas and advocates both on Capitol Hill and to the public.

The Speaker of the House’s official role is to lead and represent Congress’s House of Representatives, calling sessions to order and moderating debates on the House floor. However, the speaker spends the majority of her time in meetings and negotiations, planning the chamber’s legislative agenda. The speaker also has the power to appoint the committee and subcommittee chairs. Along with the vice president, the House Speaker is also responsible for signing bills to be presented to the president for signing. For this reason, the speaker often negotiates with the executive branch and can be a powerful force for or against the executive branch’s own political agenda.

Adam Schiff & Jerrold Nadler

In this current Congress amid the current U.S. political issues, the two most powerful House committees are the Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was appointed by Speaker Pelosi as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Adam Schiff (D-CA) to chair the House Intelligence Committee. Each chairman schedules committee hearings and sets the agenda for hearings.

Both of these committees have held a large number of 2019 hearings about many different topics. Their hearings have been dominated by Russian interference in the 2016 election and Immigration problems at our Southern border. Of late, their hearing agendas have been dominated by preparations for the Mueller hearings held July 24th.

It is uncontroverted that Russians did, in fact, make concerted efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. It is therefore critical that measures be taken by the U.S. government to stop any existing Russian interference processes and put measures in place to prevent any future Russian election interference from being successful.

Do something for yourself: conduct an internet search for the number of House Judiciary Committee 2019 hearings held specifically to address Russian election hacking and methods for the U.S. government to institute to stop those. Do the same search for the House Intelligence Committee. It probably comes as no surprise to you that NONE of their many hearings was to examine methods to use to stop any future Russian election attempts.

Then conduct the same internet search regarding House Intelligence Committee hearing agendas for 2019. You will see that though there were many hearings in which Russian interference was discussed in detail, NONE of those hearings included interviews with or testimony from experts regarding processes available to use to protect the American election system from future Russian election hacking attempts.

What’s Missing?

House leadership is what’s missing. When it comes to House agendas at every level, Speaker Pelosi and her various committee chairpersons have simply left Americans and their concerns behind. What are the top three concerns of American voters? Immigration, Government Leadership, and the Economy. Those concerns of voters are LOST on these Democrats.

The number one American concern — Immigration — HAD been discussed in House committee hearings, but only for the purpose of demeaning and blaming the entire illegal immigration travesty at the U.S. southern border on the Trump Administration. NO serious legislation has been put forth for House committee hearings and certainly not for House floor debate. In fact, for months House and Senate Democrat Party leadership laughed at President Trump’s constant expressions of horror at the immigration crisis. On numerous occasions, they called the President a liar for making such claims. All the while, they lambasted the President and rushed to liberal courts to file motions against every action the President took to try to get anything positive accomplished at the border. He attempted such actions because Democrats did NOTHING.

Democrats’ mouthpiece — the Leftist media headed by CNN — led in the laughter at the Trump stupidity for claiming a “fake” crisis. And when they FINALLY acknowledged action needed to be taken there to assist illegals that were living in horrible conditions, they never admitted they had been wrong in rebuffing the President’s crisis claims that were echoed by virtually everyone in border security from the Department of Homeland Security — both current employees and serving during the Obama presidency.

After four months of crying “foul” daily about Trump’s crisis claims and his begging for House financial assistance to meet those immigrants’ needs the House conceded and joined the Senate to authorize those funds. To my knowledge, they NEVER admitted being wrong.

Americans’ second stated concern for their 202o votes has been entirely ignored by House Democrats: Leadership in Government. Their ignoring voters’ concerns comes directly from their hearts. They are certain THEY are the only voices in Washington that matter, that THEY are the only ones who know and understand American voters and what all Americans need, and THEY are the only ones with any answers for any existing and future problems Americans face today and will face tomorrow. Further, THEY look at Donald Trump as the epitome of evil.

While Democrats KNOW Donald Trump has done nothing good and cannot do anything good for the U.S. during balance of his presidency, they do so with NO regard for the significant progress in his presidency.  What progress?

  • massive increases in private sector jobs resulting in the lowest unemployment in U.S. history in multiple sectors of American employment;
  • the U.S. for the first time becoming energy independent;
  • pharmacy drug prices for the first time began dropping due to Trump pressure on American drug companies;
  • foreign policy credibility returned that quickly resulted in massive increases in U.S. exports;
  • employee pay is on the rise;
  • Several trillion dollars held overseas for years by American companies were brought back into the U.S. that has spurred U.S. growth;
  • U.S. gross domestic product has steadily grown under Trump and has far exceeded what Obama told Americans could ever happen.

All of these positives that occurred under President Trump resulted with little or NO Democrat Party assistance or support.

Summary

Plain and simple, it was made abundantly clear that Democrats in the House have little or NO concern for what’s best for Americans. Their 2020 presidential candidates — virtually ALL of them — continue to in unison tout economic and political programs that would be impossible for the U.S. to sustain economically even if the American people would ALL want to be put in place. The Green New Deal, free college, the forgiveness of college student debt, Medicare for All, and Reparations along with free healthcare even for illegal immigrants are each being heavily promoted by 2020 Democrat presidential candidates.

Why would they even consider such impossible to implement programs?  For votes!

If everyone was honest, every American would agree that getting something important without any personal cost would be wonderful. That’s what Democrats are doing: telling Americans “The Government is going to pay all the costs for all these ideas and promises detailed above — FREE!”

If they were being honest with Americans, they would NEVER promise ANY of these things. Why? America cannot afford them! In fact, implementing just The Green New Deal would require the government to spend an amount of money each year for the next ten years equal to the total amount of federal revenue currently being received! And where would that money come from? Only one place: taxpayers.

That cannot and will not happen.

Plain and simple, Democrats have lost all sense of reality. House Democrats are consumed by one thing: hatred for Donald Trump. Why is their hatred so intense? Because the cards were all stacked for Hillary Clinton to be living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and to now be ushering in the “new” Socialist concept of governing for the U.S.

Why are Democrats so “in the tank” for Socialism? Socialism always sounds good to the people, but in every case in World history, Socialism works well for only one group of citizens: political elites. And in every example of Socialism in history, they always fall apart when the general populace of those countries are awakened to the erosion of their social and economic infrastructure at the hands of those political elites who pilfer the economic benefits from everyday citizens.

Democrats want a shot at that system. And they are so self-absorbed and consumed by their greed and narcissism, they are convinced THEY could be the first to make it work.

Donald Trump and his absolute belief in everyday Americans and the American ideal have become the only obstacle to their achievement of creating their own Nirvana.

They gnash their teeth when they hear the cries from Americans: “Keep America Great!”

 

Congress: Lawlessness With Impunity

July 1, 2019

Politicians use the term “Rule of Law” whenever there’s a legal issue with which they disagree (and they want to frame that issue with a specific law that supports their disagreement) or one with which they agree (and they want to frame that issue with a specific law that supports their agreement). But they always seem to speak louder about the “Rule of Law” when it supports their position. So what is “The Rule of Law?”

The America of 1787 inherited from medieval England the concept of rule of law, sometimes expressed as “a government of laws, not of men.” You can trace the rise of this principle in English history all the way back to the signing of Magna Charta in the year 1215 when King John found it necessary to guarantee his obedience to English laws. For that matter, medieval English writers on law derived their understanding of the rule of law from ancient Roman jurisprudence.

“The king himself ought not to be under man but under God, and under the Law, because the Law makes the king. Therefore let the king render back to the Law what the Law gives him, namely, dominion and power; for there is no king where will, and not Law, wields dominion.” So wrote Henry de Bracton, “the father of English law,” about the year 1260, during the reign of Henry III. This doctrine that no man is above the law applied not only to kings but also to legislative bodies and judges.

“Rule of Law” has been around for a long time and has since this nation’s inception has been the foundation which supports the entirety of the United States Government. It holds the rules and laws by which America for its lifetime has grown to and maintained the title of being the most legal, impartial, and fair nation on Earth when following the laws of the land.

But it’s under attack — an attack of the worst kind. America’s lawmakers — those who actually are charged by the Constitution with the sole power to craft ALL the laws that rule our lives — have devolved into governing from a murky world of arbitrary determination of the enforcement of certain laws. And it’s never been more obvious than it is today — on the 2020 Presidential debate stage, the responses to a question about a specific U.S. law and how each candidate felt about a specific law. Watch and listen:

Almost every person on that stage is a member of Congress or was formerly. Each understands what the Rule of Law states and what it means. And each when taking their oath of office to serve in Congress and those who serve in other elected positions made a personal commitment to the Rule of Law!

The Congressional Oath of Office:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

As we learned above regarding the source and meaning of the rule of law, the United States Constitution set the basis for the process of the lawful conducting of our citizens. And further, it set the Constitution as the ultimate authority in the determination of the meaning of specific laws that are legally put in place by the various authorities and groups in America.

Who are those “specific authorities and groups in America” who put those laws in place? 

We’ll get into that in just a moment in our summary.

The Presidential Debate Question From Hell

Of course to the average American, it may seem gallant to raise one’s hands to defend the helpless that find themselves in U.S. Border Patrol facilities being processed as illegal immigrants for crossing into the United States across the U.S./Mexico border. It may be politically brave to attempt to intervene with suggestions of how to help those illegal immigrants in the conditions in which they find themselves after their crossing into America. But, no matter how gallant or brave those candidates felt when they raised their hands in answer to the question about changing the actual law that terms those illegals as criminals. They do NOT have the right to do so! And that is exactly what the Rule of Law says.

Those illegals — every one of those illegals — broke a specific federal law. Here’s the law, its details, and its penalties for its breaking:

8 U.S. Code § 1325. Improper entry by alien

(a) Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

Summary

Folks, it is heart-rending to see and hear the heartaches being played out in the lives of thousands of illegal immigrants in our southern states. It’s horrible to see and hear the thousands and thousands of Americans being caught in illegal acts of every imaginable kind in all 50 states — and not many of the acts of breaking the law result in death or injury of others. No matter: according to the Rule of Law, the breaking of U.S. laws is criminal…PERIOD.

Why are thousands dying of opioid overdoses in America every month? Why are thousands of women and children being kidnapped, trafficked, and forced into drug dealing and prostitution every year?

Answer: Not all, but many are allowed to be in positions to perpetuate their law-breaking because someone somewhere in some position of authority made a unilateral decision to either wink at their wrongdoing acts OR when the perpetrators are brought to a place of accountability for their wrongdoing, refusing to prosecute or sentence according to the Rule of Law!

On Wednesday of this week, we will detail the position of “Supreme Leader” or “Dictator” or “King” many on the Left are accusing Donald Trump of desiring and by many of actually acting out in his governing today as U.S. President. Many of those same accusers are the very ones who have made winking at the Rule of Law or just ignoring it the right thing to do.

Let’s be honest: is the border crisis Donald Trump’s fault? It existed long before Donald Trump ever became Candidate Trump. It was a crisis during the Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama administrations. Did any of these presidents bear any responsibility for any of the lawbreaking that occurred in any area of the United States while they were in office?

Here’s the answer: the only responsibility any president in the United States bears is directly proportionate to his/her role in the execution of the terms of any bills presented to him/her to with a signature make it an American law AND the execution of ALL of the terms included in that law by federal law enforcement individuals under a president’s authority. And that certainly includes holding lawbreakers accountable subject to those laws.

Who controls the laws that go on the books of the Federal Government? Who makes the laws? Who determines the terms and conditions of each and every federal law ever written and signed into being? The U.S. Congress.

So, in essence, these 2020 presidential candidates who raised their hands saying they wanted illegal immigrants to no longer to be treated as criminals under 8 U.S. Code § 1325 are stating they support ignoring the Rule of Law.

Don’t forget: the same holds true when federal law enforcement officers are told to “stand down” when it comes time to enforce the federal law that makes possession of marijuana a felony. Think about that travesty: several states have passed state laws that make the use of recreational marijuana legal in direct conflict with federal law. I’m no legal genius, but the U.S. Constitution makes it very clear that in each of such cases, the Constitution decides the outcome of such a legal dilemma.

But none of those conflicts should remain. The laws can easily be fixed — every one of them that cause social conflict! Think about these:

  • The law regarding marijuana being possessed in the U.S. is illegal;
  • 8 U.S. Code § 1325 that makes illegal crossings into the U.S. illegal;
  • The electoral college being (allegedly) unfair to American voters in determining U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents;
  • The government as constitutionally being comprised of 3 co-equal branches of which no one branch controls either of the other;

ALL of these can be changed!

Who can do that? Most federal laws can be easily changed: 8 U.S. Code § 1325 that makes alien entries in the U.S. illegal can be changed as can marijuana drug laws as can electoral college laws as can the structure of power for the three branches of government.

Congresses MAKES the Law…Congress is the ONLY government entity that can CHANGE the laws in place.

Yes, the electoral college is Constitutional as is the three co-equal branches of government, but Congress can pass Constitutional amendments that then go to each state for ratification. That’s happened 27 times in U.S. history and it can be done again.

Why is it SO hard to get laws set or get laws changed? Because people in America did not all come from the same cookie-cutter philosophy nor do they share just one. And, by the way, we DON’T live in a Democracy. The United States is a “Representative Republic.” In a pure democracy, every person votes on EVERY issue: 1 vote for 1 person x however many people that are citizens. The American forefathers felt that was unfeasible in a country so large and diverse. Therefore the Constitution was set and determined all such issues to be set by a body elected by the American people to represent each American in each town in each state in each region of the country on ALL federal issues that needed to be controlled by laws. That group — the ONLY entity that makes laws — is the United States Congress.

Do you know why there are so many people being held for illegal entry into the United States at our southern border? It’s not Donald Trump, it wasn’t Barack Obama or George Bush or Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush who needed to and could fix it. It’s the United States Congress. They’re the ONLY ones who can make this right.

The American people need to ask one question about our southern border problem and ONLY ONE QUESTION: Why does Congress continue to refuse to take the action necessary — ALL the action necessary to fix the problem?

The answer: “We the People” can and should make the necessary changes to fix the problem by changing the U.S. Congress.

That’s the way “The Rule of Law” works!

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“I’m Sick and Tired!”

June 21, 2019

There WAS food on the table last night for dinner. So I’m OK there. The house was clean, dogs were groomed, and I got to watch the last season episode of BILLIONS uninterrupted and the final round of the U.S. Open from Pebble Beach. Normally those would be the things that tick me off. Not this time.

I’m Sick and Tired of Washington D.C.! I’m sure that comes as no surprise to many of you. It makes NO difference if you’re liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, from a Red state or Blue state, you’ve got to be frustrated, too. So why don’t we together compile a list of all those things we’re Sick and Tired of?

“I’m Sick and Tired Of……”

Political Favors

There are PLENTY of examples we can point to that expose political favoritism in Washington. We all know about “the bridge to nowhere,” city libraries and highway exits and rezoning of a particular parcel of land. Though sad to admit, all those things are a part of life in the federal government. But sometimes, handing out favors turns into not tangible gifts, but gifts of political power. Let me explain…

Jerold Nadler (D-NY) is the head of one of the most powerful Congressional committees: the House Judiciary Committee. His committee rules on some of the most important legislative items that dramatically impact all Americans. Nadler late June 19, 2019, tweeted this:

My frustration is not with the tweet itself, but with the entire mindset behind it. Nadler represents the 10th Congressional District of New York. Here’s the “geography” of that district: includes parts of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District, and Battery Park City. In Brooklyn, the 10th District includes parts of Borough Park, Kensington, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, and Gravesend.

If you know Manhattan, you know there are a lot of dollar signs behind the account numbers of thousands of the residents of Nadler’s district. That means there is a lot of might and power regarding all things political there. And all those with big bucks and power have great sway over Nadler.

Because of this, instead of simply reading the Congressman’s tweet and thinking, “He’s a good representative and cares much for the African American community and how slavery impacted them as long ago as 400 years and how they still struggle today,” I automatically think this instead: “I wonder which big givers to his campaign, Wall Street power brokers, and wealthy people of color in his district caved to political correctness and ‘suggested’ he make that statement in a tweet?”

It’s not just Nadler — it’s all over the Capitol, in members of both parties, and happens regarding every issue experienced in the lives of all Americans.

”I’m Sick and Tired of the Political Favors!”

Piling On

We’ve seen a large number of really good people get run out of D.C. for the most ridiculous reasons. Some call it “Piling On,” others call it “Scapegoating.

“Scapegoating” isn’t anything new. In Old Testament Israel, two identical male goats were selected: one was to be sacrificed to God, the other was taken by the High Priest who took the sins of the Jewish people and placed them on the second goat, which was then sent into the desert to where the goat would plunge to its death. One of the factors I’ve found fascinating about scapegoating is a theory that people who are scapegoated must behave in a way that those around them believe that they have “earned” the loathing of others. I couldn’t help thinking of Donald Trump and how he has become the scapegoat of the Left for nearly everything—even when he’s not connected to the situation. Unfortunately, the Left doesn’t realize that scapegoating not only wounds the victim but can be devastating to those who commit it.

Remember Minnesota U.S. Senator Al Franken? I liked Franken as a comedian in the SNL early days on Saturday nights. Serving in the U.S. Senate as a VERY liberal Minnesotan didn’t serve him well. Franken was literally run out of D.C. amid sexual “allegations” — not proven truths — several years ago for nothing more than allegations. He became a Democrat Party scapegoat to pacify the “Me Too” movement that has summarily attacked high-profile individuals for sexual improprieties. Though Franken’s allegations were shallow and unproven, he just “seemed” sleazy. That qualified Franken to become Dems’ scapegoat.

The obvious #1 Washington scapegoat is President Trump. History — when the history of the Trump presidency is completed — will detail just how “used” he has been by his opponents. Boy, could we chronicle a bunch of those attacks! But let it suffice to say that the Mueller Investigation that was instigated apparently with NO evidence, NO factual information in every other case necessary to initiate a counter-intelligence investigation is a perfect example of Washington finding someone to use as a scapegoat.

”I’m Sick and Tired of the Scapegoating!”

Random Law Enforcement

We just saw something akin to writing a wrong in U.S. criminal justice. The Clinton Crime Bill from the 1990s (that was pushed through in part by Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton) was a horrific example of “equal justice under the law.” African Americans were targeted by the terms of that law for decades: mass incarceration, laws enforced unequally against them compared to enforcement against Caucasians, horrifically expensive criminal litigation costs and sentences that were outrageously unfair, including “Three Strikes and You’re Out.” The new crime bill just signed into law repaired a huge portion of those criminal justice travesties. But the random enforcement of laws still exists and has simply become the elitists’ way of poking average Americans in their eyes with law enforcement wrongs.

Let’s look at a few.

Immigration Laws. Don’t get me started! Folks, I’m sorry. We have specific laws regarding every aspect of immigration in the U.S. — including illegal immigration. The U.S. legally allows 1 million immigrants into the U.S. with permanent status each year. That equals the total number of immigrants allowed into all other countries in the World each year! Yet, we do NOT enforce immigration laws.

How insane is it to know that each month this year, an average of 100,000 illegals have been apprehended at the southern border. That number does NOT include those that sneak across without detection. Yet Democrats will NOT agree to take any measures the professionals tell us are necessary to stop it. That’s insane!

We all know why Democrats won’t stop it: VOTES. A social media story has been circulating stating that “Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to allow illegals to vote in U.S. elections.” That’s NOT true. But….there WAS a bill that doing so was a part of.

“We are prepared to open up the political process and let all of the people come in,” Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement, told colleagues as he led opposition to the GOP measure.

The 228-197 vote came as part of a broader debate on Democrats’ major legislative priority this year, HR 1, the “For the People Act,” which includes historic expansions of voter registration and access, as well as a major rewrite of campaign finance laws.

The measure would have had no practical effect even if it had passed.  Illegal immigrants  — and indeed noncitizens as a whole — are not legally able to participate in federal elections, according to the U.S. Constitution. But Democrats made it clear they desire to change that!

Drug Laws. Talk about mass chaos. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have passed laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form.

The District of Columbia and 10 states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — have adopted the most expansive laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

Those states have done so knowing that possession of marijuana anywhere in the United States violates federal criminal laws!

Does that not bother you? Someone somewhere in the U.S. government made a decision at some point in time for the Department of Justice to allow federal drug laws to be violated at will without any enforcement of federal laws.

There’s no need to go into the why’s about this: we all know. But don’t you think it would be smart and LEGAL for Congress to simply repeal any of the old federal drug laws that make marijuana illegal rather than have police simply wink at marijuana drug users sending them on their way?

Random Enforcement. This one bugs me more than the others. Two guys who committed the same crime, both have the same criminal record, are charged the same, appear before the same judge, and receive totally different sentences though they both committed the same crime! It happens every day in courtrooms of local, state, AND federal courts. Why is that?

Guy #1 has a friend who serves as a Deputy Sheriff who’s sister in the aunt of Guy #1’s girlfriend. That sounds stupid, I know. But it often is that ridiculous. Guy #1 gets a reduced sentence while Guy #2 who knows no one gets the book thrown at him.

“I’m Sick and Tired of Random Law Enforcement Instead of ‘Equal Justice Under the Law!’”

Fact-Checking

I hate them all! Why do they even exist? Of course, it’s because Americans are too stupid, too lazy, and too incapable to do a little research on our own. We MUST rely on the “experts” to check all the facts that are distributed daily in the national news.

Did you know that almost all of the Fact-Checkers are tied to some news outlet or news organization? Of course, they will not tell you that! After all, being a part of a news organization like, The Washington Post, would color the “facts” that are given on any topic seen less truthful, and more biased!

Here are the 10 top Fact-Checking websites as listed by the “experts:”

Politifact– PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida.  Politifact won the Pulitzer Prize. I don’t know about you, but that in itself is NOT a real recommendation.

Fact Check– FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

Open Secrets– Open Secrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, run by the Center for Responsive Politics, which is the nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Open Secrets is a source for discovering how much and where candidates get their money. They also track lobbying groups and whom they are funding.

Snopes– Snopes has been the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation for a long time. Snopes is also usually the first to report some national or international happening as being factual or not.

The Sunlight Foundation– The Sunlight Foundation is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses the tools of civic tech, open data, policy analysis, and journalism purportedly “to make government and politics more accountable and transparent to all.” Sunlight primarily focuses on money’s role in politics.

Poynter Institute– The Poynter Institute is not a true fact-checking service. Here’s what the experts say about Poynter: “They are however a leader in distinguished journalism and produce nothing but credible and evidence-based content. If Poynter reports it, you can count on it being true.”

Flack Check– Headquartered at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, FlackCheck.org is the political literacy companion site to FactCheck.org. The site provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular.

Truth or Fiction– Very similar to Snopes. They tend to focus more on political rumors and hoaxes.

Hoax-Slayer– Another service that debunks or validates internet rumors and hoaxes.

Fact Checker by the Washington Post– The Washington Post has a very clear left-center bias and this is reflected in their fact checks. Their fact checks are excellent and sourced; however, their bias is reflected in the fact that they fact-check right-wing claims more than left.  Otherwise, the Washington Post is a good resource.

Summary

Just to put it in simple terms: “I’m Sick and Tired of Washington D.C.!” The culture of the city is driven by politics, and because of that, Washington has always seemed “dirty” to me — not in the sense of needing a bath, but it seems to always reak of compromise, dirty deals, cronyism, back-alley negotiations, and trying to find new ways to get into the wallets of Americans.

In the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Donald Trump brought up the term “Drain the Swamp.” No name could possibly be more appropriate than that for Washington. Furthermore, as much as he has and is trying, Washington is so dirty and so evil, I doubt he’ll be able to totally drain the Swamp out of D.C. I don’t think any president can.

But, you know what: getting rid of the swamp creatures one at a time is a good way to start. He’s doing that. He’s turned the light on in the kitchen, and the roaches are scattering.

I’m sick and tired of his turning that light on only for one of the swamp critters to reach up and turn the light off! Those Swamp inhabitants sure like to keep it dark!

 

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“Obstruction of Justice”

June 14, 2019

Boy, have we heard that phrase “Obstruction of Justice” a few times in the last few years? I’m sick and tired of it. No matter, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) opened his hearings purported to be “to clarify the findings of the Mueller Report” with the lengthy testimony of John Dean. Dean served as an attorney for then-President Richard Nixon. And Dean knows a lot about “Obstruction of Justice.” He was charged with that, plead guilty to stay out of jail in the Watergate Affair. Archibald Cox was the appointed Special Prosecutor in the Watergate investigation. Here’s a summary of Dean’s involvement:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19—John W. Dean III, the former counsel to President Nixon, pleaded guilty today to plotting to cover up the truth about the Watergate break‐in. He made his plea as part of a bargain with the special Watergate prosecutor, Archibald Cox, under which Dean agreed to be a prosecution witness in future proceedings against alleged participants in the cover‐up — including, potentially, against President Nixon.

Mr. Cox allowed Dean to plead guilty in Federal District Court here to a single felony count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and defraud the United States, punishable by a maximum five‐year prison term and a $10,000 fine, with sentencing deferred until the bargain is kept. Mr. Cox also promised not to prosecute Dean for any other Watergate‐related crime, reserving only the right to prosecute the lawyer for perjury.

We at TNT have so far stayed away from what is being called the “Nadler Mueller Redo Circus” until today. If you didn’t look-in on that hearing on Monday, June 9, 2019, you missed a true circus. John Dean testified and answered questions for hours. Republicans, as you can imagine, fried Mr. Dean. Several questions and responses are worthy of repeating. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) grilled Dean unmercifully:

That was just the beginning.

The Nadler Circus

Democrats in the wake of the release of the Mueller Report which recommended no legal actions against the President are standing in line to attack President Trump: STILL. They’re universal talking point: “No president is above the law.”

Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said his panel has an obligation to investigate “who stood to benefit from the attack” on the U.S. election system “and the extent to which the Trump campaign welcomed it.”

He added that “the committee has a responsibility to do this work, to follow the facts where they lead…and to craft legislation to make certain no president, Democrat or Republican can ever act in this way ever again.” Nadler also noted the political divide the Russia probe has since created in Washington, saying that both parties should at least proceed with a common understanding that the U.S. was attacked.”

“We were attacked by a foreign adversary. President Trump’s campaign took full advantage of the attack when it came.  The descriptions of obstruction of justice in Volume II go to the heart of our legal system. If we can agree on this common set of facts as our starting place, and agree to follow the facts and the law where they take us, I believe we can make a great deal of progress in this hearing today,” he said.

And they dare to say to Americans “We want to get to the Truth! Though we told everyone who can see and listen for 2.5 years that Robert Mueller was THE most capable person on Earth to investigate this President and find any wrongdoing that was committed, we now know Mueller is inept and didn’t find what the President did wrong. SO WE ARE GOING TO FIND IT!”

John Dean

Who is John Dean really? One thing is for certain: he doesn’t like Donald Trump! How do we know? First, because he has tweeted continuously during the Trump presidency. “That’s not uncommon,” you say. But of his tweets, 970 have been negative. I think that would for certain move the “Like” or “Dislike” checkmark way over to the “Dislike” box.

John Dean (born October 14, 1938) is a former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution ultimately resulted in a reduced sentence, which he served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland. After his plea, he was disbarred as an attorney.

Shortly after the Watergate hearings, Dean wrote about his experiences in a series of books and toured the United States to lecture. He later became a commentator on contemporary politics, a book author, and a columnist for FindLaw’s Writ.

Dean had originally been a proponent of Goldwater conservatism, but he later became a critic of the Republican Party. Dean was particularly critical of the party’s support of Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, and of neoconservatism, strong executive power, mass surveillance, and the Iraq War.

I forgot to mention one thing: John Dean’s guilty plea of a 1-count felony: do you know what he plead guilty to? Obstruction of Justice. Of course, according to Nadler, his doing so made him an obvious “expert” on obstruction of justice and qualified him to “clear the air” on the Mueller Report.

When asked if he had read the report, Dean’s reply was “No.” When asked if he knew anything about the Mueller Report that members of Congress or even those in the general public did not know. Dean’s answer was “No.”

So what was Dean’s qualification as an expert to appear before one of the most powerful and most important House Committee? He had pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Watergate case!

One more important fact about John Dean when serving under Richard Nixon. When it was uncovered that President Nixon had secretly recorded all meetings in the Oval Office, the famous psychologist and memory researcher Ulric Neisser analyzed Dean’s recollections of the meetings, as espoused in his testimony, in comparison to the meetings’ actual recordings. Neisser, a sharp critic of studying memory in a laboratory setting, saw “a valuable data trove” in Dean’s recall. Neisser found that, despite Dean’s confidence, the tapes proved that his memory was anything but a tape recorder. Dean failed to remember any conversations verbatim and often failed to recall the gist of conversations correctly. Yet, Neisser did not explain the difference as one of deception; rather, he thought that the evidence supported the theory that memory is not akin to a tape recorder and, instead, should be thought of as reconstructions of information that are greatly affected by rehearsal, or attempts at a replay. Neisser further concluded that Dean’s memory, and likely everyone’s, merely retains common characteristics of a whole series of events.

In other words, Dean was pretty much a regular guy with a regular memory and that those “memories” of Watergate events about which he testified were probably recreated (or created for the first time) to make him appear in a good light. Honestly, if Nixon had not erased those tapes, Dean would almost certainly have served MORE time than he did and would have been convicted for far more than the 1 felony to which he plead.

Here’s what is hard to believe: Nadler has put the entire nation on notice of a serious investigation that carries with it HIS serious allegations that though lost by Robert Mueller and his 19 Democrat staff attorneys in their 2.5-year investigation, Nadler and other Democrats swear are backed with evidence. This hearing was supposed to bring that evidence forward to — as Nadler promised the World — “show that no one in the United States is above the law.”

We’ve seen no evidence, no credible witnesses, and instead of REAL facts in evidence, we watched a felon guilty years ago of obstruction of justice who has become nothing more than a “professional trial witness.”

“Once a famous witness, he’s made a life of being a witness,” Stephen Hess, a White House aide to Nixon and official under three other presidents, told Newsmax, “I feel sorry for John. It’s not the way I would like to spend my life.”

Hess said that Nadler’s calling on Dean to testify “seems to want to suggest a parallel between Nixon and Watergate and ‘Trumpgate.’ But political scientists don’t see the parallel at all.” He recalled how then-White House staffer Pat Buchanan was a highly impressive witness defending Nixon before the same committee as Dean.

“I say if you’re going to invite John Dean to testify, then give equal time to Pat Buchanan,” Hess told us.

We’ve been told that Buchanan was invited to speak but declined. I would too to keep from embarrassment in front of a national television audience.

Summary

For such committee hearings that are so important, Congress is always certain to release the hearings schedule including who will testify and the subjects of their testimony. But Representative Nadler’s hearing schedule was released in the following manner:

The House Judiciary Committee is planning a series of hearings on Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, starting with an appearance by Nixon White House Counsel John Dean on June 10.

“Russia attacked our elections to help President Trump win, Trump and his campaign welcomed this help and the president then tried to obstruct the investigation into the attack,” committee chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York said in a statement. “Mueller confirmed these revelations and has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.”

The committee also plans to consider in these hearings “targeted legislative, oversight and constitutional remedies designed to respond to these matters,” according to a committee statement released Monday.

You know what the insanity of this debacle really is: Democrats led by Nadler think Americans are too dumb to see through this sham investigation. Americans watched phase one of this sham develop over 2.5 years! Let’s face it: Mueller was much smarter at hiding specifics of his investigation while passing out just enough data tidbits to keep the voracious media hounds satisfied! Nadler is not that crafty.

If Americans are to believe that members of the Trump Campaign were guilty of obstruction of justice and/or collusion with Russians during the campaign, then Americans must believe that previous presidential candidates and even presidents got away with the same crimes they are accusing Trump of? Hillary Clinton did it. Barack Obama did it. AND ROBERT MUELLER ASSISTED IN IT!

  • Hillary Clinton’s campaign funded the Russian Christopher Steele dossier! And besides that, her campaign press secretary even volunteered to go to Russia to get dirt on Donald Trump if necessary:

    Brian Fallon, the press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful 2016 campaign, once said he would have been willing to travel to Europe to confirm dirt about then-candidate Trump. “Opposition research happens on every campaign, and here you had probably the most shadowy guy ever running for president, and the FBI certainly has seen fit to look into it,” Fallon told The Washington Post in October 2017. “I probably would have volunteered to go to Europe myself to try and verify if it would have helped get more of this out there before the election.”

  • Remember during his re-election campaign when Barack Obama was caught on an open microphone telling then Russian President Medvedev? It is unclear what was the subject of Obama’s comments when he told Medvedev to pass this along to Putin: “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.” More flexibility for what? Was Obama discussing “colluding” with Russia?

  • Robert Mueller when serving as Obama’s FBI Director personally flew a sample of U.S. Uranium to Moscow for the Russians to examine while negotiations were underway for the purchase of Uranium One. Mueller certainly was not there on behalf of the American people. What would the FBI Director be doing taking a U.S. uranium sample to Russia other than to somehow impact an ongoing deal with somebody or some people and Russia?

In closing, remember this: if every candidate for president is required to have NO contact with any foreigner during their campaigns, very few who run for President would be able to meet that requirement. Why? Most are business people who often have international business. Others are U.S. political leaders at the federal and/or state levels and certainly interact with foreign business and government leaders on behalf of their states and the U.S.

Why is all this happening? SO DEMOCRATS CAN KEEP A FAWNING SEGMENT OF LEFTIST MINIONS SATISFIED ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO MAKE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND TO PULL THAT BLUE LEVER IN 2020.

This all has nothing to do with the Truth. It has to do with one thing only: Get rid of Donald Trump either today or in November of next year.

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How Dysfunctional is Congress?

June 7, 2019

Short Answer: VERY!

Not in my lifetime has the U.S. Congress been so slow, so inconsistent, and so unwilling to go about the People’s business. There is no doubt part of their job is to oversee the operations of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government. But that is NOT their primary responsibility.

The Constitution of the United States outlines the responsibilities and duties of Congress. Article I offers an overview of Congressional power, while Section 8 provides details about each duty. Section 8 includes a total of 14 paragraphs of information about all the duties, including:

  • Borrowing money on behalf of the country
  • Regulating commerce
  • Developing a uniform system of laws
  • Establishing the Post Office
  • Declaring war

Wow! That seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Though those 5 tasks for the Congress set by The Constitution seem to be simple tasks, we all know there’s a lot to it. But, in all fairness, there are 535 elected people who are tasked to work together to complete those 5 things every year. And those 535 elected folks each have a staff comprised of dozens of workers to make certain everything necessary for the completion of those tasks is taken care of.

So why does Congress get so little done?

Congressional Actions in 2017 (2nd Half of 115th Congress)

In that most Americans doubt Congress does much of anything, Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) argues that the U.S. House of Representatives is getting things done. The Congressman on his website published a list of the greatest accomplishments of Congress in 2017. Let’s look at them:

(If you want details of any of these bills, click on the hyperlink to be transferred to see the actual bill)

These ten Congressional accomplishments — according to Congressman Shimkus — are the MOST important Congressional accomplishments of 2017! Obviously, his list includes specific bills that originated in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed some bills, too. But it takes both Houses to pass bills that find their way to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Of those ten bills listed by Congressman Shimkus as THE significant legislative 2017 accomplishments, only two were actually signed into law! None of the others — including any that the U.S. Senate passed — even made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for presidential signature.

Laws Passed thru 5/31/2019 in this the 116th Congress

Public Law Number Bill Number and Title Date
PL 116-19 S.1693 – National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2019 05/31/2019
PL 116-18 H.R.2379 – To reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program. 05/23/2019
PL 116-17 H.R.1222 – Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act 05/10/2019
PL 116-16 H.R.1839 – Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019 04/18/2019
PL 116-15 S.725 – A bill to change the address of the postal facility designated in honor of Captain Humayun Khan. 04/16/2019
PL 116-14 H.R.2030 – Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act 04/16/2019
PL 116-13 H.R.276 – Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act 04/12/2019
PL 116-12 S.863 – A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the grade and pay of podiatrists of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 04/08/2019
PL 116-11 S.252 – A bill to authorize the honorary appointment of Robert J. Dole to the grade of colonel in the regular Army. 04/06/2019
PL 116-10 S.49 – A bill to designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. 03/21/2019
PL 116-9 S.47 – John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act 03/12/2019
PL 116-8 S.483 – Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 03/08/2019
PL 116-7 H.R.439 – National FFA Organization’s Federal Charter Amendments Act 02/21/2019
PL 116-6 H.J.Res.31 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 02/15/2019
PL 116-5 H.J.Res.28 – Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019 01/25/2019
PL 116-4 H.R.430 – TANF Extension Act of 2019 01/24/2019
PL 116-3 H.R.259 – Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019 01/24/2019
PL 116-2 H.R.251 – Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Extension Act 01/18/2019
PL 116-1 S.24 – Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 01/16/2019

Are you counting? 19 laws in 2019.

Estimates are that American taxpayers’ costs for funding Congressional operations were $4.4 Billion in 2009 — a decade ago! Current numbers simply “are not available.” But using realistic assumptions, it is credible to believe that number approaches $10 Billion annually. Look at what taxpayers received in Congressional services in legislative actions for the entirety of 2017 and the first half of 2019: 29 pieces of legislation plus the one big meaningful one: tax cuts. Do you feel like we’re getting our money worth?

So What is Congress Doing?

Great question. The #1 concern among Americans is dramatically and emphatically Illegal Immigration. Last week, more than 1,000 immigrants surged through the U.S. southern border near El Paso, Texas — the largest number ever encountered by U.S. Border Control and Protection, with the previous record being set in the month of April, which was 424. This unprecedented invasion spurred President Donald J. Trump to slap a 5 percent tariff on goods from Mexico in an effort to get the Mexican government to take seriously the problem of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The mainstream media, predictably, started lamenting on how the price of avocados for American consumers may potentially increase a few cents and completely ignored the $200 billion American taxpayers pay each year in illegal immigration costs. Not to mention the cost of illegal drugs on our youth, and the cost to education and health care on American taxpayers. So, let’s take a look at these dollars and cents.

According to a recent analysis done by Chris Conover, an American Enterprise Institute adjunct scholar, “all told, Americans cross-subsidize health care for unauthorized immigrants to the tune of $18.5 billion a year.”

Although current federal policy prohibits federal tax funding of health care to unauthorized immigrants through Medicaid or Obamacare, “rough estimates suggest that the nation’s 3.9 million uninsured immigrants who are unauthorized likely receive about $4.6 billion in health services paid for by federal taxes, $2.8 billion in health services financed by state and local taxpayers and another $3 billion bankrolled through ‘cost-shifting,’ i.e. higher payments by insured patients to cover hospital uncompensated care losses, and roughly $1.5 billion in physician charity care,” Mr. Conover wrote in Forbes.

Public education of illegal immigrants’ children is also hemorrhaging the American taxpayer, as, under federal law, all students are eligible to receive schooling regardless of their immigration status.

“Public education is where the real big cost comes in,” Randy Capps, the director for research for U.S. programs at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute told NBC News this year. “The amount of taxes that the parents pay on their earnings, that they pay through property taxes — passed through on their rent — it’s not going to be as much as is spent on public education for their kids and food stamps for their kids.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimated it cost public schools $59.8 billion to educate the children of illegal immigrants, and almost the entirety of this cost, 98.9 percent, is borne by taxpayers at the local and state level, through property taxes, according to a 2016 study. At the time, the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were driving increased funding programs for students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) — causing a major drain on school budgets. That was when 118,929 unaccompanied minors were crossing the border during the fiscal year. Already this year, 44,779 unaccompanied alien minors have crossed the border and 248,197 family units, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

More people have been apprehended illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border this fiscal year than in any year since 2009, according to the CBP.

Then there’s the human cost of the drug crisis. In fiscal 2018, the U.S. border patrol seized 480,000 pounds of drugs, including fentanyl, marijuana, and meth, on the U.S.-Mexico border. In January, the CBP saw the largest seizure of fentanyl in the agency’s history — seizing nearly $4.6 million, or 650 pounds, of fentanyl and meth from a Mexican national when he attempted to cross the border.

Drug overdoses, fueled by opioids killed more than 70,000 people in the U.S. in 2017, with fentanyl overdose deaths doubling each and every year.

And today we learned that ISIS has been sending English-speaking terrorists to sneak through Mexico to get to the U.S. And we have no idea how long that has been happening and how many have entered the U.S.!

Can Mexico do more? Absolutely. Mexico needs to do a better job securing its own southern border — which runs only 150 miles across. It also can do a better job cracking down on its domestic terror organizations — both the coyotes smuggling young children across the border and the drug kingpins. Lastly, Mexico could grant asylum to migrants within its own homeland. According to international law, if you leave a country seeking asylum, you are to seek asylum in the first safe country you arrive. Mexico is safe, and the Mexican government can address this.

Who has the legal requirement to take care of the flow of immigrants into the U.S.? Are there laws that regulate all types of immigration? Why are they not being enforced? If they are bad laws, shouldn’t they be changed?

The answers to all those questions are singular: the United States Congress.

Why Doesn’t Congress Act on Illegal Immigration?

The simple answer: They don’t want to.

For Democrats, illegal immigration assures them of millions of “potential” voters that are present in the U.S. Democrats feel certain that whenever they take back the power of the House, Senate, and the White House, they can pass legislation to legalize all those illegals. That gives them instant VOTERS! And they are certain they will be able to lump those in the same Democrat basket in which they have already relegated African Americans and Hispanics.

For Republicans, those in the House and Senate simply don’t want to rock the boat. On the most part, their driving purpose is to maintain the balance between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans know it’s just a matter of time for the Democrats to take control of the Senate and probably the White House. Republicans want to “not make waves” now so that when Dems are back in power, the “revenge factor” will not lead Democrat leadership to strip GOP members of the prestigious committee spots they currently now have.

Remember: Congressional membership is no longer about money like it was decades ago — it’s all about “Power.” With power, you not only control money — billions of discretionary dollars — but everything  else. Balance is the key.

Regarding the border crisis: now that Democrats have come around and dropped their talking point “there is no crisis at the border,” why don’t they just pass legislation to take care of the problem, fund the necessary items to underwrite the current issues, stop illegal crossings, and fund the border wall?

They can no longer blame President Trump. Remember his offer last year? All Democrats had to do in the deal Trump offered Congress was fund the $5.7 billion for partial construction of the southern border wall. In exchange, his offer included hundreds of millions of dollars in new humanitarian money for safety and health of illegal immigrants, it would allow Central American children to apply for USA asylum from their home countries, and it would create a three-year legal status for about 700,000 people now here under the Obama-era DACA program, and some 300,000 people here under humanitarian protections, who might otherwise become illegal immigrants soon.

Of course Dems rejected the offer. So Trump has watched as the crisis down South has reached epidemic proportions and is taking Mexico on in an effort to force them to stop the Central America flood of immigrants through Mexico to get to the U.S. His plan is to use tariffs on Mexican products that come to the U.S. It sounds reasonable to most. But not to Pelosi and Company.

Her patent refusal is sad but not unexpected.

But then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky weighed in on HIS thoughts of the tariff proposal:

President Trump cannot win for losing!

Summary

Here’s the rub: President Trump cannot do it alone. Congress can! They could in a 30-minute session in the House and a 30-minute session in the Senate pass the necessary legislation to stop illegal immigration — if not completely then to a crawl — and give DACA recipients the peace of mind that though their parents brought them here illegally, they have stayed and can stay with government protection while they follow a path to citizenship. But they don’t!

The ball is in the court of the U.S. Congress. President Trump’s options are extremely limited. Many don’t like increased tariffs on China and other countries that are already in place. But they’re having positive results. Those on Mexico would hurt a bit, but their results would mean fair trade, which the U.S. has not had with most countries for decades. And if Mexico would simply honor their own immigration walls for their southern border and turn Central Americans away if not emigrating legally, our southern border crisis would subside!

Each American has only one thing to put into this battle: a vote — one vote. It would be a good thing (if you haven’t already) find out how your House member and your U.S. Senator feels, has voted, and will vote on any illegal immigration legislation issue if and when one comes to the floor for a vote. Let them know where YOU stand. And make some noise.

After all, they are allowing and even encouraging illegal immigrants to keep on coming! And they are making Americans who want the flood of illegals to stop feel guilty for wanting the government to simply abide by the law and enforce it.

After all of this, do you think there’s a possibility that many in Congress are just stupid?!?

 

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“Impeach 45!”

May 23, 2019

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been on fire since Donald Trump won the White House in 2016. Just 2 weeks after the Trump inauguration, TruthNewsNetwork predicted the cries of “Impeachment” from Democrats would begin, would increase in their fury, and would result in impeachment proceedings in Congress, especially if they could somehow regain the House in 2018. They regained the House, and impeachment proceedings look to be just around the corner!

Wednesday (May 22, 2019) House Democrats had an early morning private meeting the purpose of which was to discuss the merits of the House moving forward with Trump impeachment. Speaker Pelosi has avoided impeachment discussions. One would think she as the House Democrat leader would be out front in any process to discredit the Trump Administration. But she has been VERY hesitant to do so. Why is that?

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was in Congress when the Bill Clinton impeachment took place. Republicans were so anxious to impeach former President Bill Clinton that they ignored what they should have learned from the Nixon situation–that the key to getting rid of a President is to have thorough and open hearings before one even gets to the impeachment process so that the President’s goose is already cooked before impeachment proceedings begin. Republicans rushed ahead soon after Kenneth Star published his report—without any open Senate hearings at all. America was doing well at the time, including the American economy, and most Democrats in Congress thought that the charges against Clinton were contrived. Without a sufficient number of Democrats willing to convict Clinton in the Senate, Clinton was not convicted of those perjury charges and never was going to be convicted.

In addition, the American public was so annoyed at the complete waste of time of the Clinton impeachment process that the Democrats actually gained seats during a midterm while having a Democrat as President, only one of two times in modern history that this has ever happened (the two times in modern history occurred in 1998 after Republican’s failed attempt to convict Clinton and in 2002, post 9/11, under George W. Bush).

Do you think Pelosi went to school on Republicans backlash for going after Bill? I’m certain that keyed her hesitance this time. But with the fury that has been unleashed by her “junior” House members — Omar, Talib, and AOC — who are full-speed ahead for impeachment, Pelosi is in a tough spot.

Add to the fury of the youngsters the overreaching of Jerald Nadler (D-NY) who heads the House Judiciary Committee, and Nancy is facing a dilemma. Remember this: Nadler famously claimed numerous times even before the 2018 elections “there is irrefutable proof of Trump wrongdoing, including collusion with Russia,” and the identical claims of Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Nadler finds himself in the same spot with Pelosi.

To illustrate the House Democrat dilemma and how convinced of impeachment House Dems are, in March of 2019, Swalwell said in MSNBC he’s ready for President Trump to sue him because he refuses to back down from his public assertions that there was evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

What’s at Stake For Democrats?

Plenty.

There were 13 Democratic-held U.S. House districts up for election in 2018 that Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Three of the districts flipped, voting in a Republican representative in 2018:

  • Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District
  • Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District
  • Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District

All three races were open seats. Minnesota’s 1st Tim Walz successfully ran for governor, while Minnesota’s 8th Rick Nolan did not seek re-election. Conor Lamb (D) successfully ran to represent Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. Lamb had previously won a 2018 special election to replace U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R). This increased the number of Trump/Democratic districts in Pennsylvania from one to two. The districts in Pennsylvania were redrawn after the state Supreme Court ruled that the state’s previous congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans.

The 13 districts voted for Trump by as many as 30.8 percentage points and as few as 0.7 percentage points.

This may seem meaningless, but it really is important. And this may be the fundamental reason for Pelosi’s hesitation to push forward with impeachment. But there’s more.

The U.S. is booming on every financial front: revenue, unemployment, Gross Domestic Product, 5 million off of Food Stamps, more people employed in the U.S. than ever, etc.

These facts should certainly slow any impeachment discussions. What do Democrats have to offer better than this? Quoting that famous Democrat pundit, James Carville, or “Serpent-Head” as his wife termed him during the Clinton years: “It’s the economy, Stupid!”

What’s at Stake for Americans?

Let’s be honest: Americans tire quickly with all of the arguing and finger-pointing in Washington. Depending on which poll numbers one believes, Congressional members approval ratings among Americans is just 15% or less. Why is that?

Congress gets very little done!

Congress is really good at spending taxpayer dollars. But Congress is really slow at getting legislation passed and over to the President for a signature to become law. And that’s what members of Congress are supposed to do! Wouldn’t it be prudent to find out just what American registered voters think about what’s important for our government? We can do that.

In April, FOX News polled 1004 registered voters about what their most important issues are for the 2020 elections. Registered voters’ issues that impact their votes are as follows (most important to least important):

  1. Immigration/illegal immigration, border security wall: 21%
  2. The economy/jobs/unemployment:  10%
  3. Healthcare:  9%
  4. Climate change/Environment:  6%
  5. Race relations/race issues/police:  5%
  6. Guns/gun violence:  4%
  7. Political corruption/leadership:  4%
  8. Lack of unity/Partisanship/Polarization/gridlock:  4%
  9. Education:  4%
  10. Terrorism/National Security/ISIS: 4%
  11. Donald Trump:  3%
  12. Government spending/budget deficit/debt:  3%
  13. Income inequality/disappearing middle class:  3%
  14. Moral decline:  2%
  15. Social Security/Medicare:  2%
  16. Foreign policy/Middle East/nuclear weapons/war:  2%
  17. Crime:  2%
  18. Abortion:  1%
  19. Taxes:  1%
  20. Opioid addiction/Drugs:  1%

As you can see from the results of this poll, Americans are pretty much in lock step with the Trump agenda with maybe one exception: Climate change. But even without that factored in, far more than half of Americans who participated in the poll do not just support Trump’s efforts across the board as President, but strongly support his agenda. And this is the 2020 Democrat nightmare!

I’ve asked this before during the last two years: “What is the Democrat Party platform? What specifics do they plan on bringing to Americans that would support changing the residents at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next year?” I’m still waiting for good answers. Until Wednesday, I thought there was only one. But it appears that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer after their Wednesday morning private chit chat with fellow Democrats, they’ve added a second “platform” idea.

“Let’s Do NOTHING!”

That’s right: immediately after their meeting with fellow Democrats, the pair went to the White House to negotiate infrastructure legislation with the President. However, before heading over to the White House, Pelosi spoke to reporters and gave America the Democrats’ “temporary” plan that they are going to use while deciding if there is enough on which to impeach the President. Pelosi spelled it out for us all: stonewall any meaningful legislation in Congress. And there’s one more thing. Listen closely to Pelosi tell reporters what that “one more thing” is:

According to the House Speaker, “The President is involved in a coverup.”

No explanation…no details…but a typical “drive-by shooter” tactic by the Democrats. What Pelosi did was give the messaging arm of the Democrat Party the talking points to be used by all in the upcoming days when speaking of President Trump. Who is that “messaging arm” of the Democrat Party? CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Washington Post, and The New York Times — The Mainstream Media.

No surprise here.

Do you know what’s saddest about all this? American confidence in the economy is at a high far above any in recent years. Wages are rising, unemployment is lower than almost ever, federal revenue is higher than ever, we are not in any foreign wars, international credibility in the U.S. is back after 8 years of NONE, our military is getting stronger after being gutted by the Obama Administration, law enforcement agencies and men and women who serve there for the first time in almost a decade feel this president has their backs. And the Democrats want to stop ALL this progress and take us back to the horrors of 2008-2016.

And they want Americans to believe in their plan?

I’ll end here with this: what’s the definition of insanity? “Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.”

What would be insanity for Americans at this point? Put a Democrat back in the White House for another 8 years of ObamaGate.

NO THANK YOU!

 

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The Evil Among Us

May 14, 2019

Evil is everywhere, in everything, and spreading.

Let’s be clear: in this conversation, we are NOT speaking of “Evil” in the “axe murderer” connotation. We are speaking of evil that not only is a principle in lawbreaking but the evil that people make part of their minds and hearts which result in their acting-out on that evil — actually committing evil acts.

Example: in the Mueller Report, it is stated that President Trump reportedly called his White House Attorney Don McGhan and told him to call then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and tell Sessions that Mueller has serious conflicts of interest. Because those conflicts disqualified Mueller to serve as Special Counsel in the Russian Collusion investigation, Sessions should fire Mueller. Evil was NOT in that phone call. The evil was in the REPORTING of details of that phone call. Let me explain:

The President was angry because of the mistreatment he was receiving in what has proven to be a devious investigation based on totally false information disguised as “factual evidence.” (But that’s another story) In anger, he did NOT tell McGhan his attorney to fire Mueller as Democrats and the Leftist Media stated over and over, he told McGhan to tell Sessions to do so. The President followed protocol: Sessions as the Attorney General was who should take such action if necessary. But MUELLER WAS NEVER FIRED! And even if he had been fired by the President or his Attorney General, President Trump has the Constitutional power to do just that.

So where’s the evil? That evil lies specifically in the hearts of those Democrats and members of the Media who hold such hatred for Mr. Trump they would parse their reporting to make the President appear evil and that he obstructed justice in that incident. No crime was committed; there was no evil act on the part of the President. Yet many in America believe there was simply because of lies given in the Media. That’s evil.

By the way: there is NO federal statute that states if someone in anger tells another to tell someone else to fire someone, in doing that alone is NOT obstruction of justice.

Evil Itself

Evil is not just present in mass shootings, racial crimes, sexual assaults, barbarism, or financial crimes. Evil lives among all of us. Every human being deals with evil, often without recognizing it or understanding it. But it’s there. For Christians, evil’s product is sin. What is sin? There are 10 basic “Thou Shalt/Thou Shalt Not” sins in the Bible: the Ten Commandments. But the evil in sin far surpasses those ten. The determination of the ten from the Bible is pretty easy. Figuring out all the others can be a job. But make no mistake: by the time little boys learn what little girls are, they know the difference between right and wrong. The same holds true for those little girls.

For this conversation, let’s exclude the discussion of the really evil things most can agree are sins: murder, rape, theft, etc. Most will accept those as sin. Let’s talk about those other evil acts, like “little white lies.” You know: those whispers when the phone rings and your kid answers it and you whisper, “tell them I’m not here” because you don’t want to talk to whoever called. Maybe stealing a candy bar from a convenience store, or faking a business deduction on your tax return to get that extra couple of hundred dollars in your refund. The problem is, telling those “little white lies” is lying. Lies are a product of evil, and therefore sin.

In America today because of the internet and satellite television, Americans are inundated with lies all day every day. We hear lies from politicians. We see lies in television ads. “Lose 15 pounds in 5 days, guaranteed,” and “Buy this watch and get the look of a Rolex, not for $25,000, but for only $200!” We hear so many lies we have become de-sensitized to lies of all kinds — except to those with which we object. And that is where the evil lies.

We are accustomed to hearing, repeating, or originating lies that fit our narrative, no matter the subject. And for those subjects that do not directly impact us or our narrative, we simply ignore them. That dismissing of those lies, in essence, legitimizes the lies themselves, but more importantly legitimizes our doing so again and again which numbs us to lying and says “Lying is not evil — especially when it fits MY narrative or that of those who I determine to be allowed to lie.” Examples?

Barack Obama when “selling” Obamacare: “If you like your doctor, under this plan you can keep your doctor.” “If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan.” “Premiums for the average family will decrease by $2500 per year.” “It will not add to the nation’s deficit.”

Congressman Anthony Weiner when confronting with sexting: “This was a hoax. It was committed on me, it was a prank, it was a relatively easy one to do, making fun of my name.”

President Bill Clinton: “I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman.”

Today’s political news is overrun with lies — far too many to chronicle here. But we don’t need to: everyone sees and hears them over and over again. And that’s part of the problem! Lies are so common we have become desensitized to them. They’ve become part of life and are acceptable to most people — just like those “little white lies.” They may be little and seem inconsequential, but all lies are evil and erode at the fabric of truth and the established principles in the U.S. and in our homes.

Although evil has been alive and thriving since recorded history began, we are witnessing a gush of evil in this century and this decade never-before-seen in the U.S. Evil deeds seem to be steadily climbing in number, increasing in their perverseness, and are certainly being reported breathlessly by a press that (for the purposes of advertising dollars) cannot find a single evil act too nasty to blast across the nation. Evil among us is degrading even the most precious and historically sacred pieces of our life. What has caused this to happen and dramatically increase in number and severity?

  • What possesses a young man to viciously open fire on defenseless movie-goers in Aurora, Colorado? Why did James Holmes intentionally create a bloodbath of horror, killing twelve people and injuring scores of others? Would anyone in his right mind do that?
  • What possesses an old football coach at Penn State University to sexually molest grade school boys? Why did Jerry Sandusky recruit fatherless children through a foundation promising to help them and then abuse them?

We are perplexed about motivation. We’d like some kind of explanation. Is it insanity? Demon possession? Drug addiction? Is it brainwashing from watching violent video games or graphic pornography? What’s prompts people to perform such horrendous deeds?

What’s Going On?

Our society is dying. Infected by a plague that is making our once proud and God-fearing nation a soulless pit; the slow decay of our collective sense of evil and good is affecting every one of us. Many speak of how our country is divided between liberals and conservatives. The truth is that this division represents those that are awake and aware of what is occurring and those that for whatever reason have allowed the temptation of the easy path to blind them to the evils of going down that road. Whether an individual is clueless in his defense of evil or simply chooses to remain silent is irrelevant, failure to speak out against it is aiding in its advancement.

There are also those that believe that attaching a physical object to evil is a way to rid the world of it, as if removing a gun from an honest person’s hand will change the heart of those who are intent on committing murder because their heart has been infected by this sickness; this inability to be able to discern right from wrong — not because there is something wrong with an individual who can no longer make this distinction, but because right and wrong have become nothing but concepts with no absolute values assigned to their definitions. Right and wrong have been erased from the consciousness of millions as the very idea of something being right and something being wrong has come to be considered offensive, and an obstacle to the quest for total equality. In short; moral relativity has destroyed us.

In early August of 2013, in Oklahoma, a man was gunned down by three attackers whose only reason for committing such a heinous crime was because they were bored and thought killing a man would be fun. This story was being reported on all local media outlets, and because it was in a rural part of the state it was just assumed that the three teenagers were white kids. Honestly, no one even cares about the race of these kids. It was just a cold and heartless act driven by the fact that society had failed to instill the value of human life in them. These kids are just as much victims as is the man they killed; victims of a race-baiting machine that places no value on human life but rather hustles race issues for money while teaching it is okay to hate a certain kind of person, to blame a certain kind of person for all of your problems. That’s right, these kids were black, and they murdered a white man because they thought it would be fun.

Recently in Georgia, a public school in Newton County allowed one of its students to hang a poster they had made declaring that God is dead. We all know full well that if it was a poster praising Christianity, it would have been banned. When are we going to make the necessary connections and see that the further our nation strays from the God our founders referenced and called on repeatedly in prayer, the darker our days become? How on earth can we value life if we no longer value the reason we are living? This is what happens when the philosophies of Marx and Darwin infect society’s conscious. How could anyone hold any value for life when life itself has no meaning because we are just an accident of evolution needing to be controlled by an all-powerful state for own good? This is the sickness that is consuming our society, and it is being done on purpose by those craving power and control.

Oh, don’t forget about Washington D.C. If we tried to list all the evil committed in U.S. politics daily and who the perpetrators are, we’d never stop writing. It happens so frequently that all those who are part of the political process in Washington have become so numb to it those acts are just accepted as a regular part of operating the political process.

Remember all the prayers, all the references to God in documents, “In God We Trust” on all our currency, the Ten Commandments blazoned across walls in halls of government, and “One Nation Under God…?”

Remember the swearing-in of witnesses who are testifying before trial judges and juries? “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God?”

Even that phrase is being pushed out of our government.

Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), just days ago swore-in several witnesses prior to a U.S. House Subcommittee meeting. He “forgot” to include the last line of the oath that has been used for several hundred years, “So help me God.” Watch and listen as our good friend Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) questions Cohen and suggested repeating the swearing-in but using “So help me God” in doing so. Notice that Cohen and Jerald Nadler (D-NY) poo-pah Johnson’s idea. I wonder why?

In truth I have no authority to claim that Cohen and/or Nadler are evil. But what CAN be said is it becomes more and more obvious that evil is stealthily finding its way into every crevice of the government process in Washington D.C. And it finds a home more and more often in the U.S. Congress. These are the people we elect, empower, and pay dearly to operate “Government OF the People, FOR the People, and BY the People.” If members of Congress were committed to adherence to their oaths of office and not so committed to propping up their party’s political narrative at all costs, they would be leading in honesty rather than in an evil atmosphere driven soley by what’s best for US and not THEM.

Do you know what else is happening and about to get crazier? Our sources have confirmed that  a few current and many former government officials are about to receive subpoenas and even some arrested through indictments already issued. Those should occur before June 15, 2019.

But that’s really NOT news. What IS news is what is about to happen RIGHT NOW. Listen closely:

  • We know the Left have gone all-in to get rid of Donald Trump, and nothing else matters;
  • We know that even with the completion of the Mueller Report and that its findings show no direct or even indirect illegalities on the part of the President or members of his campaign staff, those Leftists have amped up THEIR investigation. And in doing so, they’re gasping for air. What is their purpose?

Here’s today’s SUMMARY in answer to that question:

The Left is throwing absolutely as much as they can up in the air. They’re calling in all their cards and obligations from the Media lapdogs to help establish and build the furor in the Media against President Trump. They KNOW that truth and justice for them are both on the horizon. They know they will NO LONGER be able to hide the evil that has permeated their actions in D.C. since the beginning of the 2016 campaign season. That evil includes all types of lies, committing of felonies, violations of classified materials laws, and even possibly treason! In short, they are facing the death of the Democrat Party. And its death is coming at the hands of the confrontation between the forces of good and the forces of evil. And we’re not talking about Superman, Wonder Woman, or the Justice League!

Their rhetoric, as loud and consistent as it has been, will become deafening. It will ALL be aimed at Donald Trump with continuous cries about all those previously claimed illegal acts allegedly committed by the Trump Campaign, but will be joined by new and more outrageous attacks that will become increasingly more vile and more in number.

Why are they going to do all this, especially when no one can even now believe how ridiculous their screams against this president are? One and only one reason: Their only hope is to make so much noise and so many allegations against Donald Trump et al, their screaming will deafen American voters so as for those voters to ignore those scurulous charges against them! And the American Media will come willingly to the fray, joining their now very public partners in Wasington: the Democrat Party.

“Evil will be revealed and Truth will out.”

In fact, they’ve all been given opportunities to come clean, but all have declined. In fact, many believe their own lives and ignore their own evil!

But, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” The bright light of Truth will take care of that for all Americans.

It’s about time somebody kicked Evil’s butt in Washington!

 

 

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The Truth About All-Things Congressional

May 4, 2019

You must believe me when I say it seems that everything being done in Washington in and by this Congress is a mess. The House Democrat freshmen members are steadily pulling the Democrat Party farther and farther to the Left while Senate Democrats have joined with House Democrat leaders to spurn the exhaustive Mueller Report and replaced it with their incessant demands for testimony before their committees regarding anything and everything to do with Donald Trump. They simply refuse to accept the fact that Mueller and his 20 Democrat attorneys who all despise this president in 2.5 years could not find anything on which Congress can use to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Trump. And they are going nuts.

TruthNewsNetwork turned to Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) to get some answers. He paused to answer some of our questions and share his thoughts on all of these and other critical issues.

Congressman Johnson is in his second term in the House. He’s heavily involved in the legislative process, details of which you are about to hear, and serves on several House committees that each have critical roles they play in government. Two of those committees are knee-deep in two of the greatest political issues of the day that dominate the news 24/7. Those committees are the House Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. It is safe to say Congressman Johnson sees in a bit more detail than we when looking into those committee’s two critical issues: the Mueller Investigation and Illegal Immigration.

We pause here but will be back with Congressman Mike Johnson in a few minutes at Truth News Network.

(The balance of today’s offering is in our interview of Congressman Johnson. Please join us on the Podcast for that conversation.)

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