Liberalism has once again redefined tolerance in America, this time in a row over a bridal shop in the Keystone State.
W.W. Bridal in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania made headlines this week after refusing service to a lesbian couple looking for purchase a wedding gown, citing religious reasons. After the couple took to Twitter to complain about their experience, and to seek attention for their inconvenience, “social justice warriors” on the left took up arms against the shop.
“The police chief in Bloomsburg tells the Press Enterprise of Bloomsburg the owners of W. W. Bridal say they’ve been threatened after telling the couple to shop elsewhere on July 8.
“The lesbian couple took to social media to vent, and their story was widely shared.
“Police Chief Roger Van Loan says the alleged threats ranged from a prank moving van sent to the store to threats of bodily harm. Police are investigating.
“Shop co-owner Victoria Miller says they’re only accepting pre-arranged customers until they ‘feel it is safe’ to reopen.”
This incident once again illustrates the amoral and lopsided “social justice” parameters set forth by the left.
Where these SJW’s are encouraged to bully and attack those who’ve been accused of discrimination against certain demographics, they themselves are simply perpetuating prejudices by refusing to afford other groups the same respect or protection. For instance, social justice warriors are leading the charge to ban so-called “Islamophobia”, or the fear of radical Islamic terrorism, yet they refuse to protect traditional Christian views as it pertains to gay marriage.
The entire ethos of “social justice” is belied in its moniker. It is the idea that authority has failed us on issues of faith and love and that we must band together to create our own police force for these sacred and personal beliefs. “Social justice” is simply another tool that the liberals employ in order to keep conservatism from growing within our nation.
The left bullies and shames the right whenever religious freedom intersects with the free market…emphasis on the free. These businesses and customers have a right to use, or refuse, any business they choose. That is the beauty liberty.
Furthermore, W.W. Bridal had previously made headlines by refusing to serve a lesbian couple all the way back in 2014, leading many to believe that this week’s incident was nothing more than a propagandist setup.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Andrew West
Andrew West is a Georgia-based political enthusiast and lover of liberty. When not writing, you can find Mr. West home brewing his own craft beer, perfecting his home-made hot sauce recipes, or playing guitar.
The American people sent a crystal clear message to authorities in 2016: Curb illegal immigration immediately.
Given that President Donald Trump was leading the charge on that issue, it is no surprise that the businessman-turned-politician handily defeated democratic dimwit Hillary Clinton during the 2016 contest. Trump promised Americans that he would not only work to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, but that he would instruct our federal authorities to work on enforcing our already existing immigration laws.
While this return to law and order energized America’s massive conservative uprising, it sent the democrats into utter delirium as they attempted to create wild connections and jump to absurd conclusions in order to insult Trump as some sort of mega-bigot.
Now, even after witnessing the will of We The People as it pertains to immigration, the left continues to push their ridiculous “resistance” movement, attempting to oppose the President and American voters at every turn. The latest symptom of the liberalism disease comes to us from Denver, Colorado, where authorities are considering moving into open rebellion against the Commander in Chief.
“Dozens of people filled the room where the Denver City Council met on Wednesday to consider taking a stance on protecting immigrants from federal agents. The safety committee passed the ordinance by a vote of 6-1.
“Denver City Council members Robin Kniech and Paul Lopez are spearheading the bill. More than 100 people were in attendance to urge council members to approve the ordinance.
“The proposal does take a tougher position on information sharing with the federal government. It would not require local authorities to share immigration status or hold inmates with an immigration detainer past their release date.
“The safety committee passed the ordinance by a vote of 6-1. Now it goes to the full council for the first reading.
“The only descending (sic) vote came from Councilman Kevin Flynn, ‘I think it’s providing a false sense of security that this activity will be reduced.’”
Trump’s immigration proposals have been under a blanket of resistance from the democrats from day one.
The President’s plans for America have not changed much in the time between his election and his inauguration, with the American people still expecting to get what they voted for. Democrats and turncoat republicans who have been hard at work to stymy the Commander in Chief are doing nothing to move our nation forward, and must be called to the carpet for their arrogance during the 2018 election cycle.
As for Denver, we shall see if this resolution continues past its next legislative hurdle, and, if so, whether or not Denver would implement a plan to physically bar federal agents from performing their duties.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Andrew West
Andrew West is a Georgia-based political enthusiast and lover of liberty. When not writing, you can find Mr. West home brewing his own craft beer, perfecting his home-made hot sauce recipes, or playing guitar.
In 1994, after 40 years in the wilderness, Republicans swept both houses of Congress, running on Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America,” in which the GOP promised to hold votes on 10 popular policies in the first 100 days. They won, fulfilled the contract, and went on to control the House for more than a decade.
More recently, the country gave the GOP the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014 and the presidency in 2016. But we’re not seeing any difference. The GOP has become a ratchet, never reversing Democratic victories, but only confirming them with teeny-tiny alterations.
It’s time for the voters to issue a “Contract With Republicans.”Unless our elected representatives can complete these basic, simple tasks, we’re out. There will be no reason to care about the GOP, anymore.
Whether these objectives are accomplished by President Trump or a rhesus monkey, the Democrats, the Bull Moose Party or the U.S. Pirate Party — it will make no difference to us. We just need somebody to fulfill this contract in order to get our vote.
Here are our first three contract terms.
1) BUILD THE WALL
People said the chant, “Build the wall!” was mere shorthand for a whole slew of immigration policies, unified by the single idea of putting Americans’ interests if not “first,” then at least“above the interests of complete strangers to whom we owe absolutely nothing.” It was called a term of art, meaning we want to stop sacrificing the welfare of our nation on the altar of liberal idiocy.
“Build the wall” was said to entail: a Muslim ban, deporting illegals, ending unconstitutional sanctuary cities, ending Obama’s unconstitutional “executive amnesty,” a dead-stop to the refugee scam and a massive reduction in legal immigration.
Yes, it means all that. But it also means: Build the wall.
If this is done only for reasons of conservative ideology, in recognition of the fact that the United States is a sovereign nation, entitled to protect its homeland, that’s fine with me.
But I note in passing that, if I were a progressive constantly virtue-signaling on transgenders and refugees, and occasionally pretending to care about African-Americans, the very last thing I’d want to see is the continuing dump of low-wage workers on the country, undermining black fathers’ ability to earn a living, to stay married and to pass down savings and a work ethic to their children.
The great civil rights hero Barbara Jordan understood that. The fact that our current low-rent liberals are unable to rise to her level is all the proof we need of their uselessness.
Moreover, in the future, we will once again have presidents with a taste for fascist executive orders, purporting to grant “amnesty” to illegal aliens. We will continue to have bought-and-paid-for legislators, pushing cheap labor in return for campaign donations. In the blink of an eye, they can undo every part of Trump’s America First agenda on immigration, just as Obama undid our victory in Iraq.
A wall is the only part of Trump’s immigration reforms that will not be instantly reversed by the next Barack Obama or George Bush. Allowing border patrol agents to do their jobs is a policy that lasts only as long as Trump is president. A wall is forever.
2) SUPREME COURT
Republicans need to stop having their victories written in wet sand. During the campaign, Trump vowed to impose a Muslim ban if elected; both political parties hysterically denounced him; he won the election; issued a highly modified, temporary travel restriction from a handful of majority Muslim countries; and … a handful of carefully selected federal court judges announced that, during the Trump administration, they would be implementing immigration policy.
That’s why President Trump must appoint, and the Senate confirm, brilliant conservative judges, preferably in their 30s and with good EKGs, so that they can keep issuing opinions well into their 90s.
As long as they are sufficiently vetted to ensure we’re getting no David Souters or Harriet Miers — vettings even MORE exhaustive than the alleged rectal probes given to the San Bernardino terrorists before admitting them to commit mass murder — Supreme Court justices can have nearly the same permanence as the wall.
3) STOP WASTING MONEY AND PRECIOUS LIVES ON POINTLESS WARS
The left is way ahead of us on this one, already hard at work turning the greatest military in the world into taxpayer-funded adventures in lesbianism and transgenderism. (Sorry, taxpayers! We gave your Social Security to mental-case penis-choppers.)
Every recent war has been counterproductive at best. At worst, they have been meat-grinders for our bravest young men. Imagine that some small portion of the trillions of dollars poured into the endless — and ongoing! — war in Afghanistan had been used to build a 100,000-seat soccer stadium in Baghdad. And then imagine that we built 100 more just like it, right next to one another.
If we had taken a satellite photo of all those stadiums filled to capacity, the caption would be: “Not one American life is worth all the lives pictured here.”
That’s not anti-Arab. I’m sure they would feel exactly the same. I would respond, “Yes, of course, you’re right to feel that way.”
If we’re ever attacked, we should be prepared to unload our full arsenal. But it’s not our job to create functioning democracies in primitive rape-based societies around the globe.
Apart from an attack on U.S. soil by a foreign country, we are going to live our lives, go to work, celebrate the Fourth of July, and never bother learning the difference in Sunni and Shia Arabs. Once a decade, when we fleetingly remember Yemen or Saudi Arabia, we will hope they’re doing well, then get back to our lives — surrounded by a wall and living in a constitutional democracy, where our greatest young men aren’t continually sacrificed in pointless wars.
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Mother of 9 Leads Pregnancy Center Helping Save Babies From Abortion When executive director Karen Boots of Redwood Falls, Minn., leaves her keys on the desk of Choices Pregnancy Center for the last time, she will be placing a legacy of life-changing service into the hands of her successor, Carrie Meyers, a mother of nine from nearby Olivia.
Why is Canada Spending $97 Million Funding Abortions in Africa? Canada’s Minister of International Development, Marie-Claude Bibeau, recently announced $97 million in funding for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in line with Canada’s “Feminist International Assistance Policy”.
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North Korea seems intent on provoking the United States… and their latest exercise has definitely gained our attention. Just days after another long-range missile test, the communist nation has conducted what the Pentagon is calling “highly unusual and unprecedented levels” of submarine activity.
According to CNN, that activity goes beyond routine sea maneuvers, and likely involves an “ejection test.” As the name implies, the test is related to launching missiles from submarines hidden underwater, and suggests that the rogue country could be closer to having ICBM submarines than observers previously believed.
While North Korea’s missile capabilities have been largely mocked by the West, the reclusive nation seems to have made significant advances in the past year — and its military abilities are no longer a laughing matter.
“Coupled with reports of increased submarine activity, news of another ejection test comes amid concerns over North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have the range to hit major US cities on Friday,”CNN explained.
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“Experts believe if Friday’s test had been fired on a flatter, standard trajectory, it could have threatened cities like Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago,”continued the report.
The combination of submarine launch testing and long-range ICBM demonstrations means that North Korea may be able to strike key Western targets in the near future.
While the small nation’s submarines are nowhere near as advanced as the United States’ vessels, even a basic diesel-electric submarine can be difficult to detect. This means that a lone sub could possibly move closer to a target and leave precious little reaction time available in the event of a missile launch.
President Donald Trump assured reporters that the U.S. is taking the North Korean threat seriously, but didn’t reveal the specifics of a strategy.
“We will handle North Korea. We are gonna be able to handle them,”the president stated.
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified that “all options are on the table”in terms of an American response.
Underestimating an enemy is never wise. Trump and the United States as a whole needs to address North Korea soon, before saber rattling turns to saber swinging.
The Trump administration has just announced that they’ll be making some drastic changes to the way that the federal government hands out money.
The administration has announced that it will block Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, which is a HUGE pool of money that goes to helping cities and states with their law enforcement issues.
However, many so-called “Sanctuary Cities”refuse to obey federal laws or to even work with federal law enforcement agencies when it comes to dealing with illegal alien criminals. This reticence to abide by federal law has led the Trump administration to remove millions in federal funds from these lawless sanctuary cities.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that sanctuary jurisdictions will lose access to certain federal law enforcement grants in 2017 if they prohibit officials from communicating with ICE, if they block ICE from interviewing jail inmates, or if they fail to notify ICE of the pending release of criminal aliens ICE is seeking to deport.
These particular grants, known as the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, are the largest source of federal criminal justice funds for state, local, and tribal authorities.
This move is helping fulfill one early promise of the Trump administration: to impose consequences on the most egregious of the more than 300 sanctuary jurisdictions.
It is significant because a large share of the funds awarded in this program go to sanctuary jurisdictions.
For example, according to DOJ records, the four largest grants, and seven out of the top 10 recipients of the Byrne/JAG grants are sanctuaries. Under the new rules announced by Sessions, these four top grant-getters (New York City, Cook County, Ill., the City of Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) are likely to be disqualified from these grants in the future if they maintain their current policies toward ICE.
These cities received more than $10 million in grants in 2016.
You can see the list of Sanctuary Cities and the money they’ll be losing below.
Sanctuary Jurisdictions Receiving Byrne/JAG Grants in 2016
Awardee
Award Amount
Location
New York City Major’s Office of Criminal Justice
$4,298,245
N.Y.
City of Chicago
$2,333,428
Ill.
City of Los Angeles
$1,870,503
Calif.
City of Philadelphia
$1,677,937
Pa.
Clark County
$975,604
Nev.
Milwaukee County
$937,932
Wisc.
County of Alameda, CA
$876,345
Calif.
City of Baltimore
$743,842
Md.
City of Seattle
$673,166
Wash.
County of San Bernandino
$626,025
Calif.
Hennepin County
$564,510
Minn.
City of San Diego
$546,793
Calif.
City of Newark Police Department
$525,446
N.J.
City and County of San Francisco
$522,943
Calif.
City of Albuquerque
$479,125
N.M.
City of Portland
$465,810
Ore.
City of Boston
$447,390
Mass.
City of Riverside
$429,942
Calif.
City and County of Denver
$426,590
Colo.
City of Stockton
$383,843
Calif.
City of Orange
$377,708
Calif.
Baltimore, County of
$336,110
Md.
County of Sedwick
$331,032
Kan.
Prince Georges County
$312,667
Md.
Dekalb County
$306,768
Ga.
City of Tacoma
$287,469
Wash.
City of Fresno
$269,208
Calif.
City of New Orleans
$265,832
La.
City of Saint Paul
$260,540
Minn.
City of Sacramento
$256,776
Calif.
City of Colorado Springs
$255,100
Colo.
Sacramento County
$241,650
Calif.
City of Providence
$225,539
R.I.
City of New Haven
$217,907
Conn.
City of Hartford
$196,347
Conn.
City of Long Beach
$196,217
Calif.
City of Bridgeport
$195,781
Conn.
Contra Costa County
$194,562
Calif.
City of Aurora
$175,123
Colo.
County of Kern
$168,552
Calif.
County of Union
$167,034
N.J.
County of Stanislaus
$165,937
Calif.
Spokane County
$154,903
Wash.
County of Delaware
$154,093
Pa.
Montgomery County
$147,560
Md.
City of Bakersfield
$145,769
Calif.
City of North Las Vegas PD
$143,777
Nev.
City of Vallejo
$136,511
Calif.
City of Reno
$130,850
Nev.
City of Syracuse
$117,888
N.Y.
City of Oxnard
$112,635
Calif.
Santa Barbara County
$108,100
Calif.
Clayton County
$107,853
Ga.
City of Salinas
$98,308
Calif.
City of Pueblo
$95,787
Colo.
City of Compton
$95,747
Calif.
Clark County
$91,717
Wash.
City of New Brunswick
$90,341
N.J.
City of Lakewood
$87,988
Colo.
City of Topeka
$85,769
Kan.
Lane County
$84,217
Ore.
County of Jackson
$76,389
Calif.
City of Council Bluffs
$73,440
Iowa
City of Salem
$69,968
Ore.
City of Pomona Police Dept
$69,550
Calif.
City of Lancaster
$68,883
Calif.
City of Greeley
$65,164
Colo.
City of Palmdale
$64,321
Calif.
City of Gainesville
$63,771
Fla.
City of Yakima
$63,434
Wash.
City of Allentown
$62,429
Pa.
Inglewood City
$61,413
Calif.
City of Santa Cruz
$59,519
Calif.
Chesterfield County
$55,163
Va.
City of Pawtucket
$54,601
R.I.
City of Oceanside
$53,730
Calif.
City of Merced
$51,649
Calif.
City of Fort Collins
$51,561
Colo.
City of Redding
$50,688
Calif.
Linn County
$50,045
Iowa
City of Hawthorne
$50,021
Calif.
City of Waterbury
$49,914
Conn.
City of Boulder
$49,602
Colo.
City of Santa Rosa
$48,367
Calif.
Sonoma County
$48,287
Calif.
City of Woonsocket
$47,961
R.I.
Chula Vista City
$47,700
Calif.
Adams County
$46,754
Colo.
City of Escondido
$46,313
Calif.
Municipality of Norristown
$46,294
Pa.
County of Tulare
$46,020
Calif.
City of Everett
$45,593
Wash.
Arlington County
$44,203
Va.
City of Erie
$43,588
Pa.
City of Stamford
$43,468
Conn.
City of Elk Grove
$42,765
Calif.
City of Gallup
$42,240
N.M.
Shasta County
$42,045
Calif.
City of South Gate
$41,484
Calif.
County of Merced
$41,458
Calif.
City of Visalia
$40,764
Calif.
County of Washington
$39,976
Ore.
City of Bellingham
$39,398
Wash.
City of New Britain
$39,287
Conn.
Town of Hamden
$38,895
Conn.
Kitsap County
$38,053
Wash.
Incorporated Village of Hempstead
$37,982
N.Y.
City of Hanford
$37,643
Calif.
Yolo County
$37,455
Calif.
City of New London
$36,107
Conn.
City of Thornton
$34,968
Colo.
Henderson Police Department
$34,400
Nev.
City of Concord
$33,988
Calif.
Hernando County
$33,767
Fla.
Deschutes. County of
$33,730
Ore.
City of Norwalk
$33,712
Conn.
Tulare City
$33,694
Calif.
Snohomish County
$33,664
Wash.
City of Vista
$33,348
Calif.
City of Farmington New Mexico
$33,277
N.M.
West Haven City
$32,841
Conn.
City of Cambridge
$32,576
Mass.
City of Las Cruces
$31,665
N.M.
City of Norwalk
$30,840
Calif.
City of Roswell
$30,672
N.M.
City of Huntington Park
$30,440
Calif.
City of Turlock
$30,066
Calif.
Madera County
$29,426
Calif.
City of Central Falls
$28,961
R.I.
City of El Cajon
$28,759
Calif.
City of El Monte
$28,492
Calif.
City of Grand Junction
$28,487
Colo.
City of Iowa City
$28,453
Iowa
City of Santa Monica
$28,199
Calif.
City of Rancho Cordova
$28,012
Calif.
City of Citrus Heights
$27,692
Calif.
City of Cranston
$27,195
R.I.
City of Westminster
$27,169
Colo.
Valencia County
$26,889
N.M.
City of Downey
$26,358
Calif.
San Juan County
$26,237
N.M.
Thurston County
$25,982
Wash.
Clackamas County Juvenile Department
$25,771
Ore.
City of Spokane Valley
$25,628
Wash.
City of National City
$25,397
Calif.
City of Meriden
$25,175
Conn.
Dona Asta County
$24,904
N.M.
City of Santa Clarita
$24,677
Calif.
City of Chico
$24,570
Calif.
City of Bremerton
$23,752
Wash.
City of Bellflower
$23,370
Calif.
County of San Mateo
$23,317
Calif.
City of Lodi
$22,863
Calif.
City of Hillsboro
$22,297
Ore.
Town of East Hartford
$22,213
Conn.
Placer County
$22,116
Calif.
City of West Hollywood
$21,903
Calif.
City of Gardena
$21,556
Calif.
City of Delano
$21,289
Calif.
San Luis Obispo County
$20,862
Calif.
City of Bethlehem
$20,854
Pa.
Mesa County
$20,546
Colo.
County of Mendocino
$20,222
Calif.
City of Watsonville
$20,115
Calif.
City of Somerville
$20,004
Mass.
City of Roseville
$19,928
Calif.
City of Pico Rivera
$19,822
Calif.
City of West Covina
$19,662
Calif.
City of Santa Fe
$19,631
N.M.
City of San Mateo
$19,475
Calif.
City of Napa
$19,208
Calif.
City of Whittier
$18,915
Calif.
City of Paramount
$18,808
Calif.
City of Commerce City
$18,766
Colo.
City of Baldwin Park
$18,675
Calif.
El Dorado County
$18,435
Calif.
City of Carlsbad
$18,408
Calif.
City of Clovis
$17,616
N.M.
City of Grants Pass
$17,547
Ore.
City of Arvada
$17,484
Colo.
City of Lakewood
$17,447
Calif.
City of Manteca
$17,421
Calif.
City of Bell
$17,341
Calif.
City of Beaverton
$17,239
Ore.
City of Yuba City
$17,181
Calif.
City of Olympia
$17,168
Wash.
City of Daly City
$16,887
Calif.
City of Rio Rancho
$16,871
N.M.
City of Azusa
$16,834
Calif.
Norwich City
$16,638
Conn.
City of Loveland
$16,451
Colo.
City of Clovis
$16,434
Calif.
City of Longview
$16,389
Wash.
City of La Mesa
$16,354
Calif.
City of Everett
$16,288
Mass.
City of DeKalb
$16,225
Ill.
City of Glendale
$16,007
Calif.
City of Danbury
$15,985
Conn.
County of Lake
$15,980
Calif.
City of Centennial Colorado
$15,668
Colo.
County of Yuba
$15,553
Calif.
City of Dinuba
$15,527
Calif.
City of Burbank
$15,046
Calif.
County of Nevada
$15,020
Calif.
Douglas County Government
$14,813
Colo.
City of Santa Clara
$14,806
Calif.
City of Selma
$14,753
Calif.
Imperial County
$14,726
Calif.
City of Porterville
$14,726
Calif.
City of Petaluma
$14,566
Calif.
City of Atwater
$14,513
Calif.
City of Gilroy
$14,299
Calif.
City of Torrance
$14,193
Calif.
Village of Freeport
$14,140
N.Y.
Reedley Police Department
$14,113
Calif.
Town of Manchester
$14,068
Conn.
City of San Luis Obispo
$13,873
Calif.
City of Pittsburg
$13,659
Calif.
City of Sanger
$13,659
Calif.
City of Culver City
$13,579
Calif.
City of Redondo Beach
$13,552
Calif.
City of Newton
$13,458
Kan.
Tehama County District Attorney
$13,419
Calif.
Eureka Police Department
$13,232
Calif.
City of Arvin
$13,206
Calif.
City of Hollister
$13,152
Calif.
Township of Lakewood
$13,149
N.J.
City of Lawndale
$12,966
Calif.
City of Marysville
$12,956
Wash.
City of Sunnyvale
$12,832
Calif.
City of Alhambra
$12,805
Calif.
City of East Providence
$12,785
R.I.
City of El Centro
$12,725
Calif.
City of Mountain View
$12,485
Calif.
City of Ceres
$12,299
Calif.
Brighton Police Department
$12,036
Colo.
City of Redmond
$11,874
Ore.
City of Coalinga
$11,738
Calif.
City of Santee
$11,738
Calif.
City of Rosemead
$11,712
Calif.
Village of Los Lunas
$11,692
N.M.
City of Pearland
$11,670
Texas
City of Las Vegas
$11,537
N.M.
City of Tracy
$11,365
Calif.
City of Wheat Ridge
$11,288
Colo.
City of Northglenn
$11,217
Colo.
City of Puyallup
$11,115
Wash.
City of Walla Walla
$11,115
Wash.
City of Lemon Grove
$10,858
Calif.
Town of Stratford
$10,715
Conn.
City of Belen
$10,700
N.M.
City of La Puente
$10,671
Calif.
Covina Police Department
$10,645
Calif.
City of Moses Lake
$10,619
Wash.
City of Monterey
$10,351
Calif.
City of Red Bluff
$10,324
Calif.
City of Los Banos
$10,244
Calif.
City of Encinitas
$10,164
Calif.
City of Ridgecrest
$10,138
Calif.
City of South Lake Tahoe
$10,031
Calif.
Total
$32,737,204
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Onan Coca
Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Romulus Marketing. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting Monday with, from left, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. (Photo: Mike Theiler/UPI/Newscom)
President Donald Trump could have Congress in an uncomfortable corner over the lawmakers’ exemption, and that of their staff, from Obamacare.
“I think he should just do it.”—@Heritage’s Robert Moffit
“This is one more instance of Congress passing an unpleasant, expensive, onerous law on citizens and then conferring a valuable benefit on itself,”Joe Morris, former general counsel for the Office of Personnel Management, told The Daily Signal.
Over the weekend, Trump tweeted that he could take away the exemption, granted by the Obama administration’s Office of Personnel Management, to prod Congress toward agreement on getting rid of Obamacare. The provision provides what critics say is tantamount to an unconstitutional waiver for members of Congress and their staff from rules mandated by the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. To exempt themselves, the 535 lawmakers and their more than 13,000 staffers are treated as if they were a small business employing fewer than 50 workers.
The exemption policy was created in an OPM directive under President Barack Obama, and could easily be overturned by Trump, said Morris, who worked at the agency during the Reagan administration.
Many critics of Obamacare, including a host of grassroots activists, long have argued that Congress and its staff should have to live under Obamacare like other Americans.
Morris said that applying Obamacare rules to Congress and its staff—as the language of the 2010 law actually requires—could prompt Republican lawmakers to act on their promise to repeal and replace the law. They failed to reach 50 votes to do so in the Senate last week, when three Republicans joined Democrats to scuttle a “skinny repeal” proposal that would have set up a conference with the House.
Such action by Trump, some political observers speculate, could spur Democrats to come to the bargaining table over the fate of Obamacare.
“Congress could feel the pain of most Americans,”Morris said. “It is worth trying. If members of Congress are aggrieved and their staffs are aggrieved, they might be more likely to take action.”
How the Exemption Works
Not a single Republican voted to pass Obamacare. Under a subsection of the Affordable Care Act, Democrats voted Congress out of its own employer-sponsored Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The provision required members and House and Senate staff to enroll in the new health insurance exchanges created for other Americans under the law.
Obamacare subsidies are capped so that no one with income higher than $48,000 gets a subsidy. Members of Congress earn $174,00 annually.
On Aug. 7, 2013, the OPM—which administers the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program—determined that members of Congress and staff still could enroll in the program through the SHOP Exchange, a health insurance exchange set up to provide special insurance subsidies for small businesses in Washington, D.C., with fewer than 50 employees.
Morris co-authored a report for The Heritage Foundation, before the OPM finalized the change, that concluded the Obama administration had no statutory authority to make the rule.
In February 2015, then-Sen. David Vitter, R-La., a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, unsuccessfully sought documents pertaining to Congress and the exemption.
But documents that later surfaced reportedly showed administrators asserted Congress had a combined total of 45 employees. Congress itself has 535 members.
Though controversial, the move survived a legal challenge by Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group that sued the District of Columbia’s small business insurance exchange on behalf of a city resident. Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr., however, determined the OPM’s action was legal.
Doing away with the exemption for lawmakers and their staffs certainly suits Trump’s campaign pledge to clean up Washington perks and privilege, said Robert Moffit, senior health policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation.
“If you are talking about draining the swamp, this would be a direct assault on the swamp creatures in eliminating what is clearly an illegal insurance subsidy,”Moffit told The Daily Signal, adding:
I don’t think the president should use this as a threat to get Congress to repeal. I think he should just do it. The funds are not drawn from any statutory authority. Trump could have Congress in a very, very difficult spot.
Several members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, as well as Vice President Mike Pence are meeting together for a weekly Bible study at the White House. CBN News reported that Trump’s cabinet has been called “the most evangelical”in the history of the country.
Regular attendees to the study include Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Pence — who described himself at the 2016 Republican National Convention as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order” — attends the study as often as his busy travel schedule permits.
The study is led by former NBA player Ralph Drollinger, who played for the UCLA Bruins under legendary coach John Wooden and became the first player in NCAA history to make it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament four times. The Bruins won the national championship in two of those years.
After his retirement from the NBA, Drollinger founded Capitol Ministries, which has launched Bible studies in 40 state capitols, as well as several foreign nations. Its mission is to evangelize and disciple public servants.The organization also leads weekly studies at the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Drollinger told CBN News that about a dozen members attend his weekly White House study.
“These are godly individuals that God has risen to a position of prominence in our culture,”he said. “It’s the best Bible study that I’ve ever taught in my life. They are so teachable; they’re so noble; they’re so learned.”
Drollinger said he believes the regular study is the first formal one in the White House in at least 100 years.
The Christian leader spoke highly of Pence, likening him to key Biblical leaders whom God raised up to the second-highest spot in government, including Joseph, Daniel and Mordecai.
“And I praise God for Mike Pence, who I think with Donald Trump chose great people to lead our nation,”Drollinger said.
Trump is invited to the study, and receives notes following each week’s meeting.
As reported by Western Journalism, Trump’s top spiritual adviser, Pastor Paula White, said that the president has “heart for God, a hunger for God.”
She added that Trump “has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve had in-depth conversations about God.”
A reverence for God and the Bible in Washington has strong precedent. The largest Protestant church congregation in the country used to meet at the U.S. Capitol in the 1800s. At its height, over 2,000 attended weekly, including members of Congress and the executive branch.
Thomas Jefferson was a regular attendee, both as vice president and president.
Gloating leftists are sharing this story for a much different reason than we are.
This verdict will be appealed, of course.
The illegal immigrants who were impacted by his policy, have ironically said they will feel vindicated when they see this Sheriff’s mugshot. People who are ILLEGAL aliens are insisting that the court order should be OBEYED by the Sheriff. That’s pretty rich. These illegal aliens refuse to comply with our laws, and that’s supposed to be ‘perfectly fine’. But somehow, THEY want the law to intervene against the Sheriff, for having applied the law to illegal aliens.
Dizzy yet?
Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was found guilty on Monday of criminal contempt for defying a judge’s court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
Arpaio, 85, was charged with misdemeanor contempt of court, declaring that he willfully defied a judge’s order in 2011 and prolonged his patrols for another 17 months, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
…Arpaio’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, contending their client’s legal fate should have been decided by a jury, not a judge. They also said U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton violated Arpaio’s rights by not reading the decision in court.
“Her verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case,” his lawyers said in a statement. “Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.” –FOX
You may remember when this same Sheriff fought against Obama’s Executive Orders concerning Immigration. We love that he was committed to enforcing the law, despite how our prissy 44th President overreached his authority.
The attorney representing Maricopa County’s controversy-prone Sheriff Joe Arpaio urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse a district judge’s December ruling and allow the case to proceed. Arpaio, known for his feisty, public battle against illegal immigration, is looking to reverse President Barack Obama’s executive orders allowing illegal immigrants who came as children to the U.S. or undocumented parents of legal residents to stay in the U.S.
Attorney Larry Klayman urged the three-judge panel Monday not to consider the case as a political dispute, but rather one about “whether the law is being enforced or not”— which both conservatives and liberal should support, he said. —CNN
Our Constitution and Rule of Law have to mean something, or they become useless for protecting our citizens.
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So here comes the failure by the Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare. Fat repeal, skinny repeal, straight repeal, repeal and replace, replace but don’t repeal, whatever it is, up in flames, up in smoke, and wouldn’t you know, Reuters has gone out and surveyed people in New York and Boston and LA, wherever, and found people that think Congress should move on.
“A majority of Americans are ready to move on from healthcare reform at this point after the U.S. Senate’s effort to dismantle Obamacare failed on Friday, according to an exclusive Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Saturday. Nearly two-thirds of the country wants to either keep or modify the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, and a majority of Americans want Congress to turn its attention to other priorities, the survey found.”
Now, here’s the next paragraph in the Reuters story: “Republicans have vowed to dismantle the Affordable Care Act since Democratic President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2010, and it appeared they finally had their chance when Republican President Donald Trump took office in January. But the law, which helped 20 million people obtain health insurance, has steadily grown more popular.”
Like hell it has. But here we go. Obamacare more popular than ever, Republicans hated and despised. And that may be, but not for the reasons the Reuters implies here. Obamacare hasn’t helped 20 million people obtain health insurance. And here’s another thing about this CBO score. I have intended to mention this the past couple or three days and just never got around to it.
The CBO score. We gotta get rid of the CBO. The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, is one of the primary obstacles to any legislation being passed, but particularly health care reform. You remember when the media and the Democrats were just breathlessly excited when they released the CBO numbers that repealing and replacing Obamacare would cause 22 million Americans to lose their health insurance? Do you know why that would happen? It was because repeal repealed the mandate that people had to buy it.
It wasn’t because the government was gonna come and take it away from you. It wasn’t because what you had was going to be canceled. It wasn’t because the insurance companies were then given permission to tell you to take a hike. It was simply the CBO statically, not dynamically, statically concluded that if you take away the mandate, the federal law requiring citizens to buy insurance, that 22 million people would lose their health insurance.
In other words, the CBO said that 22 million people would cancel their policy. Well, that’s not what they said. That’s the end result. That’s how it would have had to happen. Because nobody was gonna take anybody’s health insurance away, and nobody’s health insurance was gonna be canceled. And yet the CBO is out there screeching that 22 million people will lose their health insurance. “No, we can’t do that, that’s horrible, that’s inhumane, that’s no compassion.”
No, no. It was simply the CBO guessing that if people didn’t have to buy it, they wouldn’t. Which may make sense. How many people have bought this rigmarole simply because the law requires them to? How many people have actually engaged in this and gone and petered around inside one of these exchanges to come up with an Obamacare policy because they had to?
So the idea that removing the mandate requiring them to buy it is a good thing! It is a reinstallation, if you will, of the degree of liberty and freedom we had before Obamacare. Before Obamacare, you didn’t have to have it. Everybody wanted it, but you didn’t have to go buy it. No matter what it costs, you didn’t have to buy it. So the CBO says 22 million people will lose their health insurance. What a gross misstatement of what would actually happen. And of course with the absence of critical thinking being taught, nobody concluded the correct thing.
By the way, that’s a wild guess number. The CBO just assumed that people would lose — i.e., that’s the wrong word — CBO just assumed people would cancel their policies if they didn’t have to buy them. What does that tell you? Well, it tells me that somebody in Congress thinks a lot of people are buying health insurance that don’t want it, and the first chance they get they don’t have to buy it, they’ll get rid of it. Which is a good thing. And it ends up being portrayed as heartless and cruel and typically Republican, when in fact it was a good thing. And it didn’t have any relationship whatsoever to people’s health care or health insurance.
And yet that statistic, released the way it was, with the wording as it was, led to a lot of people not supporting it because they envisioned insurance companies canceling people, because, yes, that’s what insurance companies do. All companies would rather their customers get sick and die than have to cover them and pay for them. Big Tobacco wanted to kill the customer. Big Oil wants to destroy the planet. Big Pharmaceutical doesn’t want to cure disease. Big Coal, all they want to do is pollute the rivers. Big Box Retail, all they want to do is rip people off.
You take your pick. Whatever major industry we’re talking about, the Democrats have demonized ’em. And now the health insurance providers are such that if they don’t have to provide it, they won’t, when in fact it wasn’t about that at all. But back to the wording of this story. Obamacare did not and has not helped 20 million people obtain health insurance.
Now, Reuters writes this as though Obamacare provided a freebie. Obamacare provided an entitlement. Yes. Because people who couldn’t otherwise afford it because insurance companies are mean were given subsidies in order to be able to buy it because the law said they had to, but corporations are so mean that they price it out of people’s reach, and that means that Obama made it possible for people have it, which is a stack of coal.
You know how many people are on Obamacare right now? What is the number that you know? Pick a number. The number of Americans who are actually on Obamacare. I have a number here that is hard to believe. In fact, I ought not use this number because I don’t think it’s right, but it’s not far off. The number I have here is eight million people on Obamacare. That can’t be right.
But the point is, Obamacare is nowhere near covering everybody. It’s a giant myth that Obamacare came along and magically created health insurance opportunities for people that didn’t have it. And it’s also not true that the Republican repeal would take health care away from people who wanted it. So many lies and so many just straight distortions here. The majority of people who are on an Obamacare policy had insurance anyway before they signed up for Obamacare. And there are a few million more on Medicaid thanks to the Medicaid expansion. But the Medicaid expansion is not health insurance.
It’s also a lie that Obamacare has steadily become more popular. Nothing could be further from the truth. If that were true, more people would be signing up for Obamacare, but they aren’t.If that were true, the insurance companies would be lowering premiums because so many people would be signing up. If that were true, so many different state exchanges would have more than one provider.
If Obamacare were actually growing in popularity, we wouldn’t be reading stories that it’s about to implode — and it is — and is going to leave several people without even an exchange to go buy a policy. The enrollee number has been stuck at eight million since 2014. In fact, the number of people who have signed up is almost a third of what this CBO assured us would have signed up by now.
The CBO predicted 22 million people would sign up for Obamacare by this time, since 2010. The number here is eight million, fewer than eight million. What are we talking about? That’s another thing about Obamacare that was always crazy from the beginning. If it was really about providing insurance for those who didn’t have it — that number is anywhere from eight to 12, and at the top 30 (at the very top 25, 30) million who didn’t have it. Obamacare didn’t fix that, didn’t address that because that’s not what Obamacare was about.
Look, I don’t want to re-litigate all this like we did starting in 2010, 2009 when it was being debated. But I’m telling you: There is so much disinformation out there about this that the Republican Party itself has fallen prey to it. The idea it’s growing more popular, that Americans want Congress to move on from it? Both of those things are not true. Here’s a little cross-tab from the poll that I do not believe:
“Among Republicans, 75% said that they would like their party’s leaders to repeal and replace Obamacare at some point, though most listed other issues that would give a higher priority right now. When asked what they think Congress should do next, most Americans picked tax reform and then foreign relations and then infrastructure. Only 29% said they wanted the Republicans in Congress to continue working on a new health care bill.”Republicans. That’s what the poll says. I don’t believe it. But I could be wrong. And if it is true that only 29% want a new bill, it’s because their frustrated and don’t think the Republican Party can get it done anyway.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Yesterday… I don’t think I’ve got the audio on this. Doesn’t matter. Jake Tapper yesterday had Bernie Sanders on, and they were discussing single payer. It failed in Vermont. The governor of Vermont tried single payer. It failed, wouldn’t work, and didn’t have the money, and Jake Tapper was interrogating Crazy Bernie about this. “If Even ‘Cobalt-Blue States’ Can’t Make Single Payer Work,” then why in the world does anybody think it’ll work in Washington or anywhere else?
Crazy Bernie did not have an answer when asked why it didn’t work in Vermont. The governor there, Peter Shumlin, did declare the debate over after getting estimates of the projected costs of socialized medicine in California. In California, the state assembly declared that they were gonna go single payer. The California state budget every year is $180 billion. Single payer for California alone would cost $200 to $300 billion, in addition to everything else the state’s already spending. The state budget without it is $180 billion. Single payer: $200 billion, minimum. And you know how they said they were gonna finance it?
A 15% increase in the payroll tax!
Which wouldn’t even get close ’cause people are not gonna sit there and stand for that. Single payer may be the issue where everybody suddenly realizes Washington can’t do it. There isn’t the money for it! What is it we’re $20 trillion in debt? We really, theoretically… Folks, we don’t have the money to do anything with that kind of debt, and yet there doesn’t seem to be any limit on spending, except when something’s this outrageous. The states can’t print money, so there’s no way they can do it. So these states acting as little, miniature laboratories for these great national ideas? It’ll cost $200 billion when a state budget is already $180 billion.
Let me grab a call in before we wrap up the hour. I want to start with Anna in Phoenix. Welcome. It’s great to have you here. How are you?
CALLER: Oh, fine. How are you, Rush?
RUSH: Very good. Very good. Thank you.
CALLER: Okay. You said be brief; I’m gonna be brief. My husband and I were talking about what happened with President Trump saying that he’s thinking about pulling funding for the congressman and senators’ own health care. My husband said, “That probably will not make any dent at all with them. What they care about is getting reelected.” So he said, “What he should do is go out and rally in each of the states where these senators are holding him up and rally to recall them. Do a recall for them, because they’re not doing the job.” What do you think?
RUSH: Well, I don’t know specifically about recall. But I do know that people are seething, and that’s why this Reuters poll of people saying, “Move on! We’re tired of it. Move on to tax reform”? That’s a crock. Now, you say that your husband says that removing the funding for members of Congress and Obamacare would not bother them because all they care about is being reelected. I am here to tell you:
What they did in voting down the repeal and replace of Obamacare tells me they’re not afraid of the voters at all. The voters, of course, is how they get reelected. Now, McCain obviously is not gonna run again. Many of the senators just got elected, so they’re not gonna face voters for six years. A third of the Senate is up in 2018; another third’s up in 2020. But it’s clear — and I have, I think, succinctly and brilliantly made this point on prior broadcasts — that the senators are afraid of something.
But it’s not you. It’s not the voters. They’re certainly afraid of somebody — or else they despise somebody — but they’re not afraid. You know, Ted Cruz said the thing that he discovered that was the most… I mean, he knew it, but to see it in action every day? It blew his mind that the single, dominating thing in every day of a senator’s life is getting reelected, which means fundraising. That’s number one, first and foremost.
Okay, if that’s true, then how do you explain so many Republicans saying “no” on Obamacare? And the Democrats, too. There are a lot of Democrats coming up in ’18 that should be vulnerable because they come from states that went very strong for Trump. And I’m thinking they’re living under the illusion everybody hates Trump, and so they don’t need to worry about that anymore. But they’re not worried about reelection on this. Taking them off Obamacare? Believe me, they tried to except themselves from what they were doing.
That does matter to them.
It’s the craziest thing.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Investor’s Business Daily, an op-ed: “Murkowski and McCain Saved Obamacare Just Months After Promising Voters They Would Repeal It.” It may be standard-operating issue now, but I still don’t think people can hear this enough. “Whatever your views on Obamacare, the simple fact is that the GOP Senate voted to repeal Obamacare in December 2015, knowing full well that President Obama would veto the bill. That vote was [purposefully] conveniently timed to give Republican lawmakers the ability to go back to their states and proclaim that they had tried to repeal Obamacare, but were thwarted by a Democratic president. …
“Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, for example, wrote multiple op-eds for her hometown papers decrying what Obamacare had done to her state, and vowing to repeal it, in the run-up to her 2016 re-election. In one [op-ed,] she wrote that ‘the Affordable Care Act has unfortunately become one of the most ironically named pieces of legislation for Alaska in history.’” Lisa Murkowski was one of all these Republicans voted in December of 2015.
For those of you in Rio Linda, it means the next month is 2016, which is an election year. They wanted to be on record as close to an election year as possible that they had sent a vote to repeal Obamacare up to Obama. Damn it, they repealed it. But that’s what you get with a Democrat in the White House. You give us a Republican in the White House and we’ll repeal it. She tells everybody how it’s not affordable. It’s not this and that. It’s not anything it purports to be, and she lays claim to no doubt that she opposes it.
“In a floor speech in May 2016, she claimed that ‘I have consistently supported full repeal of [Obamacare] and have voted to do so on several occasions. I have recognized that it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to do so with [the Obama] administration.’ She voted for the repeal bill in 2015.” She voted for the repeal bill in 2015 — which, again, was timed purposely to give these people an example to say in their election, “I just voted! I just voted to repeal it. You give us the presidency, and it’s over with.”
Folks, this betrayal ranks right up there with every betrayal that we’ve had. This is in the top five all time political betrayals, the Republicans in the Senate on this. “But this week, Murkowski voted against every single version of Obamacare repeal.” She voted against repeal and replace. She voted against straight up-and-down repeal. She voted against “skinny” repeal. She would have voted against fat repeal if somebody would have come up with that. Yes, she did! She voted against skinny repeal that would have only ditched the individual and employer mandates and suspended the tax on medical devices.
She couldn’t even vote for that. The CBO gave her cover, don’t you know? She said, “I did not come here to inflict pain on people.”What’s that, inflicting people on people? “Well, the CBO said that 22 million lovable Americans will lose their health insurance if…” No. No. Yeah, they said it, but that’s a great big misdirection. The truth is 22 million people may not all lose their health insurance. It was simply the way the CBO chose to portray what they thought would happen if the mandate were done away with.
It’s interesting to me that (chuckles) the Congressional Budget Office thinks if the mandate were taken away, everybody who bought Obamacare would cancel it. What does that say about it? But they chose to portray it as the government’s gonna take it away from you, or your insurance companies are not gonna ensure you. Lisa Murkowski knew better. She knew what it meant. She knew that simply repealing the personal mandate, the employer mandates — simply removing the requirement that you have insurance — doesn’t mean people lose it.
It means they have their freedom back! That’s right. “She even voted against a ‘skinny’ repeal that would have only ditched the law’s individual and employer mandates and suspended the tax on medical devices [like dildos] — a tax that is so harmful to that industry that even uber-liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants it repealed.” (interruption) What, you didn’t think that’s a medical device? (scoffs) , you go… (interruption) You go talk to… (interruption) Well, it certainly is. (interruption) In the right hands?
“Murkowski was joined by Sen. John McCain, who ended up being the decisive vote killing the skinny repeal bill…” By the way, you don’t think that was accidental, do you? You don’t think they waited and gave McCain the last vote accidentally, do you? “Just a year before saving Obamacare, however, McCain was vigorously attacking the law to win a tough reelection campaign. As Politico put it in a June 2016 article: ‘In fight of his political life, McCain hammers Obamacare[.]’
“One of his 2016 campaign ads said ‘Obamacare is failing Arizonans’ and that ‘John McCain is leading the fight to stop Obamacare.’Last February McCain introduced a bill to ‘fully’ repeal Obamacare and replace it with a ‘free-market approach that strengthens the quality and accessibility of care.’” But McCain was running for reelection then, and so he was having to say things that he knew his constituents wanted to hear. He wasn’t saying things he actually intended to do, obviously. Just like all the Republicans of his ilk.
Once elected, he sang a completely different tune. There’s a YouTube of McCain’s promises. He explains why Obamacare must be repealed and replaced. It was during the 2016 campaign. McCain said in a YouTube video: “For the first time in history a major entitlement reform was rammed through the Congress without a single vote from the other side. I fought for weeks and weeks and weeks against Obamacare. They would not allow us an amendment. There was not a single amendment allowed. No input from the minority party.
“We were the minority party. Now Congresswoman Kirkpatrick” his opponent “wants to sit down and work together. Well, here’s how we work together: We repeal and we replace it.”That’s McCain in a YouTube video last year. “McCain went on to argue that the majority of the American people have ‘resoundingly rejected Obamacare.’ One of the debate moderators asked McCain if it was possible for Congress to try to improve Obamacare rather than to try to repeal it. McCain rejected the idea that it could be fixed and that the only solution is to repeal Obamacare.” This is last year!
This is the very same McCain that happily gave a thumbs down last week. Folks, it is sad to have to observe, but John McCain just proved that everything his harsh critics have ever said about him is likely true, and we know why. We know exactly why. Some people might even claim they understand it. Trump, in one of his early statements after having announced his intention to seek the Republican presidential nomination, when asked about Senator McCain, said he didn’t have a whole life respect for him ’cause he got captured.
Trump says he has more respect for military people that don’t get captured. (sigh) Well, think what you will of that. But you cannot think what you will of that without recognizing the importance of that story to McCain’s political biography. It is crucial to McCain’s biography. Everybody knows it — that’s how crucial it’s been — that McCain was captured after being shot down, that when the Vietcong found out who he was (i.e., the son of a famous Navy admiral), they offered him release and how McCain said no.
He was not going to take early release unless his fellow prisoners would be released — and of course, they weren’t; so McCain wasn’t. That story has been part of McCain’s political biography. Here came Trump inside of two sentences blowing it smithereens. McCain, I just know — as I say, I’m sure many of you can even understand, maybe even agree — has been waiting for the right moment to stick it back to Trump and chose to do it last Thursday as the last vote, thumbs down, killing Obamacare repeal.
So let’s not hear about all this statesmanship stuff. Let’s not hear about all that. That’s maybe applicable to some. Even John Fund at National Review: “Mr. McCain Goes to Washington.” Just let me give some pull quotes from this piece. “McCain’s vote against advancing Obamacare reform represents a complete reversal of the position he won his Senate election with last year. John Merline of Investor’s Business Daily notes that ‘In the private sector, promising one thing and delivering the other could be referred to as “deceptive trade practice.”
“‘For some members of Congress, it’s just another day at the office.’ … Journalists [i.e. the media] rushed to gush over [McCain’s] vote, cast only a few days after a surgery to remove a dangerous brain tumor. The New Yorker’s take was typical: ‘Throughout his political life, John McCain has for many reasons enjoyed bipartisan respect and even reverence: his independence of mind (usually), his candor (usually), his decency, his love of country,’” and all of this is said of John McCain because he regularly betrays his own party.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) fought tooth and nail to repeal Obamacare, but sadly, his hard work was all for naught. In the wake of the Senate failure to repeal the terrible healthcare law Cruz spoke with the media and said what every conservative in America was already thinking…
The GOP had betrayed the American people.
Of course, speaking that truth was the easy part. Now, the GOP has to figure out how to move forward and get voters to still believe their promises.
Here’s what Cruz had to say and you’ll notice that when given the chance to take a shot at his old foe, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Cruz demurs and says that the voters will have to deal with him as they see fit.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX): The losers tonight are the millions of Americans who’ve been hurt under Obamacare. The millions of Americans that have lost their jobs, who have been forced into part-time work, forced into working 28 to 29 hours a week. Millions of Americans have had their health care coverage canceled, who have lost their doctors, who’ve seen their premiums skyrocket.
The 6.5 million Americans each year who are fined by the IRS because they don’t make enough money to afford health insurance. So not only do they get health insurance, but they get a fine from the IRS and 80% of them are earning $50,000 a year or less. Nearly half are earning $25,000 or less. It’s the single moms, the truck drivers, it’s the steel workers, it’s the working men and women who are left behind tonight. That’s unfortunate.
And there are going to be a great many Americans who tonight feel a sense of betrayal. Feel a sense of betrayal that politicians stood up and made a promise.
I tell you this, if you stand up and campaign and say, we’re going to repeal Obamacare and you vote for Obamacare, those are not consistent. And the American people are entirely justified in saying, any politician who told me that and voted the other way, didn’t tell me the truth. They lied to me.
But I will say also the democratic process is a long process. In the next 24 hours, in the next week, Democrats will crow exaltedly. They’ll claim total victory for a collapsing and failing law that is Obamacare.
And the media will write story after story about how Obamacare will remain, even though it is failing and hurting millions of Americans. But after all of the chest-beating, after all of the proud victory laps of the left, I believe this Congress will come back and in time, we will honor our promises.
You know, Senators are going to go home the next few weeks. They’re going to go home to their states. And they’re going to face their constituents. They’re going to have hard questions of people who look them in the eyes and say, ‘Why did you lie to me?’
And by the way, it’s not just the Senators who voted no. The Senators who voted yes are going to be asked, ‘Why did you lie to me?’ Because the voters are not going to distinguish. They will say, you guys promised to do this and you failed.
I understand the frustration and anger of the American people. And I think the frustration and anger will be heard by members of the Senate.
I believe we’ll come back after all of the victory laps by the Democrats, all of the media exultations, I believe we will come back and we will honor our promise.
[…]
And by the way, when your premiums go up next year, the Democrats are happy for you to pay more year, after year, after year when you are struggling to provide for your family. That’s not right. The five years I have served in the Senate, there is no issue I have fought harder on and devoted more time to then stopping the disaster that is Obamacare.
Mark my words, I am committed to this fight.
As long as there is breath in my body, I will be fighting for the working men and women of this country that have been hurt by Obamacare, and I believe it will be repealed. No party can remain in power by lying to the American people. And I hope and pray that our party doesn’t try to do that…
Reporter: Senator, did John McCain lie to the American people when he campaigned on repealing Obamacare last year and then took this vote today. (Editor’s note: McCain voted against the ‘skinny’ repeal late Thursday night/Friday morning)
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX): You know, that is a judgment the voters of every state will have to make. For each and every individual politician. I think what we should do is do what we said we would do. If you are a Democrat, and you campaigned on keeping Obamacare, okay fine. Then the voters can expect you to do that. But if you campaigned on repealing it, then the voters should expect that you will keep your word.
I think Republicans should keep our word, and I think we can. Despite unfortunate nights, I believe we can and will honor our promise to repeal Obamacare. Tonight, I’m filled with optimism. Despite a setback, truth matters. The truth is, Obamacare isn’t working. It is hurting millions of Americans, and the people who are getting hurt by Obamacare, it is the biggest job killer, it’s hurting small businesses, it’s hurting working men and women.
The people are hurt by Obamacare, you are being heard, and I believe we will in time honor our promise. And I give my word I will devote every waking moment I have to urge my colleagues let’s tell the truth and let’s simply do what we did — lower premiums and make health insurance more affordable for everyone. Recognize that Obamacare is a dismal failure that is hurting millions of Americans.
Funny thing, McCain gets more respect from the media and from his colleagues than Cruz does… but Cruz hasn’t ever made a promise to his constituents and then done the exact opposite when it came time to vote on the issue.
For all of the negative press Cruz gets for his hard-line stance, at least we know how he’s going to vote and we can trust him when he says he’ll vote a certain way.
Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Romulus Marketing. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska during Flight Test THAAD (FTT)-18 in Kodiak, Alaska, U.S., July 11, 2017. During the test, the THAAD weapon system successfully intercepted an air-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) target. Leah Garton/Missile Defense Agency/Handout via REUTERS
The Department of Defense has released video footage of Sunday’s test of a U.S. missile defense system.
The U.S. military conducted a test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system Sunday. A THAAD battery located at the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska, detected, tracked, and intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile air-launched from a U.S. Air Force C-17 over the Pacific Ocean. Sunday’s test was the second successful test of the THAAD anti-missile system this month.
The U.S. began deploying THAAD in South Korea in March after North Korea launched a salvo of Scud missiles into the East Sea/Sea of Japan. The new South Korean government, after a period of initial hesitation and concern, is requesting additional THAAD batteries as the threat from its nuclear neighbor grows.
The THAAD system in South Korea is operational and has achieved initial intercept capability.
WATCH:
THAAD is not designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles, like the one North Korea tested for the second time Friday, but it is an excellent defensive tool when it comes to short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In recent months, the North has successfully tested a precision Scud, the Pukguksong-2 (KN-15) MRBM, and the Hwasong-12 IRBM, all of which are new weapons systems rolled out this year. North Korea can use these missiles against its neighbors, specifically South Korea and Japan.
Japan has also expressed an interest in the THAAD anti-missile system, which has a perfect test record but has never been tested in actual combat.
“Everyone says after an attack how we can’t change our behaviour or “they win”. Well, we HAVE changed our behaviour, in extreme ways (when it comes to security), so guess what, idiots, THEY HAVE WON. Congratulations.”
A.F. Branco Cartoon Featured in the Book “The Big Lie”
I’m very honored that Dinesh D’Souza ask me to draw a cartoon to be featured in his new book titled “The Big Lie”. A book that exposes the Nazi roots of the American left.
President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Republicans that if they did not pass healthcare reform soon, he could end the employer contribution for their healthcare coverage.
He went further to suggest the end result would be an end to insurance bailouts as well as “bailouts for Congress” come election day.
“After seven years of ‘talking’ Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare!” Trump tweeted. “If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!”
The latest attempt by senators collapsed when they failed to reach a threshold to pass a “skinny” repeal bill early Friday morning that would have ended the individual mandate requiring Americans to purchase insurance or pay a fine. It would also have suspended through 2026 the requirement that businesses provide insurance for their workers.
Earlier in the week another bill met with defeat in the Senate that would have repealed the healthcare law.
Republican lawmakers have been conflicted over how exactly to change the nation’s healthcare system after many of them were elected to office on the platform of repealing and replacing Obamacare. Democratic lawmakers have been steadfast in opposition to changing any of the legislation enacted under former President Barack Obama.
Regardless of the stance of congressional lawmakers, the healthcare law has frayed edges as some Americans are forced to pay exorbitant rates in order to have health insurance, while the burden of funding has not diminished to subsidize those who qualify. Some are left without a choice or only one choice at all and CNBC predicts health insurers will likely pull out completely from 49 counties in the nation in 2018.
The New York Times on Saturday explained the effect the president is already exerting on Obamacare, and maintained his primary options for impacting the healthcare system fell into three main arenas. While opponents could cheer the fact that Trump is making cracks to break the healthcare law apart, supporters decry any chinks into the Obamacare armor.
Trump is undermining Obamacare with weakened enforcement of the individual mandate, the Times argued, saying, “the Internal Revenue Service has said it will continue accepting tax returns that do not say whether a filer has been uninsured.”
This could pave the way for more exceptions by the White House in the future, as well as signaling “publicly that it does not care about the mandate, which may cause people to be less likely to sign up, even if they later get hit with a tax penalty.”
A second effect the Trump administration could have would be to impose work requirement for Medicaid recipients. While the president cannot prevent states from expanding Medicaid, the article explained he could “allow states that apply to impose work requirements or charge premiums for more Medicaid beneficiaries, through a process that lets the government waive the normal Medicaid rules.”
To do so could cause many poor Americans to not have access to the system due to its cost. GOP lawmakers have worked to rein in federal spending on Medicaid expansion — attempts which may have caused many states to end it entirely.
The Trump administration has backed off outreach promoting Obamacare unlike Obama’s White House. Without promotion, citizens may not be aware of healthcare coverage options, The Times maintained.
Once Trump was inaugurated, the White House within days pulled ads and outreach that encouraged people’s participation. If the result has been lower numbers signing up for Obamacare, prices for insurance will like rise.
Trump met the latest GOP failure to pass a bill aimed at solving the growing issues and burdens of paying for Obamacare by chiding lawmakers, saying on Friday he would “let Obamacare implode“because of their failure to find a solution to the issue that has garnered passion by those who want government to control the healthcare system and those who want to abolish government health insurance control.
Well, at least you will know who to blame when your premiums, deductibles, and co-pays keep climbing to outer space faster than an Elon Musk rocket: Sen. John McCain. Early Friday morning, Sen. McCain singlehandedly extinguished the last flickering hope of repealing the monstrosity that is ObamaCare by casting the deciding vote against the final repeal proposal, the so-called “skinny repeal.”As Politico put it, McCain went from being repeal’s savior to its executioner in a matter of days.
The words that should come to every American’s lips every time they read another story about the catastrophe of ObamaCare are these: “Thank you, John McCain.”
I have never been a fan of term limits – limiting terms is what elections are for – but Sen. McCain may have just changed my mind. He’s virtually a one-man argument for strict term limits.
I predicted at the beginning of this whole farce that at the end of the day we were going to be stuck with ObamaCare with all its colossal bloat and misbegotten mandates for one simple reason: too many Republican lawmakers have virtually no conservative convictions or principles. And if they do have them, they are well-hidden and the first thing thrown overboard when the New York Times starts yammering at them.
The only path back to sanity on health care is through the free market.ObamaCare needs to be repealed root and branch because it is an exercise in government-run, government-controlled health care, which is just a form of fascism.Literally. Fascism is, by definition, a system in which you are allowed to own your own business but the government tells you how to run it. We went to war in 1941 to stop that kind of foolishness from turning Europe into the dark continent.
The alternative to fascism, or socialism, or communism, or whatever you want to call it, is giving health insurers the freedom to develop any kind of insurance plans they think the American people want to buy, and giving the American people the freedom to choose the ones they want. There is no need for government to be involved in those decisions in any fashion. For our government to make these choices for us is an insult to the American people, and is a way of treating its own citizens as infants who are incapable of thinking and choosing for themselves.
The only proper role for government in health insurance is to enforce the sanctity of the contract. A health insurance policy is a contract between the insurer and the insured. If an insurer fails to fulfill his end of the contract by providing the services promised in the contract, the insurer can and should be sued in the interests of justice, and civil government should hold them strictly accountable. But that’s it. In fact, enforcing contracts should be the only role of government anywhere in a free economy.
If ObamaCare were to be repealed tomorrow, as it should be, and wasn’t replaced by anything, virtually overnight health insurance companies, because they want to stay in business and make money, would be competing with each other in a mad dash to offer a veritable cornucopia of health plans. You can make bank that these plans would include low-premium, high-deductible, catastrophic policies which would provide inexpensive and entirely affordable protection for ordinary Americans against the cost of major medical events. The Cruz amendment would have created this kind of market, but alas it was strangled in the cradle by Republicans and dumped in the Swamp.
Under a free-market plan, employers could make these plans available to their employees at a fraction of the current cost of health insurance. The employers would then be able to take what they save in premiums and contribute it to health savings accounts owned by their employees, which would rapidly enable their employees to accumulate enough to satisfy the deductible and to take care of ordinary medical expenses along the way.
The competition across state lines would be fierce, as insurance companies, without the promise of gargantuan, taxpayer-funded bailouts, would compete with each other for your insurance dollar. Health insurance companies would have to step up their game to earn business, rather than counting on the heavy hand of government to drive business into their nets by ordering every citizen to buy their product.
But thanks to John McCain, the opportunity to create that kind of marketplace is gone, perhaps for good, until our entire health care system collapses in on itself like a burning building.
Perhaps showing his true colors, before the final vote was called McCain literally walked across the aisle and engaged in a hug-fest with Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein and a gaggle of Democrats. In fact, McCain told his best buddies on the left that he wanted to stick a fork in the whole repeal effort: “Let’s get this over with,”he told them, before walking theatrically to the well of the Senate and delivering a dramatic thumbs-down, a gesture worthy of any Roman emperor in the Coliseum.
Democrat Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said, “I was trying not to jump up and down and smile.”Video showed Sen. Schumer exuberantly pumping his fist in celebration, just what we hoped to see when we gave Republicans the House, the Senate, and the Oval Office.
The choice last night for John McCain was between government and the American people. Sen. McCain chose poorly. And it is the American people who will suffer.
This evening Circa has a HUGE breaking story that could have a huge impact on the ongoing work of several investigations.
It seems that the Justice Department may be zeroing in on FBI General Counsel James Baker for allegedly leaking classified national security information to the media.
Multiple government officials have confirmed the story with Circa, though all have done so on the condition of anonymity.
Baker is a confidante and close friend of the recently fired FBI Director James Comey, and is thought to have been quietly advising Comey on his dealings with President Trump.
FBI spokeswoman Carol Cratty said the bureau would not comment on Baker and would not confirm or deny any investigation.
This comes as Department of Justice Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he would soon be making an announcement regarding the progress of leak investigations.
A DOJ official declined to comment on Circa’s inquiry into Baker but did say, the planned announcement by Sessions is part of the overall “stepped up efforts on leak investigations.”
Three sources, with knowledge of the investigation, told Circa that Baker is the top suspect in an ongoing leak investigation, but Circa has not been able to confirm the details of what national security information or material was allegedly leaked.
A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of ongoing internal investigations in the bureau told Circa, “the bureau is scouring for leakers and there’s been a lot of investigations.”
The revelation comes as the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to contain leaks both within the White House and within its own national security apparatus.
Baker was named to his current job by his buddy Comey, but he has had a long and distinguished career working with our intelligence agencies so it’s sad to see his career likely coming to such an ignominious end.
(Though it’s hard to feel bad for anyone who was helping Comey undermine President Trump.)
Journalist Sara Carter explained what it all means on Fox News Thursday evening:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Onan Coca
Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Romulus Marketing. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.
House Republicans want a new special counsel to investigate members of the Obama administration.
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former FBI Director James Comey, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Heavy reports.
“We are writing to you to request assistance in restoring public confidence in our nation’s justice system and its investigators, specifically the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” the letter says. “We need to enable these agencies to perform their necessary and important law enforcement and intelligence functions fully unhindered by politics.”
Republicans expressed that they are not confident that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the full scope of matters related to the 2016 election, especially those pertaining to interference in the election conducted by members of the Obama administration.
“The unbalanced, uncertain, and seemingly unlimited focus of the special counsel’s investigation has led many of our constituents to see a dual standard of justice that benefits only the powerful and politically well-connected,”the letter states.
Among the evidence of untoward behavior by the Obama administration Republicans cited was Mr. Comey’s sworn testimony before Congress that Loretta Lynch instructed him to refer to the FBI’s criminal probe into Hillary Clinton as a “matter” rather than an “investigation.” Additional reports of Comey’s closed-door testimony before Congress go further than the public record, suggesting that Lynch told Comey to get out of her office after he confronted her privately with evidence that suggested she had agreed “to put the kibosh on any prosecution of Clinton.”
Comey’s own decision to close the investigation into Secretary Clinton shortly after that meeting has also caused suspicion of misconduct.
Conservative Review Editor-in-Chief Mark Levin has previously called for former FBI Director Comey to be investigated. Earlier this month, The Hill reported that over half of Comey’s private memos on conversations he had with President Trump contained classified information. If that report is true, Comey had the same disregard for classified information as Hillary Clinton, whom he was criminally investigating for before declaring that he would not indict Clinton.
“It’s absolutely contemptible,”Levin said of Comey’s behavior, declaring that Comey “must be subjected to an investigation.”
This letter by House Republicans is just the first step in what must be a comprehensive investigation of the Obama administration’s actions during the 2016 election.
Chris Pandolfo is a staff writer and type-shouter for Conservative Review. He holds a B.A. in politics and economics from Hillsdale College. His interests are conservative political philosophy, the American founding, and progressive rock. Follow him on Twitter for doom-saying and great album recommendations @ChrisCPandolfo.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Galatians 5:17
A Native American elder told his grandson about two wolves who live in every heart. One is Evil—anger, jealousy, pride—and the other is Good—joy, love, peace, humility. The grandson asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The elder replied, “The one you feed.”
While not exactly a biblical illustration, it makes an important point: There is a battle raging in the heart of the Christian. As the apostle Paul put it, the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. Becoming a Christian does not mean the flesh—our sinful human nature—is eradicated. Instead, we have been given power by the Spirit to overcome the flesh and conquer it. But the battle will not cease until we have been glorified in the presence of Christ in our new, resurrection body. The more we feed the Spirit by faith in Christ—by obedience, prayer, Bible study, worship, and holy living—the weaker the flesh becomes.
Don’t be discouraged if you cannot escape the struggle within. Instead, feed the Spirit! Give the Spirit complete access and lordship over your life.
The flesh ever seeks to be glorified before it is crucified. Martin Luther
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God has built into each one of us a desire to venture beyond what we can see.
Faith and high stakes gambling
July 28
…Your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
-I CORINTHIANS 2:5
I’m for gambling! If that offends you, please keep reading. I believe that risk-taking is part of the fabric of life, and that God has built into each one of us a desire to venture beyond what we can see. But there is gambling…and there is gambling. There is the kind of high stakes gamble of a God who would wager His only Son for a lost, dying world….and there is what I call “foot of the cross” gambling: the simple, petty gaming of the men who cast lots for the robe of the crucified Christ. Martin Luther, meditating on the mighty grace of God said, “If you are going to sin, sin big.” I would say if you are going to gamble, risk it all. I know that to call faith in Christ a gamble will offend some.
The Gospel itself was, is, and always will be scandalous. It offends the self-righteous man the most. It is true that placing our faith in Christ is “gambling” on a sure thing—that is, the power of God to save us…but it is a power we cannot be completely sure of until we have put our full weight down on it. The philosopher Pascal proposed a skeptic’s wager that went something like this: If God is the true God, and able to save us, why not place our faith in Him to do so? If we are right, we have gained everything. If we are wrong, we have lost nothing! What kind of gambler are you? Have you wagered everything on the power of God to save you by placing your faith in His Son Jesus Christ? Or are you holding your cards “close to the vest,” carefully watching and speculating and waiting for a more opportune time to risk it all? Don’t waste time on the small-time, “foot of the cross” gambling that goes on everywhere, every day. Step into the big time, and say “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and I am placing my faith in Him and never looking back.” Is it a risk worth taking? You bet!
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Much to the consternation of LGBT advocates and the liberal media, President Donald Trump did away with a rather progressive rule regarding transgenderism imposed on the militaryby former President Barack Obama, and Trump did it, of course, via Twitter. In the Twitter post,Trump announced that, henceforth, transgender individuals would no longer be permitted to serve in the U.S. military “in any capacity,” which of course sparked massive outrage among his ideological opponents.
But theIndependent Journal Reviewfigured that, since this ban on transgender people in the military will pretty much only affect the military, maybe we should see what actual members of the military think about it instead of asking political advocates and talking heads in the liberal media. It was an eye-opening move.
“Only two things matter: Survivability and lethality,”stated Army Sgt. Darian Browning, who served in the 82nd Airborne. “Anything other than that is a distraction. We have budget problems, also, already.
“The stated purpose of the Army is to ‘fight and win the Nation’s land wars,’” added Browning. “Any decisions or budget fixes should be centered around that and that alone.”
“The military is a machine that doesn’t breakdown for politics,”said Marine Sgt. Sean Conner, Iraq veteran andMARSOC Raider. “I can assure you that the reasoning for this decision is for the benefit of the whole system.”
“Considering less than 1 percent identify as transgender in the military, it would be a major burden, and the cost benefit analysis would be in the favor of not allowing this policy to go through,”Conner continued. “The amount of change, cost and redirection would not outweigh the very small pros, if any.”
“The military had it right before with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, or else things get complicated real quick,” he added. “The rules were there before Trump came around and for good reason. I empathize if they want to serve, but just do it without having to announce your sexual orientation — it’s pretty simple.”
Connor also noted that service members undergoing hormone therapy or sex-change operations are not permitted to work full duty or be deployed, sometimes up to two years, essentially rendering them a waste of time, training, resources and taxpayer money.
Marine Staff Sgt. Josh Ghering, a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq and a former drill instructor, seemed to agree with that last bit pointed out by Conner about transitioning troops being removed from the routine all others must endure.
“We need to be focused on how to improve our warfighting ability, period,”he said.
“If transgendered individuals are being taken out for these procedures and treatments, they are not being trained properly,”he continued. “Before we go to war, we train for over a year on ranges and with regimen after regimen. So then we take these individuals out of training to get their surgery. But what good are they if we are over in a war zone and they aren’t able to contribute to the fight because they’re going through therapy or recovering from said surgery?”
He added that “the military is not a social experiment. Its objective is to fight wars. That’s where its sole focus should be.”
“I believe that the infantry and combat arms should stay male. (male: being born with male genitalia),”stated wounded Iraq veteran and Army Sgt. Jay Strobino. “In the military, your roles, positions and tasks are very clear and outlined. And I have nothing against transgendered people or homosexuals, but it’ll start confusing those roles.”
“It’s not the ability so much of the individual, because yes there are plenty of females that can out lift me, out run me and so on,”explained Strobino. “But it’s a lower average as a whole, just due to body limitations. And you can’t have two sets of standards for the same group. It just won’t work.”
Strobino asserted that lowering standards to accommodate those with lesser abilities would be worse than having two sets of standards.
“If you’re under the standard then you either train and improve, or you’re not in combat arms,”he said. “There’s no middle ground.”
However, while most of those questioned by the Independent Journal Review supported the policy change in principle, there was at least one who disagreed with it and another who generally supported the idea, but questioned the manner in which it was rolled out.
“I don’t like that he just ran with it. He should have had a policy ready to go and Mattis should have rolled it out,”stated Army sniper Gregory Diacogiannis, an Iraq War veteran.
“The military is here to destroy the enemy. It’s not a social experiment. We shouldn’t be using the military as a petri dish to push progressive ideas,”he continued. “They are a killing machine. People are denied service for all kinds of reasons. Why should we treat people with gender dysphoria differently?”
Diacogiannis maintained that such individuals are in need of help and the military is not the place for them to receive such help, nor would it help the military, and noted that treating people differently or having differing sets of standards would be detrimental to overall morale.
“You will ‘other’ them because they will become a protected class. In combat everyone is equal, it doesn’t matter if you are black, white, gay, straight, man, or woman,”he explained. “But if you let other people live by a different standard you crush morale. Also, we are talking about 0.1 percent of the population not being able to serve.”
Finally, the lone voice of disagreement found by IJR was Afghanistan veteran and Army Ranger Zac Oja, who stated, “I’m curious to see how this will be implemented. Will the openly transgendered individuals currently serving be forced out of the military? Will they be forced to ‘identify’ with what their birth certificate says for gender?
“This, in my opinion, is going to do nothing markedly positive but will open the flood gate to the left for open dissent against this new policy,”he added.
Oja suggested that more time should have been given for further study of the costs/benefits of transgender service members openly serving in the military, in order to gain a better overall understanding of the matter.
“I will say that I have heard nothing but good things from dear friends that have served with openly transgender soldiers,”added Oja.
The media most likely want nothing more than a division’s worth of soldiers vehemently castigating the president and calling this latest policy shift nothing short of horrible, but that is not what they are going to find, at least not with this batch of troops.
To be sure, there will be a handful like Oja who may disagree with the premise, or others, like Diacogiannis who disliked the manner in which it was introduced, but by and large, most members of the military are sure to be at least quietly supportive of the change. They know that the military is not the realm for progressive social engineering and tinkering, but instead is supposed to be a finely tuned killing machine that wastes no time or energy on anything else.
As soon as the story broke about the Somali cop fatally shooting the pretty white Australian girl in Minneapolis, one of my Muslim fans emailed me a story:
“Re: Hunting in Kuwait as explanation why this Noor guy shot through the car
“I remember being in Kuwait with the president of the investment bank I worked for. We were invited by one of our directors to hunt turtle doves. There were five of us in all and each had a 12-gauge shotgun.
“Instructions were: Only shoot straight and up; shotgun point in air resting on shoulders when not being used. That’s it. I was on the far left, and the fellow on the other end was a Syrian.
“Well, we were out there and no straggling turtle doves were migrating. A half-hour later, not one shot was fired. Then, two birds from a tree ahead darted out, between me and the houses on my left.
“We all looked, but the Syrian turned toward us and began shooting over our heads at the birds. The rest of us hit the ground. Even though our host took his gun away, I gave them mine and went back because, if there is a way to overreact, the Syrian would think it is natural and can’t even consider the consequences.
“You cannot place these people in a position of authority (for example with a gun in their hands). They will always shoot as a default reaction to anything that is instant. Neither training nor thinking can change their natures.
“And that is why he shot. He had a gun.”
Since then, we’ve found out that this is exactly why Officer Mohamed Noor shot the gentle yoga instructor walking toward the police car. He heard a loud noise — or as Powerline blog is calling it, “The Loud Noise Heard ‘Round the World.”
Noor shot from the passenger seat, killing Justine Damond, according to his partner, sitting at the wheel, who is presumably now deaf. Damond had called 911 to report what sounded like a rape in the alley behind her house, and was approaching the responding police car when she was shot.
As usually happens when Muslims attack, the press is consumed with worry about their mental state and well-being.
Sample Headlines:
Somalis on edge after Minneapolis cop named in fatal shooting — The Daily Herald (Everett, Washington), July 18, 2017
Somalis in Minneapolis on defensive after police shooting — St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), July 21, 2017
Minneapolis shooting brings unwelcome attention to Somalis — Associated Press, July 22, 2017
There are nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world, amounting to a quarter of the world’s population, controlling 50 countries. The English-speaking world is about a fifth that size and constitutes a dwindling majority in about a half-dozen countries. But, somehow, no matter how the story is written, Muslims always get to play the victim, and Anglo-Saxons are cast as the aggressors.
That’s why a Somali cop’s fatal shooting of a pajama-clad Good Samaritan has gone directly into the “Be Nice to Muslims!” file, rather than the “Why Are All These Somalis Here?”file. (Answer: Because of an earlier mistake with excessive Scandinavian immigration.)
I can’t help noticing that it was precisely the “Be Nice to Muslims!”dictate that put this Somali nincompoop on the police force in the first place.
Among Noor’s evident errors the night he killed Justine:
1) Shooting from the passenger seat, the bullet whizzing inches past his partner’s face, through the driver’s side window;
2) Not turning his bodycam on when responding to a 911 call;
3) Shooting to kill because he heard a loud noise;
4) Believing that white women in America pose a threat to a policeman.
A few of the Weather Underground ladies were accomplices to cop-killings, 40 years ago, but even they weren’t lone white women cop-killers.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, women of any race committed about 10 percent of all murders from 1980 to 2008, and black people committed a majority of all murders. Other than a small child, it’s difficult to think of a demographic that poses less of a threat to a policeman in America than a 40-year-old white woman.
Noor’s African-American neighbor, Chris Miller, said he was shocked when he heard about Damond’s shooting — until he found out it was Noor. Miller told The Daily Telegraph (Australia) that his Somali neighbor was quick to anger and was always going off on women and children. “He is extremely nervous,”Miller said, “a little jumpy … he doesn’t really respect women, the least thing you say to him can set him off.”
Sounds perfect for a police officer!
May we see Officer Noor’s cadet exam? His training reports? Does anyone believe there is the slightest possibility that Noor was not rushed through the Police Academy so that the nice people of Minneapolis could feel good about themselves for having a real Somali on the police force?
Minnesota’s importation of these stone-age people is a completely self-inflicted wound. It’s as if the state decided to inject itself with Hepatitis C. Hey, you know what? We’re too white and pure. Everyone tie a vein off and give yourself a shot of hep C. We could learn from that!
With Somalis, you get all the social pathologies of Muslims and the American underclass rolled into one package. There’s the terrorism and pederasty — but also the criminality and joblessness!
At least with taxpayer-draining Mexican illegals, you can say, yes, but they provide the rich with such cheap labor! Someone, somewhere in America, gets a benefit. There is absolutely no benefit to the more than 100,000 Somalis brought in by Minnesota, except to feed the Scandinavian ethnomasochism, expressed as arrogant self-regard.
For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.
Top Stories
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• Senate Votes Down Amendment to Defund Planned Parenthood and Repeal Obamacare
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• Trump: Pro-Abortion Lisa Murkowski, Who Opposed Defunding Planned Parenthood, “Really Let Down the Nation”
More Pro-Life News • Charlie Gard’s Parents Tell Judge They Have a Doctor for Hospice Care at Home • Another Charlie Gard? Father of Daughter in Similar Circumstance Says Doctors are Leaving Her to Die • Judge Will Decide Today if Charlie Gard Can Go Home, “We Promised Him We’d Take Him Home” • Planned Parenthood is Now Pushing its Sex Agenda on Pre-Schoolers • Black Pastor Slams Abortion: 1,800 Black Babies Killed in Abortion Each Day
• Sick: Used Suction Abortion Machine For Sale on eBay
• Missouri Gov. Signs Bill Protecting Pregnancy Centers From Being Forced to Promote Abortion
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• Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Slashes Hours at Clinic, Puts Building Up for Sale
• San Francisco City Board Approves Huge New Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic
• The Abortion Industry: A Pioneer of Fake News
• Australia Plan to Legalize Assisted Suicide is Only the Beginning
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House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has been discharged from the hospital and started rehabilitation a month and a half after he was critically injured in a mass shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia, MedStar Washington Hospital Center said in a statement Wednesday.
The hospital said Scalise has made “excellent progress in his recovery from a life-threatening gunshot wound six weeks ago,” adding that he was discharged Tuesday and has begun intensive inpatient rehabilitation.
“He is in good spirits and is looking forward to his return to work once he completes rehabilitation,”the statement said. “He and his family are grateful for the care he received from the trauma team as well as the other doctors, nurses, and staff of MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The family also appreciates the outpouring of prayers and support during this time.”
Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership and the party’s top vote-counter, nearly lost his life on June 14, whena gunman opened fireon Republican lawmakers, aides and lobbyists practicing in Alexandria for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game.
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Scalise, 51, was shot in the hip, suffering broken bones, damage to his internal organs and major blood loss. During the next several weeks, Scalise was in and out of the intensive-care unit, battling infections as he recovered.
The others shot in the melee were congressional aide Zack Barth, lobbyist Matt Mika and Capitol Police special agent Crystal Griner, a member of Scalise’s security detail.
The shooter, James Hodgkinson, was fatally wounded during the 10-minute shootout in the usually quiet Alexandria neighborhood of Del Rey, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
In recent days, there were signs that Scalise was making significant progress. On Monday, Scalise called into his weekly whip meeting to thank his team for their hard work and to let them know he was ready to return to the Capitol soon.
SpeakerPaul Ryan(R-Wisc.) tweeted his support after the hospital’s news.
Scalise’s top ally, Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.),has been filling infor the Louisiana Republican during his absence.
Trump has ‘rocked the casbah’ of Liberal idealism.
Making an announcement Wednesday, President Trump has said the United States will not “accept or allow”transgender people in our military. He said American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” and that the trans community would be a burden to our armed forces.
In a typical Trump move, he made this major policy announcement on his Twitter account in a series of posts. He says he made the decision after discussing the issue with generals and military experts, which he left anonymous.
“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,”Mr. Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
The sweeping policy decision reverses the gradual transformation of the military under President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year that transgender people could serve openly in the military. Mr. Obama’s defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter, also opened all combat roles to women and appointed the first openly gay Army secretary.
It was not clear what prompted Mr. Trump’s announcement on Wednesday. In June, the administration delayed a decision on whether to allow transgender recruits to join the military. At the time, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said an extra six months would give military leaders a chance to review its potential impact.
The president’s announcement came amid a debate on Capitol Hill over the Obama-era practice of requiring the Pentagon to pay for medical treatment related to gender transition. The dispute has unfolded as Congress considers a nearly $700 billion spending bill to fund the Pentagon. Representative Vicky Hartzler, Republican of Missouri, has proposed an amendment that would bar the Pentagon from spending money on transition surgery or related hormone therapy.
The same measure narrowly failed this month in the House, with some Republicans joining Democrats to reject it. But some conservative Republicans have said they would not support the military spending measure without the language banning money for gender transition.
According to a study by the RAND Corporation there are around 2,450 (this number has varied) transgender active-duty members of the military, which is a small number considering the total of active members is about 1.3 million.
Of that small portion though, imagine how many extra millions of dollars would need to be spent to accommodate their ‘lifestyle’. Trump is right, it would be a huge burden for our military and we are so glad he came to this decision.
Bill and Hillary Clinton | USMC Lance Cpl. Cristian L. Ricardo | WikimediaCommons
The attorney for a prominent Democratic congressional employee at the center of a major criminal investigation has deep ties to the Clinton machine in Washington.
Attorney Chris Gowen is serving as the lawyer for Imran Awan, a Pakistani-American IT professional who was apprehended at Dulles Airport this week as he reportedly attempted to leave the country for Pakistan.
Awan has been chargedwith bank fraud (which the Daily Caller reports as a potential “placeholder” charge for much more serious coming charges), and the FBI has been deeply involved in the process, leading some to suspect that there may be a foreign espionage component to the investigation. As an IT staffer, Awan secured highly sensitive information from several members of Congress, including representatives in the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees. Imran Awan is just one of the individuals in a criminal probe. Other suspects in the investigation reportedly fled to Pakistan.
After Awan’s arrest, Gowen immediately jumped into the fray, alleging that Awan was a victim of Islamophobia.He labeled Awan’s arrest as part of “a right-wing media-driven prosecution by a United States Attorney’s Office that wants to prosecute people for working while Muslim.”
His statement displays a remarkably similar tone to the one often promulgated by his former boss, Hillary Clinton, who often spoke of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” to undermine her family and her leftist ideals.
Gowen’s past includes several stints in the Clinton machine’s orbit. He began his legal life as a public defender but left that job for the Bill Clinton White House. At the time, he also worked for then-Senator Hillary Clinton. Years later, he jumped on board Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, directing advance operations there, according to his biography from his law firm, Gowen Rhoades Winograd & Silva, PLLC. In another bio page, Gowen states he has consulted with former Democratic presidential contenders John Kerry and John Edwards.
Another biography, from American University, says Gowen worked with several controversial Clinton projects, including The Clinton Global Initiative, The Clinton Foundation, and The Clinton Health Access Initiative.
In 2012, Gowen went to bat for Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, whose family is deeply connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. After GOP reps explored Abedin’s nefarious ties, Gowen pledged to “stand with Huma.”
Along with his private practice, the longtime Clinton aide is also an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law, where he teaches courses in legal ethics and law practice management.
Gowen’s Clinton connections are intriguing on another level, given that Awan’s employer in the House, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, remains a close Clinton confidant. The former Democratic National Committee chair resigned from her position after emails surfaced alleging she attempted to tip the scales of the Democratic primary in Clinton’s favor. Wasserman Schultz was also the 2008 campaign co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s first failed run for president.
It remains unclear at this time how Imran Awan managed to link up with Gowen and retain his services.
A preliminary hearing for Mr. Awan is scheduled for August 21.
Just in the past day a lot has happened with the ongoing scandal of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s (DWS) IT staffer Imran Awan and the politician herself.
Awan and his family operated an IT service company, to which some of his clients were from the House Democratic caucus; about 25. During that time, they raked in about $4 million by House Dems. Yesterday Imran was charged with bank fraud, while being arrested at the airport trying to flee the country to Pakistan. Reportedly he wired nearly $300, 000 to himself in that country.
Awan’s current home in the states is being leased out to a military couple, to which they found what looked like ‘government issued’ hard drives that were smashed. Authorities have investigated him and his wife for stealing equipment from some House members; with suspicions Imran placed information on the cloud from said equipment, according to Politico.
Many of Awan’s political clients fired him a long time ago, however the former Democratic National Committee head DWS left him on her payroll until yesterday, when he got arrested. DWS even tried to stop police from looking at her smashed laptop. According to reports, Awan apparently had it in his possession.
Democrats are trying to blame the investigation into Awan and his family on the fact that he is a Muslim from Pakistan.
Given the above sequence of events, this all raises serious questions, to which Ben Shapiro brilliantly lines out:
1. Why Was Awan Being Paid So Much Money For So Long? According to The Daily Caller, Awan wasn’t doing a good job — in fact, he and his team weren’t on mandatory phone calls:
Fellow IT staffers TheDCNF interviewed said the Awans were often absent from weekly meetings and email exchanges. One of the fellow staffers said some of the computers the Awans managed were being used to transfer data to an off-site server.
2. What Information Did Awan Transfer?The Daily Caller, which has been all over this story, reports that Awan had “access to all emails and files of dozens of members of Congress, as well as the password to the iPad that Wasserman Schultz used for Democratic National Committee business before she resigned as its head in July 2016.”
3. What Is Wasserman Schultz Trying To Hide? Not only did Wasserman Schultz keep paying Awan, she reportedly “threatened the chief of the US Capitol police with ‘consequences’ for holding equipment that she says belongs to her.”Again, here’s The Daily Caller:
When TheDCNF asked Wasserman Schultz Monday if it could inquire about her strong desire for the laptop, she said “No, you may not.” After TheDCNF asked why she wouldn’t want the Capitol Police to have any evidence they may need to find and punish any hackers of government information, she abruptly turned around in the middle of a stairwell and retreated back to the office from which she had come.
4. Why Aren’t The Media Reporting This Story? Thus far, only Politico among the mainstream media news outlets has covered the Awan story. Nothing from ABC News. Nothing from NBCNews.com. Nothing from CNN. Nothing from The New York Times. That’s pretty stunning, considering the potential scope of the story. One suspicion: are mainstream outlets concerned that perhaps Awan might be in some way connected to DNC leaks that damaged Democrats, or that will do so in the future?
Why the mainstream media is simply ignoring this story is beyond our comprehension, but this is clearly a major story and a very strange one at that. This has potential to blow up in the Democrats face, depending on the information stored on the smashed hard drives. Share this story so Americans are in the know!
It’s astounding to observe the lengths to which secularism will go to silence Jesus-followers. Last year, two street preachers in England were convicted of public order offenses after prosecutors claimed parts of the King James Version of the Bible were “abusive and…criminal.” On university campuses, Christian students and professors are berated and bullied. In the world of politics and the media, Christians are accused of bigotry and ignorance. In the entertainment industry, to be a biblical Christian is to be blacklisted. Just ask the Benham brothers, David and Jason, whose television show on HGTV was cancelled because of their biblical views on the sanctity of life and marriage. David Benham said, “This is the first time in our generation and in our parents’ generation that it’s actually going to cost us something to truly live out our biblical faith.”
But, of course, we are not people easily silenced, for we are committed to the example of Simon Peter, who, when told to be quiet, said, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
Speak the Word of God with boldness!
We don’t fight for victory, we fight from victory! Jesus has already won the victory at the cross and it’s our lives for Him that are going to transform the culture. David Benham
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We may think the hurt we suffered was too deep to ever forget and forgive, but Jesus can give us His eyes—magic eyes—with which to see our enemies.
Forgiving those who’ve hurt you
July 26
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
-I JOHN 1:2
A fable tells of Ralph and Hilda, a baker and his wife. Ralph was tall and lean, and he was an unusually righteous man. He spoke in moral platitudes, and always did right. Hilda was soft and round—and as fun-loving and joyful as Ralph was cold and aloof. One night Ralph came home late from the bakery and found Hilda in the arms of another man. The whole town expected him to throw her out, but he didn’t. He vowed to forgive her “like the Good Book says.” But as time went on, it became clear that he had not. Heaven did not smile on Ralph’s cheap brand of forgiveness, and soon sent an angel to place a small pebble in Ralph’s heart with every look of scorn or belittling jab he gave to Hilda.
In time, his heart was so heavy he could hardly stand up straight. When he cried out in his pain for someone to help, the angel offered to cure his heavy, hurting heart. “How?” Ralph asked. “I will give you the gift of magic eyes,” the angel replied. “What is that?” Ralph wanted to know. “With magic eyes,” said the angel, “you will see Hilda not as someone who has betrayed you, but as a lonely woman who is trying her best to love you.” Ralph wasn’t sure he wanted magic eyes, because he had come to enjoy his hatred. But eventually, he said yes, and discovered that every time he looked at Hilda with his new magic eyes, a pebble was removed from his heart. Soon he began to feel good again, and he invited Hilda back into his heart. All of us have been hurt. We may think the hurt we suffered was too deep to ever forget and forgive, but Jesus can give us His eyes—magic eyes—with which to see our enemies.
For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com.
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More Pro-Life News • Charlie Gard’s Parents Will Ask Court to Allow Him to Come Home to Die • Media Covers Baby Orca’s Death More Than Fight to Save Charlie Gard’s Life • CLOSED: Planned Parenthood Stops Doing Abortions at Indiana Clinic Because It Can’t Protect Women’s Health • Abortion Activist Amanda Marcotte Claims Pro-Lifers are “Exploiting Charlie Gard” for “Propaganda” • Head of Planned Parenthood Clinic Aborting Babies for 17 Years is “Incredibly Proud” of His Work
• Planned Parenthood Headquarters Injures Two More Women in Botched Abortions
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Planned Parenthood Claims Genitals Do Not Determine Someone’s Gender In its latest updated guidelines about how to talk to preschool-aged children about their bodies, Planned Parenthood denies science by suggesting parents teach their children that genitals do not determine someone’s gender.
Looking for an inspiring and motivating speaker for your pro-life event? Don’t have much to spend on a high-priced speaker costing several thousand dollars? Contact LifeNews at news@lifenews.com about having LifeNews Editor Steven Ertelt speak at your event.
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American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
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Opinion
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
You Version
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Political
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
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Spiritual
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
Bible Gateway
The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online — all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on
Reported 
Reported 
Reported 
Reported 
jurisdictions will lose access to certain federal law enforcement grants in 2017 if they prohibit officials from communicating with ICE, if they block ICE from interviewing jail inmates, or if they fail to notify ICE of the pending release of criminal aliens ICE is seeking to deport. 
program go to sanctuary jurisdictions. 
Reported by 
The exemption policy was created in an OPM directive under President Barack Obama, 
actually requires—could prompt Republican lawmakers to act on their promise to repeal and replace the law. They 
Reported 
After his retirement from the NBA, Drollinger founded 
Published by 
In other words, the CBO said that 
You take your pick. Whatever major industry we’re talking about, 
But it’s not you. It’s not the voters. They’re certainly afraid of somebody — or else they despise somebody — but they’re not afraid. You know, Ted Cruz said the thing that he discovered that was the most… I mean, he knew it, but to see it in action every day? It blew his mind that the single, dominating thing in every day of a senator’s life is getting reelected, which means fundraising. That’s number one, first and foremost.
For those of you in Rio Linda, it means the next month is 2016, which is an election year. They wanted to be on record as close to an election year as possible that they had sent a vote to repeal Obamacare up to Obama. Damn it, they repealed it. But that’s what you get with a Democrat in the White House. You give us a Republican in the White House and we’ll repeal it. She tells everybody how it’s not affordable. It’s not this and that. It’s not anything it purports to be, and she lays claim to no doubt that she opposes it.
Trump says he has more respect for military people that don’t get captured. (sigh) Well, think what you will of that. But you cannot think what you will of that without recognizing the importance of that story to McCain’s political biography. It is crucial to McCain’s biography. Everybody knows it — that’s how crucial it’s been — that McCain was captured after being shot down, that when the Vietcong found out who he was (i.e., the son of a famous Navy admiral), they offered him release and how McCain said no.
Reported 
Reported by Ryan Pickrell | China/Asia Pacific Reporter | 4:56 PM 07/30/2017
Sunday’s test of a U.S. missile defense system.
the second time Friday, but it is an excellent defensive tool when it comes to short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In recent months, the North has successfully tested a precision Scud, the Pukguksong-2 (KN-15) MRBM, and the Hwasong-12 IRBM, all of which are new weapons systems rolled out this year. North Korea can use these missiles against its neighbors, specifically South Korea and Japan.
Reported by Bryan Fischer Host of “Focal Point” | Friday, July 28, 2017 @ 1:09 PM
Posted July 28, 2017 01:35 PM by Chris Pandolfo 
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Reported 
Commentary by
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Posted by GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com | July 26, 2017
The dispute has unfolded as Congress considers a nearly $700 billion spending bill to fund the Pentagon. Representative Vicky Hartzler, Republican of Missouri, has proposed an amendment 
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What Did You Say? 
This Week’s Ann Coulter Letter: “Contract With Republicans”
URL of the original posting site: http://humanevents.com/2017/08/02/contract-with-republicans/
In 1994, after 40 years in the wilderness, Republicans swept both houses of Congress, running on Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America,” in which the GOP promised to hold votes on 10 popular policies in the first 100 days. They won, fulfilled the contract, and went on to control the House for more than a decade.
More recently, the country gave the GOP the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014 and the presidency in 2016. But we’re not seeing any difference. The GOP has become a ratchet, never reversing Democratic victories, but only confirming them with teeny-tiny alterations.
It’s time for the voters to issue a “Contract With Republicans.” Unless our elected representatives can complete these basic, simple tasks, we’re out. There will be no reason to care about the GOP, anymore.
Whether these objectives are accomplished by President Trump or a rhesus monkey, the Democrats, the Bull Moose Party or the U.S. Pirate Party — it will make no difference to us. We just need somebody to fulfill this contract in order to get our vote.
Here are our first three contract terms.
1) BUILD THE WALL
People said the chant, “Build the wall!” was mere shorthand for a whole slew of immigration policies, unified by the single idea of putting Americans’ interests if not “first,” then at least “above the interests of complete strangers to whom we owe absolutely nothing.” It was called a term of art, meaning we want to stop sacrificing the welfare of our nation on the altar of liberal idiocy.
“Build the wall” was said to entail: a Muslim ban, deporting illegals, ending unconstitutional sanctuary cities, ending Obama’s unconstitutional “executive amnesty,” a dead-stop to the refugee scam and a massive reduction in legal immigration.
Yes, it means all that. But it also means: Build the wall.
If this is done only for reasons of conservative ideology, in recognition of the fact that the United States is a sovereign nation, entitled to protect its homeland, that’s fine with me.
But I note in passing that, if I were a progressive constantly virtue-signaling on transgenders and refugees, and occasionally pretending to care about African-Americans, the very last thing I’d want to see is the continuing dump of low-wage workers on the country, undermining black fathers’ ability to earn a living, to stay married and to pass down savings and a work ethic to their children.
The great civil rights hero Barbara Jordan understood that. The fact that our current low-rent liberals are unable to rise to her level is all the proof we need of their uselessness.
Moreover, in the future, we will once again have presidents with a taste for fascist executive orders, purporting to grant “amnesty” to illegal aliens. We will continue to have bought-and-paid-for legislators, pushing cheap labor in return for campaign donations. In the blink of an eye, they can undo every part of Trump’s America First agenda on immigration, just as Obama undid our victory in Iraq.
A wall is the only part of Trump’s immigration reforms that will not be instantly reversed by the next Barack Obama or George Bush. Allowing border patrol agents to do their jobs is a policy that lasts only as long as Trump is president. A wall is forever.
2) SUPREME COURT
Republicans need to stop having their victories written in wet sand. During the campaign, Trump vowed to impose a Muslim ban if elected; both political parties hysterically denounced him; he won the election; issued a highly modified, temporary travel restriction from a handful of majority Muslim countries; and … a handful of carefully selected federal court judges announced that, during the Trump administration, they would be implementing immigration policy.
That’s why President Trump must appoint, and the Senate confirm, brilliant conservative judges, preferably in their 30s and with good EKGs, so that they can keep issuing opinions well into their 90s.
As long as they are sufficiently vetted to ensure we’re getting no David Souters or Harriet Miers — vettings even MORE exhaustive than the alleged rectal probes given to the San Bernardino terrorists before admitting them to commit mass murder — Supreme Court justices can have nearly the same permanence as the wall.
3) STOP WASTING MONEY AND PRECIOUS LIVES ON POINTLESS WARS
The left is way ahead of us on this one, already hard at work turning the greatest military in the world into taxpayer-funded adventures in lesbianism and transgenderism. (Sorry, taxpayers! We gave your Social Security to mental-case penis-choppers.)
Every recent war has been counterproductive at best. At worst, they have been meat-grinders for our bravest young men. Imagine that some small portion of the trillions of dollars poured into the endless — and ongoing! — war in Afghanistan had been used to build a 100,000-seat soccer stadium in Baghdad. And then imagine that we built 100 more just like it, right next to one another.
If we had taken a satellite photo of all those stadiums filled to capacity, the caption would be: “Not one American life is worth all the lives pictured here.”
That’s not anti-Arab. I’m sure they would feel exactly the same. I would respond, “Yes, of course, you’re right to feel that way.”
If we’re ever attacked, we should be prepared to unload our full arsenal. But it’s not our job to create functioning democracies in primitive rape-based societies around the globe.
Apart from an attack on U.S. soil by a foreign country, we are going to live our lives, go to work, celebrate the Fourth of July, and never bother learning the difference in Sunni and Shia Arabs. Once a decade, when we fleetingly remember Yemen or Saudi Arabia, we will hope they’re doing well, then get back to our lives — surrounded by a wall and living in a constitutional democracy, where our greatest young men aren’t continually sacrificed in pointless wars.
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