A video was recently posted to the “Students for Life of America” Facebook page showing how easily pro-abortion arguments fall apart under scrutiny. While the video – a speech by Catholic author Trent Horn – is not itself new, it warrants examination.
Horn speaks about a philosopher who “came up with a great acronym that summarizes the differences between us and the unborn, and our job is to show those differences don&#8217;t matter.”
The acronym is SLED – size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependence.
Horn begins with the counter-argument to “size.”
<blockquote>(S) Size – the unborn. “Look, it&#8217;s the size of a grain of rice!” How big do you have to be to be a person? And my favorite counter example would be a newborn infant. Some premature babies can fit in the palm of my hand. Does that mean that they&#8217;re only 5% of my value because they&#8217;re 5% of my size?</blockquote>
He quickly moves on to the second part of the acronym, which is frequently brought up by modern pro-abortion activists:
<blockquote>(L) Level of Development. “[It] can&#8217;t think or feel like us.” Why does that matter? There’s a problem whenever someone says “thinking” or “feeling” makes you a person. If they say just being able to feel makes you a person, then the problem is, that means anything that feels is a person. So, if you run over a squirrel on the way to the conference and you keep driving – that&#8217;s hit-and-run, buddy. Going to prison. That squirrel definitely felt that. So, feeling pain can&#8217;t automatically make you a person.
Well, it&#8217;s not just that. You’ve got to be able to think rationally more than an animal can. Well, if that&#8217;s your definition of a person or a human being, fetuses, embryos are not persons, but neither is that newborn baby. “Stop talking about toddlers and newborns. They’re not born yet!”</blockquote>
Horn then speaks about the geographical question:
<blockquote>(E) Environment. Say they&#8217;re not born, and to that I just simply ask, “Why does that matter?” So what? What you&#8217;re doing is you&#8217;re just picking a difference and saying, “Ah, because they have that difference, they don&#8217;t matter.” Look, throughout the history of the world, here&#8217;s what&#8217;s always happened – two things. Strong, powerful groups want to oppress a weak, marginal group, so they find a difference between the strong and the weak and say, “Ha! That difference gives us the right to oppress you!” That’s always happened – and something else has always happened. The strong group has always been wrong. Skin color, nationality, sex (male/female) – people always pick these differences, and they&#8217;re always wrong. We need to say, “Look, why does being born matter? How does moving from inside the womb to outside the womb change your value?” A change of address does not cause a change of being. Well, because they can&#8217;t survive on their own.</blockquote>
Lastly, Horn talks about how much an entity relies on another for survival. During this analysis, Horn makes an excellent analogy regarding the ridiculousness of the “viability” argument.
<blockquote>(D) Degree of Dependency &#8230; they can&#8217;t survive on their own, so they&#8217;re not a person. And I ask, “You’re right. The unborn cannot survive on their own, but why do you have to do that to be a person? Why does that difference matter?”
Someone called my radio show once and said, “I think a fetus isn&#8217;t a person because it&#8217;s not viable.” I said, “Well, it is viable. The unborn is viable in the womb until at least about 20 weeks, but they&#8217;re viable where they can live.” That [would] be like if a Martian teleported us to Mars, and then what would happen? Did anyone see the original “Total Recall?” It wouldn&#8217;t be that cartoonish, but we would asphyxiate because the Martian atmosphere doesn&#8217;t support life – and the Martian said, “See, the Earthlings? Not persons. They’re not viable.” Well, we are viable on Earth, not Mars. We’re still persons. The unborn are viable in the womb.
So I said to this woman, I said, “Look, let me understand your position. You’re saying the unborn is not a person because they are at their maximum level of helplessness?” There’s a little pause, [and] she says, “Well, it sounds bad when you put it that way.”
So see, what we have to do in our conversations is kind of strip away the euphemisms by gently asking questions and making these comparisons to show the pro-choice worldview doesn&#8217;t hold up.</blockquote>
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Fetuses.

WATCH: Author Brilliantly Deconstructs 4 Arguments Made By Pro-Abortion Activists

Abortion

On Thursday, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan took to the White House briefing room to speak about various issues pertaining to the southern border of the United States.
After his initial remarks, Morgan took questions from the press, and Peter Alexander of NBC News asked about progress on border wall.
<blockquote>ALEXANDER: The President has promoted the construction of a border wall as one of the key deterrent efforts to try to keep migrants from coming into this country illegally.  Just for a status update for us: How many miles of wall has been constructed? Not wall that’s replacing old wall, but new wall has been built to this point.
MORGAN: So, 78 miles of new wall has been built.
SLEXANDER: So, much of that, obviously, is replacing wall that formerly existed, [that] the President said was insufficient. How many miles of wall now exist where there was no wall whatsoever?
MORGAN:  So, again, my response to that is – every mile of wall that’s being built is a new mile of wall.
ALEXANDER: No disagreements. But how many – but just for a breakdown, how many miles formerly existed that have now been renovated or replaced? And how many miles – new, where nothing existed?
MORGAN: So, right now, the 78 miles that have been built have been built where there was an existing form of barrier. We just started breaking ground in RGV, where we’re building miles of new wall where there has been no structure there at all.
ALEXANDER: So that’s just now starting, the construction of new wall begins, effectively, now?
MORGAN: That’s correct.</blockquote>
Morgan was then asked about the challenges of “land acquisition” as it relates to construction of the wall. Morgan replied that there is indeed difficulty due to certain pieces of land having multiple owners.
He added that there is progress being made elsewhere:
<blockquote>Now, there’s also areas like Laredo, for example, that were actually, you know, working with the city on the design, the structure, and even where it can be placed to make sure that we’re taking their considerations into the process as well. So it’s a challenge, but again, I still think that we’re on track to get the land we need for 450 miles. What I will say is that there are lawsuits out there.</blockquote>
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34 months into his presidency, President Trump has thus far failed to accomplish any major construction of the southern border wall, which was his signature issue during the 2016 campaign.
In February, President Trump declared a “state of emergency” in order to redirect funds from elsewhere in the government for construction of the border wall. The declaration was challenged, but the Supreme Court struck a blow to the argument in July.
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/26/border-wall-supreme-court-allows-donald-trumps-emergency-spending/1799514001/">USA Today</a> reported: “The court&#8217;s five conservative justices lifted an injunction against the border wall spending that had been imposed by a federal district court judge in California and affirmed by a federal appeals court. The injunction blocked spending while the lawsuit challenging it remains pending at the appeals court.”
According to a September report from <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/senate-votes-to-block-trump-national-emergency-over-border-wall.html">CNBC</a>: “The Pentagon this month outlined the military construction projects from which it would divert $3.6 billion to building border barriers.”
In October, Federal District Court Judge David Briones ruled that “President Donald Trump&#8217;s national emergency declaration to build a border wall is unlawful,” reports <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/politics/judge-trump-border-wall-funds/index.html">CNN</a>. The funds targeted in the lawsuit are “military construction funds that have been diverted &#8230; ”
However, according to <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/federal-judge-rules-trump-border-wall-declaration-unlawful">Roll Call</a>, this isn’t the end of the legal battle because “Briones said he would allow both sides to argue about the scope of an injunction in the next two weeks.” The Justice Department would probably make an argument in the case, added the outlet.
Also in October, the Senate failed to overturn the president’s veto of “Democratic-sponsored legislation reversing his raid of military base project money to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall,” according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trumps-military-money-wall-survives-senate-test-66353073">ABC News</a>.
As the funding situation continues to evolve, two questions remain. First, when and where will new sections of border wall be built? Second, how many miles will be completed before the 2020 election?

Border wall prototypes.

WATCH: CBP Head Is Challenged On How Much ‘New’ Border Wall Has Been Built

Border Wall

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Southern Border

On October 24, a student casually vandalized the material at a Turning Point USA table at the University of Michigan.
Fortunately, TPUSA Chapter President Austin McIntosh was able to film the incident.
During the nearly five-minute video, the vandal rips material out of the hands of a conservative student, and dumps a bowl of candy on the ground. He also takes bags of cookies and a poster-board sign about free speech, and tosses them in a nearby trash bin.
“Recording me don’t make me feel no type of way, so you can keep doing it,” the vandal says.
“The police will like it, though,” McIntosh replies.
When a conservative female student tells the vandal that it’s “against the law” to steal, he replies: “You know what’s also against the law? Hate speech.”
As the conservative students call him out on his “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” the vandal continues to steal items from the table, and tear posters, tossing it all in the trash.
At one point, a female student wearing an orange hoodie approaches and appears to defend the vandal’s behavior. Meanwhile, McIntosh simply trolls the vandal and his defender.
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The Daily Wire reached out to McIntosh for comment.
“I didn&#8217;t know who it was at first, and the police said they couldn’t really do anything until we figured out who it was,” McIntosh told The Daily Wire. “On Friday, I walked into one of my classes, and the guy who did it walked right in. My mind was blown.”
McIntosh then looked up his class list online, and figured out the vandal’s name.
As for what was running through his mind when the vandal was destroying TPUSA property, McIntosh said that he was “angry,” and that he wanted to “defend” his materials. However, “knowing campus climate and the university’s stance on self defense,” he knew he couldn’t really do anything.
“Through meetings with some university officials, I was told if I would&#8217;ve gotten physical with him, I would&#8217;ve been subject to punishment even though I was defending my stuff,” McIntosh said.
After a moment, he decided to focus on filming the incident for evidentiary purposes, as well as to document “how polarized we are, and how intolerant the Left is on campus.”
“I feel like the Left is so intolerant of other ideas, other beliefs, and intellectual diversity,” McIntosh stated. “They can&#8217;t stand to hear another opinion.”
Following the incident, McIntosh called the police, who reportedly chased the vandal until he got away from them.
McIntosh later met with Sarah Daniels, associate dean of students, as well as Robbie Abdelhoq, the formal conflict resolution pathways program manager for the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, who allegedly told the TPUSA leader that the vandal could be made to take “an anger management class, or write an apology letter.”
McIntosh wants more than that. He told The Daily Wire that there should be “restitution” for the damaged and discarded materials, and perhaps “suspension” for the vandal.
In addition to the vandal allegedly dropping out of his class with McIntosh, the university put in place a “no contact order,” prohibiting the vandal from making contact with McIntosh “or any of the other people who were at that table that day.”
When asked what he expects is going to happen going forward, McIntosh stated:
<blockquote>On the university side of things, I honestly don&#8217;t expect much. There have been other situations on our campus, like intolerance toward conservative students, and they don&#8217;t seem to do a whole lot. I think it starts at the top. Look at President [Mark] Schlissel – he sent out <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/05/mark-schlissel-trump-emails/734717001/">emails</a> when Donald Trump won about how he thought it was ironic that conservative students felt targeted or harassed on campus. I don&#8217;t think the university is very protective of their conservative minority students on campus. At most, my guess is that they&#8217;re going to put him in some sort of anger management class, but I&#8217;ll be pushing for suspension and restitution.</blockquote>
Even if the university doesn’t do as McIntosh hopes, the police appear to be moving forward.
An investigator on the case sent the following message to a TPUSA representative: “The case has been sent to the prosecutor&#8217;s office. I expect charges next week, however cannot divulge any charges or other details until the subject is arraigned, per Michigan law.”

UMich Vandal.

WATCH: Student Vandalizes Conservative Group’s Table At University Of Michigan

Leftism

TPUSA

University of Michigan

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) accused Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Saturday of bowing to the left-wing Twitter mob while crafting their single-payer health insurance proposals.
&#8220;The question is, who should make the choice about what people&#8217;s insurance is,&#8221; Bennet told CNN&#8217;s Victor Blackwell during an appearance on &#8220;New Day Weekend.&#8221; &#8220;Should it be Bernie and Elizabeth, or should it be the American people? Clearly the American people think it should be the American people since only one third of Democrats support Elizabeth&#8217;s plan.&#8221;
&#8220;You know, we should not be going into this election nominating somebody who is genuflecting to the Twitter base of the Democratic Party,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is not focused on the living, breathing, human beings who all they want to know is if their kids’ education is not defined by the income their family has, that if you work hard you can make a decent living, and you can retire with security.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I trust the American people to make their own decisions about their own healthcare coverage.
We can get to universal coverage with my Medicare-X public option plan without making private employer insurance illegal for 180 million Americans. <a href="https://t.co/FjZm4PnvQs">pic.twitter.com/FjZm4PnvQs</a>
&mdash; Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelBennet/status/1195783425246015488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Colorado lawmaker noted that he agrees with former President Barack Obama who warned the Democratic presidential candidates on Friday to be aware of what voters actually want, especially when it comes to immigration and health care reform.
&#8220;The average American doesn&#8217;t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it, and I think it&#8217;s important for us not to lose sight of that,” Obama told a group of wealthy Democratic donors at the Democracy Alliance gathering.
&#8220;There are a lot of persuadable voters and there are a lot of Democrats out there who just want to see things make sense. They just don&#8217;t want to see crazy stuff,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;They want to see things a little more fair, they want to see things a little more just, and how we approach that I think will be important.”
While the former president has largely remained silent during the 2020 election cycle, the remarks were seen by many as a veiled shot at Warren and Sanders, who have been vying for the far-left lane of the Democratic primary. Both progressive candidates have released Medicare for All proposals that would eliminate the entire private health insurance market in favor of a government-run plan, cost taxpayers tens of trillions of dollars, and remove 180 million Americans from their current insurance.
Bennet has been sounding the alarm on Americans&#8217; distaste for a complete overhaul of the health insurance market, instead standing behind a plan titled &#8220;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/981?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22medicare+x%22%5D%7D&amp;r=1&amp;s=2">Medicare X</a>,&#8221; which he introduced into the Senate with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) earlier in the year. The proposal would allow Americans to choose a public option, similar to Medicare, which would be offered alongside private insurance.
&#8220;This stuff is never going to pass, and I don&#8217;t know whether Elizabeth knows that or not,&#8221; Bennet said. &#8220;But I, as a progressive Democrat, I do not want us to spend the next 10 years in a losing battle for Medicare for All when what we need to be focused on is driving economic growth for everybody across this economy.&#8221;

14 Democratic Presidential Candidates Attend Iowa Liberty And Justice Celebration

WATCH: 2020 Democrat Slams Warren And Sanders For &#8216;Genuflecting To The Twitter Base&#8217;

2020 Election

Bernie Sanders

Elizabeth Warren

Medicare for All

Former President Barack Obama appeared to take a veiled shot at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) during a speech on Friday, warning that the party was moving too far to the left and that the average American does not agree with their views.
Obama, who made the remarks to some of the party&#8217;s top donors at the annual meeting of the Democracy Alliance, said that Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans do not align with the same beliefs that are found on “certain left-leaning Twitter feeds” or “the activist wing of our party.”
Obama&#8217;s remark about &#8220;the activist wing of our party&#8221; appears to be a direct shot at Ocasio-Cortez, who is widely viewed as the face of the far-Left in the Democrat Party.
“Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision we also have to be rooted in reality,” Obama said, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/politics/barack-obama-2020-dems.html">The New York Times</a>. “The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it. And I think it&#8217;s important for us not to lose sight of that.”
“I don’t think we should be deluded into thinking that the resistance to certain approaches to things is simply because voters haven’t heard a bold enough proposal and if they hear something as bold as possible then immediately that’s going to activate them,” Obama said.
“There are a lot of persuadable voters and there are a lot of Democrats out there who just want to see things make sense. They just don&#8217;t want to see crazy stuff,&#8221; Obama added, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-warns-2020-democrats-warren-sanders">Fox News</a>. &#8220;They want to see things a little more fair, they want to see things a little more just. And how we approach that I think will be important.”
Obama&#8217;s remark is in direct opposition to what Ocasio-Cortez said during a Friday night interview on MSNBC where she said that her &#8220;personal political strategy&#8221; is to &#8220;come in with the boldest vision possible.&#8221;
The comments from Obama came only a few weeks after he offered a similar warning to young people while speaking in Chicago.
“This idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re politically woke and all that stuff — you should get over that quickly,” Obama <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-get-over-being-woke-stop-online-outrage-cancel-culture">told</a> an audience at the Obama Foundation Summit. “The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids and you know share certain things with you.”
“One danger I see among young people particularly on college campuses — Malia and I talk about this — I do get a sense sometimes now among certain young people, and this is accelerated by social media, there is this sense sometimes of the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people and that’s enough,” Obama continued. “Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right, or use the wrong verb then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself, ‘Cuz man, did you see how woke I was? I called you out! Let me get on TV, watch my show, watch Grown-ish.&#8217;”
“That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change,” Obama concluded. “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That’s easy to do.”

Obama

Obama Appears To Rip Ocasio-Cortez In Warning To Democrat Presidential Candidates

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Barack Obama

Students returning home from college to China’s Xinjiang region earlier this year were shocked to discover their families has been detained in one of the country’s internment camps.
Worse yet, authorities in Xinjiang had prepared scripts to handle the student’s questions and threaten them from acting out for fear their families could be detained longer. The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html">obtained 403 pages</a> of Chinese documents detailing how the communist country has been interning Muslim-minorities in the country and how they managed to keep the detentions secret for so long. Until this year, China denied the existence of the camps, but then changed their tune and claimed they were educational facilities to better the lives of Muslims.
One document obtained by the Times showed a script for Xinjiang authorities to use to answer student questions.
“They’re in a training school set up by the government,” was to be the answer to students asking what had happened to their families. If the student continued to ask questions, authorities were to tell them that while their relatives were not criminals, they couldn’t leave the “schools.”
Authorities would then threaten the students by saying their relatives could be detained longer or shorter depending on the student’s actions.
“I’m sure that you will support them, because this is for their own good and also for your own good,” authorities would say.
The Times also reported the documents suggested Chinese authorities “were directed to tell people who complained to be grateful for the Communist Party’s help and stay quiet” even as students questioned how their tuition would be paid and who would plant crops. The Times included a list of key disclosures from the documents:
<ul>
<li>
<blockquote>President Xi Jinping, the party chief, laid the groundwork for the crackdown in a series of speeches delivered in private to officials during and after a visit to Xinjiang in April 2014, just weeks after Uighur militants <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/world/asia/china-executes-3-over-deadly-knife-attack-at-train-station-in-2014.html">stabbed more than 150 people at a train station</a>, killing 31. Mr. Xi called for an all-out “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism” using the “organs of dictatorship,” and showing “absolutely no mercy.”</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>Terrorist attacks abroad and the drawdown of American troops in Afghanistan heightened the leadership’s fears and helped shape the crackdown. Officials argued that attacks in Britain resulted from policies that put “human rights above security,” and Mr. Xi urged the party to emulate aspects of America’s “war on terror” after the Sept. 11 attacks.</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>The internment camps in Xinjiang expanded rapidly after the appointment in August 2016 of Chen Quanguo, a zealous new party boss for the region. He distributed Mr. Xi’s speeches to justify the campaign and exhorted officials to “round up everyone who should be rounded up.”</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>The crackdown encountered doubts and resistance from local officials who feared it would exacerbate ethnic tensions and stifle economic growth. Mr. Chen responded by purging officials suspected of standing in his way, including one county leader who was jailed after quietly releasing thousands of inmates from the camps.</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
As The Daily Wire has previously reported, news of the camps is beginning to trickle out of China. Last month, a former prisoner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-prisoner-in-one-of-chinas-re-education-camps-speaks-out-torture-and-rape-were-common">described</a> how inmates were routinely tortured, sexually abused, and even experimented on.
As the documents obtained by the Times show, anyone who speaks out against the camps get punished. In late October, a police chief who criticized the camps <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-chief-in-china-expresses-concern-over-re-education-camp-gets-detained">was detained</a>, and the documents said that in the midst of the crackdown, politicians who expressed concern were removed.

President Xi

Internal Chinese Documents Reveal How The Country Implemented Its Mass Internment Of Muslims

China

It appears the Department of Justice Inspector General report into the origins of the FBI investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign may finally be released … soon.
As such, the same media that touted the investigation into Trump’s campaign &#8212; which found o evidence of Russia collusion &#8212; is now trying to discredit the report on how that investigation was started and whether any crimes were involved.
On Thursday, The Washington Post published an article claiming witnesses interviewed by the DOJ’s IG would not be permitted to submit written feedback. Later in the day, the Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/justice-dept-watchdog-wont-let-witnesses-give-written-feedback-on-report-about-fbis-russia-probe-sparking-fears-of-inaccuracy/2019/11/14/1236d0aa-070d-11ea-b17d-8b867891d39d_story.html">updated</a> its story with clarification from the IG’s office, which said those witnesses would be able to submit feedback “consistent with rules to protect classified information.”
“As part of our factual accuracy review, and consistent with our usual practice, we are providing witnesses with the opportunity to review portions of the report that relate to them,” said IG spokeswoman Stephanie Logan. “Also consistent with our practice, we undertake every effort to ensure witnesses can provide their comments and we are clarifying to witnesses that they will be able to provide written comments, consistent with rules to protect classified information.”
The Post had reported the comments from anonymous witnesses who claimed they could not submit feedback and could only review sections of the investigation pertaining to them “in a secure area, after signing nondisclosure agreements.” They were also allegedly told they could not take any notes they made regarding the document with them when they left. All the claims published by the Post were from anonymous sources.
On Twitter, some used the Post’s article to push the narrative that whatever IG Michael Horowitz found in his report is tainted by bias. One of the authors of the Post report, Devlin Barrett, shared the article (he followed up his initial tweet by including the IG’s clarification).
CNN analyst Susan Hennessey used Barrett’s initial tweet to foment the idea that the report would not be credible.
“This is extremely irregular. There are growing signs that there are serious problems with the IG report and questions as to whether this is designed to be an honest accounting of the views of the IG or a political document driven by Barr’s conspiracy theories,” Hennessey tweeted.
In April, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/expect-media-turn-its-attention-discrediting-ashe-schow">reported</a> that media outlets would do this to Horowitz’s report, since it investigates the false narrative that the media pushed for the first two years of the Trump administration.
At that time, Politico’s Natasha Bertrand went to great lengths to claim the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court routinely used unverified information to grant warrants to spy on U.S. citizens – like Carter Page. She also attempted to redeem the credibility of Christopher Steele, who put together the infamous Steele Dossier, much of which has either been discredited or unproven.
Bertrand, a true believer of the Russian-collusion narrative, tried to suggest Horowitz was not knowledgeable nor was he willing to learn about the FISA process. Of course, Bertrand’s sources for these claims were all anonymous.

Three blindfolded businessmen

As Expected, Media Move To Discredit IG Report Regarding Origins Of The Russian Collusion Narrative

Media Bias

Michael Horowitz

Attorney General William Barr highlighted on Friday during the Federalist Society&#8217;s 2019 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C., the reason why conservatives are at a fundamental disadvantage when it comes to fighting the political Left.
&#8220;This highlights a basic disadvantage that conservatives have always had in contesting the political issues of the day. It was adverted to by the old, curmudgeonly Federalist, Fisher Ames, in an essay during the early years of the Republic,&#8221; Barr said. &#8220;In any age, the so-called progressives treat politics as their religion. Their holy mission is to use the coercive power of the State to remake man and society in their own image, according to an abstract ideal of perfection. Whatever means they use are therefore justified because, by definition, they are a virtuous people pursing a deific end. They are willing to use any means necessary to gain momentary advantage in achieving their end, regardless of collateral consequences and the systemic implications. They never ask whether the actions they take could be justified as a general rule of conduct, equally applicable to all sides.&#8221;
&#8220;Conservatives, on the other hand, do not seek an earthly paradise. We are interested in preserving over the long run the proper balance of freedom and order necessary for healthy development of natural civil society and individual human flourishing,&#8221; Barr continued. &#8220;This means that we naturally test the propriety and wisdom of action under a &#8216;rule of law&#8217; standard. The essence of this standard is to ask what the overall impact on society over the long run if the action we are taking, or principle we are applying in a given circumstance, was universalized &#8212; that is, would it be good for society over the long haul if this was done in all like circumstances?&#8221;
In a section of his prepared remarks, which he skipped over, Barr added, &#8220;For these reasons, conservatives tend to have more scruple over their political tactics and rarely feel that the ends justify the means. And this is as it should be, but there is no getting around the fact that this puts conservatives at a disadvantage when facing progressive holy far, especially when doing so under the weight of a hyper-partisan media.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
AG Bill Barr are on fire here as he calls out Progressives for treating politics as a religion. &#8220;Their holy mission is to use the coercive power of the state to remake man and society in their own image.&#8221; They&#8217;ll use &#8220;any means necessary in achieving their end &#8230; &#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VYFt5qUrnu">pic.twitter.com/VYFt5qUrnu</a>
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1195872428817186816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
Earlier in his speech, Barr hammered the political Left for their resistance to President Donald Trump ever since the first day of his presidency.
“Immediately after President Trump won election, opponents inaugurated what they called ‘The Resistance,’ and they rallied around an explicit strategy of using every tool and maneuver available to sabotage the functioning of his Administration. Now, ‘resistance’ is the language used to describe insurgency against rule imposed by an occupying military power,” Barr said. “It obviously connotes that the government is not legitimate. This is a very dangerous &#8212; indeed incendiary &#8212; notion to import into the politics of a democratic republic. What it means is that, instead of viewing themselves as the ‘loyal opposition,’ as opposing parties have done in the past, they essentially see themselves as engaged in a war to cripple, by any means necessary, a duly elected government.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ag-barr-democrats-are-engaged-in-a-war-to-cripple-sabotage-trump-administration">WATCH: AG Barr: Democrats Are ‘Engaged In A War’ To Cripple, Sabotage Trump Administration</a>

Bill Barr

AG Barr Explains Why Conservatives Are At A Fundamental Disadvantage To Leftists

Conservatism

William Barr

Attorney General William Barr went off on the so called &#8220;resistance&#8221; during a Friday speech at the Federalist Society&#8217;s 2019 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C., warning that the political Left is &#8220;engaged in a war&#8221; to &#8220;cripple&#8221; and &#8220;sabotage&#8221; the Trump administration from being able to function.
&#8220;Immediately after President Trump won election, opponents inaugurated what they called &#8216;The Resistance,&#8217; and they rallied around an explicit strategy of using every tool and maneuver available to sabotage the functioning of his Administration. Now, &#8216;resistance&#8217; is the language used to describe insurgency against rule imposed by an occupying military power,&#8221; Barr said. &#8220;It obviously connotes that the government is not legitimate. This is a very dangerous – indeed incendiary – notion to import into the politics of a democratic republic. What it means is that, instead of viewing themselves as the &#8216;loyal opposition,&#8217; as opposing parties have done in the past, they essentially see themselves as engaged in a war to cripple, by any means necessary, a duly elected government.&#8221;
&#8220;A prime example of this is the Senate’s unprecedented abuse of the advice-and-consent process,&#8221; Barr added. &#8220;The Senate is free to exercise that power to reject unqualified nominees, but that power was never intended to allow the Senate to systematically oppose and draw out the approval process for every appointee so as to prevent the president from building a functional government.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet that is precisely what the Senate minority has done from his very first days in office. As of September of this year, the Senate had been forced to invoke cloture on 236 Trump nominees – each of those representing its own massive consumption of legislative time meant only to delay an inevitable confirmation,&#8221; Barr continued. &#8220;How many times was cloture invoked on nominees during President Obama’s first term? 17 times. The Second President Bush’s first term? Four times. It is reasonable to wonder whether a future president will actually be able to form a functioning administration if his or her party does not hold the Senate.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
AG Bill Barr on the Democrats: “they rallied around an explicit strategy of using every tool &amp; maneuver available to sabotage the functioning of [the Trump admin]&#8230; they essentially see themselves as engaged in a war to cripple, by any means necessary, a duly elected government” <a href="https://t.co/T2g03ATvcB">pic.twitter.com/T2g03ATvcB</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1195862925749043200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
Later in his speech, Barr again took aim the political Left, highlighting that they, not Trump, are the ones guilty of shredding constitutional norms and waging a war on the rule of law.
&#8220;One of the ironies of today is that those who oppose this President constantly accuse this Administration of &#8216;shredding&#8217; constitutional norms and waging a war on the rule of law. When I ask my friends on the other side, what exactly are you referring to? I get vacuous stares, followed by sputtering about the Travel Ban or some such thing,&#8221; Barr said. &#8220;While the President has certainly thrown out the traditional Beltway playbook, he was upfront about that beforehand, and the people voted for him. What I am talking about today are fundamental constitutional precepts. The fact is that this administration’s policy initiatives and proposed rules, including the Travel Ban, have transgressed neither constitutional, nor traditional, norms, and have been amply supported by the law and patiently litigated through the court system to vindication.&#8221;
&#8220;Indeed, measures undertaken by this administration seem a bit tame when compared to some of the unprecedented steps taken by the Obama administration’s aggressive exercises of executive power – such as, under its DACA program, refusing to enforce broad swathes of immigration law,&#8221; Barr continued. &#8220;The fact of the matter is that, in waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of &#8216;Resistance&#8217; against this administration, it is the Left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Attorney General William Barr: “The fact of the matter is that, in waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of &#8216;Resistance&#8217; against this Administration, it is the Left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law.” <a href="https://t.co/xj45Z24di3">pic.twitter.com/xj45Z24di3</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1195867276416700416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2019</a></blockquote>

AG Barr: Democrats Are ‘Engaged In A War’ To Cripple, Sabotage Trump Administration

Democrats

Impeachment

George Conway, husband of White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, faced intense backlash on Saturday for calling Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY) &#8220;lying trash,&#8221; and then promoting a doctored image of Stefanik flipping off a camera during yesterday&#8217;s House Intelligence Committee hearing of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
Conway, who claims to be a conservative, has repeatedly targeted Stefanik online after Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) tried to yield his time to her during yesterday&#8217;s hearing and Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) refused to allow her to speak – which was in accordance with the rules during the 45-minute round of questions – but acted hostile toward her in the process of not allowing her to speak, which critics noted was a bad look for Schiff.
Conway, who was not in any way involved with the hearing, responded to Stefanik&#8217;s stunt by promoting the Democrat who is challenging her in her district, and by repeatedly attacking Stefanik on Twitter.
In the tweet that got the most traction online, Conway wrote, &#8220;@EliseStefanik is lying trash. Please give to her opponent, @TedraCobb.&#8221;
Conway then promoted what appeared to be doctored images of Stefanik flipping off cameras during yesterday&#8217;s hearing.
In one tweet, Conway wrote: &#8220;This woman doesn&#8217;t deserve to hold public office. Please retweet this and give what you can to her opponent, @TedraCobb.&#8221;
In another tweet, Conway responded to Fox News political commentator Brit Hume by tweeting out a picture of Stefanik, writing: &#8220;Hey Brit, here&#8217;s what the woman I denounced was doing while Ambassador Yovanovich was getting a standing ovation. Kind of seems trashy to me, but perhaps you have different standards. By the way, has anyone made the case that she didn&#8217;t lie yesterday about her ridiculous stunt?&#8221;
Stefanik responded to Conway, writing: &#8220;And for you @gtconway3d &#8211; the one thing I’ve NEVER been called in my life is TRASH. You need serious help. My opponent Taxin’ Tedra can have your sick mysogynist support.&#8221;
Stefanik also posted a photograph from yesterday showing that the image that Conway promoted of her could not have been real because she did not have nail polish on.
Stefanik tweeted: &#8220;The photoshopped picture that the Leftist Twitter mob led by George Conway is circulating is FAKE &#8211; I’ve been so busy exposing Adam Schiff’s #regimeofsecrecy that I haven’t had time for a manicure in weeks! Proof from yesterday&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The photoshopped picture that the Leftist Twitter mob led by George Conway is circulating is FAKE &#8211; I’ve been so busy exposing Adam Schiff’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/regimeofsecrecy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#regimeofsecrecy</a> that I haven’t had time for a manicure in weeks! 💅 Proof from yesterday 👇 <a href="https://t.co/TSnTu4bFtX">https://t.co/TSnTu4bFtX</a>
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) <a href="https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1195800462169128960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
Conway faced substantial backlash online over his conduct and later deleted the tweets where he promoted the doctored images.
Julie Gunlock, Director of Independent Women&#8217;s Forum (IWF), tweeted: &#8220;If you had any doubt that this guy is an abusive creep, here’s more evidence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If you had any doubt that this guy is an abusive creep, here’s more evidence. <a href="https://t.co/fFSUkDCtIw">https://t.co/fFSUkDCtIw</a>
— Julie Gunlock (@JGunlock) <a href="https://twitter.com/JGunlock/status/1195713926727639042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
Hume tweeted: &#8220;It is apparently not enough for this man, supposedly a respected lawyer, to dispute Stefanik’s claim of unfair treatment. No, he must denounce her as ‘trash.’ What does that say about him?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It is apparently not enough for this man, supposedly a respected lawyer, to dispute Stefanik’s claim of unfair treatment. No, he must denounce her as “trash.” What does that say about him? <a href="https://t.co/RBxLfXF6wi">https://t.co/RBxLfXF6wi</a>
— Brit Hume (@brithume) <a href="https://twitter.com/brithume/status/1195783878050549760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
Political strategist Chris Barron tweeted: &#8220;Honest question, what is the matter with you? Are you this desperate for attention or are you in need of medication? This isn’t normal behavior.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Honest question, what is the matter with you? Are you this desperate for attention or are you in need of medication? This isn’t normal behavior. <a href="https://t.co/PT7pLNxiCG">https://t.co/PT7pLNxiCG</a>
— Chris Barron (@ChrisRBarron) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisRBarron/status/1195713097224380422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
Dennis Kneale tweeted: &#8220;You just called a Congresswoman “lying trash,” a phrase loaded with trailer-park meaning. Gee, @gtconway3d, why not just come right out and call her a whore? You better hope her husband misses this &amp; doesn’t pay you a visit. You are the #WorldsWorstHusband @KellyannePolls&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You just called a Congresswoman “lying trash,” a phrase loaded with trailer-park meaning. Gee, <a href="https://twitter.com/gtconway3d?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gtconway3d</a>, why not just come right out and call her a whore? You better hope her husband misses this &amp; doesn’t pay you a visit. You are the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldsWorstHusband?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldsWorstHusband</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyannePolls?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KellyannePolls</a> <a href="https://t.co/RucUzr1B6F">https://t.co/RucUzr1B6F</a>
— Dennis Kneale (@denniskneale) <a href="https://twitter.com/denniskneale/status/1195772791087419392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck tweeted: &#8220;The self-righteous folks that offer lectures ad nauseam about decency on CNN and MSNBC probably think it&#8217;s okay to say this about a sitting Congresswoman because she&#8217;s not pro-impeachment&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The self-righteous folks that offer lectures ad nauseam about decency on CNN and MSNBC probably think it&#8217;s okay to say this about a sitting Congresswoman because she&#8217;s not pro-impeachment <a href="https://t.co/CM8qKSgVhA">https://t.co/CM8qKSgVhA</a>
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1195793540544180226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>

George Conway

‘ABUSIVE CREEP’: George Conway Blasted For Smearing Elise Stefanik With Alleged Doctored Image, Calling Her ‘Trash’

Rep. Elise Stefanik

As cold as it gets in Massachusetts during the winter, car owners are going to have to resist the urge to warm up their cars before driving – or else they will be fined by the state.
Mass Live <a href="https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/11/idling-your-car-in-massachusetts-for-too-long-this-winter-to-warm-it-up-could-land-you-a-500-fine.html">reported</a> Thursday that Massachusetts law Chapter 90 Sec. 16A states: “No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in excess of five minutes.”
This means that idling one’s car for more than five minutes “could result in a $100 fine for the first offense, and up to $500 for each subsequent offense,” the outlet reported.
In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said, “The goal of the Massachusetts Anti-Idling Law is to improve air quality by reducing unnecessary air pollution from idling vehicles.”
There are several exceptions for the fine, including idling the car to defrost a windshield. The law also <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section16A">does not apply</a> to:
<blockquote>(a) vehicles being serviced, provided that operation of the engine is essential to the proper repair thereof, or
(b) vehicles engaged in the delivery or acceptance of goods, wares, or merchandise for which engine assisted power is necessary and substitute alternate means cannot be made available, or
(c) vehicles engaged in an operation for which the engine power is necessary for an associate power need other than movement and substitute alternate power means cannot be made available provided that such operation does not cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution.</blockquote>
An <a href="https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/02/20/idling-faq.pdf">explainer</a> issued by the state government in 2018 went into a little more detail about the exemptions. For example, using the engine to power additional devices, such as a wheelchair lift or the lift on the back of a truck, is exempted. That explainer also claims that idling vehicles can warm up within five minutes and that cars warm faster when driven. Still, the government says five minutes “should be the maximum amount of time unless weather conditions are extreme,” but it doesn’t define “extreme.”
The explainer also said that stopping and starting a car to avoid the idling limit does not cause more pollution and that starters don&#8217;t wear out faster with this method.
The law has been in effect for years, but thankfully, <a href="https://patch.com/massachusetts/southend/anti-idling-laws-rarely-enforced-in-boston-1c19588f">according to Patch</a>, it doesn’t appear to be enforced all that often – at least not in Boston. Patch was actually criticizing the government for not being more proactive in fining citizens, but the article still gives the impression that the anti-idling law is rarely enforced.
For good reason – it is difficult to tell how long a car has been idling unless someone has been watching it. This would require police to sit around watching running vehicles instead of dealing with actual crime. Of course, Massachusetts has an answer for that: Residents can call to tattle on their neighbors who leave their cars running too long.
<a href="https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2019/11/15/massachusetts-winter-can-fined-warming-vehicle/">H/t Kira Davis</a>

Vehicles On Street During Snowfall

Heating Up Your Car This Winter Could Get You Fined In Massachusetts

Massachusetts

Gwyneth Paltrow, like lots of celebrities and &#8220;influencers,&#8221; has her own lifestyle brand, called Goop. And this week, Goop released a <a href="https://shop.goop.com/shop/collection/the-2019-goop-gift-guides/?country=USA">holiday gift guide</a> that is, um, kinda&#8217; weird.
The guide includes 10 categories, including “The Wellness Junkie’s Gift Guide,” “Gifts for the One Who Has Everything,” “The Kid’s Gift Guide,” and “The Lover’s Gift Guide.”
&#8220;The company also has a self-described &#8216;Ridiculous but Awesome,&#8217; list which has many of the most bizarre recommendations including a $110,000 &#8216;Modular Prefab Home&#8217; from Precht, a $33,000 double offset smoker from Mill Scale, and a $25,000 custom plant music installation from Data Garden,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-holiday-gift-guides">Fox News</a> reported.
There&#8217;s the Malibu Billiards table at $23,720, an automatic joint roller at $130, and a &#8220;<a href="https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/restraining-arts-kit?taxon_id=2992&amp;country=USA">restraining arts kit</a>&#8221; at $1,350. &#8220;Wrist cuffs? Ankle cuffs? Leather-bound paddle? Yes, yes, and ohhh yes. Think of this kit as a beginner’s guide to BDSM. It’s even equipped with DIY restraining straps, to help you, him, or her assume the position (wink, wink).&#8221;
Then there&#8217;s a copper <a href="https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/copper-fire-extinguisher?taxon_id=2992&amp;country=USA">fire extinguisher</a> at $250 that is &#8220;sexy.&#8221;
&#8220;Because yes, even something as practical and purposeful as say, a fire extinguisher, can skew sexy—this incredibly luxe iteration happens to be a Safe T specialty. Rendered from the sheeniest copper (and done entirely by hand, we might add) this safety-first gift isn’t all function. It’s a surefire gift that aims to please—dads, bros, home chefs, and your prepared-for-anything friend,&#8221; the site writes.
There&#8217;s also the &#8220;<a href="https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/four-in-a-row-wonderstone-marble-set?country=USA">Four in a Row</a> Wonderstone Marble Set from Edie Parker at $1,495.&#8221;
&#8220;Edie Parker has taken the classic four-in-a-row game from family camp to yacht cabin with this handsome marbled game set. But the hand-poured acrylic frame and tokens aren’t just for show—they’re fit to be played for years to come. Game on.&#8221;
(For the record, the game it&#8217;s modeled after, Connect Four, costs $6.99 at Walmart.)
In the &#8220;Gifts For The One Who Has Everything&#8221; category, you can pick up a Hermes Brown Clemence Birkin bag &#8212; for $10,500. And a pocket knife &#8212; for $265. Or grab the gold Chrona <a href="https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/gold-chrona-chandelier-earrings?country=USA&amp;taxon_id=2993&amp;variant_id=69113">chandelier earrings</a> &#8212; for $43,200.00.
Paltrow’s fashion, health, and wellness website was in the news in 2017 when Goop told women they should steam-clean their vaginas. The site said the procedure “balances female hormone levels.”
The Skeptic, which describes itself as Britain’s only magazine taking a scientific look at pseudoscience and the paranormal, says it’s all not so. The mag has bestowed upon the company the first ever “Rusty Razor” award as the best promoter of the “worst pseudoscience of the year.”
“This year saw the debut of a new category — The Rusty Razor, for the most audacious pseudo-science. This award was decided by our readers’ votes, and the winner (by a landslide) was Goop, the lifestyle brand championed by actress Gwyneth Paltrow,” the magazine wrote.
Goop has been repeatedly slapped down for its claims. The body stickers, sold by a group called Body Vibes, are “made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits so they can monitor an astronaut’s vitals during wear,” CNN reported.
But NASA told CNNMoney it doesn’t use carbon material to line its suits, and its current spacesuit has no carbon fibers in it at all. Goop removed the NASA mention from its post after the outlet’s story went up.

Monique Lhuillier Launch Party at goop pop Dallas

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Releases Bizarre Holiday Gift Guide

Gwyneth Paltrow

Rep. Chris Stewart was skeptical as former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday.
Then the Utah Republican got his own chance to question her.
&#8220;I would now feel compelled to ask you, Madam Ambassador, as you sit here before us, very simply and directly, do you have any information regarding the president of the United States accepting any bribes?&#8221; Stewart asked, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/marie-yovanovitch-president-trump-impeachment-hearing">Fox News</a>.
&#8220;No,&#8221; Yovanovitch said.
&#8220;Do you have any information regarding any criminal activity that the president of the United States has been involved with at all?&#8221; Stewart asked.
&#8220;No,&#8221; Yovanovitch said.
Then Stewart summed up the Democrats&#8217; effort to impeach President Trump.
&#8220;The American people know this is nonsense,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The American people know this is unfair.&#8221;
The White House highlighted the exchange, noting that Stewart had cut to the chase in record time.
&#8220;In 30 seconds,&#8221; a White House message on Twitter read, &#8220;@RepChrisStewart got the answers that House democrats have spent 7 hours trying to avoid.
&#8220;7 hours that Congress could&#8217;ve spent working for you&#8211;on drug price legislation, USMCA, immigration reform, or infrastructure&#8211;instead of for their own political careers.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In 30 seconds, @RepChrisStewart got the answers that House Democrats have spent 7 hours trying to avoid.
7 hours that Congress could’ve spent working for you—on drug price legislation, USMCA, immigration reform, or infrastructure—instead of for their own political careers. <a href="https://t.co/dRhvjp7NWq">https://t.co/dRhvjp7NWq</a> <a href="https://t.co/PkuyG8m4H0">pic.twitter.com/PkuyG8m4H0</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 15, 2019</blockquote>
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Democrats had presented &#8220;zero evidence.&#8221;
“The second public hearing of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Congressman [Adam] Schiff’s impeachment charade was as useless and inconsequential as the first. Zero evidence of any wrongdoing by the President was presented,” she wrote in a statement. &#8220;In fact, Ambassador Yovanovitch testified under oath that she was unaware of any criminal activity involving President Trump.&#8221;
Yovanovitch testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, but had no firsthand knowledge of Trump. In A July 25 phone call, Trump asked the president of Ukraine for a &#8220;favor&#8221; by looking into the the origins of the Russia collusion narrative. He also discussed the activities of former vice president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
“She was not on the July 25 phone call and had no knowledge about the pause on aid to Ukraine. It is difficult to imagine a greater waste of time than today’s hearing, and yet unfortunately, we expect more of the same partisan political theater next week from House Democrats,” Grisham said.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) agreed, saying Democrats have &#8220;no case.&#8221;
&#8220;The Democrats&#8217; second day impeachment witness, Ambassador Yovanovitch, has no information on any of the relevant questions,&#8221; Meadows wrote on Twitter. &#8220;They have no case. This is not serious.&#8221;
He also said Stewart had &#8220;summarized this whole hearing.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bravo from @RepChrisStewart, who just summarized this whole hearing:
Q: &#8220;Do you have any information regarding POTUS accepting bribes?&#8221;
Yovanovitch: &#8220;No&#8221;
Q: Do you have any evidence of any criminal activity from POTUS?&#8221;
Yovanovitch: &#8220;No&#8221;
That, there, should be the ballgame
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) November 15, 2019</blockquote>
Stewart said Americans have little faith in the process.
“I think that public support for impeachment is actually going to be less when these hearings are over than it is when the hearings began, because finally the American people are going to be able to see the evidence and they&#8217;re going to be able to make their own determination regarding that,” Stewart said, according to the <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/11/15/rep-chris-stewart/">Salt Lake Tribune</a>.
“For three years, we’ve heard these outrageous and frankly unbelievable accusations regarding Russian collusion, accusations that we now know are absolute nonsense,” Stewart said.

IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY DONALD TRUMP

GONE IN 30 SECONDS: GOP Rep Takes Down Dem Witness In Record Time

Ukraine

Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick defended himself on Thursday for working as a managing director at Bain Capital, the private investment firm co-founded by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
&#8220;Yes, I work at the place that was demonized in the 2012 presidential election,&#8221; Patrick told MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace, before she interrupted him and put forth that it was his own party which excoriated the renowned private equity firm.
&#8220;I&#8217;m about to tell you &#8212; you may remember because I was co-chair of that campaign. I didn&#8217;t buy into it then and I still don&#8217;t,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;There is a place for private equity in the private economy. There is a place for business in our lives.&#8221;
Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, widely criticized Romney over his financial ties while he was running for the presidency in 2012. While running for his second-term, Obama <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/us/politics/romney-demands-apology-from-obama-on-bain-allegations.html">portrayed the investment company</a> as a corrupt corporate raider that was destroying American jobs. Patrick, a close ally of Obama&#8217;s and a campaign surrogate, made waves when he broke with the campaign and notably referred to Bain as &#8220;a perfectly fine company.&#8221;
&#8220;They have a role in the private economy, and I&#8217;ve got a lot of friends there … on both sides of the aisle,&#8221; Patrick said <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/gov-patrick-praises-bain-romney-076905">at the time</a>. &#8220;I think the Bain strategy has been distorted in some of the public discussions.&#8221;
Nearly three years later, the former Massachusetts governor joined the firm in 2015 to launch and head up a platform focused on &#8220;social impact investing.&#8221; He resigned from the position last week after he formally announced that he was jumping into the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field and running for president.
&#8220;It is also true that capitalism generally has a lot to answer for &#8212; that is so and we need to be able to confront that and that is exactly the work that I have been doing at Bain Capital,&#8221; Patrick told Wallace. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve done that same work in other business settings before.&#8221;
Patrick, who is the latest candidate to join the presidential race, is seemingly facing an uphill battle to win the nomination in a party that has consistently been pivoting farther left of the aisle. He brushed off criticism that his background doesn&#8217;t align with the party&#8217;s far-left base.
&#8220;I love that the party has moved to the left. I love that we are the party of the woke. I believe that we also have to be the party of the still waking,&#8221; Patrick said. &#8220;And I have always conducted my personal life, and my business life, and my life as a civil rights lawyer, my life as an advocate, my life as a mediator, and as a governor that way. And why? It&#8217;s not because I&#8217;m trying to smooth over issues &#8212; I&#8217;m interested in getting at root causes.&#8221;
Patrick subsequently touted Massachusetts residents&#8217; 98% health insurance coverage during his tenure as governor of the state. While he was tasked with overseeing the statewide health care reform that provided near-universal insurance through state-level subsidies and individual mandates, it was actually Romney who helped develop the program and later signed it into law.

2014 W.E.B. Du Bois Medal Ceremony

Deval Patrick Splits With Obama And Other 2020 Dems: &#8216;There Is A Place For Private Equity&#8217;

Mitt Romney

As former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was testifying Friday before the House committee conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, the Twitterer in Chief took to social media.
&#8220;Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors,&#8221; Trump wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019</blockquote>
&#8220;&#8230;. They call it &#8216;serving at the pleasure of the President,'&#8221; Trump continued.  &#8220;The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8230;.They call it “serving at the pleasure of the President.” The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019</blockquote>
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) immediately charged that Trump’s tweet could be considered witness intimidation.
“As we sit here testifying, the president is attacking you on Twitter,” Schiff said in the hearing shortly after Trump posted, reading the tweet.
Then he said to Yovanovitch, &#8220;Ambassador, you’ve shown the courage to come forward today and testify, notwithstanding the fact that you were encouraged by the White House and the State Department not to, notwithstanding the fact that as you testified earlier the president implicitly threatened you in that call record, and now the president in real time is attacking you.&#8221;
&#8220;What effect do you think that has on other witnesses’ willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?” Schiff asked the former ambassador.
Yovanovitch said it was “very intimidating.&#8221; Then Schiff asked, “It’s designed to be intimidating, is it not?&#8221; Yovanovitch said she didn&#8217;t know if it was intended to do so, but that was the “effect.”
&#8220;I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously,” Schiff said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), among other Democrats, also said &#8220;it’s witness intimidation — and innocent people don’t intimidate witnesses. Intimidating a witness and tampering with witness testimony is an obstructive act. And we have evidence that that’s happened here.”
But Trump said he has First Amendment rights, just like every American.
&#8220;I have the right to speak. I have freedom of speech just like other people do,&#8221; Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
Asked by a reporter if Trump thought his tweets could be intimidating, he answered, “I don’t think so at all.”
Fox anchor Bret Baier said Trump may have given Schiff new ammunition in his impeachment inquiry by posting the tweet.
“That enabled Schiff to then characterize that tweet as intimidating the witness, or tampering with the witness, which is a crime, adding essentially an article of impeachment in real-time as this hearing is going on,” Baier said.

President Trump Delivers Remarks On Transparency  In Health Care Prices

Trump Defends Tweet About Impeachment Witness: &#8216;I Have The Right To Speak&#8217;

Adam Schiff

In an interview airing on the BBC Saturday night, Prince Andrew says he made a mistake by continuing to hang out with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but blamed his continued friendship on his “honor.”
“The problem was the fact that once he had been convicted I stayed with him,” the Duke of York told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis. “That’s the bit I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal Family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that.”
When Maitlis asked Andrew why he would stay at Epstein’s house after charges that he had sex with underage girls, the Duke said, “It was a convenient place to stay.”
“There is … I mean I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times,” Andrew said. “At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one could have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honorable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgement was probably colored by my tendency to be too honorable, but that’s just the way it is.”
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7691013/I-let-Prince-Andrew-tells-BBCs-Emily-Maitlis-wrong-stay-Epstein.html">published</a> the full video of Andrew’s interview. He also rejected the allegations made against him by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts, who said the Duke had sex with her when she was just 17. Andrew said he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”  There is a photo of the prince and Roberts “with his arm around the teenager’s bare waist alongside Epstein’s alleged ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell,” the Mail reported.
Still, celebrities take photos with people all the time whom they may not remember.
Roberts claimed that she met Andrew in 2001, had dinner with him and danced with him at a nightclub in London. She claimed she had sex with him in Maxwell’s house.
The Mail reported that interviews such as this one with the royal family are extremely rare. The last time a family member spoke about a personal matter was in the 90s, when both Princess Diana and Prince Charles spoke of their divorce.
The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/16/top-lawyer-calls-prince-andrew-bbc-interview-catastrophic-error">reported</a> that top media lawyer Mark Stephens (who previously represented James Hewitt when he was alleged to have had an affair with Diana), said Andrew’s interview was a “catastrophic error.”
“This strategy only works if you’ve got a complete and full answer to every possible question, and here there are too many loose ends,” Stephens told the outlet. “If he’d kept his silence he’d have been able to remain outside of the case, as he’s a witness and is entitled to diplomatic immunity. He was a private individual and now he’s waived that privacy.”
As the Mail reported, the last time a royal family member spoke to the media about a personal issue (Charles and Diana), it also was viewed as a disaster for the monarchy.

Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew Says His ‘Tendency To Be Too Honorable’ Made Him Pal Around With Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein

A recent survey conducted by the Victims of Communism and polled by YouGov, a research and data firm, found that 70% of millennials are likely to vote socialist and that one in three millennials saw communism as &#8220;favorable.&#8221;
Let examine this tragic vision in light of the Fraser Institute&#8217;s recently released annual study &#8220;Economic Freedom of the World,&#8221; prepared by Professors James Gwartney, Florida State University; Robert A. Lawson and Ryan Murphy of Southern Methodist University; and Joshua Hall, West Virginia University, in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network.
Hong Kong and Singapore maintained their lead as the world&#8217;s most economically free countries — although China&#8217;s heavy hand threatens Hong Kong&#8217;s top ranking. Rounding out the top 10 are New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. By the way, after having fallen to 16th in 2016, the U.S. has staged a comeback to being in the top five economically free countries in the world.
What statistics go into the Fraser Institute&#8217;s calculation of economic freedom? The report measures the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions by analyzing the policies and institutions of 162 countries and territories. These include regulation, freedom to trade internationally, size of government, sound legal system, private property rights and government spending and taxation.
Fraser Institute scholar Fred McMahon says, &#8220;Where people are free to pursue their own opportunities and make their own choices, they lead more prosperous, happier and healthier lives.&#8221; The evidence for his assessment is: Countries in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of $36,770 in 2017 compared with $6,140 for bottom quartile countries. Poverty rates are lower. In the top quartile, 1.8% of the population experienced extreme poverty ($1.90 a day) compared with 27.2% in the lowest quartile. Life expectancy is 79.5 years in the top quartile of economically free countries compared with 64.4 years in the bottom quartile.
The Fraser Institute&#8217;s rankings of other major countries include Japan (17th), Germany (20th), Italy (46th), France (50th), Mexico (76th), India (79th), Russia (85th), China (113th) and Brazil (120th). The least free countries are Venezuela, Argentina, Ukraine and nearly every African country with the most notable exception of Mauritius. By the way, Argentina and Venezuela used to be rich until they bought into socialism.
During the Cold War, leftists made a moral equivalency between communist totalitarianism and democracy. W. E. B. Du Bois, writing in the National Guardian (1953) said, &#8220;Joseph Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature.&#8221; Walter Duranty called Stalin &#8220;the greatest living statesman &#8230; a quiet, unobtrusive man.&#8221; George Bernard Shaw expressed admiration for Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith visited Mao&#8217;s China and praised Mao Zedong and the Chinese economic system. Gunther Stein of the Christian Science Monitor also admired Mao and declared ecstatically that &#8220;the men and women pioneers of Yenan are truly new humans in spirit, thought and action.&#8221; Michel Oksenberg, President Jimmy Carter&#8217;s China expert, complained that &#8220;America (is) doomed to decay until radical, even revolutionary, change fundamentally alters the institutions and values,&#8221; and urged us to &#8220;borrow ideas and solutions&#8221; from China.
Leftists exempted communist leaders from the harsh criticism directed toward Adolf Hitler, even though communist crimes against humanity made Hitler&#8217;s slaughter of 11 million noncombatants appear almost amateurish. According to Professor R.J. Rummel&#8217;s research in &#8220;Death by Government,&#8221; from 1917 until its collapse, the Soviet Union murdered or caused the death of 61 million people, mostly its own citizens. From 1949 to 1976, Mao&#8217;s Communist regime was responsible for the death of as many as 76 million Chinese citizens.
Today&#8217;s leftists, socialists and progressives would bristle at the suggestion that their agenda differs little from that of past tyrants. They should keep in mind that the origins of the unspeakable horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism did not begin in the &#8217;20s, &#8217;30s and &#8217;40s. Those horrors were simply the result of a long evolution of ideas leading to a consolidation of power in the central government in the quest for &#8220;social justice.&#8221;
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Hammer and Sickel.

WILLIAMS: Young People Ignorant Of History

Communism

Josef Stalin

Socialism

As Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) campaign for her party’s presidential nomination continues to implode, some in the media are looking for answers.
ABC News shot first, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kamala-harris-proof-america-ready-woman-color-president/story?id=66610615&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">asking</a> if Harris “proof that America isn&#8217;t ready for a woman of color as president?” The article began with quotes from Harris making the argument herself.
She had previously spoken about her “electability” several times, and in May she went ahead and wondered whether “America was ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United State of America.” She made the claim on “The View.” This statement set her up with the tired and ready-made excuse in case she lost the primary: It’s because America is racist and misogynist.
Of course, that ignores the two elections of former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 nomination. It also ignores the fact that she is currently in a Democratic primary, meaning the people she is calling racist and sexist are her fellow Democrats.
This point seemed lost on ABC as well, since it asked if “America” was ready for a black woman of president, when they were really asking if Democrats were ready for a black woman nominee.
Regardless, the notion that Harris’ failing campaign has anything to do with her sex or race is absurd. She is a bad candidate, like so many others in presidential primaries. She had a terrible track record as a prosecutor in California. She got national attention when she became a senator and seemed to be a star in her party. She thought that was enough to get her the nomination.
But she was not the only Democratic star to run. She’s had to contend with former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. They were all also Democrat stars. There was also Sen. Cory Booker, whose campaign never really flourished, and former Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, who started on a high but quickly fizzled.
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2019/11/15/kamala-harris-campaign-2020-071105">reported</a> Friday that Harris’ campaign aides told the outlet there was a lack of leadership and “discipline” in the campaign. Staffers told Politico that campaign manager Juan Rodriguez and Harris’ younger sister, Maya, are at odds among senior leadership. One senior staffer said Rodriguez has “all the responsibility with none of the authority,” while another said Rodriguez “chose to defer to Maya” instead of taking the lead.
A few weeks ago, Harris laid off most of her New Hampshire staff in order to focus on Iowa, a move that appeared to be an indication her campaign was flailing.
As The Daily Wire’s Eric Quintanar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/turmoil-at-team-harris-campaign-wasted-her-talent">reported</a>, Harris’ campaign has struggled from the start, beginning with her struggle to decide whether she supported the elimination of the private health insurance industry.
She had a shining moment at the first debate where she called out Biden’s prior opposition to busing, but a month later she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kamala-harris-now-same-page-biden-when-it-comes-ashe-schow">walked back her position</a>, saying she was merely open to busing. In another debate, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was able to knock Harris off her guard by bringing up the fact that the former California prosecutor “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations” and later laughed about smoking marijuana herself.
Harris’ campaign failures are the result of her past as a ruthless prosecutor and her inability to pick a policy position on multiple issues. Her campaign woes are her own failures and cannot be blamed on her skin color or sex.

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