On Tuesday, with impeachment proceedings underway in the Senate, a tweet appeared from Senator Ted Cruz, provoking former Clinton White House press secretary and current CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart to trumpet that Cruz had violated the rules of the Senate and that Twitter should investigate him. Cruz’s reply was one for the ages.
Cruz triggered Lockhart by tweeting, “NEWSFLASH for Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff: <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@realDonaldTrump</a> invoking Constitutional privilege is not obstruction of Congress. If it were, nearly every president would have committed impeachable conduct.”
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NEWSFLASH for Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff: <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> invoking Constitutional privilege is not obstruction of Congress.
If it were, nearly every president would have committed impeachable conduct. <a href="https://t.co/lWeV32MxWH">pic.twitter.com/lWeV32MxWH</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1219694084748644353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Lockhart, apparently breathless with excitement, responded on Twitter, “Senators on the floor are sworn to silence and have no electronic devices. So how is this Senator tweeting? Did he sneak a phone in. Is he willing to go to prison? Or is the tweet from someone other than Cruz. <a href="https://twitter.com/jack">@jack</a> you should investigate.”
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Senators on the floor are sworn to silence and have no electronic devices. So how is this Senator tweeting? Did he sneak a phone in. Is he willing to go to prison? Or is the tweet from someone other than Cruz. <a href="https://twitter.com/jack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jack</a> you should investigate
&mdash; Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelockhart/status/1219695347762716672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Before we get to Cruz’s response, which not only won Twitter for the day, it might have won it for the week or the month, let’s check out a few other responses to Lockhart’s desperate attempt to target Cruz as we build to Cruz’s response:
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If you&#39;re going to be the enforcer on this I think you&#39;ll end up staying pretty busy. <a href="https://t.co/knbnEkxPAS">https://t.co/knbnEkxPAS</a>
&mdash; Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattdizwhitlock/status/1219698385185333248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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This was an interesting one to send out during the hearing. But he can explain that to the police you send his way! <a href="https://t.co/GfBC86M5Q7">https://t.co/GfBC86M5Q7</a>
&mdash; Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattdizwhitlock/status/1219707843911340035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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O K
B O O M E R
&mdash; Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) <a href="https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1219699484839596032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA <a href="https://t.co/FS5E72ciS9">https://t.co/FS5E72ciS9</a>
&mdash; EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/1219699934447927297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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You cover politics and aren&#39;t smart enough to realize aides have access to their bosses twitter accts?
Embarrassing.
&mdash; Noah (@reeb1011) <a href="https://twitter.com/reeb1011/status/1219698106641666049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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And now, Cruz’s classic Texas response:
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<a href="https://t.co/FNTogu1IUt">https://t.co/FNTogu1IUt</a> <a href="https://t.co/cuO8Sz5Vls">pic.twitter.com/cuO8Sz5Vls</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1219698358887026691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Cruz, a student of history, was making an obvious reference of Texas to the Battle of Gonzales in 1835 in the Texas revolution against Mexico. In that battle, when Texans resisted the Mexican forces who outnumbered them and intended to take their cannon, the Texans created a flag on which &#8220;come and take it&#8221; was emblazoned along with a black star. Replicas of the original flag can be found all over Texas, from the state capitol to the Texas State History Museum to the University of Texas to Sam Houston State University.
In all likelihood, Cruz is also aware of another time in American history in which the phrase &#8220;come and take it&#8221; was used: Fort Morris in Georgia during the Revolutionary War, where British soldiers outnumbered the 127 Continental soldiers plus militiamen and local citizens and demanded the Americans&#8217; surrender in a written note. American Colonel John McIntosh issued a response in which he stated, &#8220;As to surrendering the fort, receive this laconic reply: COME AND TAKE IT!&#8221;
Cruz has been on a roll lately; on Sunday, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cruz-trolls-pelosi-on-impeachment-trump-will-be-acquitted-forever-of-these-bogus-charges">mocked</a> House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s pronouncement  that President Donald Trump will be &#8220;impeached forever,&#8221; responding that by the time the Senate is done with the trial, Trump would be &#8220;acquitted forever of these bogus charges.&#8221; Last week, after Pelosi celebrated sending off the articles of impeachment by smiling and offering taxpayer-funded golden pens to those who attended,  Cruz had a golden response of his own characterizing the Democrats as buffoonish and childish, which he sent via <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1217634848426397696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1217634848426397696&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D79486%26action%3Dedit">Twitter</a>: “Given the circus in the House, I’m surprised she didn’t use crayons.”
Just before that, after Senator Elizabeth Warren suggested that on the first day in office after she were elected president, she would cancel student loan debt for up to 42 million Americans and simply ignore what Congress had to say about it, Cruz <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1217151342071963649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1217151342071963649&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D79151%26action%3Dedit">fired back</a>, &#8220;Which clause of the Constitution gives a President the authority to give away a trillion $ w/o Congress? And if you like this policy, how would you feel if/when a GOP president does it for something you don’t like? Here’s a better idea: follow the Const &amp; don’t be a dictator.”
H/T <a href="https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2020/01/21/ex-clinton-wh-press-secretary-and-cnn-analyst-joe-lockhart-thinks-twitter-should-investigate-ted-cruz-over-a-tweet-but-cruz-has-a-better-idea/">Twitchy</a>

Senate Judiciary Committee Questions Twitter And Facebook On Technological Censorship

Former Clinton White House Press Secretary Says Twitter Should Investigate Cruz. Cruz Decimates Him With One Image.

Ted Cruz

On Tuesday, an Iranian legislator who hails from the same province as Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on Jan. 3, told the Iranian parliament that the people of that province have offered $3 million to anyone who murders President Trump.
According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-trump/iranian-mp-offers-3-million-reward-for-whoever-kills-trump-isna-idUSKBN1ZK0YS?il=0">Reuters</a>, which was quoting the ISNA news agency, legislator Ahmad Hamzeh stated, “On behalf of the people of Kerman province, we will pay a $3 million reward in cash to whoever kills Trump.”  Reuters added, “U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood dismissed the reward as ‘ridiculous,’ telling reporters in Geneva it showed the “’terrorist underpinnings’ of Iran’s establishment.”
Hamzeh continued, “If we had nuclear weapons today, we would be protected from threats &#8230; We should put the production of long-range missiles capable of carrying unconventional warheads on our agenda. This is our natural right.”
Threats from members of the Iranian government targeting the United States have been steady for some time; last September, after theattacks on two oil refineries in Saudi Arabia that destroyed 5% of the world’s oil supply, prompting accusations from the U.S. government that the attacks were launched by Iran, a top Iranian general boasted that U.S. sites were in range of Iranian missiles and Iran was ready for a &#8220;full-fledged&#8221; war.
Amirali Hajizadeh, who heads Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace, bragged, &#8220;Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) around Iran are within the range of our missiles,&#8221; adding &#8220;Iran has always been ready for a &#8216;full-fledged&#8217; war,&#8221; as quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency and reported by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-missiles/iran-says-u-s-bases-and-aircraft-carriers-within-range-of-its-missiles-tasnim-idUSKBN1W004A">Reuters</a>.
Last August, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested the United States would have to bow down to Iran and repent from &#8220;economic terrorism&#8221; against Iran. He <a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/iranian-president-hassan-rouhani-america-west-lift-sanctions-repent-reject-change-attitude/transcript">said</a> in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), &#8220;If you lift all the sanctions and bow down before the Iranian people, the circumstances will be different.”
Last July, Rouhani threatened to shoot down more American drones after Iran shot down an American drone, saying American drones “will receive the same response” as the American drone that was shot down in June.
Last June, Rouhani attacked President Trump, saying the White House’s actions showed that Trump was “mentally retarded,&#8221; Trump fired back with a series of tweets warning Iran that if they attacked anything American, that action would be met with “great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry &amp; Obama!”
Just prior to that, Former Iranian Minister of Defense General Hossein Dehghan, who was an advisor for defense affairs to Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, said that Iran would put America in &#8220;the garbage bin of history&#8221; if attacked. As MEMRI <a href="https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/1142745724217638914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">translated</a> Dehghan’s comments on June 20 in an interview on Al-Nujaba TV:
<blockquote>Trump proved once again that he is merely an agent of his administration’s interests, that a war in this region would not be a walk in the park, that the United States is by no means ready for war, and that is completely understands how strong Iran is. What we understand from the behavior of the Americans is that they fear very much the break out of a war in the region. They are not ready for this, and they cannot assemble an international coalition, because there is no U.N. resolution to begin with. They don’t have global legal consensus to do this …  In my personal opinion, this war will not take place – not because America does not want war, but because Iran is strong enough to engage in confrontation. Iran would achieve a great victory, and America would find itself in the garbage bin of history.</blockquote>

U.S. President Trump At The World Economic Forum (WEF)

Iranian Legislator Puts $3 Million Bounty On Trump’s Head

Donald Trump

Iran

A bill introduced in December in the House of Representatives and in January in the Senate by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against an employee on the basis of their hair.
In December 2019, New Jersey became the third state in the nation to pass The Crown Act, (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair) following California and New York in July 2019. Booker stated at the time:
<blockquote>As the legislative year comes to a close, New Jersey has been hard at work reforming our criminal justice system so that it will treat incarcerated women with dignity, restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals, and put a stop to hair discrimination.  All New Jerseyans deserve to be treated with decency and respect, and each of these measures will end unequitable and disenfranchising realities that too many have been facing. Today&#8217;s passage of the CROWN Act marks a historic step in banning a culture of discrimination against black hair.  Hair discrimination is a civil rights violation and we must stop reinforcing racism and biases against Black hair.</blockquote>
Esi Eggleston Bracey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of North America Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever, the New Jersey-based parent company of Dove, added a statement for the company: &#8220;It is our mission at Dove to champion individual beauty and ensure all beauty is respected and welcome in our society.  For too long, narrow beauty standards have perpetuated unfair scrutiny and injustice for hairstyles and textures inherent to Black identity.  On the anniversary of the infamous and painful wrestling incident, I am proud that New Jersey has passed The CROWN Act to put an end to hair discrimination.”
Booker’s bill in the Senate, <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s3167">S. 3167</a>, states in part, “ … people of African descent are deprived of educational and employment opportunities because they are adorned with natural or protective hairstyles in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, or worn in locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, or Afros … some Federal courts have misinterpreted Federal civil rights law by narrowly interpreting the meaning of race or national origin, and thereby permitting, for example, employers to discriminate against people of African descent who wear natural or protective hairstyles even though the employment policies involved are not related to workers’ ability to perform their jobs.”
A differing opinion was offered by Appeals Court Judge Adalberto Jordan <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca11/14-13482/14-13482-2017-12-05.html">in a concurrence</a> to the 2017 case EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions, in which he wrote,  “Banning dreadlocks in the workplace under a race-neutral grooming policy — without more — does not constitute intentional race-based discrimination. Dreadlocks are not … an immutable characteristic of black individuals.”
He added, “For the time being, we are left with Supreme Court precedent explaining that discrimination based on stereotypes is circumstantial evidence of discrimination on the basis of a protected category and with circuit precedent telling us that protected categories and characteristics must be immutable. Those two lines of authority, in my opinion, are not mutually exclusive.”
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Rear View Of Woman With Dreadlocks

Senate Bill Would Ban Discrimination By Employers Based On Hairstyle

Washington state Democrats are pushing a bill that would make sure kindergartners will learn about sex starting in 2022. House Bill 2184 <a href="http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2184.pdf?q=20200121052633">states</a>, “In accordance with the requirements in this section and any recommendations of the sexual health education work group established in the 2019-2021 omnibus operating appropriations act that are enacted by the legislature, every public school shall provide comprehensive sexual health education to each student by the 2022-23 school year.”
As radio host Jason Rantz of KTTH <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/1676789/rantz-mandatory-sex-ed-kindergarten-washington/">points out</a>:
<blockquote>One section of the curriculum for teachers to use as a guide suggests talking to students about the penis as not having “any bones in it, but when people talk about an erection as a ‘boner,’ they’re mistaken.” Girls are taught about a “very sensitive little area at the top called the clitoris.”</blockquote>
Despite the fact that a survey conducted by the Comprehensive Sexual Health Education work group (CSHE) , which was created in 2019 under the Office of Superintendent, found that 54% of respondents felt sex education for children in grades K-5 should not be required, a <a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/committeeschedules/Home/Document/208965#toolbar=0&amp;navpanes=0">document</a> from CSHE reportedly stated that such education was necessary because the “social emotional needs of our youngest students must be addressed for prevention of future challenges.” CHSE added that this was “an issue of equity and would help to ensure all students across the state receive quality, evidence-informed instruction, regardless of who they are or where they live,&#8221; according to Rantz.
As Rantz points out, “It’s not surprising that the group rejected the public’s input. The entire 16-member, all-female work group were described as in agreement with their findings, though they had conversations about what some of the K-3 curriculum should look like.”
State Representative Michelle Caldier (R-Bremerton), speaking at a House Education Committee hearing, admonished CHSE, stating, “I think that sometimes, you know in politics and when we’re making decisions. that it’s very easy to surround ourselves with people who just agree with us and I think that if the work group just had conversations and no disagreement, that really concerns me because I know there’s a lot of disagreement for that. And I would encourage you guys to go back and really listen to the people who disagree and come back with something better.”
Laurie Dills, from the Office of Superintendent lamely responded that “we were exposed to a wide variety of viewpoints around the state.”
The curriculum includes statements such as these: “This lesson does, however, acknowledge that ‘there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have. Being a boy or a girl doesn’t have to mean you have those parts, but for most people this is how their bodies are.’”
Rantz noted, “For Grade 1, teachers should have their students read ‘My Princess Boy’ before teaching the six and seven-year-olds about reproduction.”
“My Princess Boy” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-Princess-Boy-Cheryl-Kilodavis/dp/1442429887/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NIME6PF5URKD&amp;keywords=my+princess+boy&amp;qid=1579614476&amp;sprefix=My+Princess+boy%2Caps%2C195&amp;sr=8-1">describes itself</a> this way on its Amazon website: “Dyson loves pink, sparkly things. Sometimes he wears dresses. Sometimes he wears jeans. He likes to wear his princess tiara, even when climbing trees. He’s a Princess Boy.”
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Learning and playroom

Washington State Dems Push Bill Forcing Kindergartners To Learn About Sex

Children

Washington

Supporters of Bernie Sanders in Colorado are threatening other Democrats in the state that they are going to take over. Speaking on Sunday at the opening of Sanders’ state office in Denver&#8217;s Capitol Hill neighborhood, state Rep. Joe Salazar, who endorsed Sanders in 2016, boasted:
<blockquote>The progressive movement has grown, and it&#8217;s grown up here in Colorado … In 2016, we were laughed at, the progressive movement. We were laughed at; we were chided; we were made fun of at the caucus. The establishment didn&#8217;t think that there was a real movement happening … Here we are, four years later, and we have the same candidate, who doesn&#8217;t shift based on the political winds, who&#8217;s saying the same things he said four years ago, that other candidates are trying to attach themselves to. We have him leading in states where he needs to lead, and he&#8217;s coming to Colorado to whoop some ass.</blockquote>
As <a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2020-election/bernie-sanders-presidential-campaign-opens-colorado-office-ahead-of-super/article_a3e7c4d6-3b57-11ea-adff-e7db861356ca.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Colorado Politics</a> reported, Salazar continued, &#8220;It&#8217;s to show the establishment, it&#8217;s to show those people who believe in incrementalism — who are moderates — that not only are we here, we are the backbone of the party, And if you don&#8217;t want to listen to us, there will be consequences to that. Because the true Democrats are in this room … We are willing to stand up to them and say, &#8216;Your days are over with, and we are coming.’”
Pilar Chapa, the Sanders campaign&#8217;s state director, bragged, &#8220;We are going to win this fight. It&#8217;s a long battle, and this is a rare opportunity for us. We get to elect someone who stands for the values that we believe in.&#8221; She added, &#8220;We have to infiltrate the party.  If you look at the platform, the Democratic platform, they have had to follow Bernie&#8217;s lead.&#8221;
Journalist David Sirota, a senior adviser and speech writer with the national Sanders campaign whose wife,State Rep. Emily Sirota, was endorsed by Sanders in 2018, then defeated a moderate Democrat, said critics of Sanders &#8220;are terrified — and they should be terrified, because they can see the polls that show their nonsense, the attacks they have been throwing at us, are not working … It&#8217;s not working, because we&#8217;ve built an unprecedented grassroots campaign.&#8221;
An <a href="https://emersonpolling.reportablenews.com/pr/colorado-2020-sanders-biden-and-warren-lead-democratic-field-democrats-look-to-gain-senate-seat">Emerson poll</a> was conducted last August of Colorado voters. Sanders led with 26%; former Vice president Joe Biden garnered 25% of the vote, followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren with 20%, and Senator Kamala Harris with 13%.
<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/12/colorado-primary-warren-sanders-bloomberg-biden/">The Denver Post</a> reported:
<blockquote>Of Colorado’s 80 delegates, 67 “pledged” spots will be apportioned based on the results of the March 3 primary. That same day, five states offer larger bounties, including 416 up for grabs in California, 228 in Texas and 110 in North Carolina … Here’s where it gets more complex: In the Democrats’ all-proportional system, any candidate who finishes above 15% in a congressional district or statewide will earn delegates, giving each state some importance. But it’s up to candidates to decide whether to build large staff operations, splurge on targeted TV and digital ads without much of a local presence, or rely on momentum out of early contests to hurriedly shift resources to new states.</blockquote>
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Sen. Bernie Sanders Makes First Campaign Stop In Colorado For 2020 Race

Sanders’ Colorado Supporters Warn Other Dems: ‘Your Days Are Over And We Are Coming’

Bernie Sanders

Colorado

With the Illinois primary less than two months away, a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections has admitted that some non-citizens of the United States may have illegally voted in the 2018 election because of the new automatic voter registration process implemented in the state.
Spokesman Matt Dietrich told <a href="https://www.wcia.com/illinois-capitol-news/state-board-of-elections-admits-non-u-s-citizens-may-have-voted-illegally-in-2018/">WCIA</a> on Monday that 574 non-U.S. citizens were inadvertently registered to vote in Illinois, adding, “We do know that some of them voted in 2018.” He surmised that some may have been legal citizens who incorrectly filled out the state form to vote, although it appears much if not all of the problem was that Illinois permits non-citizens to obtain driver’s licenses.
Democrat Secretary of State Jesse White’s office acknowledged the mistake in a letter to the State Board of Elections on December 18. Spokesman Henry Haupt of White’s office stated, “For whatever reason that technological programming error did not properly remove the individuals. The individuals who are applying for driver’s license were inadvertently pooled into the automatic voter registration.” He added, “This was an isolated case that impacted less than one-tenth of one percent of the people registered through automatic voter registration. As soon as the program error was discovered, it was fixed, and the individuals were notified, including the State Board of Elections and the local election authorities.”
The Macon County Sheriff’s race was decided by one vote. The <a href="https://www.news-gazette.com/news/runner-up-in-one-vote-macon-county-sheriff-s-race/article_22d76307-be83-5bde-9634-a96470551691.html">News-Gazette</a> reported in December 2018:
<blockquote>A Decatur man who was told he lost his bid to become Macon County sheriff by one vote is asking a judge to review the election results in hopes he&#8217;ll be declared the winner. Republican Jim Root filed suit Wednesday in Macon County Circuit Court against Democrat Tony &#8220;Chubby&#8221; Brown, the current sheriff, seeking to overturn Brown&#8217;s victory …The request for judicial relief comes on the heels of a discovery recount that Root&#8217;s local attorney, Jerrold Stocks, believes actually puts Root five votes ahead of Brown instead of one vote behind.</blockquote>
WCIA noted, “Illinois law allows immigrants who are not citizens to get a driver’s license or state identification. Both state and federal law prohibits non-citizens from participating in American elections …  Non-citizens who vote in American elections can face swift consequences, including immediate deportation.”
State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) explained, “Non-citizens can have driver’s licenses in the state of Illinois. A driver’s license is a key tool in registering someone to vote. Oftentimes it’s your driver’s license that is one of the two documents that we use to verify that you’re a registered citizen … If that person voted, that’s a huge problem when it comes to the federal government. That’s a deportable offense for this person. And if that’s the case, that’s something that’s on the Secretary of State’s office for allowing that offense to happen.”
Because of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, no state employees were available to ascertain exactly how many non-citizens actually voted; a more detailed answer is expected to be given on Tuesday.
Five Illinois House Republicans have requested White and the State Board of Elections to testify before investigative hearings; Butler explained, “We have to have complete confidence that our offices are doing the right thing. And that goes for the Secretary of State. He may or may not have known about this. I have no idea. But he needs to be held responsible for it. It’s his operation that allowed this to happen.”
The Illinois primary election is held March 17, with early voting starting on February 6.
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Springfield, Illinois Cityscapes And City Views

Illinois Dems Admit Mistake Allowed Non-Citizens To Vote In 2018

Illinois

Voting Rights

Immigration and  Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released a list of nine  illegal immigrants whom they claim they say have been “released in New York communities” because of the city’s sanctuary policy. ICE also named six additional illegal immigrants who may be released, some of whom have been charged with murder and child rape.
On Friday, acting ICE director, Matthew Albence, referring to the case of Maria Fuertas, a 92-year-old woman who was allegedly murdered by Reeaz Khan, 21, who had been released after he had previously been charged with assault and was charged with Fuertas’ murder on January 10, stated, &#8216;It is this city&#8217;s sanctuary policies that are the sole reason this criminal was allowed to roam the streets freely and end an innocent woman&#8217;s life. It’s unbelievable that I have to come here and plead with the city of New York to cooperate with us to help keep this city safe,” as <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7909091/ICE-issues-list-nine-fugitive-illegal-immigrants-released-NYCs-city-sanctuary-policy.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported.
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-illegal-immigrants-freed-by-new-york-citys-sanctuary-city">Fox News</a> reported, &#8220;Albence cited statistics saying that last year ICE lodged 7,526 detainers via its New York field office. Those individuals accounted for 17,873 criminal convictions and 6,500 criminal charges. He went on to say that those charges and convictions include over 200 homicides, over 500 robberies, over 1,000 sexual offenses, over 1,000 weapons offenses, and over 3,500 assaults. However, only about 10 detainers were honored by the city, officials said.&#8221;
Albence asserted, “Those who politicize this issue want you to believe that you have to choose between being an immigrant-friendly city and one that cooperates with ICE. Again that is simply false. The only immigrants protected by such policies are those committing violence and dangerous offenses, often in the same communities these politicians are purporting to protect.”
Albence also said, “Look, I think if you look over the past two or three years, there’s a much more visible presence of ICRO officers out in these communities, because as we’ve seen, the entire state of California is a sanctuary state; we have lots of large jurisdictions on this country; Chicago, here’s one of them, Philadelphia, where we’re not going to turn a blind eye and put innocent people at risk because the law enforcement agencies in a certain jurisdiction don’t or can’t work with us.”
Of the nine illegal immigrants on ICE’s list that was released, one was charged for first-degree assault, four were charged with second-degree assault, and another four were charged with third-degree assault. Of the six illegal immigrants who may be released, three were charged with murder, one with manslaughter, one with rape, and one with predatory sex assault against a child.
Henry Lucero, a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, said: &#8216;Dangerous criminals are being released every single day in New York … Like any law enforcement agency, we are used to modifying our tactics as criminals shift their strategies. it&#8217;s disheartening that we must change our practices and jump through so many hoops with partners who are restricted by sanctuary laws passed by politicians with a dangerous agenda.&#8217;
Sergeants Benevolent Association Vice President Vincent Vallelong <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nypd-ice-sanctuary-de-blasio">told reporters</a>, “I can guarantee you every single one of our members wants to help them out, unfortunately, the way the policies are set up, they don&#8217;t allow us to. How do we have our own hands handcuffed to not be able to work with these guys?&#8221;

ICE Press Conference

ICE Releases List Of 9 Violent Illegal Immigrants Freed By NY Sanctuary Policy Plus 6 More Who Could Be Released

Following the huge rally in Richmond Virginia to protest against the severe gun control laws the Democrats of Virginia espouse, controversial Governor Ralph Northam issued a statement in which he lauded law enforcement for having “successfully de-escalated what could have been a volatile situation.”
There was no violence at the rally, as The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/thousands-peacefully-protest-for-gun-rights-in-richmond/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The event’s peaceful procession marked a stark contrast to mainstream media portrayals of a rally filled with white nationalists and others prepared to do violence. The day’s rally concluded without a single incidence of mayhem or civil unrest. Music, shared food, and chants of ‘USA!’ made for a festive, fraternal atmosphere as marchers displayed their support for Second Amendment rights in Virginia.</blockquote>
Northam’s statement read:
<blockquote>We are all thankful that today passed without incident. The teams successfully de-escalated what could have been a volatile situation. This resulted from weeks of planning and extensive cooperation among state, local, and federal partners in Virginia and beyond.
Virginia’s law enforcement and first responders demonstrated tremendous professionalism. I’m proud of their work. I have spoken with Colonel Settle of the State Police, Colonel Pike of the Capitol Police, and Chief Smith of the Richmond Police Department, as well as leaders of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office, and thanked them for keeping Virginia safe.
Thousands of people came to Richmond to make their voices heard. Today showed that when people disagree, they can do so peacefully. The issues before us evoke strong emotions, and progress is often difficult. I will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep our Commonwealth safe.</blockquote>
Last Wednesday Northam declared a state of emergency that barred any weapons from Richmond’s Capitol Square from Friday to Tuesday. He claimed that there had been incipient threats from hate groups, asserting, &#8220;They are not coming to peacefully protest, they are coming to intimidate and to cause harm,&#8221; as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/virginia-governor-declares-state-emergency-militia-threats-gun/story?id=68299433">ABC News</a>reported.
Northam’s <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/executive-actions/EO-49-Declaration-of-a-State-Of-Emergency-Due-to-Potential-Civil-Unrest-at-the-Virginia-State-Capitol.pdf">official statement</a> of emergency said in part:
<blockquote>Three years ago, Virginia and the nation, watched horrified as civil protest was marred by violence and hate. The events that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia demonstrated what can happen when peaceful demonstrations are hijacked by those who come into the Commonwealth and do not value the importance of peaceful assembly. We lost three Virginians. We must take all precautions to prevent that from ever happening again.
Credible intelligence gathered by Virginia’s law enforcement agencies indicates that tens of thousands of advocates plan to converge on Capitol Square for events culminating on January 20, 2020. Available information suggests that a substantial number of these demonstrators are expected to come from outside the Commonwealth, may be armed, and have as their purpose not peaceful assembly but violence, rioting, and insurrection. Assuring that Virginia’s Capitol Square and surrounding public areas are sheltered safe places for those who come to participate in the democratic process, as well as those who work on or near Capitol Square, is my greatest priority.</blockquote>
There was plenty of reaction to Northam’s post-rally statement:
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De-escalated what?! There were zero incidents today. <a href="https://t.co/5Yi3ylLB5s">https://t.co/5Yi3ylLB5s</a>
&mdash; Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatiePavlich/status/1219396233598468102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Northam continues his smears against 20,000+ law abiding, peaceful gun owners. He’s lying about them, again implying they are violent despite zero incidents today. He is a disgrace. <a href="https://t.co/5Yi3ylLB5s">https://t.co/5Yi3ylLB5s</a>
&mdash; Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatiePavlich/status/1219419160586915840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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There was no one on the organizer&#39;s side escalating the peaceful protest. You&#39;re not a hero.
&mdash; (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1219400223295864834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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You’re worthless. I’m guessing you were hoping for confrontations and our conservative patriots don’t play that game. You lose, the constitution wins.
&mdash; Buzz Patterson for Congress (@BuzzPatterson) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuzzPatterson/status/1219406400171888645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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You “de-escalated” nothing bar that which was of your own making. <a href="https://t.co/Tt1RkFVvXY">https://t.co/Tt1RkFVvXY</a>
&mdash; Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) <a href="https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1219413911004418049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Governor Northam Speaks At Unveiling Of Kehinde Wiley Statue At Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts

Northam Claims Prospective Violence At Gun Rally Was ‘De-Escalated.’ He Gets Clobbered Online.

Speaking last week as he toured California to size up the devastating homeless problems in the state, California governor Gavin Newsom <a href="https://grabien.com/story.php?id=269269">admitted,</a> “Let’s just be candid; the state of California has been nowhere to be found on the damn issue of homelessness.”
Newsom seemingly admitted that Democrats, who have controlled the state for years, were responsible for the problem as he continued, “We haven’t been focused on this issue; there’s a reason things are the way they are. It’s because we haven’t addressed them. It’s happened on our watch over the last decade; in particular, it’s really gotten bad over the last decade. And we were just slow to respond.”
But then Newsom oiled his way out of that, as he had served as lieutenant governor of the state between 2011 to 2019, saying furtively, “Look, we had a crisis; Governor Brown did an amazing job balancing the damn budget; we were triaging that; we had a lot of other things that were prioritized; we’ve gotten away from our focus on this.&#8221;
Then, boasts of how he will fix the problem: “And that’s why we’re not gonna let that continue or neglect advance any longer. I don’t care if there’s a downturn in the economy, that’s not gonna be an excuse for us to walk away from this. We created a $331 million annuity, regardless of recessions just on legal aid and protection; that was done in last year’s budget because of their support. There are a lot of new things that I think are going to pay great dividends. But the good news, I just want folks to know: last year, was setting everything up; this is the year we want to see results.”
<a href="https://calmatters.org/economy/2020/01/gavin-newsom-budget-california-trump-housing-homelessness-schools-wildfire-surplus/">Cal Matters</a> reported of Newsom’s announcement vis-à-vis the new state budget
<blockquote>Newsom asked for <a style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);" href="https://calmatters.org/explainers/californias-homelessness-crisis-explained/">$1.4 billion</a> for homeless services with a focus on getting money out fast for emergency rental assistance and board-and-care facilities for the mentally ill. He also directed state agencies to review public property that can be converted to emergency housing, and to deploy 100 camp trailers from the state fleet to use as temporary shelters. The proposals come on top of $1 billion allocated last year to keep people off the streets. The governor also stood by his decision not to name a <a style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);" href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article239018303.html">homelessness czar</a>. “You want to know who’s the homeless czar is? I’m the homeless czar,” Newsom said.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-16/skelton-gavin-newsom-homelessness-policy-california-voters">The Los Angeles Times</a> added, “The nonpartisan PPIC asked likely voters which one issue they thought was ‘the most important for the governor and state Legislature to work on in 2020.’ The top choice was homelessness. Nothing else came close. The results: homelessness 23%, housing costs and availability 11%, environment and climate change 9%, immigration 8%, jobs and the economy 7%. And K-12 schools — a traditional concern — didn’t even register.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homelessness-is-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s-and-one-state-is-driving-it">The Daily Wire</a> reported in December, a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) <a href="https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_19_177">stated</a> that California is the impetus for the overall increase of the homeless population in the United States, saying:
<blockquote>While the rest of the country experienced a combined decrease in homelessness in 2019, significant increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness on the West Coast, particularly California and Oregon, offset those nationwide decreases, causing an overall increase in homelessness of 2.7 percent in 2019. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia reported declines in homelessness between 2018 and 2019, while 21 states reported increases in the number of persons experiencing homelessness. Homelessness in California increased by 21,306 people, or 16.4 percent, which is more than the total national increase of every other state combined.</blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Governor Gavin Newsom Homeless

CA Gov Newsom Admits Dems Have Been ‘Nowhere To Be Found’ Solving Homelessness

On Monday, before the massive rally in Richmond, Virginia, in which thousands of gun-rights activists protested plans by Virginia’s Democrats to pass sweeping gun-control legislation, Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, a liberal protester who was killed during the Charlottesville rally of 2017 by a man who drove his car into her group of protesters, implied that she feels the Virginia Democrats have <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7908827/Mother-activist-Heather-Heyer-says-proposed-gun-restrictions-extreme.html">gone too far</a> with their gun control legislation.
Speaking on CNN’s New Day, Bro, a gun owner herself, asserted, “I grew up around everybody owning guns; that was just a normal part of existence. Yes, I’m a gun owner. I believe in common sense gun measures, definitely, but not extreme measures. And I think that those need to be discussed. I think people need to be able to talk to their representatives.”
Heyer was killed in August 2017 when James Alex Fields Jr. rammed his car into a group of which she was a part; he injured dozens of others.
On Friday, Bro told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/virginia-gun-rally-charlottesville-heather-heyer-neo-nazi-trump-a9289161.html">The Independent</a> she believed “in common sense gun laws,” adding that she did not support some of the Draconian measures the Democratic majority passed in General Assembly.  She asserted, “Some bills are extreme measures, and I have seen those backed off from. You also have to think about enforceability: you have to think, are you really going to be able to enforce these things?”
Bro told CNN, “If I’m talking to someone who is a member of a hate group, I’m saying stay away. Don’t go to Richmond. We don’t need your &#8216;help.&#8217; We can handle this on our own. If I’m talking to someone who has come because they care to participate in violence, even though they&#8217;re not normally a violent person, again: Stay away. If you’re there to actually speak with representatives, have your voice heard, have calm conversations about what’s happening, by all means, be there.”
Bro got her wish, as <a href="http://v">The Daily Wire</a> reported, as those intending to stir up trouble got a rude reception from conservative activists attending the rally on behalf of gun rights:
<blockquote>When a man at the pro-Second Amendment rally in Virginia seemingly tried to agitate others into violence, conservative rally attendees shut him down and dismissed him as an “infiltrator.” “Wanna hop the fence and kill that guy?” a man at the rally said to another attendee talking about “revolution,” video shows.
Pro-Second Amendment advocates quickly jumped in. “He’s starting stuff up,” one man accused. “Why would you say something dumb like that?” “Are you conservative?” the man seemingly advocating violence was asked. “I’m a libertarian,” he responded.
“I’m a libertarian and that is not how we are!” another rally-goer shouted. “I think what that guy just said was absurd. We don’t believe in going and killing people. This is a peaceful rally.”
The man who asked about killing then seemingly claimed he was trying to expose a pro-Second Amendment rally attendee for promoting violence. “We know what you’re about,” the attendees told him. “You’re an infiltrator. Get the f*** out.”</blockquote>
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House Oversight And Reform Committee Holds Hearing On Confronting White Supremacy

Mother Of Liberal Protester Killed In Charlottesville Implies Dems Going Too Far With Gun Control Legislation

On Sunday, actor Billy Baldwin, who is white and viscerally anti-Trump, calling him a “pig,” excoriated actor Isaiah Washington, who is black, for supporting President Trump, brazenly stating, “If you’re an African-American who supports Trump you bring new meaning to the word&#8230; minority.”
Baldwin, who humbly states in his Twitter profile, “My opinions are not just mine. They are yours too… you just don’t realize it yet,” started the exchange by noting the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/opinion/sully-biden-stutter-lara-trump.html">critical comments in The New York Times</a> from Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who heroically landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009, aimed at Lara Trump for her comments regarding former Vice-President Joe Biden’s seeming stuttering at a campaign event.
Baldwin tweeted his approval for Sullenberger but then segued to slamming the entire Trump family vis-à-vis minorities, among others, stating: “When Sully Sullenberger comes after you… you know you’re losing America. We should be used to it by now … #Lara Trump and the entire family has been cruel people with disabilities, the poor, minorities, immigrants, women &amp; wildlife for generations now.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When Sully Sullenberger comes after you… you know you’re losing America.
We should be used to it by now&#8230; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaraTrump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaraTrump</a> and the entire family has been cruel people with disabilities, the poor, minorities, immigrants, women &amp; wildlife for generations now. <a href="https://t.co/gHR0lojnnp">https://t.co/gHR0lojnnp</a>
&mdash; Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyBaldwin/status/1218757938434588673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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A member of a group titled Blacks for Trump responded on Twitter, “Met you yrs ago B. Had no idea you carry water for Deep State but most Hollywd does. She pointed out his cognitive deficit, which is fact. Trump helps blacks/Hispanics more than black Pres did &#8211; highest employment in history. I recall only bro Stephen knows God. Praying for you.&#8221;
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Met you yrs ago B. Had no idea you carry water for Deep State but most Hollywd does. She pointed out his cognitive deficit, which is fact. Trump helps blacks/Hispanics more than black Pres did &#8211; highest employment in history. I recall only bro Stephen knows God. Praying for you.
&mdash; OJL1922 v (@OJL1922) <a href="https://twitter.com/OJL1922/status/1218914793358184448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Baldwin reacted, “Not Hollywood.Liberal since childhood.Father taught government &amp; politics for decades. Anybody who is a minority or ‘knows the Lord’ is insane to support this pig. Unemployment numbers are Obama’s work. Wonder why you think it’s only about the economy? Sad… praying for you.”
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Not Hollywood. Liberal since childhood. Father taught government &amp; politics for decades. Anybody who is a minority or “knows the Lord“ is insane to support this pig. Unemployment numbers are Obama’s work. Wonder why you think it’s only about the economy? Sad… praying for you.
&mdash; Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyBaldwin/status/1218932989624586240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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That triggered a response to Baldwin from Washington, who supports Trump: “<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MySleeptweet?src=hash">#MySleeptweet</a> I’m always baffled how the privileged liberal elites know more about what a ‘minority’ thinks or ‘should’ think. I’m even more baffled that a liberal elite can suggest that everyone that ‘knows the Lord’ should not support pigs when the liberals love their bacon.”
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MySleeptweet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MySleeptweet</a> I’m always baffled how the privileged liberal elites know more about what a “minority” thinks or ‘should’ think. I’m even more baffled that a liberal elite can suggest that everyone that “knows the Lord” should not support pigs when the liberals love their bacon. <a href="https://t.co/1EgDgGq0Iu">https://t.co/1EgDgGq0Iu</a>
&mdash; Hold The Line Richmond 1/20/20 (@IWashington) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWashington/status/1219061680014934018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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That prompted Baldwin to snap, &#8220;If you’re an African-American who supports Trump you bring new meaning to the word&#8230; minority.”
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If you’re an African-American who supports Trump you bring new meaning to the word&#8230; minority. <a href="https://t.co/Iw96USdZPw">https://t.co/Iw96USdZPw</a>
&mdash; Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyBaldwin/status/1219075358764322816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Washington stated, &#8220;You should also know that your so called &#8216;African Americans&#8217; with a hyphen, have resisted calling themselves that, because ur liberal dominated mis-education about Africa has made them ‘ashamed’ of having anything to do with &#8216;Africa,&#8217; but yet ‘you know’ minorities.&#8221;
Baldwin responded, “I grew up with black friends on Long Island, in NYC, in college, in wrestling, on the Hill in DC, my entire show bizz career. There came a time when they insisted I called them African American… not black. Was it my ‘privileged’ ‘elitist’ mis-education that forced them do that?”
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I grew up with black friends on Long Island, in NYC, in college, in wrestling, on the Hill in DC, my entire show bizz career. There came a time when they insisted I called them African American… not black.
Was it my “privileged” “elitist” mis-education that forced them do that?
&mdash; Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyBaldwin/status/1219091863052775425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Washington fired back, “#MySleepTweet Not the old &#8216;I grew up w/h black friends’ line. You see? You called them ‘black friends’ my guy. Which is it? Are they your ‘black friends’ or are they your ‘African-American’ friends? You don’t know how ALL minorities ‘think’ because you don’t get ‘our’ nuances.”
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MySleeptweet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MySleeptweet</a> Not the old “I grew up w/h black friends” line. You see? You called them “black friends” my guy. Which is it? Are they your “black friends” or are they your “African-American” friends? You don’t know how ALL minorities “think”, because you don’t get ‘our’ nuances. <a href="https://t.co/wwSbroy725">https://t.co/wwSbroy725</a>
&mdash; Hold The Line Richmond 1/20/20 (@IWashington) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWashington/status/1219129191267856384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Baldwin’s remark about minorities opened the floodgates:
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It&#39;s always some white liberal blue check mark that has to put a black man in his place the second he steps out of line. Sorry if it offends your sensibilities that we all don&#39;t think alike.
&mdash; Kevin Batts (@kevinbattsII) <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinbattsII/status/1219154567134437376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Billy doesn’t know any blacks outside of Hollywood. Otherwise he would know not to lecture us. <a href="https://t.co/FX3LXoslPV">https://t.co/FX3LXoslPV</a>
&mdash; Stacy Washington (@StacyOnTheRight) <a href="https://twitter.com/StacyOnTheRight/status/1219297825516871680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Ever notice that white democrats think they own the black community?
&mdash; #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottPresler/status/1219267434722611207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsRacism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisIsRacism</a> ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/xHPbA6h6EY">https://t.co/xHPbA6h6EY</a>
&mdash; Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) <a href="https://twitter.com/chadfelixg/status/1219264757846413313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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And finally:
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 <a href="https://t.co/uQAGZQYa9a">pic.twitter.com/uQAGZQYa9a</a>
&mdash; OJL1922 v (@OJL1922) <a href="https://twitter.com/OJL1922/status/1219148381659860992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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H/T <a href="https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2020/01/20/billy-baldwin-informs-fellow-actor-and-goper-isaiah-washington-that-if-youre-an-african-american-who-supports-trump-you-bring-new-meaning-to-the-word-minority/">Twitchy</a>

amanda

Anti-Trump Billy Baldwin Lectures Famed Black Pro-Trump Actor: ‘You Bring New Meaning To The Word &#8230; Minority’

On Saturday, Woman’s March rallies were held across the country, drawing a paltry number of people compared to previous years’ protests, but the rally in Washington D.C. featured one particularly hilarious moment; the women involved signaled the beginning of their chant by using a kazoo.
Members of Chile&#8217;s Las Tesis feminist collective led the crowd, starting by instructing them to start their march with the left foot and to use their left hand for their gestures. Then came the instructions for chanting, beginning,  “When we are going to be in the march, there’s going to be whistles, right? Like whistles to be silent. Then, another round of whistles, and then is when (fellow member) will start with the kazoo.”
Another member then blew on the kazoo.
The member on the microphone continued, “That’s the sign, the cue, for the band. Then, to start the dance, is my whistle, okay? That way we can all start together. If you don’t hear it, you just follow the group. It doesn’t matter. Yes? Okay. Let’s go with the kazoo!”
The member with the kazoo then played military reveille (normally played on the bugle) on her kazoo. The “band,” consisting of five woman banging on their drums, then played a repetitive beat for the crowd to chant along with. The whistle blew, prompting the group to chant, &#8220;Patriarchy is a judge that imprisons us at birth and our punishment is the violence you can’t see. It&#8217;s femicide. Impunity for my killer. It’s the disappearances. It’s rape. And it wasn&#8217;t my fault, nor where I was, nor how I dressed. And the rapist was you. And the rapist is you. It’s the cops. It’s the judges. It’s the system. It’s the president. It’s the oppressive state. It’s the march of rapists.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-womens-march-took-place-saturday-and-attendance-was-way-down-again">The Daily Wire</a> reported on Sunday, &#8220;In 2019, attendance was at an all-time low.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/16/womens-march-2020-looks-re-energize-amid-dwindling-enthusiasm/4469139002/">USA Today</a> reported:
<blockquote>The crowd estimator pegged nationwide participation in the 650-plus sister marches that day at 3.3 million-5.3 million, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Those figures dwindled to 1.9 million-2.6 million in 2018 and 676,000-747,000 in 2019,”
Although crowd estimates aren’t out yet for 2020’s march, it seems even fewer managed to pull on their pink-eared hats and take to the streets to protest President Donald Trump. A few thousand turned out in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles, but otherwise, the Women’s March seemed to rely on local organizers to draw out groups of 50 or 60 in small towns and progressive enclaves.</blockquote>
The only remaining co-founding member of the Women&#8217;s March, Carmen Perez, protested to USA Today, “There was a moment in 2016, 2017, and I think that moment is here again. One, we are in an election year. Two, we are in potential war conversations, with the fact the U.S. has struck another country. I personally feel we’re going to see an increase in numbers because people are wanting to come together again. People are going to show up to the Women’s March with their anti-war messaging because they want to be out in the streets working.”
Video below:
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Women&#8217;s March 2020 in Washington

WATCH: Women’s March Gets Their Signal To Start Chanting. From A Kazoo.

Women's March

On Saturday, former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden snapped that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign should “disown” what Biden referred to as a “doctored video” that some Sanders supporters argued revealed Biden favoring the reduction of Social Security and Medicare.
Speaking in Indianola, Iowa, Biden stated, “Let’s get the record straight. There’s a little doctored video going around put out by one of Bernie’s peoples saying I agreed with Paul Ryan, the former vice presidential candidate, about wanting to privatize Social Security. It is simply a lie, that video that’s going around. And ask anybody in the press, it’s a flat lie. They acknowledged that. This is a doctored tape. And I think it’s beneath him. And I’m looking for his campaign to come forward and disown it. But they haven’t done it yet.”
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/18/joe-biden-falsely-attacks-bernie-sanders-100811">Politico</a> noted that Biden added, “PolitiFact looked at it and they doctored the photo, they doctored the piece, and it’s acknowledged that it’s a fake.”
As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/19/biden-sanders-doctored-video-social-security-medicare">The Guardian</a> reported, “The video in question, circulated on Twitter by a top Sanders adviser, does not appear to be altered. But the short clip omits Biden’s larger argument over how Ryan handled the 2017 tax cuts and subsequent budget debates.”
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-demands-apology-sanders-over-doctored-video-social-security-n1118481">NBC News</a> reported that a Biden campaign official stated, &#8220;The Sanders campaign has pushed a video and transcript that were intentionally, deceptively edited to make it seem like Vice President Biden was praising and agreeing with Paul Ryan, when it is clear he was doing the exact opposite. In the speech, Biden was reiterating his core belief that we need to undo Trump&#8217;s tax cuts for the super wealthy and replace them with a tax code that rewards work, not just wealth.&#8221;
Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir fired back at Biden, “Joe Biden should be honest with voters and stop trying to doctor his own public record of consistently and repeatedly trying to cut Social Security. The facts are very clear: Biden not only pushed to cut Social Security – he is on tape proudly bragging about it on multiple occasions … The vice president must stop dodging questions about his record, and start explaining why he has so aggressively pushed to slash one of the most significant and successful social programs in American history, which millions of Americans rely on for survival.”
A Sanders adviser pushed forward a video showing Biden favoring a reduction in the two entitlement programs in 1995 and 2007.
In a January 1 tweet, Sanders adviser Warren Gunnels wrote, “Ever since Paul Ryan 1st proposed paying for Trump’s tax beaks to the top 1% by cutting Social Security &amp; Medicare, I’ve been proud to be by @BernieSanders side fighting against it. To hear Biden say ‘Ryan was correct’ to go after Social Security &amp; Medicare is soul-wrenching.”
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Ever since Paul Ryan 1st proposed paying for Trump&#39;s tax breaks to the top 1% by cutting Social Security &amp; Medicare, I&#39;ve been proud to be by <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieSanders</a> side fighting against it.
To hear Biden say &quot;Ryan was correct&quot; to go after Social Security &amp; Medicare is soul-wrenching. <a href="https://t.co/kfZz9qlqJd">https://t.co/kfZz9qlqJd</a>
&mdash; Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/GunnelsWarren/status/1212532213989949441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Shortly before the Biden official made his remarks about the video, Sanders told a crowd in New Hampshire, &#8220;I think the best thing for all Democratic candidates, and what we&#8217;re going to do in our campaign, as you heard me tonight, you didn&#8217;t hear me say a word about any of the other candidates. We are going to focus on the issues of the working families of America and bring them together.&#8221;

Biden and Sanders.

Biden Rips Sanders Campaign For &#8216;Doctored Video&#8217;

Joe Biden

On Thursday morning, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/liberal-hack-sen-mcsally-shuts-down-cnn-reporter-on-video">The Daily Wire</a> reported, Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) triggered a media firestorm after she refused to answer CNN&#8217;s Manu Raju question about the impeachment proceedings against President Trump, instead calling him a &#8220;liberal hack.&#8221; As <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/16/sen-martha-mcsally-blasts-cnn-reporter-on-camera-youre-a-liberal-hack/">The Federalist</a> noted, Raju asked, “Senator McSally, should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trail?”
McSally responded, “Manu, you’re a liberal hack, I’m not talking to you.”
Raju pressed, “You’re not going to comment about this?” That prompted McSally to reiterate, “You’re a liberal hack, buddy.”
Raju tweeted that McSally &#8220;lashed out&#8221; at him, writing, &#8220;Sen. Martha McSally, a Republican facing a difficult election race, lashed out when I asked if she would consider new evidence as part of the Senate trial, ‘You’re a liberal hack — I’m not talking to you. You’re a liberal hack.&#8217; She then walked into a hearing room.&#8221;
That exchange set off CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday night, who ripped McSally, saying she “acted like a punk today; she did a disservice to herself and the seat that she holds, which was held by John McCain.” He claimed McSally insulted Raju because she wanted to “impress” President Trump.
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CNN&#39;s Chris Cuomo: Martha McSally acted like a &quot;punk&quot; and &quot;did a disservice to herself&quot; for calling a reporter a &quot;liberal hack.&quot; 
This is from a guy who threatened to throw someone down a flight of stairs because he thinks &quot;Fredo&quot; is the n word for Italians. <a href="https://t.co/NWM9F22x47">pic.twitter.com/NWM9F22x47</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1218178918995329024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On Friday morning, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) fired back at Cuomo on Twitter. He began by tweeting, “NY Dem royalty Chris Cuomo declares ‘I can’t believe people would vote for’ McSally, or McConnell, or any GOP candidate. Clutching his pearls, in the very same breath, he says he can’t understand why anyone might think CNN are liberal hacks&#8230;.&#8221;
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NY Dem royalty Chris Cuomo declares “I can’t believe people would vote for” McSally, or McConnell, or any GOP candidate. Clutching his pearls, in the very same breath, he says he can’t understand why anyone might think CNN are liberal hacks&#8230;. 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/CwMGYrT0Nc">https://t.co/CwMGYrT0Nc</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1218144441703243776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Then Cruz offered some free advice for Cuomo: &#8220;Pro tip: real &#8216;journalists&#8217; don’t (1) kiss up to every Dem, (2) refuse to ask them hard Qs, (3) relentlessly attack every Republican, (4) lie when doing so &amp; (5) always, always push the prevailing Dem narrative of the moment. You know this, as does Manu. You just choose not to.&#8221;
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Pro tip: real “journalists” don’t (1) kiss up to every Dem, (2) refuse to ask them hard Qs, (3) relentlessly attack every Republican, (4) lie when doing so &amp; (5) always, always push the prevailing Dem narrative of the moment. You know this, as does Manu. You just choose not to.
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1218146107206795264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Cruz has been on a roll this week; on Thursday, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hypocritically insisted along with other House Democrats that the job of impeaching President Trump was a sad and somber duty, celebrated sending off the articles of impeachment on Wednesday by smiling and offering taxpayer-funded golden pens to those who attended, Cruz (r-TX) had a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pelosi-grins-and-offers-golden-pens-for-impeachment-ted-cruz-fires-back-a-golden-tweet">golden response</a> of his own characterizing the Democrats as buffoonish and childish, which he sent via Twitter: “Given the circus in the House, I’m surprised she didn’t use crayons.”
He added on Fox News, &#8220;Once the president is able to defend himself, I am  confident that the result of that is that the president will be acquitted, and the reason is that these articles of impeachment, on their face, are ridiculous; they don’t satisfy the constitutional standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. And so we’ve moved out of Nancy Pelosi’s world. It’s why she delayed this for so long, because she knew that once the House no longer had it, that they wouldn’t be able to put on a kangaroo court like they have, and instead we’re going to move in the Senate, where I hope and believe we’re going to follow the law, and that means we’re going to acquit the president.&#8221;
H/T <a href="https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2020/01/17/martha-mcsally-spoke-the-truth-ted-cruz-uses-chris-cuomos-own-words-to-prove-cnn-absolutely-is-filled-with-liberal-hacks/">Twitchy</a>

Attorney General Barr Testifies At Senate Hearing On Russian Interference In 2016 Election

McSally’s ‘Liberal Hack’ Remark Triggers Cuomo: ‘Acted Like A Punk.’  Ted Cruz Trashes Cuomo: ‘Clutching His Pearls’

Chris Cuomo

On Friday, President Trump welcomed the LSU football team, which won the college national championship on Monday, to the White House, and in his most jocular mood, kept the audience laughing with one quip after another, finally concluding that there had been a number of presidents, both good and bad, in the Oval Office, and adding to great laughter, “But you got a good one now, even though they’re trying to impeach the son-of-a b***!”
Trump began:
<blockquote>To all of the incredible coaches and players, this team, your head coach, I watched him on television; I said, “Man, that guy’s — he’s all, he’s all man; he’s a big strong-looking guy. I didn’t know if he had laryngitis or was that his real voice. (laughter) It’s true. I think it was a combination of both. It was tough to start with and then he had a little laryngitis. But, man, whatever the hell it was, Ed Orgeron, and Ed, it worked; it really worked. You did a job that few people will ever be able to do again. The team is said to be one of the greatest teams, maybe the greatest team in the history of college football. (applause, cheers) And that’s pretty amazing.</blockquote>
Trump quipped, “As well as interim president of LSU, Thomas Galligan. You’ve done a good job. Interim? I think we’ve gotta make him permanent.”
Trump continued poignantly, “Your football program has inspired countless fans across the country, and it’s not just for what you’ve done on the football field, which is true. In the face of a heartbreaking tragedy you rallied together behind offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.”
On Dec. 28, on the way to the Peach Bowl, Ensminger’s daughter-in-law, Carley McCord, a Louisiana sports reporter, was one of five passengers killed in a plane crash.
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An emotional moment between Steve Ensminger and his son 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/q9m1WlhWtV">pic.twitter.com/q9m1WlhWtV</a>
&mdash; SEC Network (@SECNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1216982942209249281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
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After he called Insinger up, Trump continued, “A tragedy, your whole story, and yet so incredible the way you handled it. And the coach said you never wavered … very inspirational, Steve.”
After joking that Orgeron was hired because LSU had considered someone younger and nowadays people can sue organizations for preferring someone younger, Trump cited the enormous difficulty of LSU’s schedule, in which they defeated seven of the top ten teams and four of the top five.
Trump delineated highlights of the Tigers’ season, then turned to receiver Justin Jefferson, who set records this season, and quipped, “He’s going to be so rich. You’re looking at money.”
Trump referenced star quarterback Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy by the largest margin in the trophy’s history, and his speech raising half a million for the Athens County Food pantry, calling him an “inspirational person.” Later, after retelling the story of the Tigers&#8217; victory over Clemson, Trump turned again to Burrow, asking if he had had any doubt about beating Clemson in the national championship game. Burrow answered, “No,” prompting Trump to sigh, “Oh, he’s going to be so rich,” eliciting gales of laughter from the crowd.
Trump concluded, “Coach, if you’d like, we can take whoever wants to come to the Oval Office; we’ll take pictures behind the Resolute Desk; it’s been there a long time; a lot of president, some good, some not so good. But you got a good one now, (laughter) even though they’re trying to impeach the son-of-a b***.  (laughter) Can you believe it?  We got the greatest economy we’ve ever had; we got the greatest military; we rebuilt it; we took out those terrorists like your football team would have taken out those terrorists.”
Video below:
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President Trump Welcomes College Football Champions LSU Tigers To The White House

WATCH: Trump Has Hilarious Time Welcoming LSU Football Team To White House

A British cutlery firm is offering a solution for the rash of knife crimes plaguing Great Britain: knives that have square ends.
As <a href="https://www.insider.com/square-tip-knives-viners-cutlery-response-to-knife-crime-2020-1">Insider</a> notes, “In October 2019, it was <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/knife-crime-stabbings-offences-england-wales-rise-latest-uk-a9159511.html" data-vars-item-name="BL-9281791-https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/knife-crime-stabbings-offences-england-wales-rise-latest-uk-a9159511.html" data-vars-event-id="c6">reported</a> that knife crime had reached a record high in England and Wales, with more than 44,000 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument recorded by police in the 12 months leading up to June.”
Thus Viners, a British cutlery and kitchenware firm, has created the &#8220;Assure collection,&#8221; which came &#8220;in response to rising knife crime statistics and new government legislation.&#8221; The firm states that it has been &#8220;repeatedly tested to ensure the tip does not pierce skin intentionally or otherwise.&#8221;
Viners issued a press release asserting:
<blockquote>With knife-related crime incidents at a record high and a reported 285 fatalities in the last 12 months alone, the UK government has taken the decision to reclassify kitchen knives as an offensive weapon with the new Offensive Weapons Act 2019, leading some retailers to remove single knives from sale in retail stores … The new Assure collection from Viners has been created in response to this new legislation, with the team extensively testing a new shape knife that is highly functional for the modern cook but shaped to reduce and prevent injuries, accidents and fatalities.</blockquote>
The knives range in price from roughly $5 to $8; a four-piece set will sell for roughly $20.
The British Ministry of Justice has <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/knife-crime-latest-statistics-deaths-prosecutions-england-wales-a9285906.html">stated</a>, “In the year ending September 2019, 38 per cent of knife and offensive weapon offences resulted in an immediate custodial sentence, compared with 23 per cent in the year ending September 2009. The average length of the custodial sentences received also increased over the same period, from six months to eight months.”
Under Secretary for the Ministry of Justice Chris Philp said: “This government is determined to turn the tide on knife crime. We are recruiting 20,000 more police officers, extending stop and search and making sure the most violent offenders spend longer behind bars. These figures should serve as a stark warning to those carrying knives – you are more likely to be jailed, and for longer, than at any point in the last decade.”
The Offensive Weapons Act <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/17/section/29/enacted">states</a>, &#8220;A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, the person breaches a knife crime prevention order or an interim knife crime prevention order. A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, to a fine or to both;(b )on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, to a fine or to both.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-to-take-lead-in-fight-against-crime-gangs-qbvrtl9wl">The Times</a>, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “will take personal charge of a new cabinet committee to tackle surging levels of knife crime and violence, with a particular focus on “county lines” gangs that are abusing and exploiting children. A cabinet source told The Times, “He said that we have historically been strong on law and order but in recent years been less clear on it. He said that he wanted a return to clarity on it and will be addressing the concerns of the British public.”
Johnson told “BBC Breakfast”: “I want to see crime come down. I want to see the county lines drugs gangs wound up. They are reducing the quality of life for people across our country, they are killing young kids.”
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March To Stop Knife Crime Takes Place in Central London

British Cutlery Company Offers Blunt Solution For Rampant Knife Crime

The investment firm Goldman Sachs conducted a poll of its clients and found nearly universal agreement that President Trump will win reelection in 2020, with 87% of respondents bullish about Trump’s chances. The poll was conducted this week among attendees of its Global Strategy Conference in London. An average of 160 responses were elicited for each question, according to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/goldman-sachs-client-survey-87-percent-expect-trump-win-election-2020-1-1028825739">Business Insider</a>, which noted, “The bank published its results in a research note Thursday.”
Business Insider noted, “Goldman&#8217;s U.S. strategists haven&#8217;t predicted who will win the election but have warned that if one party holds the House and the Senate and Trump&#8217;s 2017 tax cuts are rolled back, corporate earnings per share could drop by 7% next year — a sharp deviation from the strategists&#8217; baseline estimate of a 5% rise.”
Respondents exuded confidence that a recession in the United States would not occur during 2020, with only 5% of them thinking such a situation would eventuate. 35% of respondents said a recession would hit in 2021, with 38% expecting one in 2022. Goldman&#8217;s economists thought there was less than one chance in five that a recession would hit in 2020. Over two-thirds of respondents thought interest rates would not rise this year; only 4% disagreed.
The prognosis for Trump’s reelection has changed significantly in the last nine months; last April, Goldman Sachs economists thought Trump would win but it would be a “close call,” as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/goldman-sachs-says-trump-has-a-narrow-advantage-in-2020-election.html">CNBC</a> reported. Goldman Sachs’ chief economist, Jan Hatzius, noted that incumbent presidents usually had a “built-in advantage” of 5 to 6 percentage points in the popular vote, adding, “The advantage of first-term incumbency and the relatively strong economic performance ahead of the presidential election suggest that President Trump is more likely to win a second term than the eventual Democratic candidate is to defeat him.”
CNBC stated that Goldman Sachs cited the gains in wage gains and employment as reasaons Trump would be reelected. Hatzius asserted, “A strong economy should help the president’s reelection chances &#8230; Political scientists have developed a number of election models over the years that rely mainly on economic variables to predict the two-party popular vote.”
CNBC wrote, “Additionally, incumbents finishing the first term for their party have received a greater share of the two-party vote than candidates whose party has already controlled the White House for two or more terms, according to Goldman. This ‘prominent’ historic pattern would give Trump a ‘narrow advantage,’ Hatzius said.”
Hatzius concluded, “We note that if President Trump maintains his -9.6pp net approval rating, combining this approach with our economic forecast suggests that he would win the two-party popular vote by a slim margin.”
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/70percent-of-wall-street-thinks-trump-will-be-reelected-in-2020.html">An RBC survey</a> in April found 70% of market insiders believing Trump would win reelection in 2020.
Goldman Sachs has locations in 30 countries; clients have to be business-savvy, it would appear, as Jonathan Jones, former head of recruiting at Goldman Sachs,  <a href="https://www.quora.com/How-much-capital-does-one-need-to-become-a-client-of-Goldman-Sachs">stated</a> in 2018:
<blockquote>Generally speaking, to become a client of Goldman’s private wealth management business requires you to have a minimum of $25 million in investable assets (and ideally rather more). Most of Goldman’s other businesses are focused entirely on institutional clients and are relatively concentrated in terms of the competition (for example, there are only so many firms in the world that are equipped to handle a cross-border merger transaction between two Fortune 100 companies).</blockquote>
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President Trump Departs White House For Florida

Goldman Sachs Poll Finds Nearly Universal Agreement: Trump Will Win Reelection

Goldman Sachs

The protean and nonpareil actress Kathy Bates, whose gift for nuance in her work has earned her admiration from all quarters over the last thirty to forty years, displayed her penchant for truth-telling once again in an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/17/kathy-bates-richard-jewell-i-told-clint-after-50-years-i-feel-like-ive-hit-the-big-time?CMP=aff_1432&amp;utm_content=The+Independent&amp;awc=5795_1579278348_855aae1605c52e583a7644cdbe199c6f">interview with The Guardian</a>, in which she stated her thoughts regarding the #MeToo movement, saying, “In my day, if you went up to a guy’s hotel room, you knew exactly why you were going and in those days it was consensual.”
Bates was commenting on how the film industry has changed over the years when she made that statement, but she also noted that she approved of women coming forward to confront their abusers as she said, “About people like Weinstein and the casting couch and all of that, I have a confession. In my day, if you went up to a guy’s hotel room, you knew exactly why you were going and in those days it was consensual. Times were different, but I really support the women who are coming forward now and I’m not happy about the men who are being accused falsely – but the ones who deserve all they’re getting, my feeling is hey, go for it.”
Bates has been nominated for her fourth Academy Award for her luminous performance in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” as Jewell’s mother Bobi. She won for Best Actress for “Misery” in 1990.
The Guardian wrote, “Bates’ Bobi is all nerves and near-hysteria, absorbing every blow like a woman on the verge of collapse. But her final speech, the true emotional climax of the movie, burns with a righteous fury, even as the tears fill her eyes. Eastwood needed an actor of commanding stature to deliver weakness, then rage, then fragile strength, and Bates has deservedly earned the lion’s share of the movie’s acclaim.”
Bates commented, “All we wanted was for Bobi Jewell to feel the film vindicated her son. I wanted her to like my portrayal of her. She’s waited 23 years for justice. I’ve never felt quite like this before. Whatever happens now, I’m just grateful the film will get more eyeballs.”
Bates continued, “It was my birthday the day we met. She baked me a pound cake. She had the Vanity Fair article the movie is based on, and the script, which she’d annotated with things like: ‘I’d never do this, I’d never call him that.’ She was very meticulous. It was obvious she’s still absolutely raw from this, even 25 years later. It still affects her, and it’s never going to change.”
She loved working with Eastwood, recalling, “I remember telling him on the set: ‘I’ve been in this business half a century but working with you, I feel like I’ve hit the big time!’”
Bates took plenty of criticism earlier in her career for not being a beautiful starlet; she told The Guardian of a press conference after one film she was in: “One guy was so nasty that I went up to my room and I cried like a kid out of kindergarten. Our producer came in and said: ‘Kid, you’ve gotta get tough.’ And in the middle of everything I got on a plane and I went home. It was so cruel, so unnecessarily cruel.”
The Guardian reminded Bates that when she was promoting “Misery,” she stated, “A woman, a character actress, in her 40s – I’ll be very interested to see how Hollywood treats us over the next 10 or 15 years.”
Bates reacted, “Wow. I said that? Holy crap. I didn’t know I was such a smart cookie back then! It was my first big movie and I was stunned by the press. The very first question I got asked at a round table was: ‘You’re not Michelle Pfeiffer.’ And I was like: ‘No, I’m not!’ I was still very serious about things back then.”
Bates has survived ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2003 and had a double mastectomy in 2012. She then discovered she was suffering from lymphedema, which has triggered her to become the spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network.
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The National Board Of Review Annual Awards Gala &#8211; Arrivals

Kathy Bates: In My Day, Actresses Knew Why They Went To Men’s Hotel Rooms

On Monday, appearing on “Hannity,” Senator Lindsey Graham fired off a series of salvos at the Democratic party, asserting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was not seeking the truth, but rather cynically using the impeachment process against President Trump to destroy executive privilege in an attempt to take back the Senate, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) prematurely “spiked the ball at halftime,” when she celebrated sending over the articles of impeachment, and that “2020 will be a blowout” because the American people “jealously guard the right to pick their own leaders,” adding, “I think they’re going to hold it against politicians who try to take that right away.”
Graham started by explaining what was to come next in the impeachment process:
<blockquote>Well, the House will be able to make their case for 24 hours; hopefully we do this in a couple of days. Then the defense team of the president will be able to make their case based on the record established in the House. Then they’ll be an effort to call witnesses, to ask for documents, and I hope that nobody will be called as a witness because every witness being requested by the Democrats were available to the House. They chose not to call them. Executive privilege applies to all these witnesses. So I’m hoping this can be done in about a week and I predict a bipartisan acquittal of President Trump.</blockquote>
Hannity asked, “Why would some of your colleagues in the Senate want to do the House’s job, constitutional job?”
Graham replied:
<blockquote>Well, I would tell my colleagues on the Republican side that Chuck Schumer is not seeking the truth. If you think Chuck Schumer is trying to find out what happened here, you’re missing a lot. Chuck Schumer is trying to take back the Senate. He’s trying to make the argument that if you don’t call a witness you’re trying to cover up for the president. The truth of the matter is that Chuck Schumer is willing to destroy executive privilege. I can only imagine what he would be saying if this were a Democratic president. Who is he asking for? The national security advisor to the president, his chief of staff, the Secretary of State, and the OMB director, four people essential to any presidency, and he could give a damn if Trump loses executive privilege.</blockquote>
Graham continued, “They just hate this guy so much, Sean, from the time he got elected to now; it’s been an unending effort to destroy his presidency. We lost five seats as Republicans when we impeached Clinton; people thought we went too far.&#8221;
He concluded:
<blockquote>I think 2020 is going to be a blowout. I think what Nancy Pelosi did, to spike the ball at halftime; the score at impeachment is one to nothing us; they lost one Democratic seat by impeaching the president. By the time the trial’s over and we have an election in November, there’s going to be a backlash and let me tell you why: most Americans jealously guard the right to pick their own leaders. I think they’re going to hold it against politicians who try to take that right away. We’re going to get the House back; we’re going to keep the Senate majority and President Trump’s gonna be reelected, and one of the reasons is the way they’ve conducted themselves.</blockquote>
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Sen. Lindsey Graham Introduces Senate Resolution Condemning Impeachment Inquiry

WATCH: Graham Crushes Cynicism Of Pelosi, Schumer: ‘I Think 2020 Is Going To Be A Blowout’

Charles Schumer

Lindsey Graham

Nancy Pelosi

On Thursday, President Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/01/16/trump-ukraine-parnas-claim-acosta-quiet-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/">spoke to reporters</a> who were asking him about Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who claims Trump was aware of efforts to get information about rival presidential candidates. In the process, CNN’s Jim Acosta, as per his usual style, kept interrupting Trump, at which point Trump looked at him and shut him down, saying sternly, “Quiet.”
Acosta asked, “What is your response to what Parnas who says that your efforts in Ukraine, that you just wanted Joe Biden out? What’s your response?”
Trump responded, “Well, I don’t know him; I don’t know Parnas other than I guess they had pictures taken, which I do with thousands of people, including people today that I didn’t meet. Just met him. I don’t know him at all; don’t know what he’s about; don’t know where he comes from; know nothing about him. I can only tell you that this thing is a big hoax; it’s a big hoax; this is the current hoax. We’ve gone through the Russian witch hunt; we’ve gone through a lot of ’em from probably before I came down the escalator, but certainly since I came down the escalator you take a look at what’s happened.”
Acosta started to interrupt, but Trump continued, “Doesn’t matter what he says; he’s probably trying to make a deal for himself.” Acosta barged in again, but Trump went on, “I don’t even know who this man is other than I guess he attended fundraisers so I take a picture with him. I’m in a room; I take pictures with people. I take pictures with thousands and thousands of people all the time. Thousands during the course of the year, and oftentimes I’ll be taking a picture with someone I’ll say, ‘I wonder what newspaper that one’s going to appear in.” No, I don’t know him; perhaps he’s a fine man, perhaps he’s not; I know nothing about him.
Acosta barged in again with more questions, prompting Trump to say, “I don’t believe I’ve ever spoken to him.”
A little later, Trump stated, “But I don’t know him; I never had a conversation with him that I remember with him —” Acosta then started to speak over Trump again.
Trump, at first ignoring him, continued, “You certainly, you just have to take a look at the polls —“ then looked directly at Acosta and said sternly, “Quiet.” He went on, “You just have to take a look at the pictures; you just have to take a look at the polls; you see, I don’t need anybody’s help. We’re doing phenomenally well; the economy is the best it’s ever been.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnns-acosta-trump-thinks-im-very-professional-criticism-of-me-an-act">The Daily Wire</a> reported in early November, “CNN&#8217;s Jim Acosta claimed on Friday that he has gotten phone calls from President Donald Trump&#8217;s aides who secretly tell him that the president believes that he is &#8216;very professional,&#8217; and that the president&#8217;s public attacks on Acosta was just part of &#8216;an act&#8217; that the president does.&#8221;
Acosta appeared on the Canadian news show, &#8220;The Agenda with Steve Paikin,” where he claimed, “After the press conference was over, I got a call from one of his top aides, Hope Hicks, and she said to me on the phone, &#8216;Jim, I just want you to know the president thought you were very professional today and said Jim gets it.’ I thought to myself, wait a minute, the president just referred to me as very fake news five minutes ago and now he&#8217;s saying I&#8217;m professional and I get it? I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s going on here, am I in the twilight zone?'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Acosta: *interrupts*<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>: &quot;Quiet.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/FxXNOVnBIt">pic.twitter.com/FxXNOVnBIt</a>
&mdash; The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1217912854453596175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Hank Berrien

Articles by Hank Berrien