Saturday PM ~ TheFrontPageCover

[Rudy Tirre]

TheFrontPageCover

~ Featuring ~

A Good 'First Step' Toward 

Needed Prison Reform

by Michael Swartz  

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Lindsey Graham To Head Up Senate Judiciary

by Molly Prince

{thepoliticalinsider.com} ~ Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is poised to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee following the announcement on Friday... that Chairman Chuck Grassley will be heading the Senate Committee on Finance instead. “I very much appreciate Senator Grassley’s leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Graham said in a statement. “He chaired the committee with a steady hand, sense of fundamental fairness, and resolve. His leadership serves as a model to us all.”“Senator Grassley has much to be proud of during his time as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” the South Carolina senator continued. “His work, along with his Democrat and Republican colleagues, accomplished so much for the American people.” Graham has been shooting down rumors of a potential position with President Donald Trump’s administration as the attorney general to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He noted in October that he will be running for his current seat when he is up for re-election in 2020. “Well, I’m going to run for Senate again — there ya go, you made news — I’m definitely running,” Graham told a reporter when asked about his future plans. “I enjoy my job. I think I’m better at it today than I’ve ever been. I love my job. I love representing the people of South Carolina.”...

https://thepoliticalinsider.com/lindsey-graham-judiciary/

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2.0

by ED MORROW

{spectator.org} ~ Recently, Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, took a nasty fall and fractured three ribs... The judge has endured several health problems in recent years, surviving two battles with cancer, having a heart stent implanted, and previously breaking ribs in 2012. As she is a stalwart liberal vote on the Court, the possibility that Ginsburg might now be forced to retire for health reasons horrified progressives. President Donald Trump would get to nominate another Supreme Court justice who might see the U.S. Constitution as something more than a list of suggestions written on rubber. Actress/activist Alyssa Milano rushed to tweet that the ailing Ginsburg “can have my ribs. And my kidneys and a lung. And anything else she needs. She can even have my husband on Thursdays.” It was quickly pointed out that this would be a fatal act of devotion, as even celebrity social justice warriors aren’t issued more than two kidneys at birth. Milano defenders responded that her words were humorous hyperbole intended to indicate the intensity of her admiration for Ginsburg. Probably so, but it is easy to suspect from other Milano remarks that this wasn’t quite accurate. If it were, why did she stingily refrain from rhetorically plunking both lungs down on the table? Whatever the case, Ginsburg would be wise to refuse the donation of Milano’s brain despite its being in nearly unused condition. As for her proffered husband, if Milano were hollowed out like a Halloween pumpkin, he wouldn’t be of any use to the actress on the other six days of the week or indeed, any days at all. Her organ offer does, however, suggest possibilities. Suppose a Supreme Court justice did need a transplant to survive. Surely, a judge with a new kidney, liver, or elbow could remain on the Court if the resulting composite person were healthy. As medicine progresses, far more tinkering may be possible. Justices enjoy a lifetime appointment and future tech might greatly extend a justice’s life. When Ginsburg, good luck to her, celebrates her 90th, might a new liver help her reach 100? A new heart might take her odometer to 110. A well-crafted artificial one might carry her to 120 and beyond. If all her organs, excepting her brain, fail her and can’t be replaced, might it survive in a jar as oft depicted in sci-fi flicks? Or would devoted fans, like Milano, line up to have their brains scooped out of their skulls so Ginsburg’s could be tucked cozily inside the cranium of her choice? If no volunteers stepped forward, might a government partial to her brand of justice compel some less-esteemed citizen to volunteer. That might not be necessary for, as some predict, one day we may be able to upload our minds into sophisticated computers. Would a Ginsburg 2.0 with silicon brain cells be accepted on the bench? If the process is perfected, her mind would be unaltered and, arguably, her thinking clearer than those of lesser, un-uploaded judges. They, being composed of fallible flesh, are subject to the flaws inherent to it that can cloud thinking — things like pain, fatigue, senility, and less-distracting problems such as indigestion and corns. Artificial intelligence programming could augment Robo-Ginsburg’s mind so she could review centuries of law, twist it, and generate a progressive decision in nanoseconds. Safe in a high-tech carapace, she might remain on the bench for centuries...  https://spectator.org/ruth-bader-ginsburg-2-0/?utm_source=American+Spectator+Emails&utm_campaign=1d75ea0c63-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_16_06_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_797a38d487-1d75ea0c63-104608113 

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 Abrams concludes bid for Georgia governor: 'I don't want to

 hold public office if I need to scheme my way into the post'

by Diana Stancy Correll

{washingtonexaminer.com} ~ Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a Democrat, refused to concede in her race against Republican Brian Kemp... but has said there is no possibility of her defeating Kemp and has concluded her bid for Georgia governor. "I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election," Abrams said Friday. "This speech is not a concession, because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true, or proper," Abrams said. "As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that. But, my assessment is the law currently allows no further viable remedy. Now, I can certainly bring a new case to keep this one contest alive, but I don't want to hold public office if I need to scheme my way into the post. Because the title of governor isn't nearly as important as our shared title: voters. And that is why we fight on."Abrams said that she would be filing a federal lawsuit challenging the "gross mismanagement" of the election though, according to the Associated Press. Kemp received approximately 58,000 more votes than Abrams, according to the New York Times. Altogether, Kemp secured 50.3 percent of the votes and Abrams won 48.8 percent...

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/abrams-concludes-bid-for-georgia-governor-i-dont-want-to-hold-public-office-if-i-need-to-scheme-my-way-into-the-post?utm_source=WEX_Breaking%20News%20Alert_11/16/2018&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Breaking%20News

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Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte Wants 

Comey and Lynch On Record Prior to Exit

by sundance

{theconservativetreehouse.com} ~ Congressional oversight in the matters of the DOJ and FBI political weaponization has been negligent by design...  While Special Counsel dirty cop-Robert Mueller creates the “ongoing investigation shield” for all who would be questioned, the republican-led congress has been weak in delivering any actionable results through oversight. All prior witness transcripts remain concealed as the GOP turns over power to the allies of the witnesses. Many who have followed the details are frustrated, and with little to no progress within the DOJ/FBI investigations there is an understandable sentiment we have once-again been played. Fast-n-Furious; IRS; Benghazi; scumbag/liar-Clinton Emails and now the abuses by the DOJ and FBI. All of it covered-up by the same can-kicking process. To rub the proverbial salt in the wound, today Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte announces his request to subpoena former FBI Director, scumbag-James Comey (November 29), and former DOJ Attorney General, Loretta Lynch (Dec. 5th), in the lame-duck session prior to turning over committee power to the Democrats. scumbag-James Comey refused the previous committee invitation in October under the auspices of demanding a public hearing.  The motive for demanding a public hearing is transparent: he cannot be questioned about classified activity, information or conduct; or about the  counterintelligence operation mounted against candidate Trump in 2016; in an open setting. scumbag-Comey thinks we are stupid.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/11/16/judiciary-chairman-goodlatte-wants-comey-and-lynch-on-record-prior-to-exit/

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The Ultimate Creative Guide to Voting in Disguise

by Andrew Stiles

{freebeacon.com} ~ It's time for Americans to accept the fact that voter fraud is here to stay. It's just another one of those peculiar social trends that eventually finds its way into the mainstream... like jogging, pretending to like soccer, and watching strangers play video games online. As always, our president gets it. Two years might seem like a long time until the next national election, but it's never too early to start planning your "voter" disguises. It also never hurts to be prepared, which is why you should keep in mind these crucial Dos and Don'ts for committing voter fraud in disguise. Thats breaking the law.  https://freebeacon.com/blog/voter-disguise-guide/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=cdd7fdb083-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_16_09_20_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-cdd7fdb083-45611665

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A Good 'First Step' Toward Needed Prison Reform

by Michael Swartz:  Three decades ago, crime in America was on the rise and the public was scared — and when John Q. Public is scared, often the first thing that’s said is, “There oughta be a law.” What followed was a “three strikes” law for habitual offenders and mandatory minimum sentencing for certain crimes. These changes helped lower crime levels appreciably, but there was a human toll to this hardline approach, too. People may shake their head in disbelief at a statistic we’ve pointed out, but because of drug-related convictions, our nation, which is home to just 4% of the world’s people, also hosts 25% of its imprisoned population. Not China, not Russia, but the Land of the Free, the U.S. of A.

             It’s an issue where thoughtful conservatives have long favored necessary reforms, but one that our previous president addressed by, for example, using his pen and his phone to commute the prison terms of 46 drug offenders. Unfortunately, Barack scumbag/liar-nObama’s proposals muddied the waters by pulling in unrelated issues such as pre-K schooling and the restoration of voting rights for felons.
               But thanks to a softening of public perception on crime, these reforms aren’t the “third rail” they once were. A simpler approach to prison reform, such as that advocated in a 2016 report by the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections, focuses more on rehabilitation and incentives to reduce a prison sentence through cooperative and contrite actions. But it must be combined with sentencing reform, lest the effects of good behavior be thwarted because a federal judge is forced to restore a draconian sentence, such as the Matthew Charles case we documented earlier this year.
               In a bitter irony, it was about the time Matthew Charles was re-sentenced that the House passed the First Step Act by a bipartisan 360-59 vote. But as Reason’s C.J. Ciaramella wrote at the time, the bill was only half a loaf: “Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Republican point man on criminal justice reform, [said] the bill is dead in the water unless it includes major reforms to federal sentencing law as well.”
               Fortunately, the Senate had a complementary sentencing reform bill already in the process, and over the interceding few months a deal was reached that includes these sentencing reforms in First Step. This revised proposal is a bill that President Donald Trump has already vowed to sign, and in the waning days of the 114th Congress he’s called on First Step to become a priority item. “So far, seven major police organizations, more than 2,700 faith and evangelical leaders, and hundreds of conservative organizations and leaders support this legislation,” said the White House in a press release.
               Not that he’ll get any credit for something that would help blacks. The Left, after all, has to maintain the narrative that he’s “racist.”
               But even with the support of the president and conservatives like Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee — the former assistant U.S. attorney recently pointed out abuses in the current systemas his reason for favoring the First Step proposal — the bill has some tough sledding ahead. “We don’t have a whole lot of time left,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “We need an actual proposal, then we would take a whip count, see where we stand, and then weigh it at that point against the other things that absolutely have to be accomplished.”
               Despite the addition of sentencing reform to the original bill, it will be hard to convince politicians who prefer to keep the present system as a political cudgel while stoking the fires of race and class envy.
               “Let’s just start with the hard truth about our criminal justice system,” complained probable 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth dinky-Warren back in August. “It’s racist. It is. And when I say our system, I mean all the way. I mean front to back.” (In her case, criminal justice reform takes a back seat to “LGBTQ equality.”) Fellow far-left progressive senators (and potential 2020 candidates) lowlife-Kamala Harris and scumbag-Cory Booker also came out against reform, co-signing a letter from Sen. scumbag-Dick Durbin back in October calling First Step “a step backwards,” and warning that “the recidivism reduction plan that is the core of the bill could actually worsen the situation in our federal prisons by creating discriminatory non-evidence-based policies.” However, scumbag-Booker has since read the tea leaves and yesterday announced his support of the compromise bill.
               With this Congress closing out its two-year run, and with Democrats poised to take control, this may be the last best opportunity for some sorely needed reform.  ~The Patriot Post

https://patriotpost.us/articles/59523?mailing_id=3873&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.3873&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body