~ Featuring ~
Trump Bridles scumbag/liar-nObama's
Water Power Grab Rules
Jordan Candler
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Wednesday Top News Executive SummaryMedia Editors: Above the Fold
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER NAMED: “President Trump on Wednesday named the State Department’s hostage envoy Robert C. O'Brien as his fourth national security adviser, replacing John Bolton who was ousted from the administration last week. … O'Brien joined the administration in May 2018 and serves as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department. O'Brien, who served under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, led the U.S. government’s diplomatic efforts on overseas hostage-related matters, working closely with families of American hostages, as well as working with the administration on developing and implementing hostage recovery policy and strategy.” (Fox News)
ISRAEL’S PIVOTAL ELECTION: Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, are headed for a deadlock following Israel’s second election in five months (BBC)
Government & Politics
WITCH-HUNT FLUB:** “House Judiciary Democrats’ first ‘impeachment hearing’ fizzled Tuesday as a fiery and combative Corey Lewandowski dodged their questions,” The Washington Times report. “Pressed for details about his personal conversations with President Trump, Mr. Lewandowski was defiant. The hearing dissolved into a shouting match at times as Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager visibly frustrated Democrats with his refusal to answer.” CNN pundit Amanda Carpenter concluded that “Lewandowksi owned the Judiciary Committee.”
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: “Prominent Democrat donor Ed Buck was arrested and charged in California on Tuesday for allegedly operating a drug house after three men connected to Buck have overdosed on methamphetamines over the last two years. … The Los Angeles Times notes that Buck is a prominent LGBT political activist whom prosecutors previously declined to charge due to a lack of evidence.” (The Daily Wire)
commie-SANDERS’S RENT CONTROL: “Sen. commie-Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) has released an ambitious housing plan that stays true to the candidate’s interventionist brand of democratic socialism. In a speech to trade union members in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, commie-Sanders laid out his vision for tackling high housing costs, homelessness, and gentrification through a mix of nationwide rent control, increased federal spending on housing vouchers and public housing construction, and higher taxes on the wealthy.” (Reason)
SNOWDEN LAWSUIT: “The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for violating his non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and the NSA by writing a new book about his leaks. … The filing alleges that Snowden violated his non-disclosure agreements by failing to submit his manuscript to the agencies for pre-publication review, as is a standard process for former employees and contractors of the agencies. The DOJ aims to ensure that no funds are transferred to Snowden or at his direction while the court is resolving the United States’ claims.” (Fox News)
Culture & Heartland
FREE SPEECH & RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: “The free speech rights of two Christian artists who make wedding invitations were violated by an anti-discrimination ordinance in Phoenix that makes it illegal to refuse service to same-sex couples for religious reasons, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 4-3 decision reversed lower-court rulings favoring the city.” (Associated Press)
ABORTION RATE TUMBLES: The Washington Post says, “A new Guttmacher Institute report released on Wednesday outlines dramatic changes in the abortion landscape between 2011 and 2017. The U.S. abortion rate hit an all-time low — again. … The report estimated the abortion rate in 2017, the most recent year studied, at 13.5 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. That compares with 14.6 in 2014 and 16.9 in 2011 and is the lowest rate since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion through the landmark decision Roe v. Wade in 1973.” Unfortunately, that’s still nearly a million abortions too many: “In total, 862,320 abortions took place in 2017 at health-care facilities. About 339,640, or about 39 percent, of those were medical abortions, which involve taking pills to induce miscarriage as opposed to traditional surgical abortion.”
MERRIAM-WEBSTER GOES WOKE: “Merriam-Webster announced Tuesday that it has added the nonbinary pronoun ‘they’ to its dictionary. The nonbinary pronoun is now listed as one of four definitions of the word by the online dictionary company. Merriam-Webster defines ‘they’ as "used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” (The Hill)
Closing Arguments
POLICY: “Autonomous weapons” — the real robot threat (National Review)
POLICY: Should failing schools be closed? What the research says (Manhattan Institute)
HUMOR: Hypocrisy: Right-wingers who love it when The Babylon Bee makes stuff up suddenly get mad when The New York Times does it (The Babylon Bee)
~The Patriot Post https://patriotpost.us/articles/65550?mailing_id=4536&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4536&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body .
Combative Lewandowski frustrates Democrats,
as impeachment-probe hearing
descends into disarray
By Alex Pappas
{ foxnews.com } ~ The House Judiciary Committee's first hearing as part of its Trump impeachment investigation descended into chaos Tuesday as Democrats clashed with a combative Corey Lewandowski... trading insults and accusations with the former Trump campaign manager who refused to answer many of their questions. Lewandowski visibly frustrated committee Chairman scumbag liar-Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., during the Democrat's first question – when the witness, in an apparent effort to stall for time, repeatedly asked scumbag liar-Nadler to point to the specific section in the Robert Mueller report related to his question. Lewandowski was following White House orders not to discuss confidential conversations with the president beyond what was already public in the former special counsel's report. Asked by scumbag liar-Nadler if he met alone with Trump in June 2017, Lewandowski said, “Could you read the exact language of the report? I don’t have it available to me.” “I don’t think I need to do that,” scumbag liar-Nadler shot back. “I have limited time.” Asked the question again, Lewandowski told scumbag liar-Nadler he needed him to “refresh” his memory of what was in the report. He demanded that Democrats provide him a copy of the report, sending Democratic staff scrambling to find one. "He's filibustering," a frustrated scumbag liar-Nadler said. Amid the back-and-forth, the top Republican on the committee, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, moved to adjourn the hearing, forcing a failed-voice vote that further delayed the hearing, before questioning resumed from others on the committee. Lewandowski later declined to play along with certain questions. New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries asked Lewandowski if he was Trump’s “hitman, the bag man, the lookout, or all of the above?" "I think I'm the good looking man, actually," Lewandowski replied. Lewandowski, considering a run for the Senate in New Hampshire in 2020, had been subpoenaed to testify about Mueller’s report. In a reminder of the political backdrop, during a recess, the witness tweeted out a link to a website promoting his possible candidacy...
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Trump names five finalists
for national security adviser
by Steven Nelson
{ washingtonexaminer.com } ~ President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he now has five finalists for the position of national security adviser... Trump named attorney and U.S. hostage negotiator Robert O’Brien, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ricky Waddell, Energy Department nuclear security expert Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz, and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who currently advises Vice President Mike Pence. Trump implicitly ruled out leading contenders with large bases of support, including retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, a favorite of noninterventionists, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, and U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook. Trump's comments reflect his current thinking, but he has been known to change his mind frequently during the process of considering staff hires. O'Brien, who has a strong personal rapport with Trump, recently has appeared to emerge as a front-runner, according to two sources close to the White House. Many insiders are unfamiliar with his policy leanings, however, and some suspect that Trump would not want to gamble after coming to regret the selection of early administration figures. Waddell, widely viewed as low-key and even-keeled, is close to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to play a leading role in the selection after reports that he was personally interested in filling the role — an option that Trump downplayed last week. Gordon-Hagerty was not widely discussed as an option before Trump named her. She also leads the National Nuclear Security Administration...
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Saudi Arabia and Iran Careen toward Conflict
by Seth Frantzman
{ meforum.org } ~ Less than 24 hours after a major attack by at least 10 drones or cruise missiles on key Saudi oil facilities, the rhetoric in the Middle East is heating up... and the region appears to be on the brink of conflict. After US President Donald Trump spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was "no evidence" the large attack came from Yemen. This now means that Saudi Arabia, which is investigating how the attack happened, is positioned to defend itself, but must choose wisely how. The kingdom's oil production and exports have been disrupted. The facility at Abqaiq, which was struck, is one of the world's largest processing facilities. According to Reuters, the attacks have reduced production by five million barrels per day.Iran has been behind 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia, said Pompeo, adding that Tehran "has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply." At first, the Houthi rebels appeared to take credit for the attack, which was some 1,200 km away from Yemen. This is improbable as there is little evidence that their drones or cruise missiles can fly that far. It now appears that the attack on Saudi Arabia came from somewhere else. In May, a similar long-range attack was said to have come from Iraq. That Pompeo said there was no evidence the September 14 attack on Abqaiq came from Yemen appears to mean the US has evidence it came from somewhere else. Otherwise how could he rule out the Houthis? The US has strongly condemned the attack. It sees the oil facility as essential to the global economy. The context here is that since May, Iran has been accused of striking at oil tankers in the Gulf to show that if the US sanctions continue with what Tehran says is economic war against it, then others will suffer as well...
https://www.meforum.org/59357/saudi-iran-careen-toward-potential-conflict?utm_source=Middle+East+Forum&utm_campaign=93ecf0e1ce-MEF_Frantzman_2019_09_17_06_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_086cfd423c-93ecf0e1ce-33703665&goal=0_086cfd423c-93ecf0e1ce-33703665&mc_cid=93ecf0e1ce&mc_eid=f33b9e6c12 .
Court reinstates suit against
Fox News over Seth Rich murder saga
By JOSH GERSTEIN
{ politico.com } ~ A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by the parents of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich against Fox News over its role in an alleged scheme to falsely link Rich to the disclosure of DNC emails to WikiLeaks... A three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Friday that a lower-court judge was wrong to dismiss the suit in which Joel and Mary Rich alleged they were targeted by Fox, its reporter Malia Zimmerman and a wealthy Texas money manager, Ed Butowsky, in a bizarre scheme to drag the Riches’ murdered son into an international controversy over hacked Democratic emails.The appeals court panel said the Riches’ suit had enough merit — at least on its surface — to allow the case to proceed. “We have no trouble concluding that — taking their allegations as true — the Riches plausibly alleged what amounted to a campaign of emotional torture,” Judge Guido Calabresi wrote, joined by Judges Christopher Droney and Stefan Underhill. The Riches’ suit, which named Zimmerman and Butowsky as defendants along with the cable news channel, was not framed as a defamation case, but instead as a complaint for intentional infliction of emotional distress and for interference with a contract the family had with a private investigator who also worked for Fox, Rod Wheeler.The suit alleges that Butowsky paid for the Riches to retain Wheeler, fed him unsubstantiated information that a federal official said Rich had been in contact with WikiLeaks prior to his death, then arranged for Fox to publish stories on that alleged link. The Riches’ attorneys claim Wheeler wasn’t allowed to comment to the media without permission from the family but Fox made his comments public anyway, taking advantage of his previous allegiance to the network. U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels said those alleged steps, taken individually, were not so outrageous to sustain a suit for inflicting emotional distress, but the appeals court said when all the claims were considered they did meet the standard...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/13/fox-news-seth-rich-1494617 .
commie-AOC sued over blocking Twitter users, following appeals court ruling on Trump
By Gregg Re and Ronn Blitzer
{ foxnews.com } ~ Former Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind filed a lawsuit against Rep. commie-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. in federal court on Tuesday for blocking users on Twitter based on their personal viewpoints... following a federal appeals court ruling earlier in the day barring President Trump from doing the same. "commie-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blocked me on Twitter yesterday apparently because my critique of her tweets and policies have been too stinging," Hikind said in a statement announcing the suit, which was filed in the Eastern District of New York and obtained by Fox News. "Just today the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that elected officials cannot block individuals from their Twitter accounts, thereby setting a precedent that commie-Ocasio-Cortez must follow," he added. "Twitter is a public space, and all should have access to the government officials on it." The First Amendment prohibits discrimination by government actors against a person’s free speech based on his or her viewpoints. Hikind continued: "It's unclear if commie-Ocasio-Cortez is aware of this ruling or not, but either way, I have decided, after speaking with my legal counsel, to initiate a lawsuit against her for blocking me and a host of other public figures. commie-Ocasio-Cortez is acting cowardly and should be ashamed of her attempts to silence me. I’ve done nothing but address her ignorance and disregard for the truth. She constantly brags about the millions of followers she has but is afraid of my speech. She is a hypocrite...
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Trump Bridles scumbag/liar-nObama's Water Power
Grab RulesJordan Candler: For most people, getting fined millions of dollars or being thrown into the slammer because of some innocuous violation of federal water rules seems unfathomable. But this isn’t hyperbole. Thanks to the scumbag/liar-nObama administration, fines and/or imprisonment for violating the Clean Water Rule (a.k.a “Waters of the U.S.”) became a real possibility if you weren’t paying close enough attention to the onerous regulations it imposed. And that’s assuming paying close enough attention even mattered.
We documented one such case back in March 2017. At the time, a farmer by the name of John Duarte was handed a $2.8 million fine. His sin? Plowing and planting wheat on his own land, which was lodged in wetlands. The government concluded that Duarte had failed to obtain certain permits and was thus liable for nearly $3 million in punitive fees. This was in addition to the government’s blatantly ignoring agricultural exemptions.
It gets worse.
As The Daily Caller further reveals, “In a 2016 case … Navy veteran Joe Robertson was criminally prosecuted and served 18 months in prison because he dug ponds around his Montana home in the hopes of keeping wildfires at bay. The ponds were connected to a foot-wide ‘river,’ so the EPA determined that Robertson had been digging too close to ‘navigable water’ without a permit.”
Thankfully, sanity is being restored.
According to an op-ed published Thursday by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Army for Civil Works Assistant Secretary R.D. James, “Today, EPA and the Department of the Army will finalize a rule to repeal the previous administration’s overreach in the federal regulation of waters and wetlands. This action officially ends an egregious power grab and sets the stage for a new rule that will provide much-needed regulatory certainty for farmers, home builders, and property owners nationwide.”
In other words, the rule is being compressed into what Wheeler and James say is “one standard that can advance economic development and environmental protection.” Obviously, ensuring that our water remains clean is a noble endeavor. But undermining property rights through onerous regulation isn’t the way to achieve it. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/65433?mailing_id=4528&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4528&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body
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