Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Monday January 13, 2020.
THE DAILY SIGNAL
| Jan 13, 2020 |
| Good morning from Washington, where the Senate expects Speaker Nancy Pelosi to finally submit two articles of impeachment against President Trump after House Democrats meet tomorrow. Judging by conditions in Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco, as Katrina Trinko chronicles, the top House Democrat might usefully address her constituents’ actual needs. Plus: what typical Iranians think of their country’s Islamist regime, the heroic life of Clarence Thomas, and, on the podcast, a new governor takes on big issues in the heartland. Thirty years ago today, Virginia’s Douglas Wilder, 58, grandson of slaves, takes office as the first black American elected governor of a state. |
| SPECIAL FEATURETents, Homelessness, and Misery: 9 Things I Saw in San FranciscoBy Katrina Trinko Are the streets of San Francisco really as awful as the “poop maps” suggest? Here’s an in-depth look at the real conditions of America’s most liberal city.MoreCOMMENTARYIran Sentenced Us to Death. Here’s How Iranians Really View the Regime.By Maryam Rostampour In 2009, the Iranian government arrested and imprisoned us and sentenced us to death by hanging because of our evangelical Christian faith. Now, like many Iranians, we are relieved that Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani is dead.MoreANALYSISJobs, Family, Future: Gov. Kristi Noem Shares What’s on the Mind of America’s HeartlandBy Virginia Allen South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has one question when considering policies or legislation: “How does this impact the next generation?”MoreCOMMENTARYThe Lessons We Can Learn From Justice Thomas’ LifeBy Andrea Picciotti-Bayer Three facets of Justice Thomas’ life are especially compelling: his grandfather’s influence, his Catholic faith, and the strength he draws from his marriage to wife Ginni.More | ||
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SUNBURN
| On Thursday, Florida Politics first reported about these three storylines: the latest developments in the professional life of former lobbyist Adam Corey; a former state Senator filing a $10 million lawsuit against the Tampa Bay Times for defamation; and the Department of Management Services exiting its arrangement with Motorola Solutions as the vendor for the next generation Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System.Mind you, these are not life-or-death stories. These are very inside-the-bubble stories tailored for a specific audience. Yet, a few years ago, at least a couple of other news organizations would have followed-up our reporting with their own. And in doing so, they probably would have fleshed out even more information. The Tallahassee Democrat should be interested in whatever Corey is doing as he was at the center of the controversy that engulfed Andrew Gillum and Tallahassee’s City Hall.Is Corey having a new job in Amsterdam front-page news? Probably not. But an enterprising reporter could have made hay out of it.A while back, if Jose Lambiet or Florida Playbook had the scoop about Joe Abruzzo suing the Times and reporter Steve Bousquet, it would have screamed from the top of their websites. And if Abruzzo was suing any other newspaper other than the Times, it would have been the top item on “The Buzz.”But those outlets are shuttered or have changed hands, so it’s more of a “Zzzz” than a buzz.As for the wonky item about DMS canceling a nine-figure negotiation with Motorola, it’s hard to believe that the food fight over that contract all but shut down the Legislature in 2016. Today, there hasn’t been a report from any other news outlet about DMC cancelling the contract.My point here is not to trumpet a trio of scoops; everyone at the top of the reporting game gets their scoops in. Matt Dixon of POLITICO had one on Friday about the Ron Rubin harassment case. Ana Ceballos of News Service of Florida broke the news about a possible compromise among Florida lawmakers over the issue of E-Verify. Since moving to the Orlando Sentinel, Jason Garcia seems to pull a scoop out of his pocket every week.And I’m not complaining that other outlets aren’t piggybacking on our reporting. That’s fine with me. We’ll take the traffic. We’ll take the advertisers.No, my lamentation is that there is hardly anyone left in Tallahassee guarding the chicken coop. It’s the start of Session, and if you went by the coverage you read in traditional newspapers, you’d be forgiven if you thought the Legislature was still on the schedule of convening in March.The great John Kennedy of Chorp had the front-page story for more than a dozen newspapers on Sunday. His framing of the upcoming sixty days as an election-year Session is a solid overview, just as you’d expect from one of the Capitol Press Corp’s finest writers.But once you get past Kennedy’s story, there’s not much there in the Jacksonville Times-Union (which, to its credit, has been doing meritorious work covering local politics) or the Naples Daily News or the Ocala Star-Banner or the Palm Beach Post or any of the Gatehouse Gannett USA TODAY newspapers.I can’t believe that’s what their readers want. Especially not in this era, which is as politically charged as any in America’s peacetime history.Imagine, if you will, if the newspapers had a special section on Sunday that led with Kennedy’s table-setter, but then included one piece from each of the Gatehouse Gannett USA TODAY newspapers that had a regional starting point but also a statewide hook.Maybe the Times-Union reporter talks to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who happens to be from that region. Perhaps the NDN reporter talks to the future Senate President, who is in NDN’s backyard, about her expectations for the Session. Perhaps one of the newspaper chain’s reporters based in South Florida interviews the House Democrat leader who is from that part of the state.Put all of that — and much, much more — together and remind readers and lawmakers about the extraordinary power of the media to shape the narratives of Session.Ah, if only Mike Fernandez would bankroll me …Anyway, until a few years ago, the Tampa Bay Times had a special offering like this in its Sunday Perspective section. It was called something like, “For a better Florida …” or “For a better Legislature …” and it was a collection of reports, features, and op-eds advancing the Legislative Session. It was the kind of newspaper section that you put off to the side so that you could pay appropriate attention to it when you had the time.Unfortunately, the Times no longer publishes the Perspective section, much less that special section.BUT … IN THAT SPIRIT … I asked Florida Politics reporters and contributors to, in addition to their already incredible work, produce as many curtain-raisers as possible in advance of the Session. We’ve already started publishing them on FloridaPolitics.com, while most of them are going live Monday morning.However, here is our collection, which I guess I’ll frame as: “For better coverage …”“Teachers, tourism & environmental spending: a preview of Ron DeSantis’ agenda for 2020 Session” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics — The budget includes “bold and meaningful” educational reform elements in what is being called The Year of the Teacher. These include radical and controversial changes in teacher compensation that make up $900 million of an extra billion dollars in FEFP education spending. All told, spending would rise to $300 per student, reaching $7,979 per capita. The Governor envisions $600 million for new teacher pay, pushing minimum salaries up to $47,500 in every district. The House has indicated resistance on this front, with Speaker José Oliva and Appropriations Chair Travis Cummings spotlighting resistance.“Nikki Fried wants action on guns, conservation and climate” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Fried is putting her support behind several proposed bills ranging from retaining fingerprints from concealed carry applicants to aims to reduce food insecurity in Florida’s schools. The first comes from Sen. Oscar Braynon II (SB 1566) and Rep. Javier Fernández (HB 809). Those measures allow the state to retain fingerprints whenever a person applies to renew his or her concealed carry permit. Fried’s office oversees those applications. She is repeating calls for a $500,000 grant that would go toward food recovery. Fried is also backing Democrats’ calls for action on climate change, which would be addressed via several different pieces of legislation.“Bill Galvano wields gavel with signature civility one last time” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — “My plan right now is to be the best possible Senate President that I can and empower the Senators,” he said. It’s representative of the philosophy of a Senate President known as much for his dedication to a smooth process as he is to rigid philosophical goals. And yet, Galvano’s first Session as Senate President saw an expansion of school vouchers, a ban on so-called sanctuary cities, restrictions on amending the Florida Constitution. Some of these were issues that had failed to move in the Senate for years, even when Republicans held a much wider majority than convenes there today. But as Galvano describes the proceedings, he’s just opening a path for his members to carry bills forward.“Rob Bradley optimistic about 2020 Legislative Session” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics — “The Senate and the House aren’t that far apart on major budget issues. We kind of have a template with last year’s budget — both sides were comfortable with where we ended up last year. So, I don’t see huge shifts from last year’s budget,” Bradley noted. Of course, there are areas of House and Senate disagreement. One such is the Governor’s $600 million proposal to raise the base salary for teachers to $47,500 per year, a controversial canard that has gotten criticism from unlikely comrades: the teachers’ union and the House. Bradley disagreed that the proposal may be stalled.“Tom Lee reflects on another Session, open primaries and ‘political weeds’” via Joe Henderson of Florida Politics — Lawmakers will try to grapple with rising Medicare and Medicaid costs that Lee said are “major cost drivers in state budgets and businesses.” “We are under a lot of pressure to create more competition in the marketplace,” Lee said. He serves as Chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure and Security. It had hearings on sea-level rise and mass violence in Florida. He said the committee would soon roll out a bill that will include what he called “some common-sense gun safety provisions.” That’s a lot to do in 60 days, and the tradition lately has been to take the part of the bill a lawmaker likes and hold their nose about the rest.“Jeff Brandes leads the way on criminal justice reform in 2020 Legislative Session” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — Brandes sponsored 18 bills for the 2020 Legislative Session relating to criminal justice reform including reducing mandatory sentencing requirements, early prison release efforts for certain qualifying inmates and reforms to the juvenile justice system. “We think these are areas where we have more competency in policymaking,” Brandes said of his slew of bills. Among his efforts is a package of bills aimed at diverting more individuals from state prisons, a fight Brandes has been waging with bail bond agents for years. Two bills (SB 550 and SB 552) would change the state’s criminal points formulas to allow judges to have more discretion in how to sentence criminals and to carry out those sentences in nonstate facilities like county jails.“Kathleen Passidomo optimistic members will work toward one another’s priorities in Session” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — “My priority is to make sure my caucus and their priorities are front and center,” the Naples Republican said ahead of the Legislative Session’s start. That includes her own priorities, of course. The Southwest Florida Senator has been excited to see DeSantis focus so much political energy on water quality. That has meant some record spending on Everglades restoration, and she anticipates more funding this year. But she expects issues like school safety, criminal justice reform and infrastructure to be key issues, too. She’s especially hopeful something can be done in Florida’s beleaguered prison system, one she thinks houses many people who should be on different paths.“Joe Gruters focused on preserving Florida’s superior business environment” how can it’s via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — The chair of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee will take on some big lifts this year. He hopes to convince colleagues Florida should start assessing online sales taxes, holding polluters more accountable for sewage spills, and funding VISIT FLORIDA. “We still have an economy based on tourism,” Gruters said. That’s likely to be one of the big fights of the session, with House Speaker José Oliva making clear he thinks VISIT FLORIDA is a waste of money. But chairing a committee focused on tourism, Gruters stands with tourism leaders across the state in supporting Florida’s de facto tourism agency’s continued existence. “At the end of the day, when we have a limited budget, everything becomes competitive,” the Sarasota Republican said.“Lauren Book seeks protections for women, vulnerable students as 2020 Session nears” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Book identified a trio of bills that will be among her top priorities as the Session readies to kick off. On Jan. 6, Book filed the first of those bills (SB 1470), which would require express consent before a pelvic examination is performed on a female patient at a hospital. “In teaching hospitals, it has apparently been a practice where they perform pelvic examinations on women without their express consent or knowledge and don’t tell them after the fact,” Book said. “People are like, ‘What? This is not real. This is not possible.'”“Kionne McGhee expects plenty of ‘red meat’ from GOP in 2020 Session” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — “This is an election season,” McGhee noted. “For political gain, what they would do, to be honest with you, I don’t know. But I am expecting that a lot of red meat will be used this Session in order to turn out political bases.” In addition to leading his party into the fight, McGhee has some goals of his own, one of which seems to have bipartisan support. One goal is a measure (HB 251) that would allow college athletes to make money off their likeness. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which regulates those athletes, has rules barring students from doing that. “It’s a fairness bill,” McGhee said. “It’s also my personal priority.”“Chris Latvala’s 2020 legislative agenda is all about child welfare” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — Latvala’s top priority in this year’s Legislative Session is Jordan’s Law, named for young Jordan Belliveau. In Jordan’s case, the warning signs of abuse and neglect were all there, but they went either ignored, unchecked, or swept under the rug. Latvala’s bill (HB 43) would provide a way to notify law enforcement officers when they are dealing with someone who is the subject of an open child welfare investigation. It would require anyone who responds to child welfare cases to undergo training on how to identify traumatic brain injury. It also would increase oversight of how children are reunited with parents, create a pilot program to install specialized caseworkers for children under six, and reduces social workers’ caseloads.“Jason Fischer talks vacation rentals, drones, and dissolving ‘corrupt’ cities” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics — 2020 sees Fischer again carrying several bills. One such piece of legislation: HB 1011, a bill that would preempt local regulations on short-term rentals, leaving the regulatory authority with the state. Fischer notes the “patchwork quilt” of local regulations, saying his bill would offer “clarity and consistency” statewide to what currently is a muddled mosaic of laws varying from one town to another. The Jacksonville legislator also seeks to expand the use of drones with a bill (HB 659) that would allow state agencies, such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, to use the unmanned aircraft over swamps and other people-free places where invasive species and other nuisances have proved problematic.“Jackie Toledo has a bold agenda for the 2020 Session” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — Toledo is pushing several bills focusing on public safety, transportation and health care reform and is proposing several funding requests to support affordable housing, increasing STEM education in Hillsborough County public schools and conservation and restoration for Florida’s environment and natural resources. One of Toledo’s most aggressive bills seeks to reform the Pharmacy Benefit Manager program in the state. Toledo’s legislation aims to crack down on what she describes as overcharges on prescription medication caused by predatory practices among PBMs who serve as pharmacy middlemen established to facilitate claims approval for medications that require authorization in real-time.“Nick DiCeglie packs 2020 legislative priorities with pro-business initiatives” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — “I’m very excited for the 2020 Legislative Session and am looking forward to being part of another historic Session where we will once again lead the United States in transformative, conservative policies that will continue to attract residents and businesses to our great state,” DiCeglie said. One measure (HB 441) seeks to increase opportunities for businesses to bid on public projects. “For example, a City plans to update the paint in all of their city-owned buildings. Those are technically multiple, but almost identical projects. The City can lump them together, as a continuing contract to paint the Library, the Fire Station and City Hall,” DiCeglie explained.“Here’s what Tampa Bay leaders are watching for during the 2020 Legislative Session” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — This year, local governments are eyeing funding projects for museums, hospitals and other amenities as well as legislation that supports building new infrastructure, preserving and honoring remains lost in abandoned cemeteries and preserving funding intended for affordable housing that has for years been pilfered by other projects. The city of Tampa’s top budget priorities this session includes protecting the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund. For years lawmakers have been raiding the fund to pay for other state projects, leaving affordable housing initiatives lacking funding that should have gone to those projects. The city of St. Pete also lists preserving Sadowski as a top priority.“Southwest Florida wants to keep its influence growing and its water flowing” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — The region is home to some of the area’s most powerful state lawmakers, from Senate President Galvano to Republican Party of Florida ChairGruters to Senate Republican Leader Passidomo and House Republican Leader Dane Eagle. So what does the region need this Legislative Session? As much as it can get. “In appropriations, we need to come together and bring back as much as we can,” said Gruters. Gruters knows representing a community next door to Galvano’s Bradenton home had made it easier to secure funding this year, but sees a future soon where that influence wanes a little bit. In the meantime, he’s pushing for what he can with road improvements to Interstate-75, environmental spending, and economic attention.“Criminal justice reformers looking for ‘second step’ following 2019 success” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Removing some mandatory minimum sentences, earlier possible releases for model behavior and aggravated assault resentencing didn’t make last year’s cut. But Republican Sens. Brandes and Bradley want to revitalize those measures — and have the Senate’s support. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee, led by Gainesville Republican Sen. Keith Perry, has already passed most priorities in pre-Session meetings. And Bradley, a former prosecutor, chairs the Appropriations Committee, a panel critical for bills that change the justice system’s expenses. Brandes filed 18 criminal justice bills ahead of the Session. His package includes giving judges broader sentencing discretion (SB 550 and SB 552) and increasing the amount of possible gain-time inmates may earn each month (SB 572).“Republicans focusing abortion efforts on parental consent bills” via Renzo Downey Florida Politics — The Legislature looks set to come out swinging on Republicans’ parental consent for abortions proposal Wednesday, the Session’s second day. But that proposal, which would require minors to get parental consent before obtaining abortions, is about as far as Republican leaders are willing to go on the issue. No other abortion regulation proposal, including Rep. Mike Hill’s heartbeat bill (HB 271), has yet received a committee hearing date. Senate President Galvano indicated abortion bills other than parental consent would be tougher to pass. But the parental consent measure, an apparent Republican priority that has been expedited through pre-Session meetings, likely will.“Take 2: Film production rebates back for 2020 Legislative Session” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — A proposal by state Sen. Gruters, SB 530, would create what many consider a conservative film production program — it requires studios to apply ahead of time and adhere to a long list of requirements, including holding 70% of filming days in Florida and 60% of those on the job must be state residents. If everything measures up, a production could receive a rebate for the lesser of $2 million or 20% of their qualified expenditures, which include wages paid to Floridians as well as equipment rental costs and catering bills, so long as the money goes to a Florida-based business. Industry advocates say these elements in the program ensure the required positive return on investment for the state.“10 bills filed for the 2020 Session that will make you go ‘Hmm’” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — HB 319 — A Florida guide to a healthy marriage. HB 613 — Intellectual freedom in state universities. HB 341 — Bible study in schools. Critics question whether the measure is constitutional, separation of church and state and all. HB 335/SB 908 to elect the President by popular vote. HB 6001 — Relating to guns on campus. The bill “eradicates the gun-free zones of college campuses.” HB 271 — Abortion. Senate Memorial 1652 — To add another U.S. Senator to any state that has more than 6 million population. HB 119 — Sensory Deprivation Tanks. HB 635/SB 756 — Donor Breast Milk. Senate Resolution 214 — White Nationalism. If anyone votes against this resolution or fails to put it on the agenda, well, shame.“Tallahassee businesses see fewer profits with January start dates of Legislative Session” via Sarah Mueller of Florida Politics — Lawmakers attract plenty of other visitors to the state Capitol, including lobbyists, community activists, and special interest groups. But a pattern has emerged in the years since the dates have started alternated between March and January, said Kerri Post, executive director of Visit Tallahassee. Post said all their tourism indicators such as hotel occupancy and the number of visitors appear to show there’s a weaker economic impact to the Tallahassee area when it convenes at the beginning of the year. Post said that their tourism indicators show economic activity for a March-April Legislative Session is 10-15% higher, compared with a January start date.“Associated Industries of Florida to celebrate 100 years at annual pre-Session reception” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — players from the legislative process gather for one last reprieve before putting their heads down for 60-day Session. “AIF is excited to be hosting our annual reception honoring the Florida Legislature …” AIF President and CEO Tom Feeney said. “This year, we are celebrating 100 years of serving as the voice of Florida’s business community; and what better way to kick off the 2020 Legislative Session than to have thousands of our friends and colleagues in the business community come together for this time-honored tradition on the eve of Session.” This year, AIF is backing DeSantis’ proposed $91.4 billion budget and its $300 million in tax cuts. AIF also supports environmental restoration, to affordable housing and hurricane recovery plans and more laid out in the budget.“John Legg: Teacher pay, student performance must be Job One for 2020 Session” via Florida Politics — Lawmakers should tackle increased teacher pay along with equally significant, yet less covered education issues, such as how to address Florida’s stagnant school performance and how to close the educational opportunity gap for all students. After witnessing significant gains from previous decades, the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores among 4th- and 8th-grade students dropped from 2017, the last time the test was administered. Also, Florida’s math scores did not move at all for both groups.Here are links to some of the curtain-raisers from the state’s newspapers:— “10 issues to watch during the 2020 Session” via Jim Saunders and Christine Sexton of the News Service of Florida—“Back in Session” via John Kennedy of the USA Today Network—“Florida’s 2020 legislative preview” via Amy Keller of Florida Trend—“Florida lawmakers convene in Tallahassee next week. Here are the issues to watch.” via Emily Mahoney, Lawrence Mower and Elizabeth Koh of the Tampa Bay Times—“Florida Matters: Previewing the 2020 Legislative Session” via Robin Sussingham and Christy Oshana of WUSF—“From coconut patties to guns, lawmakers ready for Session” via Brendan Farrington of The Associated Press—“Here are nine key things to watch for during the 2020 Legislative Session” via Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel—“Local legislators gear up for Session” via Tom McLaughlin of the NWF Daily News—“The key issues entering the 2020 Legislative Session” via Lynn Hatter of WUSF—“DeSantis drives agenda as lawmakers take on teacher pay, abortion, school safety and more in 2020 Session” via Gray Rohrer and Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel—“DeSantis goals: teacher pay, E-Verify, environmental action” via The Associated Press |
| Today’s Sunrise On the eve of the Session, thousands of teachers will converge on The Capitol to push for better education funding. While DeSantis is recommending close to a billion dollars in new money for salaries and bonuses, the Florida Education Association says it doesn’t go far enough, though it’s a good start.Also, on today’s Sunrise:— The Florida Sierra Club releases its report card on the Gov.’s first year in office. Although DeSantis has received glowing reviews on environmental issues, after eight years of Rick Scott, it’s almost impossible not to do better.— Bear poachers are in the crosshairs. A bill seeking to increase penalties for people who kill bears out of season is already moving in the Legislature. There is no season now, and there hasn’t been a legal bear hunt in Florida in almost four years, but poaching is a problem — thanks to sky-high prices in China for bear bile and gall bladders.— State Rep. Byron Donalds is a pro-Donald Trump, pro-gun, anti-abortion Republican running for Congress, which is nothing unusual. However, he is African American, making him something of a political unicorn.— Today’s Florida Woman update: A former beauty queen accused of keeping the Social Security money that was supposed to pay for her mom’s nursing home.To listen, click on the image below: |
| Situational awareness —@BarackObama: Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico can use our support after this week’s earthquakes. They’ve shown their enduring spirit over the past couple years, and it’s up to us to pull together for one another once again. I hope you’ll support their recovery—@MarcACaputo: I trust @jdawsey1 reporting, but I wonder if jealous WH sources are more angry than their boss & making stuff up. @repmattgaetz said on Tucker [Carlson] last night he checked w/Trump who said he had no hard feelings. (Sen [Rand] Paul similarly checks w/POTUS)—@EWarren: Florida teachers are rallying for fair pay and better funding for schools, and they won’t be intimidated or undermined. I stand with the teachers — and I’ll fight so that teachers get the fair pay and well-funded schools they need and deserve.—@LoriBerman: As we enter what I like to call the 60 most dangerous days in Florida (Legislative Session), we truly have an opportunity to make things right. Increase teacher salaries with commensurate pay for veteran teachers, comprehensive gun control, climate change resiliency and mitigation, Medicaid expansion & mental health funding, etc. Florida has a budget of over $90 billion — we can achieve all this and more if we set our priorities straight!—@CindyPoloFL103: Stop thinking good fundraisers automatically equate good lawmakers!! When you work for the People and not special interests, it’s about sweat and hard work. NOT just checks. Maybe that’s why GOVT is so messed up!Tweet, tweet:Tweet, tweet:Tweet, tweet:—@DJGroup: If you have not bought @KevinCate stock yet, will put in a kind word for you, before it … surges.—@EversTre: Big win for @FeamanPeter being reelected as Florida’s National Committeeman 102-71—@AGGancarski: Can’t believe Bestbet is still using the Ally McDeal character. I’m assuming Ally McBeal still has cultural cachet in Northeast Florida?—@SMarstiller: #JustForToday Find some time to just be quiet. Spend a few minutes in silence, let your mind wander, see what comes to the surface. |
| Days until 2020 Session begins — 1; Florida Chamber Legislative Fly-in — 1; Seventh Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines — 1; Florida TaxWatch State of the TaxPayer Dinner in Tallahassee — 2; Sundance Film Festival begins — 10; “Star Trek: Picard” premiers — 10; Annual Red Dog Blue Dog Celebrity Bartender Benefit — 13; New Brexit deadline — 18; Super Bowl LIV in Miami — 20; Great American Realtors Day — 21; Iowa Caucuses — 21; Eighth Democratic presidential debate in Manchester — 26; Capitol Press Corps press skits — 29; New Hampshire Primaries — 29; Pitchers and catchers begin reporting for MLB Spring Training — 29; Ninth Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas — 37; Roger Stone’s sentencing — 38; Nevada caucuses — 40; “Better Call Saul” Season 5 premiers — 41; 10th Democratic presidential debate in Charleston — 43; South Carolina Primaries — 47; Super Tuesday — 50; Last day of 2020 Session (maybe) — 60; Florida’s presidential primary — 64; “No Time to Die” premiers — 88; Florida Chamber Summit on Prosperity and Economic Opportunity — 127; “Top Gun: Maverick” premiers — 165; Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee begins — 182; Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” premiers — 186; 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo start — 193; Florida primaries for 2020 state legislative/congressional races — 218; Republican National Convention begins in Charlotte — 224; First Vice Presidential debate at the University of Utah — 268; First Presidential Debate scheduled at the University of Michigan — 276; Second presidential debate at Belmont — 283; 2020 General Election — 295. |
| Top story “Could Florida teachers rallying at the Capitol be punished for a strike?” via Emily L. Mahoney and Jeffrey S. Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times — As Florida lawmakers prepare Monday for the looming start of the 2020 Legislative Session, thousands of teachers are expected to descend upon the Capitol with a call for improved support of public education. The “Take on Tallahassee” rally, sponsored by the Florida Education Association, has generated plenty of enthusiasm among educators who say they’ve felt ignored and dismissed for too long. It also has raised a question among some observers: Shouldn’t those teachers be at work that day? Florida law is crystal clear that organized work stoppages by public employees, such as teachers, for the purpose of trying to change their work conditions are not allowed. In other words: strikes.Teachers are going to march on Tallahassee Monday — when they should be at work — but organized stoppages by public employees for the purpose of trying to change work conditions are not allowed.“Road closures planned for public education march, rally in Tallahassee” via the Tallahassee Democrat — With thousands of teachers and others expected to protest for more funding for Florida’s public schools, the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) will close two of the main thoroughfares around the Capitol. Monroe Street will be closed between Gaines Street and College Avenue, and westbound Apalachee Parkway will be blocked to traffic at the Franklin Boulevard exit, according to Officer Damon Miller Jr. The closures will be in effect from 1 p.m. till around 4:30 p.m. for the “Take on Tallahassee” march and rally. “Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area and take alternate routes,” Miller said in a Sunday news release. “TPD will advise when the roadways reopen.” |
| Dateline: Tally “New survey shows unusually strong support for DeSantis’ teacher pay initiative” via Karen Cyphers for Florida Politics — We asked 1,000 Florida voters what they thought of DeSantis’ proposal to raise base teacher pay from about $37,600 to $47,500. Overall, an overwhelming majority (84%) of Florida voters support the Governor’s proposal. Just 8% disagree. That’s better than 10-to-1 support, almost unheard of in today’s divided and divisive political environment. Only 8% are unsure. Looking only at those who expressed an opinion on the matter, the portion in support is even higher: 92% of them support the measure. This is the case among 97% of Democrats, 92% of nonpartisan voters, and 85% of Republicans. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Floridians believe these raises will “improve the quality of teaching in Florida.”Ron DeSantis’ teacher pay proposal is almost as popular as mom and apple pie.Assignment editors — DeSantis will make a major announcement, joined by Ambassador John Rood, 9 a.m., Florida State College at Jacksonville, Advanced Technology Center Building, Room T140 & T141, 401 West State Street, Jacksonville.“Democrat lawmakers plan to counter DeSantis’ State of the State address with progressive plan” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — The group plans to unveil its Sunrise Agenda, which is a series of proposals aimed at building a Florida that works for all Floridians, not just what they describe as the wealthy and well-connected. “The tone-deaf majority has lorded over our state government for some twenty years plus and has failed to lead on the issues that matter to everyday Floridians,” said Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson. “Instead, the bend has been toward those with buckets of money. The Sunrise Agenda gives Floridians a government that works for them.” Gibson is leading a group of Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez and Reps. Anna Eskamani, Carlos Guillermo Smith, Dianne Hart, Fentrice Driskell, Geraldine Thompson and Shevrin Jones.“Tougher gun laws could cause legislative divide” via Dara Kam of the News Service of Florida — As lawmakers prepare for Session, Republicans are split on how — or even if — to address one of the nation’s most divisive political and policy issues: guns. Two years ago, the Republican-dominated Legislature passed gun-control laws for the first time in decades. Now, Senate President Galvano, who played a key role in crafting the 2018 legislation, wants to go further and shut down what he and many other people consider loopholes in state laws regarding background checks and gun sales. “There are myriad things in play, but the background checks are very much being looked at,” Galvano said in a recent interview.“Possible E-Verify compromise emerges” via News Service of Florida — The bill, filed by Neptune Beach Republican Rep. Cord Byrd, would require government employers — such as state agencies and county school districts — to use the federal government’s E-Verify system to check the legal eligibility of new workers. Private employers, other than government contractors, would not be mandated to use the E-Verify system.“A simple exit strategy for Republicans in beach access battle” via Steve Bousquet of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Scholars at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law who studied the issue describes a “sandstorm of controversy” driven partly by frenzied media coverage. As the authors write: “One reason for repealing the statute would be to eliminate the confusion it has created. A repeal without further action, however, seems likely to produce conflicting and confusing counter-narratives — narratives opposite to those narratives generated by the statute. These would likely be infected by the same distorted understanding of the statute.” Two years ago, many legislators had no idea what they were voting on until HB 631 became law and by then, it was too late. They shouldn’t be allowed just to stick their heads in the sand.That battle over Walton Beach access could have a simple fix if lawmakers are up to the task.“Proposed cut could save consumers $2.1M in state communications taxes, more in local taxes” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — A Florida customer buying phone service or video or audio streaming services pays state Communication Services Tax (CST), local CST and gross receipts tax. Proposed legislation (SB 1174/HB 701) would drop the state CST rate, 4.92%, to 4.9% while lowering most local rates. The combined Florida CST rate, with gross receipt and state taxes, is currently 7.44% — which doesn’t count varying local taxes. Florida last dropped its CST rate in 2015. The legislation would cap local rates at 5% next year, making an effective maximum statewide rate of 12.42%. But in 2022, the state would mandate a 4% rate, if any, for municipalities and charter counties and 2% for non-charter counties.“Motorola Solutions out as next-gen SLERS vendor?” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — After months of uncertainty, the Department of Management Services is ditching Motorola Solutions as the vendor for the next generation Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System. The move comes after DMS Secretary Jonathan Satter gave the company an ultimatum. In a letter sent late last month, Satter told Motorola CEO Gregory Brown that the company could either agree to the terms DMS had put forward, or the department would yank the contract. Motorola didn’t agree, and on Thursday, Satter followed through. “Since Motorola has failed to execute a contract as a result of the competitive procurement, the Department will initiate conversations with stakeholders to evaluate options and move toward the new procurement of a next-generation system.”State settles Ronald Rubin harassment complaint, but other battles continue — The Office of Financial Regulation employee who filed a sexual harassment complaint against former OFR head Rubin has received $150,000 from the state. Separately, another lawsuit has been filed by Rubin claiming CFO Jimmy Patronis mischaracterized one of the sexual harassment complaints against him, Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida reports. It also alleges Patronis was part of a “criminal enterprise” attempting to solicit campaign contributions from Rubin’s father. Patronis’ Chief of Staff, Peter Penrod, rebutted the lawsuit, arguing it contained “far too many misleading statements and outright falsehoods to independently address.” |
| Legislation “Brandes files (another) criminal justice reform bill, this one to reduce sentences for re-offenders” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — His latest bill (SB 1716) seeks to reduce sentences for former inmates who reoffend within three years of being released from prison. The measure would allow qualifying inmates to apply for a resentencing hearing to reduce their sentences. People who are considered prison release re-offenders faces tougher penalties than first-time offenders. The bill maintains that consequence, but provides a path to reduce mandatory minimums under that provision slightly. The measure would reduce life sentences to 25-years, first-degree felony minimums from 30 years to 20 years, second-degree felonies from 15 to 10 years, and third-degree felonies from five to three years.The number of criminal justice reform bills filed by Jeff Brandes now stands at 18.“FAFSA bill among flurry of last-minute education legislation” via Jeffrey Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times — Sen. Janet Cruz has filed legislation (SB 1550) that would require all high school students, beginning with the Class of 2025, to file a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to get their standard diploma. The bill is identical to one filed by Rep. Richard Stark in the House. Cruz said her measure has become necessary considering current events. Too many stories have emerged about Floridians who take loans they can’t repay to attend unaccredited, for-profit colleges that prey upon peoples’ lack of financial savvy, she said.“Kelli Stargel education bill adds dollars for schools” via Kimberly Moore of the Lakeland Ledger — A bill proposed by Stargel would, among several things, provide additional funding to school districts. The proposal includes: Giving permanently to 29 school districts additional funding that they have received for the past two years temporarily. Mandating that any county surtax passed in the future for school building projects be shared proportionately with charter schools. Increasing full-time equivalent funding for students dual-enrolled in college. And providing a minimum of $100,000 for mental health services for each school district, in addition to $100 million the governor has requested from the legislature for the entire state.“Law proposed ensures health care for expectant mothers behind bars” via Blaise Gainey of WUSF — West Park Democratic Rep. Shevrin Jones wants to ensure pregnant incarcerated women are given proper medical attention. He’s filing a bill named in honor of Tammy Jackson, a former Broward County Jail inmate who was forced to give birth in solitary confinement last April. Last year lawmakers approved another bill by Jones to help incarcerated women. It ensures they receive feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, and other sanitary products for free.“Insurers could face new limits on use of genetic information” via John Kennedy of the GateHouse Capital Bureau — Insurance companies would be barred in Florida from using genetic information now widely available through such popular services as 23andMe and Ancestry, under legislation filed by House Speaker-Designate Chris Sprowls, who said the ban is needed as a consumer protection, safeguarding both privacy and access to life, long-term care, and disability insurance. “It’s kind of a new frontier of privacy,” Sprowls said. “As more genetic tests are done, you want to make sure that we protect them from having that information used inappropriately in a life or disability insurance situation.”“These bills would help the environment” via Tyler Treadway of TCPalm — There are several pieces of proposed legislation that, combined with a significant chunk of money in DeSantis’ proposed budget, should go a long way to pleasing the glass-half-full types. Like the Indian River Lagoon it’s designed to protect, Senate Bill 712 is lauded by the half-fullers for being broad — with measures to deal with pollution sources including septic tanks, leaky sewer systems, sewage sludge and farm fertilizer runoff — but chided by half-emptiers for being a missed opportunity for doing much more.“Bill filed to repeal controversial HB 631” via Tom McLaughlin of the NWF Daily News — The bill shredded Walton County’s customary use ordinance and afforded private owners, many of whom hold deeds to the mean high water line, the right to call out beachgoers for trespassing on the dry sand behind their homes. Chaos ensued. Law officers still don’t know exactly how to enforce the trespassing provisions, and public works officials were told they couldn’t pick up garbage in some beach locations. But state Rep. Brad Drake, who represents Walton County, wasn’t the lawmaker who introduced the legislation. That fell to state Rep. Evan Jenne, a Democrat from Hollywood. Jenne said he would meet with Northwest Florida lawmakers this week to gauge their support for his repeal bill.“Ed Hooper bill aims to lower costs for mobile homebuyers” via Florida Politics — A bill filed by the Clearwater Republican (SB 818) would make several changes to the cost of owning a mobile or manufactured home. At the top of the list is a sales tax exemption for the domiciles. Under current law, the entire purchase price of a mobile home is subject to sales tax, which can add up quick for such a large purchase. Hooper’s bill would make it so buyers only must pay sales tax on half the purchase price of a mobile home. And, if the mobile home is intended to be permanently affixed to a lot, then the exemption would cover the full purchase price. The bill will be heard today in the Senate Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee.Ed Hooper wants to give a tax break to mobile homebuyers.“Tom Wright wants EMS to save police dogs when possible” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Senate Bill 842 is the next effort by Wright to raise support for police K-9 dogs. SB 842 authorizes both public and private services to transport wounded or injured police or fire department dogs, and to treat them, provided there are no wounded or injured humans around needing the services first. The Republican from Port Orange said it’s currently illegal for public EMS and paramedics to take K-9s to an animal hospital.“Lawmakers to try again to ease restrictions on wine containers, craft distilleries” via Sarah Mueller of Florida Politics — Floridians could soon buy wine bottles that rival the size of toddlers. There are several bills introduced for this Session that aim to relax regulations surrounding beer, wine and craft distilleries. Attempts to get these through previous Sessions have been unsuccessful. Currently, state law prohibits selling more than a gallon of wine in a single container. A bill (HB 6037) sponsored by Republican State Rep. Chip LaMarca of Lighthouse Point would repeal that restriction. That would allow wine bottles in much bigger sizes. The standard size is 750 milliliters, which is about five servings. But the bill introduced by LaMarca and others open the door to containers holding the equivalent of 6,8, or 12 bottles of wine.“David Smith bill would increase penalties for bear poaching” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Smith’s HB 327, increasing criminal penalties for the illegal taking, possession, and selling of bears, is moving quickly through House committees, having been approved by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee, it now heading for a hearing by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. The issue has emerged both because the Florida black bear population has grown significantly and because there is an international market, particularly in certain Asian countries such as China, for bear bile as folk medicine. Overseas it sells for thousands of dollars per gram. In the past five years, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission criminally charged 22 people with bear poaching and issued warnings to five others. |
| Today in the Capitol Assignment editors — A joint meeting of House Commerce, Education and Judiciary Committees will discuss equal treatment of all student-athletes and compensation for use in their name, image and likeness, 11:30 a.m., 212 Knott Building (Webster Hall).Assignment editors — Senate Democratic leader Gibson and members of the Democratic Caucus will hold a news conference to announce a major education initiative, 12:15 p.m., Senate Democratic Office Conference Room, 200 Senate Office Building.The Senate Education Commission meets to consider SB 1088 from Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., which seeks to increase teacher pay, 1 p.m., 412 Knott Building.The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee meets to consider SB 1114 from Sen. Bill Montford, to provide yearly cost-of-living raises to state employees who meet performance standards, 1 p.m., 301 Senate Office Building.The Senate Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee meets to consider SB 1128), from Sen. Diaz Jr., which would prevent local regulation of vacation rental properties, 1 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building.The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider funding for several projects, 3 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.The House Government Operations & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee meet to consider several bills on local projects, 3 p.m., 306 House Office Building.The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider funding for several programs and projects, 3 p.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider funding for several projects, 3 p.m., 404 House Office Building.The Senate Community Affairs Committee meets to consider SB 630, from Sen. Debbie Mayfield, which allows cities and counties to regulate smoking in city-owned public parks, 3:30 p.m., 301 Senate Office Building.The Senate Education and Natural Resources Committee meets to consider SB 7016, which creates a Statewide Office of Resiliency in the Governor’s Office as well as a Statewide Sea-Level Rise Task Force, 3:30 p.m., 37 Senate Office Building.The Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee meets to consider SR 214 and SR 222, resolutions to condemn white nationalism and white supremacy, 3:30 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building. |
| Pre-session fundraising rundown State Sen. Lori Berman — 4 p.m., Florida Dental Association, 118 E. Jefferson St., Tallahassee.State Reps. Scott Plakon and Rene Plasencia — 4 p.m., Jacob’s on the Plaza, 101 South Adams Street, Tallahassee.State Reps. Melony Bell, Tommy Gregory, Anthony Sabatini, LaMarca, David Smith, Mike Beltran, Toby Overdorf and Alex Andrade — 5 p.m., DoubleTree Hotel, 101 S. Adams Street, Tallahassee.State Reps. Jason Shoaf and Jay Trumbull — 5 p.m., The Governors Club, Capital Room.State Rep. Emily Slosberg — 5 p.m., the home of former Rep. Irv Slosberg, 121 N. Monroe St., Apt. 1208, Tallahassee.FRSCC Welcome Back Reception 2020 with Senate President Galvano and President-Designate Wilton Simpson, as well as Sens. Ben Albritton, Dennis Baxley, Aaron Bean, Lizbeth Benacquisto, Bradley, Brandes, Doug Broxson, Diaz Jr., Anitere Flores, George Gainer, Gruters, Gayle Harrell, Hooper, Travis Hutson, Lee, Mayfield, Leader Passidomo, Keith Perry, President Pro Tempore David Simmons, Kelli Stargel and Wright — 5:30 p.m., DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel — Ballroom, Tallahassee.State Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez in her bid for the Florida Senate — 511 N. Adams St., Tallahassee.Florida Senate Victory with state Sen. Audrey Gibson and Gary Farmer — 6 p.m., The Governors Club, Library Room.State Reps. James Buchanan, Mike Caruso, Lawrence McClure and Josie Tomkow — 6 p.m., Il Lusso, 201 East Park Avenue, Suite 100, Tallahassee.Speaker Oliva, Speaker-Designate Sprowls and state Rep. Paul Renner host State Reps. James Grant, Cord Byrd, Bobby Payne, Jayer Williamson and Shoaf — 6 p.m., The Governors Club, Governors Board Room.State Sen. Diaz Jr. and Better Florida Education PC — 6:30 p.m., 511 N. Adams St., Tallahassee.State Rep. Ray Rodrigues in his bid for Florida Senate — 6:30 p.m., 511 N. Adams St., Tallahassee.Republican Alex Rizo, in his bid for House District 110 — 6:30 p.m. 511 N. Adams St., Tallahassee.State Rep. Bryan Avila — 6:30 p.m., 511 N. Adams St., Tallahassee. |
| Statewide “Why are so many women and Hispanics serving outdated drug sentences in Florida prisons?” via Emily Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times — Women, Hispanics and residents from a handful of counties were given lengthy prison sentences for trafficking prescription painkillers at higher rates than other Floridians. The analysis examined an estimated 935 prison inmates who are serving mandatory sentences of 15 and 25 years that are no longer in state law because the Florida Legislature has since eased the penalties for their crimes. National research has found that women in state prisons are more likely than men to be serving time for drug offenses. Since 1978, the number of women in state prisons nationwide has grown by more than 800% — double the pace of men. Researchers have cited the war on drugs as a driver of that explosion.“Taxpayers spend tens of thousands of dollars on Scott Israel report — that Florida Senate ignored” via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Florida taxpayers are on the hook for more than $87,000 to cover the services of a former state lawmaker who served as the state Senate’s special master, with most of the cost stemming from the case involving the removal of Israel as Broward Sheriff. A Dec. 26 bill from Dudley Goodlette, amounting to $72,090, brings the total cost of time and travel for Goodlette and his associate to $87,130. The lawyers’ hourly rate was $225. In September, Goodlette said DeSantis hadn’t proved his case. In October, the Senate voted 25-15 to uphold the suspension.The Senate report on Scott Israel cost taxpayers thousands — and was promptly ignored. |
| Mother Nature What did he do? — U.S. Rep. Brian Mast has always stayed close with environmental activists, some who doesn’t mingle often with the GOP. But when the Stuart Republican agreed to keynote an event for the Everglades Coalition Conference, that set Southwest Florida conservatives off. Michael Thompson noted online that Mast spoke Friday, the same night a “Conservationist of the Year” award was given to Jaclyn Lopez in Captiva. The honor came because Lopez coordinates campaigns focused on protecting imperiled species and ecosystems. But she’s also Florida director for the Center for Biological Diversity, a group that has on its website a Pledge of Resistance labeling President Donald Trump “an unprecedented threat to our nation’s democracy, health and environment.” Mast’s office, for its part, made clear his attendance was no endorsement of the Center, and he would have no role in handing the award to Lopez. “Congressman Mast was invited to speak at the Everglades Conference, which is a non-partisan event, and is attending to discuss his efforts to secure federal funding for Everglades restoration projects,” he said in a statement to BizPAC Review. “He is not presenting an award to anybody.” But his presence agitated activists in one of the most pro-Trump regions of the state. Thompson organized a group of protestors before the event to question why Mast support the dinner and speak there. “Brian Mast has to go,” Thompson wrote on Facebook, noting other left-leaning groups also connected to the event.“League of Cities takes aim at crisis in water quality and supply” via Laura Cassels of Florida Phoenix — Rebecca O’Hara, the League’s Deputy General Counsel, told reporters that Florida faces a “water quality crisis and water supply deficiencies” that must be addressed now to meet future water needs for human consumption, wastewater treatment, agriculture and environmental sustainability. “This need is gigantic,” O’Hara said, calling for “a comprehensive and need-based assessment” of Florida’s water needs and a plan to secure funding to improve quality and expand capacity at the state, regional and local levels. She said the state’s approach to water management is too often political and based on “crisis management” rather than being based on identified needs, objective criteria and intergovernmental partnerships and coordination.Tweet, tweet: |
| D.C. matters “U.S. plans expulsions of at least a dozen Saudi military students whose colleague killed three at Pensacola naval base” via Devlin Barrett and John Hudson of The Washington Post — Federal law enforcement and military officials are preparing to announce developments in the case in a matter of days. The FBI has been treating the shooting as a terrorist incident, particularly after discovering an anti-American screed posted by the gunman just before the shooting. Several of the Saudis were found to possess child pornography, while others were found to have been a part of a social media conversation that included alarming support for extremism, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.Several Saudi students are being expelled from the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola. |
| 2020 First in Sunburn: FDP rolls out billboard campaign ahead of Mike Pence visit — With Vice President Mike Pence set to headline a “Latinos for Trump” rally in Kissimmee, the Florida Democratic Party is looking to remind voters of the Trump administration’s track record following Hurricane Maria. The party on Monday put up a billboard featuring Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans during a trip to the island following the devastating storm. Accompanying the image are the words “PROHIBIDO OLVIDA” — or “never forget” in English. FDP is betting the ad will make an impact in Osceola County, where the Puerto Rican population saw a 22% spike in the aftermath of Maria. “When the Americans in Puerto Rico needed Trump the most, he threw paper towels at them instead of releasing federal emergency funds,” FDP Executive Director Juan Peñalosa said, adding that the billboard is part of a campaign to highlight the Trump administration’s “broken promises.”The Florida Democratic Party unveils a billboard in Kissimmee slamming Donald Trump for his ineffective response to Hurricane Maria.“Will Puerto Ricans new to Florida swing state to Democrats?” via The Associated Press — The Trump campaign is aggressively courting the Hispanic vote, especially religious conservatives, in Florida. Traditionally, Puerto Ricans on the mainland have been considered stalwart Democrats. But — as shown by the unexpected Puerto Rican support of Scott in the 2016 U.S. Senate race — such generalizations may not hold in 2020. Democratic-aligned voter registration group have been blanketing Polk County, and the I-4 corridor, hoping to sign up tens of thousands of new voters. According to the Florida Secretary of State, there were about 107,600 newly registered Hispanic voters in 2019. A majority — 46% — were registered as NPA. Thirty-three percent registered as Democrats, and 18% as Republicans.“’They could be influenced.’ Why Donald Trump’s Iran moves matter for Florida’s Jewish voters” via Alex Doherty of McClatchy DC — His rhetoric after the 2017 Unite the Right rally — Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides” after a neo-Nazi drove a car into counterprotesters and attendees chanted “Jews will not replace us” — was widely condemned. Now, Iran has complicated the picture even more. Authorizing the strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and then vowing to use sanctions instead of further violence to punish Iran after it attacked U.S. bases in Iraq could help Trump’s standing with Jewish voters in Florida — and around the country — who care deeply about Israel and Middle Eastern affairs.“Barack Obama campaign guru: Trump would love to run against Bernie Sanders” via Natasha Korecki of POLITICO — Jim Messina predicted that Trump would exploit Sanders’ stamp of socialism in battleground states needed to defeat Trump, keep control of the House and have a shot at winning the Senate. “If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders,” Messina said. “I think the contrast is the best. He can say, ‘I’m a business guy, the economy’s good and this guy’s a socialist.’ I think that contrast for Trump is likely one that he’d be excited about in a way that he wouldn’t be as excited about Biden or potentially Mayor Pete or some of the more Midwestern moderate candidates.”“Two polls frame the Democratic race and the power of African American voters” via Dan Balz of The Washington Post — The latest Iowa poll conducted by J. Ann Selzer for the Des Moines Register and CNN shows Sen. Sanders now leading there with 20 percent support, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 17 percent, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 16 percent and Joe Biden at 15 percent. The other poll tells the other side of the story. The Washington Post conducted this one along with Ipsos. It represents one of the most extensive surveys of African American attitudes about the 2020 campaign. When viewing the race through the prism of the African American vote, it’s a different story. Among black Democrats, Biden stands at 48 percent.“U.S. probes if Russia is targeting Joe Biden in 2020 election meddling” via Chris Strohm of Bloomberg — The probe comes as senior U.S. officials are warning that Russia’s election interference in 2020 could be more brazen than in the 2016 presidential race or the 2018 midterm election. Part of the inquiry is to determine whether Russia is trying to weaken Biden by promoting controversy over his past involvement in U.S. policy toward Ukraine while his son worked for an energy company there. A Kremlin strategy to undermine Biden would echo its work in 2016, when American intelligence agencies found that Russia carried out a sophisticated operation to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton and ultimately help Trump, according to the officials.“Around the country in 17 hours with Michael Bloomberg” via Matt Flegenheimer of The New York Times — There is a way that people generally run for president. And there is whatever Bloomberg is doing. Looking past Iowa and New Hampshire to focus on the delegate-rich contests that come in the months that follow, Bloomberg is betting that his zag-while-they-zig electoral strategy and functionally bottomless resources can make him the standard-bearer of a Democratic Party whose 2020 primary has been defined in part by progressive disdain for the billionaire class. It is not quite, as admirers present it, that Bloomberg is a chess-master whose opponents play checkers; he is more accurately working to bury the board with a gusher of cash so overpowering that everyone forgets how the game was always played in the first place.Mike Bloomberg is going about his presidential campaign in an unorthodox way.“This is what the Democratic presidential primary looks like in Florida right now” via Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times — Compared to the large apparatuses getting all the attention in early nominating states like Iowa and New Hampshire, the campaign efforts so far in the nation’s largest battleground are minuscule. And they don’t come close to the massive, well-funded machine to reelect Trump. But the footprints for the Democratic candidates are growing here as their campaigns grapple with the likelihood that the nomination won’t be decided by the time Floridians cast ballots March 17. It means Florida’s Democratic voters could be in a strange position: They might have a say in picking the party’s nominee. That hasn’t happened since 1992.“Florida GOP officials slam state chair Joe Gruters, Republican leadership” via Stephen Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel — The Republican Party of Florida is taking heat from current and former county GOP leaders for what they claim is a pattern of ignoring and stonewalling local parties. A former state committeeman from Lafayette County claims the party repeatedly held up requests for information on the party’s annual audit. An Escambia County GOP vice chair resigned out of frustration because he said he was prevented from joining the Trump campaign. And a Brevard state committeewoman claims dozens of party members were disqualified from voting the day before a membership election. Their main complaint is that the state party ignores local party committees, dictates which candidates can run in local races, and has a stranglehold on fundraising. |
| The trail “Democrats attack Carlos Gimenez as ‘el corruptito’ ahead of U.S. House campaign” via David Smiley of the Miami Herald — With Gimenez telling people he’ll roll out his campaign Wednesday, the Florida Democratic Party released an ad that criticizes some of Gimenez’s actions during his decade as the strong Mayor of Miami-Dade County and refers to Gimenez as “el corruptito.” “Once upon a time in Miami, a man of power, a man of fame, a politician, abused his power to make himself and his family rich, and that man’s name is Corrupt Carlos Giménez,” says the unnamed narrator. The ad — developed in the weeks after Gimenez first signaled his interest in a possible campaign for Florida’s 26th Congressional District — highlights Gimenez’s 67 percent pay raise in 2019 after taking a pay cut when he was first elected during a recession.To watch the ad, click on the image below:“Jim Boyd enters 2020 with massive war chest as Amanda Linton turns to small donors” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Boyd, a Bradenton Republican, entered the race in August and since that time raised $179,025. Of that, a good $32,757 has already been spent on consulting, advertising and media. That’s more than Linton, a Hillsborough County teacher, raised in 2019. In the race since July, she pulled in $12,214. That includes $2,654 raised in December. Some $1,000 came from Manatee County philanthropist Susan Shirkey. The rest of it came from small donations, mostly from within the district. In contrast, Boyd continues to draw on big-money players around the state.“As 2020 begins, Javier Fernández’s lagging bid for SD 39 could invite a primary” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Pinecrest Vice Mayor Anna Hochkammer had initially attempted to run for the seat. And she started strong, pulling in more than $100,000 in her first month as a candidate. However, Hochkammer’s campaign was cut short a few months later. Enter state Rep. Fernández, who quickly earned the backing of the entire Senate Democratic caucus. Despite that support from leadership, Fernández has failed to match Hochkammer’s monthly high of $100,000. A failure to meet that lofty bar wouldn’t be as troublesome if the GOP’s candidate of choice, state Rep. Rodriguez, hadn’t repeatedly either exceeded or approached that number.“Joe Harding maintains lead in HD 22 contest” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — Harding kept pace with Russ Randall in December, maintaining his lead in the Republican primary to succeed term-limited Rep. Charlie Stone in House District 22. Harding added an even $6,000 in December, bringing his overall fundraising total to $123,000 since entering the race in February. Spending has been light so far, leaving him with about $118,000 in the bank heading into January. His total includes $14,200 in candidate loans. Randall came in just behind with $5,235 in new money, including max checks from Chiropac PC and Douglas Murphy, an Ocala physician. The report brings his to-date total to $91,579. Less $1,747 in spending, he has $89,831 banked.“Chuck Clemons, Kayser Enneking start 2020 with $100K+ in the bank” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — Republican Rep. Clemons and Democratic challenger Enneking each finished 2019 with more than $100,000 in their campaign accounts, new campaign finance reports show. Clemons is running for a third term in House District 21, which covers much of Alachua County as well as all of Dixie and Gilchrist Counties. In December, the incumbent raised nearly $50,000 — $31,350 in hard money and another $18,000 through his affiliated political committee, Florida Shines. Clemons entered 2020 with $108,500 in hard cash banked and $67,000 in his political committee. Enneking, who filed for the seat on Sept. 30, added $17,365 to her campaign account last month, bringing her to-date total to $111,140 through three months in the race. She also has about $20,000 in her political committee, Florida Knows Excellence.“Make it four straight: Rhonda Rebman Lopez again leads HD 120 monthly fundraising to close out 2019” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Rebman Lopez joined the race in September and has led her opponents in fundraising every month since. She’s competing in the Republican primary against attorney Alexandria Suarez and Islamorada Councilman and former Mayor Jim Mooney. Lopez ended 2019 with more than $162,000 raised in four months as a candidate. She’s seeking to replace term-limited GOP state Rep. Holly Raschein. Lopez will enter 2020 with nearly $155,000 still on hand. That’s more than enough to put her ahead of the rest of the HD 120 field.“HD 114 candidate Demi Busatta Cabrera makes a mark in first month with $56K haul” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Busatta Cabrera entered the contest in early December and blew away her opponents in terms of fundraising in her first month as a candidate. Democrats Jean-Pierre Bado and Michael Hepburn are also competing in HD 114. Bado collected just $2,000 in December, giving him more than $14,000 raised since joining the race in November. Hepburn, meanwhile, added less than $900 in his first month as a candidate for HD 114. Hepburn had initially sought a rematch against U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in Florida’s 27th Congressional District. The two competed for the Democratic nomination in CD 27 in 2018. Hepburn eventually swapped over to run for state House instead. |
| Local “Dollar amount of offers for JEA remain a mystery” via David Bauerlein of the Florida Times-Union — How many billions of dollars would Jacksonville have gotten from selling the “crown jewel” of city government? NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Macquarie, and American Water all redacted how much they would pay for JEA by putting heavy black lines through that part of their offers. The city’s Office of General Counsel is reviewing the justifications made by the companies for the redactions. Assistant General Counsel Kyle Gavin said he would research whether court rulings support keeping the dollar amounts in the offers from being released. “I’d be surprised if that ultimately is confidential, but they’re claiming that it is,” Gavin said.“Again, two prominent Jacksonville breakfasts will simultaneously honor Martin Luther King Jr.” via Beth Reese Cravey of the Florida Times-Union — For the second year in a row, Jacksonville will have two major Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfasts Friday, but some community leaders said having dueling events is not necessarily a bad thing. Thirty-two years ago, the first King breakfast was founded by the Jacksonville NAACP, the Urban League and JAX Chamber, according to local NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin. Later the chamber pulled out, and, at the NAACP’s invitation, then-Mayor John Peyton agreed to the city becoming a sponsor, Rumlin said. So in 2019, the group organized its own event and will continue to do so “until we can come to some type of agreement” that includes civil rights groups being the lead sponsors,” he said. “If the city wants to join us, we would love that.”“Seminole commissioners applied pressure to reject controversial River Cross development, according to testimony” via Martin Comas of the Orlando Sentinel — The morning after a Seminole County advisory board rejected plans in mid-2018 for the controversial mega-development River Cross, the panel’s chairwoman received an angry phone call from former county commissioner Randy Morris. “He was screaming at the top of his lungs,” Michelle Ertel testified in a deposition as part of a federal lawsuit filed by developer Chris Dorworth after county commissioners followed up on the decision by the planning and zoning commission, an advisory board, and rejected the development within the county’s rural area. “It was screaming and cussing to the point where I just hung up on him,” Ertel said.“Boca Raton will consider ending its medical marijuana ban” via Lois Solomon of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — City Council member Andy Thomson wants to end the city’s ban on dispensaries, which has been in place since 2014. At his urging, the City Council will introduce a law to allow the stores in commercial districts. Thomson said city residents should not have to travel to find medical marijuana, especially since they are already sick. He said his mother has lived with multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years and wonders how her life could have been improved if marijuana were legal years ago. “I can’t help but think life would have been different for her,” Thomson said.“Trulieve sues investment company for libel after it slams marijuana grower in scathing report” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Tallahassee Democrat — Trulieve filed a libel suit in Gadsden County against Grizzly Research, a short-sell company that posted a scathing report about the state’s largest purveyor of medical marijuana. The report alleged the company overinflated the value of its crops, rigged the political system to get its medical marijuana license somehow, and failed to disclose ties to an ongoing federal corruption probe that involves the spouse of the company’s CEO. Immediately after the report was made public, Trulieve’s stocks took a one-day 23 percent nose-dive to a low of $9.18 on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). Just as the stock was beginning to recover to previous levels, it dipped again after investors filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. It closed at $10.10 Friday.“Vero Beach man sentenced to 90 days in jail after spitting on man wearing ‘MAGA’ hat, court rules” via Max Chesnes of TCPalm — Judge David Morgan accepted a no-contest plea and determined Matthias Ajple, 43, was guilty of battery on 67-year-old Robert Youngblood. Surveillance footage released Nov. 6 showed Ajple place what appears to be a paper towel on the head of Youngblood, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat at the Hurricane Grill & Wings, 943 15th Place in Vero Beach. Several moments later, the video shows Ajple spitting on the man, according to sheriff’s deputies. Youngblood told a deputy he was sitting with two friends in the restaurant when Ajple walked over and said, “You should go back to Russia you … communist,” according to an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit. |
| Opinions “Will the Legislature support vital Florida businesses — or foreign businesses?” via Scott Shalley for the Miami Herald — The Legislature must act now. Since the rise of the internet, consumers have gradually moved from shopping in traditional brick-and-mortar stores to find what they need online. Many Florida retailers — always aiming to meet the needs of their consumers — have expanded their online platforms and services. Consumers can now easily support their favorite Florida stores in person or online. Florida’s tax laws have not been modernized as quickly. As a result, foreign and out-of-state businesses are able to avoid collecting and remitting taxes on Florida consumers’ purchases. Florida is one of just two states that has not fixed this problem. Until we do, Florida retailers will continue to lose out to the foreign businesses.“Will 2020 be the year of the teacher in the Legislature?” via the Tampa Bay Times editorial board — The Governor’s ambitious proposal calls for raising the minimum salary for teachers by nearly $10,000. Any bold goal comes with messy details, and this one is no exception. DeSantis has not directly addressed how to ensure veteran teachers are fairly treated, and a fair minimum salary does not compress the salary range between beginning teachers and more experienced ones. Teacher pay is set by each school district, not the state. And it’s unclear what would happen to collective bargaining between each school district and its teachers’ union. But those are issues lawmakers can work out if they aim high, and it will be up to the Governor to make sure they do.“Teachers need money — and more — to be successful” via Mandy Clark for the Tampa Bay Times — As the Florida Legislature works with the governor to hash out the details of a teacher compensation package, we urge a comprehensive approach to equip teachers with the conditions for student achievement. By working with school districts, experts, researchers and teachers who achieve exceptional results, Impact Florida has codified the “Five Conditions That Support Great Teaching” school leaders can engage to support excellent instruction. In addition to improving teacher compensation, we encourage state leaders to make sure they are supporting Florida school district leaders to address all five conditions.“Why doesn’t Tallahassee care about justice?” via Daniel Ruth of the Tampa Bay Times — If the Governor goes ahead in his quest to execute Death Row inmate James Dailey, all of that blood on DeSantis’ hands could make those bill-signing ceremonies a bit messy. Dailey has been imprisoned for more than 30 years, even though prosecutors could not produce a single piece of physical evidence. Jack Pearcy, a friend of Dailey’s, has admitted to killing the girl alone and is serving a life sentence. Dailey awaits his last meal. DeSantis has at least three years left in his term. Dailey isn’t going anywhere. What the governor can do is order an exhaustive review of the case.“Desmond Meade, Neil Volz: Session offers hope for Florida’s returning citizen community” via Florida Politics — This year’s Legislative Session will see increased involvement in the policymaking process by Florida’s returning citizen community. Amendment 4 received the majority of votes in every House district in Florida because voters in each of those districts had a loved one that deserved a “second chance.” Voters throughout Florida understood that giving someone a “second chance” also meant giving our communities the opportunity to be great. When returning citizens are given the opportunity to vote, to work, and to have housing, every Floridian benefits. When returning citizens are given the opportunity to shoulder their fair share of taxes, build a business, buy a home, and contribute to our economy, Florida will thrive even more.“Legislature has one more chance on voting rights” via the Tampa Bay Times editorial board — The court was right to give lawmakers another chance to fix the mess they created with their narrow implementation of Amendment 4. The easiest option would be to change the state’s voter registration form to allow felons to declare themselves as indigent. Other options include allowing felons on payment plans to vote or waiving costs as a precondition to voting. The whole intent of Amendment 4 was to help felons reintegrate into society. But lawmakers created hurdles that effectively maintained the status quo. This Legislative Session offers a face-saving opportunity to respect the voters’ will before the federal courts do it for them.“Change law to follow voter intent on felon voting rights” via Pat Frank the Tampa Bay Times — When Florida voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 4 to automatically restore voting rights to those who have completed all terms of their sentences, I doubt many realized that 90 percent of fines, fees and court costs are never paid. After all, voters thought they were removing a barrier to voting, not erecting a new one. So what’s the solution? The Florida Legislature should amend the law so anyone convicted of a felony reclaims the right to vote upon the completion of their prison sentence, parole or probation. Those with past convictions would still be required to pay outstanding obligations, including restitution, even as they are allowed to vote. That would remove the unconstitutional financial barrier and maintain the judge’s original sentence.“Is this the year Florida lawmakers stop diverting affordable housing money to other uses?” via the Tampa Bay Times editorial board — For 12 straight years, the Florida Legislature has taken at least half of the money set aside for affordable housing in the Sadowski trust fund and spent it in other areas. With skyrocketing rents across the state and income levels that don’t match up, that money is more needed more than ever for its intended use. Legislators should follow Gov. DeSantis’ recommendation this Session, spend the full amount on affordable housing and address the crisis the state has ignored for years. Spending the full amount on affordable housing would be significant. In 2019, Pinellas County received about $1.4 million from the trust funds. It should have received $11.7 million. It’s the same story in Hillsborough.“Emmett Reed: Are we ready? The Legislature must make nursing centers a top priority in 2020” via Florida Politics — As we enter Session, it is crucial that lawmakers don’t neglect the seniors living in our state’s nursing centers. To ensure that this continues, legislators must properly fund our state’s nursing centers to keep pace with wages and other rising costs. Florida’s nursing homes have been under a rate freeze since 2016, with no increases in their rates even to keep up with inflation. The Legislature provided a one-time $138 million boost in the 2018 budget, and that certainly helped — but that funding expired, and providers once again find themselves operating at 2016 funding levels. The ability of nursing centers to recruit and retain quality staff is directly connected to the level of quality care they can provide.“Life insurers should not get your DNA” via Chris Sprowls for the Tampa Bay Times — Already in state and federal law, health insurance companies cannot access genetic testing results outside of what is already included in an individuals’ medical history when assessing rates or coverage. Unfortunately, that same prohibition does not extend to life insurance, disability or long-term care companies. In fact, some genetic testing companies can sell consumers’ information to these third parties. In turn, it is conceivable these life, long-term care or disability insurance companies could alter, deny or cancel any policies based on the results of genetic testing.“Chip LaMarca: PACE offers Florida families added flexibility, safety” via Florida Politics — One of the key reasons why I support the PACE program is because it gives people the flexibility to make upgrades to their homes, with the ability to repay those costs over time at an affordable fixed-interest rate. With PACE, interest rates typically range from 4% to 8%. That’s a steal compared to what most credit cards or personal loans charge, often upward of 20%. Better yet, eligibility for PACE is based primarily on a property’s equity — not an applicant’s credit score. That makes PACE an attractive option for many families who have built up equity in their homes but are not in a financial position to make a large down payment to get a project started. |
| Movements “Joe Abruzzo sues Tampa Bay Times for libel, defamation” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Abruzzo sued the Times and reporter Bousquet for a “smear campaign” against him. The Boynton Beach Democrat seeks $10 million damages. The complaint revolves around a 2017 article publicizing tweets by Abruzzo’s estranged wife, Brandy, whom he has since divorced. “The false statements and scandalous tweets are, standing alone, unsettling and disturbing,” reads the complaint. “But, when published to the Tampa Bay Times’ 240k plus readers, they are offensive, insulting, humiliating, demeaning, and damaging to Plaintiff Abruzzo and his reputation.” The lawsuit, filed on Dec. 24, called Bousquet and Times editors unapologetic for the story.“The Capitolist gets fresh coat of paint, staffs up for Legislative Session” via Florida Politics — Those who visit The Capitolist on Monday will notice a few changes. The site helmed by Brian Burgess has been revamped with a fresh, mobile-friendly design that was previously only available through The Capitolist’s iOS and Android apps. Enhancements are also coming to the breaking news feed, which has been redesigned to include icons to speed the skimming of news stories. But the changes aren’t only skin deep. Though The Capitolist has stepped back for a breather in the months since the unfortunate loss of lead reporter John Lucas, who died in August, it has unveiled a new lineup of reporters heading into the 2020 Legislative Session. Alyssa Parker will give the outlet a presence in the Capitol, while Maggie Clemmons will focus on money and influence in politics. |
| Aloe “‘Jeopardy!’ contestant James Holzhauer whiffs on FSU team colors” via Richard Tribou of the Orlando Sentinel — The answer was, “This birthstone is in abrasives for polishing and grinding. The color pairs with gold as an official one for Florida State.” “Jeopardy!” contestant Holzhauer, one of the three most successful contestants ever on the show, didn’t know the answer and lost out on 10,000 points on the third match night of the “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament. Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter are amid a three-person game tete-a-tete-a-tete to determine exactly what the name of the tournament suggests: which player of the answer-and-question game is the best of all time. The 10K flub didn’t help Holzhauer’s cause, as he ended up losing to Jennings in the third night of the tournament.James Holzhauer choked on FSU team colors, losing 10,000 points during the Jeopardy GOAT tournament. |
| Happy birthday Celebrating today are attorney Tony Glover (be sure to check out his REGULATED podcast), Francisco Gonzalez, the director of philanthropy at the National Review Institute, attorney Matt King, Marco Pena, Chester Spellman, the director of AmeriCorps, Kyle Ulrich of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, and Lucy White. |
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DAYBREAK
| Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak InsiderHaving trouble viewing this email? View the web version.SPONSORED BYDaybreakInsider.com @DaybreakInsiderMONDAY, JANUARY 13, 20201.Iran Commander Takes Blame for Downed Plane, Protests Erupt From the story: “I swear to almighty God that I wished I was on that plane and had crashed with them and burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident,” Gen. Hossein Salami said in an emotional speech to Iran’s parliament. “I have never been this embarrassed in my entire life. Never” (NY Post). From another story: “They are lying that our enemy is America, our enemy is right here,” a group of protesters outside a university in Tehran chanted, according to video clips posted on Twitter (CNBC). From Mike Pompeo: The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime’s lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir‘s kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future (Twitter). Federalist writer Erielle Davidson points out “American media spent the last two weeks running cover for their oppressors. For shame” (Twitter). From Ben Shapiro: Weird how the same people who gawped at the Soleimani funeral crowds and blamed Trump for Iran shooting down a civilian airliner are now silent about the Iranians protesting the regime. Almost as though their agenda has nothing to do with the aspirations of the Iranian people (Twitter). A Trump tweet: To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage (Twitter). From Dan Crenshaw: Odd…I was told Soleimani’s death would unify the country behind the regime. I guess their protesters didn’t get the memo from western media. #FreeIran (Twitter). A BBC reporter has been regularly posting video (Twitter). Meanwhile, Hezbollah is promising more terror due to the killing of a terrorist (Yahoo). 2.Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist Defects She explained “I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years” (CNN). From another story: “They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me,” she said, adding that Iranian leaders took credit for her accomplishments. “I wasn’t important to them. None of us mattered to them, we were tools,” Alizadeh added (Washington Examiner). Advertisement3.Trump Handling of Baghdad Embassy Influenced by Obama’s Handling of Benghazi Trump said “We got there very quickly. We did it exactly the opposite of Benghazi, where they got there so late.” Washington Times 4.Bernie Sanders Turns Attention to Elizabeth Warren Bernie Sanders has moved on from run-of-the-mill billionaires and is now targeting Warren as one of the elite (Politico). And Biden tainted his support for the protests in Iran by using this opportunity to bash Trump (Twitter). 5.Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Want to Live in United States But there’s a catch. From the story: Although the Sussexes will be settling in Canada, their ultimate goal is to have a home and business in LA – but only after Donald Trump is no longer President, sources have said” (Daily Mail). In his Daily Briefing, Dr. Albert Mohler gives an educational look at the monarchy (Briefing). Advertisement6.Man Gets 90 Days in Jail for Spitting on Trump Supporter The Florida man spit on a senior citizen because he was wearing a MAGA hat. NY Post 7.California Homeless Problem Leading to Unhealthy Waterways From the story: … some of California’s most prized rivers, beaches and streams are indeed contaminated with levels of fecal bacteria that exceed state limits, threatening kayakers, swimmers — and the state’s reputation as a bastion of environmental protection. California Healthline 8.There are More Women Employed than MenThe story notes “The data reflects a hiring boom in industries that are female-dominated, while sectors that are more likely to employ men are lagging in job gains.” Axios AdvertisementCopyright © 2020 DaybreakInsider.comSUBSCRIPTION INFO This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It is only sent to people who signed up from one of the Salem Media Group network of websites OR a friend might have forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. Unsubscribe from The Daybreak Insider OR Send postal mail to: The Daybreak Insider Unsubscribe 6400 N. Belt Line Rd., Suite 200, Irving, TX 75063 Were you forwarded this edition of The Daybreak Insider? Get your own free subscription Copyright © 2020 Salem Media Group and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. |
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
| Monday, January 13, 2020 |
| Nancy Pelosi’s moves delay start to Senate impeachment trialHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi began to drag her feet again Sunday after caving to bipartisan pressure to transmit the articles … more |
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| Dave Ramsey could be a conservative option to Donald Trump in 2020 Soleimani Senate briefing unacceptable Trump’s decisive action rid the world of cold-blooded killer Soleimani |
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| Adam Schiff won’t say if he’ll prosecute Trump in impeachment trial Time for journalists to jettison bad behavior Pelosi doubles down, says House could subpoena John Bolton |
| Special Reports for Times Readers Special Report – Infrastructure 2019Special Report – Energy 2019Special Report – Free Iran Rally 2019 |
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| Mark Esper: Iran ‘probably and could have been’ targeting 4 U.S. embassies Trump warns Iran: ‘Do not kill your protesters’ Saudi Arabia military students sent home after probe into Pensacola shooting |
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| Packers hold off Seahawks to reach NFC title game Chiefs rally from 24-0 hole to beat Texans in AFC divisional playoff round LOVERRO: Winterfest gives Nationals fans taste of summer |
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THE WASHINGTON POST MORNING HEADLINES
| Sign up for this newsletterRead onlineThe morning’s most important stories, curated by Post editors. (Reuters)Trump officials struggle to explain intelligence behind killing of SoleimaniSenior members of the administration including Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper declined to confirm the president’s assertion that four U.S. embassies had been targeted for attack by Iran.By Karen DeYoung ● Read more » A deal with the president on impeachment? McConnell’s supporters at home demand it.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is up for reelection this year and needs to keep conservatives on his side in what could be a tight campaign.Impeachment ● By Griff Witte ● Read more » Sanders’s campaign goes on the offensive as he seeks a victory in Iowa caucusesOver the weekend, surrogates and aides for the senator from Vermont went after Sen. Elizabeth Warren and intensified their attacks on former vice president Joe Biden.Campaign 2020 ● By Annie Linskey and Sean Sullivan ● Read more » Volcano eruption forces thousands to seek safer ground in the PhilippinesThe Taal volcano spewed lava into the air and spread ash across the Philippines on Monday amid warnings that a hazardous Level 5 eruption could occur within hours or days.By Regine Cabato ● Read more » As remote work rises at U.S. companies, Trump is calling federal employees back to the officeThe war on telework represents a milestone in how the Trump administration is changing the federal culture as it seeks more accountability from employees.By Lisa Rein ● Read more » OpinionsIt’s Bernie’s moment. But it’s Bloomberg’s race.By John Ellis ● Read more » The stakes couldn’t be higher for the upcoming Democratic debateBy E.J. Dionne ● Read more » Our tech pessimism is tied to gloom about democracy. Don’t despair on either.By Fred Hiatt ● Read more » There’s a brawl coming over government regulationBy Robert Samuelson ● Read more » The world must do something about the children of ISIS fightersBy Editorial Board ● Read more » Before Soleimani, there was Yamamoto. But the history is different.By Ian W. Toll ● Read more » More NewsFive years after an abortion, most women say they made the right decisionA long-term study looked at women’s feelings of relief, sadness, guilt and other emotions after the procedure.By Ariana Eunjung Cha ● Read more » In Australia, smoke from wildfires poses a threat to those not in immediate danger from flamesA key question lingers as the blazes that began last year continue to burn: What are the long-term health implications for people exposed to thick smoke for so long?By Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis ● Read more » The NFL’s conference championship matchups are set. Here’s what you need to know.The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC title game, and the Green Bay Packers will travel to face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers for the NFC championship.NFL Playoffs ● By Sam Fortier and Adam Kilgore ● Read more » Benedict defends priestly celibacy as Pope Francis considers changesThe pope emeritus’s remarks were revealed in a book excerpt published by the French newspaper Le Figaro.By Chico Harlan ● Read more » The tortoise whose rampant sex drive helped save his species is finally retiringDiego is believed to have fathered about 40 percent of the Española giant tortoise population.By Brittany Shammas ● Read more » We think you’ll like this newsletterCheck out Lean & Fit for expert advice on how to eat right, get lean and stay fit, including curated healthy recipes every Wednesday. Sign up » |
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THE FLIP SIDE
| View this email in your browser Monday, January 13, 2020Jobs Report“U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, signaling that the job market remains strong at the start of 2020 even if hiring and wage gains have slowed somewhat more than a decade into an economic expansion.” AP NewsFrom the LeftThe left worries that too many workers are being left out of the economic gains, and calls for systemic reforms.“We must focus not just on wage trends but on wage levels… and ask: Are wages adequate? Can people support themselves and their families if they work full time? Currently, the answer is ‘no’ for a distressingly large share of the workforce… basic costs of living (housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes) frequently outpacing earnings from low-wage jobs, even in families with more than one worker… If society’s best interests are served by having people employed, housed, educated, and healthy, then we need to rethink the fundamentals of our economic and social policies.” Martha Ross and Nicole Bateman, Brookings Institution Blog One Democratic presidential candidate writes, “The American Dream is dying by the numbers. I’ve seen it in Iowa, where farm bankruptcies have gone up 71% since 2018. Where your water supplies are contaminated. Where opioid deaths have more than tripled since 2005. Where more than one in seven of your children live in poverty, while the state is short 359,000 child care spaces. Where over 55% of your kids leave the state for new opportunities. I’ve seen it across the country, where 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck… “We need to rewrite the rules of the 21st-century economy so it works for us… First, we have to rewrite our tax code so that big corporations pay their fair share in taxes. Then, we need to rewrite the rules so that this money is reinvested in us, the American people. The Freedom Dividend will put $1,000 a month directly in the hands of every American adult over 18, no questions asked. This will reduce poverty, create millions of jobs, recognize the work of stay-at-home parents and caregivers, get the economic boot off people’s necks, and provide a floor upon which to build their lives… If the rules of the 21st-century economy aren’t working for you… Let’s change them.” Andrew Yang, USA Today Another presidential candidate notes that “About half of Americans don’t own stocks, and the share of national income going to workers — rather than investors — is actually near an all-time low… It used to be that a high school diploma came with a ticket to the middle class. That’s no longer true because many good jobs have been lost to global trade and technology… “The federal government should make a major investment in [community colleges’] capacity to prepare students for employment, connect them to growing industries, and align curricula and standards with the skills that lead to good jobs… We should also help workers transition to new jobs by providing federal student aid to quality short-term certificate programs that demonstrate strong outcomes. We must also extend the earned income tax credit and unemployment insurance to Americans in training programs, so they can cover child care costs, rent, and other living expenses while they are investing in their future. These steps will help to bridge the prosperity divide in America and ensure that our economy works for all people, in all parts of our country.” Michael Bloomberg and Arne Duncan, Chicago Tribune “Low unemployment is great, but it should be the start of good social policy — not the end… [Trump’s] reelection campaign claims ‘we have the cleanest air on record’ when, in fact, air quality has been declining under Trump, and his administration is working on a bunch of regulatory rollbacks that will make air pollution even worse… “One nice thing about a strong labor market is that it creates political space to finally pay attention to the myriad social problems that can’t be solved by a ‘good economy’ alone — things like child care, health care, college costs, and environmental protection — that during, the Obama years, tended to be crowded out by a jobs-first mentality. Good times, in other words, could be the perfect opportunity to finally tackle the many long-lingering problems for which progressives actually have solutions and about which conservatives would rather not talk.” Matthew Yglesias, VoxFrom the RightThe right lauds the successful economy and believes it will help President Trump in November.“Between November 2018 and November 2019, overall median wage growth climbed 3.6 percent, a healthy pace that should lift spirits, too. Those in the bottom 25 percent saw wages advance 4.5 percent, while the top 25 percent lagged, with pay rising just 2.9 percent… [Under Trump median household income has risen by $5,070]; This 8.3 percent increase in middle-class income in less than three years crushes the two-term, eight-year performances of Obama ($1,043, up 1.7 percent) and G. W. Bush (an emaciated $401, or a paltry 0.7 percent boost)… “Democrats should acknowledge the wonders that Trump and Republicans have done via tax reduction, regulatory relief, and a pro-business tone in Washington.” Deroy Murdock, National Review “Regardless of how much credit one wants to give to Trump, the reality is that we haven’t gotten a bull market of this length, an unemployment rate of this low, or wage growth of this relative proportion under any other president. It will present a challenge to Democrats, especially those running on the idea of blowing up the system, to portray the economy as struggling… if Trump wants to secure his reelection, he should spend much more time talking about job growth and a lot less time getting distracted by igniting infantile flame wars on Twitter. The economy will be the closing statement for Trump’s reelection as long as he doesn’t get in his own way.” Editorial Board, Washington Examiner “If the economy hits the recession we’ve been long overdue for, then maybe the cri de coeur of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren will resonate with the swing staters who delivered President Trump the White House. But the longest bull market in history has persisted. The Dow continues to hit record highs. The tight labor market continues to pull people back into the workforce… Bernie and Warren can promise to eat the rich and fundamentally destroy the system. But when the system is working this well for everyone, a revolution sounds like more effort than it’s worth.” Tiana Lowe, Washington Examiner “Coming out of college into a struggling jobs market with stagnant wage growth, high unemployment and carrying massive student debt, is it any wonder that this generation wasn’t facing the same escalator to greater prosperity than their parents enjoyed? So yes, in many cases what Bernie Sanders and other candidates are [describing] is at least partially true, particularly for millennials… “But that’s not some new phenomenon that can be blamed on Trump, the GOP, the 2017 tax cuts or any other recent events. This is a challenging situation that’s been growing for decades, and there’s plenty of ‘blame’ to go around. And yet economic and employment trends are still heading in the right direction. We’re on a path to a brand new ‘happy days’ era if we manage to not blow it, and we don’t need some massive socialist overhaul of our system to ensure that the next generations will once again have the chance to exceed the accomplishments of their parents.” Jazz Shaw, Hot Air “As for inequality, the Gini coefficient that measures the income gap has been declining among folks who earn a paycheck. Rising wages have lifted millions of Americans out of poverty and off the government dole. The poverty rate for blacks (20.8%) and Hispanics (17.6%) is the lowest on record… “Democrats on the campaign trail say the middle class is vanishing, but the opposite is true as more Americans escape poverty and others join the ranks of the affluent. Between 2016 and 2018 the number of taxpayers earning less than $25,000 declined 5% while increasing 8% for those making between $100,000 to $200,000 and 13.9% for those making more than $200,000, according to IRS data. And it’s not only folks along the coasts who are doing better. The number of people making more than $200,000 increased by 9.6% in Iowa and 17.6% in Michigan between 2016 and 2018.” Editorial Board, Wall Street JournalOn the bright side… You can now satisfy those late night cravings with Florida’s new 24-Hour pizza ATM. NarcityThe Flip Side team spends hours each night scanning the news, fact-checking, and debating one another, so your 5 minutes each morning can be well spent. If you’ve found value in our work, we welcome you to help sustain our efforts and expand our reach. Any support you can provide is greatly appreciated!Were you forwarded this by a friend? Sign up hereOur ArchivesShareTweetForwardCopyright © 2020 The Flip Side, All rights reserved. You can unsubscribe from this list here. |
POLITICO PLAYBOOK
How to think about impeachment this week
By JAKE SHERMAN and ANNA PALMER
01/13/2020 06:09 AM EST
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
THIS WEEK WE’LL SEE KINETIC ACTION on impeachment for the first time in a while. And here’s what you can expect:
— THE HOUSE will come into session tonight, but the weekly caucus meeting will be TUESDAY morning. It is there that Speaker NANCY PELOSI will discuss the next steps on impeachment with House Democrats. We anticipate a vote to send the impeachment articles and name the managers sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.
— ONCE THE SENATE GETS THE ARTICLES, expect three or four days of housekeeping and logistical work before the trial actually begins.
— SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL anticipates keeping the Senate in SIX DAYS A WEEK until impeachment is over. In closed meetings, McConnell has been pressed on this, and he’s been consistent that he wants to keep the chamber in all week, save Sundays — in line with the Senate’s guidelines for impeachment. MLK Day is also probably an off-day.
— IN RECENT DAYS, MCCONNELL allies have told us multiple times that we should expect a robust conversation in the Senate GOP about calling witnesses in the trial. We’ll see just how robust the debate is, and what the rules call for.
IF THIS TRIAL DOES MIRROR BILL CLINTON’S in its rules, the opportunity to call witnesses will come after the presentation of the trial and the senators’ questioning of both sides. This makes the managers incredibly important for those seeking witnesses.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S team is coming together, per NYT’s MAGGIE HABERMAN: “Some aspects of how Mr. Trump’s team will approach the trial have yet to be determined, including whether it will seek witnesses and how much time it will ask for to argue its case. But the basic configuration of the team defending the television-savvy president in a made-for-TV congressional event has been established.
“The two constants will be Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel, and Jay Sekulow, who has been Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer since 2017. Both are expected to have speaking roles during the trial. … There will be other lawyers involved, primarily Mr. Cipollone’s two top deputies, Patrick F. Philbin and Michael M. Purpura, two people familiar with the plans said. Neither was authorized to speak publicly about the formation of the president’s defense. …
“Last week, Mr. Trump’s lawyers met at the White House with Stephen R. Castor, who served as the Republican counsel in the House impeachment hearings, according to people briefed on the discussions.” NYT
BURGESS EVERETT and MARIANNE LEVINE on Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER: “How Schumer might get the last laugh on impeachment trial”: “Schumer will force a series of votes designed to squeeze vulnerable Republicans and harm them on the campaign trail if they side with Trump.
“Democrats argue the half-dozen at-risk GOP senators will need some daylight between them and Trump to get reelected. And if they vote against Schumer’s motions to hear new evidence and witness testimony, they’ll be seen as Trump sycophants — undermining their bids and boosting Schumer’s odds of becoming majority leader.
“Support for obtaining new documents at the trial is ‘even stronger than we thought, with large numbers of Republicans supporting it,’ Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. ‘And when you go against what the American people feel strongly about, on an issue they’re paying attention to, it’s not a good idea.’”
NYT’S SHERYL GAY STOLBERG on SCHUMER: “Schumer, Eyeing Senate’s Top Job, Navigates Tricky Impeachment Terrain”: “For Mr. Schumer, who has spent three years as the Senate’s top Democrat in the shadow of his House counterpart, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the impeachment trial of Mr. Trump is both an opportunity and a risk.
“It is no secret in the capital that the job Mr. Schumer really wants is that of Senate majority leader — a post he thought would be his with Hillary Clinton in the White House, before Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory unleashed a political earthquake. A schmoozer and a deal-maker, he is more suited to the politics of getting things done than to the partisan knife-fighting culture of Mr. Trump’s Washington.” NYT
WAPO’S GRIFF WITTE on MCCONNELL, from Florence, Ky.: “A pact with Trump on impeachment? McConnell’s Kentucky backers demand it”: “[F]or now, McConnell — who can afford to lose up to three votes while retaining a working majority — has the support he needs to call the shots. The political calculus on McConnell’s home front offers him little room to compromise, even if he wanted to.
“To Trump’s backers here in northern Kentucky — the small cities, affluent suburbs and rolling hill country that fans out just across the muddy Ohio River from Cincinnati — that is just how they like it. Many have long been wary of McConnell, deeming him overly willing to cut a deal and insufficiently committed to the president’s agenda. His management of the president’s trial, they say, will be a test.” WaPo
THE PRESIDENT suggested Sunday that maybe the Senate should not even hold an impeachment trial, something MCCONNELL has rejected … @realDonaldTrump at 2:55 p.m.: “Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, ‘no pressure’ Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree!”
DARREN SAMUELSOHN: “Meet John Roberts’ Senate impeachment whisperer”
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Retailers use data to offer benefits to consumers and enhance the overall shopping experience. In doing so, there is no higher priority than protecting and responsibly using consumers’ personal information. That’s why we support a comprehensive federal privacy law. What does that look like? Find out here:
TRUMP READING … DAILY MAIL: “Meghan Markle’s REAL dream is to move to Los Angeles… but only after Donald Trump’s presidency ends, say pals”
Good Monday morning.
SPOTTED: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) having brunch at Dacha Navy Yard on Sunday with her boyfriend and new French bulldog. Pic
NEW: “Trump authorized Soleimani’s killing 7 months ago, with conditions,” by NBC’s Carol Lee and Courtney Kube: “President Donald Trump authorized the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran’s increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials.
“The presidential directive in June 2019 came with the condition that Trump would have final sign off on any specific operation to kill Soleimani, officials said. That decision explains why assassinating Soleimani was on the menu of options that the military presented to Trump last week for responding to an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq that killed an American contractor and wounded four U.S. service members, the officials said.
“The timing, however, could undermine the Trump administration’s stated justification for ordering the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Officials have said Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, was planning imminent attacks on Americans and had to be stopped.” NBC
— “Video: Iran police shoot at those protesting plane shootdown,” by AP’s Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2020 WATCH …
— HOLLY OTTERBEIN in Iowa City: “Sanders surges as progressives flock to him over Warren”: “Something’s happening with Bernie Sanders that looked unlikely to many a few months ago: Progressive leaders and organizations are lining up behind him, not Elizabeth Warren, in the lead-up to voting.
“Two groups run by young people — the Sunrise Movement, which seeks to combat climate change, and Dream Defenders, which advocates for people of color — endorsed him last week. He’s also won the backing of People’s Action and the Center for Popular Democracy, which together claim more than 1.5 million members, as well as three lawmakers in the so-called “Squad” and liberal-minded labor unions.
“The consolidation of left-wing support is a remarkable turnaround for Sanders. In September, the Working Families Party became the first major national progressive group to endorse a candidate when it picked Warren — despite siding with Sanders in 2016. Warren was surging at the time, and looked poised to overtake Sanders as the leader of the progressive movement and a frontrunner for the nomination.” POLITICO
— WAPO’S ANNIE LINSKEY in Marshalltown, Iowa, and SEAN SULLIVAN in Iowa City: “Bernie Sanders’s campaign goes on the attack as he seeks a victory in the Iowa caucuses”: “Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign has suddenly gone on the attack as he seeks to secure an opening victory in the early February caucuses, engaging in a rare dispute with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, tussling with former vice president Joe Biden and drawing an insult from President Trump.
“Although Sanders (I-Vt.) mostly had resisted comparing himself with other candidates, over the weekend, his surrogates and aides intensified their attacks on Biden, targeting his past positions on racial issues and his vote to sanction the Iraq War.” WaPo
— POLL … DES MOINES REGISTER: “More than three-quarters of Iowa’s likely Democratic caucusgoers use the word ‘optimist’ to describe themselves, according to the latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll. When offered a selection of a dozen potential self-descriptions, 78% of poll respondents picked the word ‘optimist,’ making it the label most often picked by respondents.”
— TIMELY! … NYT’S ‘THE LONG RUN’ SERIES: “Joe Biden’s Vote for War,” by Katie Glueck and Tom Kaplan, on A1: “‘At each pivotal moment,’ Mr. Biden said of Mr. Bush, ‘he has chosen a course of moderation and deliberation, and I believe he will continue to do so. At least that is my fervent hope.’
“On Oct. 11, he was one of 77 senators to authorize the use of military force in Iraq. Twenty-three colleagues, some of whom harbored grave doubts about the danger Iraq posed at the time, refused to back the president’s request.
“Nearly two decades later, Mr. Biden, who by 2005 was calling that vote a mistake, is running for president in part on his foreign policy experience, emphasizing his commander-in-chief credentials at a moment of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Yet the Iraq war vote is part of the extensive record he cites, and he has struggled to accurately account for it on the campaign trail, repeatedly suggesting he opposed the war and Mr. Bush’s conduct from the beginning, claims that detailed fact checks have deemed wrong or misleading.”
— “Judge Judy Has Issued Her Decision: She Likes Michael Bloomberg,” by NYT’s Lisa Lerer
— THE TEXAS TRIBUNE’S ABBY LIVINGSTON: “With its 228 delegates and Super Tuesday slot, Texas looms in the presidential primary”: “A sleeping giant looms over the Democratic presidential campaign, even as excitement continues to build toward the first-in-the-nation contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“That behemoth is Texas. Slowly but surely, Democratic presidential campaigns are taking breaks from the early state presidential primaries and are making their cases to Texans. The March 3 Texas primary will deliver 228 delegates on a proportional basis, the third-largest delegate count of the primary season. But for now, the top priorities are clearly Iowa, which will host its caucuses Feb. 3, and the succeeding contests in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.”
— JAMES CARVILLE is endorsing Sen. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.) for president, and will travel to New Hampshire to campaign for him.
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TRUMP’S MONDAY … THE PRESIDENT will have lunch with the vice president at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and at 4:10 p.m., they’ll leave the White House for Andrews, where they will fly to New Orleans for the college football national championship. At 9:05 p.m., they’ll leave New Orleans for Washington. They are slated to arrive at Andrews at 12:40 a.m., and get back to the White House at 1 a.m.
PLAYBOOK READS
HAPPENING TODAY … AP/LONDON: “Queen prepares for royal family summit over Harry and Meghan”
THE DISASTER IN AUSTRALIA — “‘If We Stayed Outside We Would Have Died’: Australia’s Fires Devour Farms and Forests,” by WSJ’s Jon Emont, James Glynn and David Winning: “Fires have ravaged Australia in recent weeks, burning an area roughly 10 times the size burned in California’s historic 2018 wildfire season. The flames have spread with stunning speed, cutting off roads in and out of towns and flushing coastal residents to beaches where they were rescued by sea.
“Thousands of homes have burned and more than 25 people have died, with blazes expected to keep burning through Australia’s summer into February, if not longer.
“Beach towns, ski resorts, and dairy farms have fallen to fires that have eaten more than 26,000 square miles of land—an area larger than West Virginia. Some experts have said the fires could shave as much as 0.4% off economic growth, mainly in the current quarter, and insurance losses are already estimated at around $686 million, based just on claims made so far, according to the Insurance Council of Australia on Friday. That total is sure to rise as more than 100 fires raged Sunday in New South Wales, the southeastern part of the continent, which has borne the brunt of the disaster.” WSJ
FOR YOUR RADAR … TAIWAN ELECTION FALLOUT — “China could flex military muscles to pressure Taiwan post-election,” by Reuters’ Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee in Taipei: “His policies rejected by Taiwan voters in a landslide re-election for President Tsai Ing-wen, Chinese President Xi Jinping will most likely continue to tighten the screws on the island, with state media already floating shows of force. …
“Options for increasing pressure post-election include many of the actions China was taking before: stepped up military drills around the island or picking off more of Taiwan’s 15 remaining diplomatic allies. It could also withdraw from a key trade agreement reached a decade ago.
“Widely read Chinese state-backed tabloid the Global Times said in a Monday editorial that military flexing may be the next step.
“‘We need to plan to crack down on Tsai’s new provocative actions, including imposing military pressure,’ it wrote.” Reuters
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Retailers earn and maintain customer trust in a competitive market. Federal privacy legislation should provide a comprehensive and uniform standard to protect consumer loyalty.
TRADE WARS … THE STAKES OF THIS WEEK’S CHINA DEAL — “Trump Trade Deal Raises Issue of Trusting China to Deliver,” by Bloomberg’s Shawn Donnan and Jenny Leonard: “After three years of tweets and tariffs, President Donald Trump has arrived at his China moment.
“The phase one deal to be signed Wednesday is expected to include China’s commitments to respect American intellectual property and not manipulate its currency. U.S. officials also anticipate $200 billion in new purchases that should help reduce a yawning trade deficit and repair some of the damage suffered by farmers. It hands Trump at least a partial agreement many skeptics doubted was ever possible.
“But even that political victory leaves Trump confronting the same China conundrum that has plagued his predecessors. The broad and bipartisan agreement in Washington is that American presidents have for decades been hoodwinked by a China that has often failed to deliver on its promises.” Bloomberg
HAMBY READING — “The Dangers of the Twitter Primary,” by Helen Lewis in The Atlantic
MEDIAWATCH — Cuneyt Dil will join the AP’s California statehouse bureau in Sacramento. He currently is a reporter for The DC Line and Washington City Paper and author of the District Links newsletter.
— A new publication, Rest of World, is naming WaPo and BuzzFeed alum Anup Kaphle executive editor. He previously was editor-in-chief of the Kathmandu Post. (h/t Brian Stelter)
PLAYBOOKERS
Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com.
TRANSITION — Vanessa Day is now a VP on Targeted Victory’s public affairs team. She most recently was a senior adviser at the nonprofit Urban Specialists and is a Paul Ryan alum.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Pete Bisbee, executive director of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, and Audrey Bisbee welcomed Beatrice Virginia Bisbee on Friday. She came in at 7 lbs, 7 oz and 19 inches, and joins big sister Penny. Pic… Another pic
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Rod Rosenstein, partner at King & Spalding and former deputy A.G.,is 55. How he got his start: “I joined the Department of Justice in 1990 because the virtue of the mission eclipsed the financial sacrifice. I stayed because it is an extraordinary honor to represent the United States and work with men and women of great integrity. Patriotism is not merely about pride in your country. Patriotism is about gratitude for your country.” Playbook Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Nate Silver is 42 (what are the odds?) … Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is 49 … Marc Thiessen is 53 … Julia Tishman (h/ts Ryder and Josie) … Natasha McKenzie … Nick Butterfield, deputy assistant to the president and deputy WH policy coordinator … Andrew Riddaugh of the WH advance office … Brian Scarlett … Jason Chung, nominee to be U.S. director of the Asian Development Bank and current alternate executive director … Andrew Kossack, state director for Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) … Monica Notzon … WTOP alum Mike McMearty … Ginger Zee … Tali Stein Elleithee … POLITICO’s Tim Noah and Alexandra Velde … Dick Sheffield … Joseph Rodota, California political consultant and writer … National Journal’s Mini Racker … Chandra Hardy … Fox News’ Christina Robbins … Ryan Murphy of The Texas Tribune … Britt Bepler, COO of Monument Advocacy (h/t Stewart Verdery) … Abigail Seldin … Rich Gold …
… Kristina Schake … Deloitte’s Mollie Bowman … Antony Phillipson, the U.K.’s consul-general in New York and Her Majesty’s trade commissioner to North America … Rebecca Cathcart … Jordan Bell, president of American University’s College Republicans, is 21 (h/t Inuri Abeysekara) … Maria Gavrilovic … Will Baskin-Gerwitz … Sam Cohen … Allan Rivlin … John Cole … Michelle Mowery Johnson … Mia Walton … Liz Swiker … Laurence Wildgoose … FEMA’s John Allen … Katie Murtha … New England Center for Investigative Reporting/WGBH’s Paul Singer … Robin Bravender … Liana Guerra … Carly Freedman … Heidi Krizer Daroff … BGR’s Kristin Strobel … Ali Tulbah … Max Sanders … Rashid Dar … Ian Gilley … Kevin Kiley … Vincent Pan … Wisconsin state Rep. Chris Taylor … Lisa Caputo … Anna Lidman … former Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson … Dave O’Brien (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
A message from the National Retail Federation:
Why is a comprehensive federal privacy law important to enact now? As businesses leverage new technologies to meet consumers’ growing expectations for personalization and a seamless experience between online and in-store shopping, consumers are sharing an increasing amount of data. But states are crafting and enacting privacy laws that don’t require all businesses – such as third-party businesses which consumers don’t even know exist – to protect consumers’ personal information. If this trend continues, it’s American consumers who stand to lose the most. It’s time for federal data privacy legislation that will provide a uniform and fair framework for consumers and businesses alike, across all industry sectors. Learn more at
- Anna Palmer @apalmerdc
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THE RESURGENT
| The Resurgent’s Morning Briefing for January 13,2020View this email in your browserShareTweetForwardGood morning, Here is all the news conservatives need to know to start their day. At 9am ET and then at 4pm ET, you can catch me on radio to bring you up to speed on developments throughout the day. You can listen live here. If Iran’s Islamic Republic is Overthrown, U.S. Media Will Become the New Walter DurantyThe American media is personally offended, but they are also free to say what they want about the president. They’re free to frame this story as one about justification to kill a terrorist leader, when no other justification was needed. They’re free to make this story about the president, and some narrative about “crossfire” to somehow hang Flight 752 on Trump.Nobody in the U.S. media is worried about black SUVs pulling up to their homes and making them disappear. Nobody is worried about their families being kidnapped or imprisoned. They are free to write, or say on television, whatever they want. They are free to fact-check Trump’s every word, and show ironclad evidence he’s lying. They are free to miss the real story while others in Teheran are risking their own lives.If Iran’s Islamic Republic is overthrown (and I hope it is), these reporters will find themselves clothed in shame. Armed with their Pulitzers, they will become the Walter Durantys of this century.The post If Iran’s Islamic Republic is Overthrown, U.S. Media Will Become the New Walter Duranty appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » Tulsi Gabbard Proves Again She’s an Apologist for TerroristsOn so many issues, Tulsi Gabbard has positioned herself as the somewhat moderated voice of reason in the Democrat Party, and certainly among those vying for the presidential nomination. But there has always been a tragic flaw for any conservative or rational American when they were tempted to consider Gabbard the most preferable of the […]The post Tulsi Gabbard Proves Again She’s an Apologist for Terrorists appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » Oklahomans Will Rally For Abortion’s Total and Immediate Abolition on Feb. 11The Abolition of Abortion in Oklahoma Act (SB13) has been introduced by Oklahoma State Senator Joseph Silk (R-Broken Bow) each of the last four legislative sessions. It’s important to note that it isn’t simply an anti-abortion bill among many. When passed and enforced, SB13 will completely abolish abortion in the state and strip from the […]The post Oklahomans Will Rally For Abortion’s Total and Immediate Abolition on Feb. 11 appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » Warren is arguing her electability.She’s positive she can unite and excite the Democrat voter. No need to fear Democrats: Elizabeth Warren is ready to unite the party under her definition of progressionism. As Alex Thompson at Politico reports: Polling frequently shows she’s the second choice not just of Sanders voters, but of Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg supporters, too. […]The post Warren is arguing her electability. appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » Glacier National Park is Updating Its Climate Change Alarmist SignsSeveral years ago, the National Park Service placed signs throughout Glacier National Park in Montana informing visitors that the park’s glaciers would fully melt by 2020 due to man made climate change. Now that 2020 is here – and so are the glaciers – the park is revising the signs. The process of replacing the […]The post Glacier National Park is Updating Its Climate Change Alarmist Signs appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » More Bad News For Democrats In GeorgiaDemocrats have had a rough few years in the state of Georgia. Actually, make that a rough 15 years to be exact. The last time a statewide Democrat was elected was Zell Miller who left the U.S. Senate in 2005. Stacey Abrams’ strong finish spurred the familiar talking point that Georgia is a red state […]The post More Bad News For Democrats In Georgia appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » House War Powers Resolution Gets Bipartisan SupportPerhaps Congress should revisit the authorizations for Afghanistan and Iraq instead.The post House War Powers Resolution Gets Bipartisan Support appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » The Iranian Shootdown And Man-Caused Air DisastersPeople are the weak link in aviation safety. Sometimes intentionally.The post The Iranian Shootdown And Man-Caused Air Disasters appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » The Proper American Reaction to Royal Rage is Not to CareIf the British want to get their knickers in a twist over it, fine by me. It’s their country, it’s their royal family. Two hundred and forty years ago we fought a war to get away from that mess. As Americans, our duty is simply to buy the merch and enjoy the theater. Or not. I don’t care, and neither should you.The post The Proper American Reaction to Royal Rage is Not to Care appeared first on The Resurgent. Read in browser » Recent Items:The Obama Administration’s Guerrilla WarRemember, you can listen to the Erick Erickson Show anytime and anywhere via WSB Radio, iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud. As always, you can find pretty much anything and everything I’m writing about throughout the day via The Resurgent. Thanks for reading and tuning in. Erick EricksonTHE RESURGENTFacebookTwitterInstagramCopyright © 2020 The Resurgent Media Group, LLC, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences |
THE HILL
| © Getty Images Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Happy Monday! Our newsletter gets you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the daily co-creators, so find us @asimendinger and @alweaver22 on Twitter and recommend the Morning Report to your friends. CLICK HERE to subscribe! The Senate is preparing for the impeachment trial of President Trump to kick off in the near future as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) readies to send the pair of articles across the Capitol to the upper chamber nearly a month after the House indicted Trump on what it considered high crimes and misdemeanors. With the Senate set to start the trial soon, Trump and Pelosi engaged a public battle on Sunday as she sat down with ABC News’s “This Week” and the president watched on, tweeting before and after the interview as the Speaker defended making him the third president to be impeached. “It’s about a fair trial,” Pelosi said. “We’ve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as well.” Pelosi also said that no matter what the Senate does, Trump will be “impeached forever” and “for life” after the House action last month. The president reacted shortly thereafter, declaring for the umpteenth time that he did nothing wrong and saying that being impeached is a “stigma” (The Associated Press). “Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong?” Trump tweeted (The Hill). While the trial is coming down the rails, there are many unknowns surrounding the process, which The Hill’s Olivia Beavers and Mike Lillis examine in their preview of coming attractions in the Senate. Headlining the outstanding questions: when the trial will even start and what the rules will look like in the upper chamber. Pelosi is expected to name managers and transmit the articles this week, but when exactly is up in the air. In her “Dear Colleague” note on Friday, she said that she will do so after meeting with the Democratic caucus to discuss it on Tuesday morning. Once the articles are transmitted, the Senate trial is expected to start almost immediately. As for the Senate resolution laying out the rules, Pelosi has said she wants to see it before revealing the managers for the trial. Sources told Beavers and Lillis that the resolution will help her determine whether she selects members with more prosecutorial experience or constitutional and appellate experience. Axios: What to expect this week as Pelosi prepares to send articles of impeachment. The Hill: Trump hits Senate for giving impeachment “credibility” by holding trial. The Washington Post: Pelosi says Trump “impeached for life” despite McConnell’s “gamesmanship,” “coverup.” Other unanswered questions center around the politics of impeachment, headlined by the ramifications on the 2020 Democratic primary race. Five candidates, including two frontrunners for the nomination, will be holed up in Washington for the impeachment trial and proceedings, taking them away from the campaign trail and costing them valuable time with voters (The Hill). What will happen regarding witnesses also remains to be seen. Former national security adviser John Bolton unexpectedly announced a week ago that he is ready and willing to testify if the Senate calls him to do so. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it clear he’d prefer no witnesses, some Republicans would like to hear from Bolton and others. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is running for reelection this year, said in an interview Friday that she is working with a “fairly small” group of Republican senators to ensure that an initial resolution on the impeachment trial rules allows for witnesses. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also said last week that he wants to “be able to hear from” Bolton, but didn’t weigh in on the process to make that happen. Democrats need four Republicans to agree to hear from witnesses, though Trump floated invoking executive privilege over Bolton’s potential testimony and remains a wild card. Pelosi’s plan to transmit the articles this week comes after she held off doing so for three and a half weeks after they passed the House on Dec. 18. While some Democrats criticized her over the past week for holding on to them too long, she has defended her handling of the situation. During the ABC News interview, she argued that the time allowed the focus to zero in on McConnell’s plan for the trial in the Senate, the discourse about witnesses in the upper chamber to expand and more evidence to come to light, among other reasons. Jonathan Allen: Could Democrats be better off without impeachment witnesses? The Washington Post: A pact with Trump on impeachment? McConnell’s Kentucky backers demand it. © Getty Images LEADING THE DAYPOLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has turned into the marked man of the Democratic primary race, having taken on the role of political piñata as he rises in Iowa three weeks before the state’s caucuses and faces attacks from all comers on the political scene. Though Democrats have been going after Sanders for months, he has suddenly become the target of the president and his allies. As Jonathan Easley writes, the most notable shot came on Thursday night during the president’s campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, as he panned Sanders for criticizing the U.S. strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani of Iran. A separate Trump campaign statement warned that the Vermont Independent “can’t be trusted to defend American lives.” Earlier last week, the Trump campaign attacked Sanders as a “wealthy, fossil fuel-guzzling millionaire” who “lectures Americans on how to live their lives while doing the exact opposite.” The same statement also referred to Sanders as the “Democrats’ leading candidate for president,” a nod to Sanders’s improved position in the Democratic primary fight. “You know you’re doing well when you get attacked in politics, and the biggest concern in politics is if you don’t get any attacks because then you’re irrelevant,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a top supporter of Sanders, of the Trump attacks. The Associated Press: Rising in the polls, Sanders takes jabs from Trump, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). FiveThirtyEight: Election Update: Sanders now leads a wide-open Iowa race. The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders’s campaign goes on the attack as he seeks a victory in the Iowa caucuses. Along with the Trump concern, there is rising consternation among Democrats about Sanders’s standing in the race and that he could hurt the party in 2020 just like he did in 2016, as Amie Parnes reports. Complaints about Sanders from Democrats, some of whom have histories with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, center around rhetoric being employed by Sanders they believe goes too far in damaging his rivals. Among other things, they believe it will make it hard for the party to unify around an eventual nominee, with particular concern surrounding the idea that his supporters won’t back any non-Sanders nominee. “He needs to stop,” said one Democratic strategist, who is not affiliated with any of the presidential campaigns. “It’s not helpful, and it actually hurts the party. It’s like he didn’t learn his lesson the last time. It’s incredibly shortsighted and terrible.” Niall Stanage: The Memo: Four Democrats race for Iowa prize. The Hill: Warren: “Disappointed” to hear Sanders urging volunteers “to trash me.” The Associated Press: Ex-prisoners who can vote sought for Wisconsin 2020 election. © Getty Images > Battle Born Democrats?: Although Iowa and New Hampshire continue to garner the lion’s share of attention, the Democratic field is ramping up efforts to win over Latinos in Nevada, a key voting bloc that will prove critical for the nomination and the party’s prospects in 2020. As Rafael Bernal writes, Nevada holds symbolic importance for Latino groups nationwide as a key state where Democratic political power relies on Hispanic inclusion. However, alarm bells are going off among those groups as they argue that Democrats are not investing enough to pursue the country’s second-largest voting bloc even as it could prove critical in determining whether the party can defeat Trump. “We have seen in the past a lot of promises, and when it comes time to govern we have seen they forget about the Latino community,” said Héctor Sánchez, executive director of Mi Familia Vota, a grassroots organization dedicated to growing Latino voter engagement. Reuters: Biden aims to keep Nevada on his side. Dan Balz: Two polls frame the Democratic race and the power of African American voters. The Hill: Buttigieg picks up Iowa congressman’s endorsement ahead of caucuses. Reuters: Michael Bloomberg: “I’m spending all my money to get rid of Trump.” IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKESIRAN: Trump’s policy goals with Iran and his authority to carry out new military operations will continue to be debated this week, along with his future in office. Some of the president’s top national security advisers spent Sunday publicly defending intelligence they said persuaded Trump that killing Soleimani was an effective addition to the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran (The Hill). This week in the Senate, a bipartisan resolution that would restrict the president’s ability to use military action against Tehran without congressional approval will be ready to come to the floor. Sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) with backing from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the resolution is two votes shy of the 51 needed to try to curb Trump’s unilateral authority to wage war with Iran (The Hill). House Democrats last week adopted a similar resolution. Kaine’s resolution requires the president’s signature, which he will not grant; the House resolution about war powers does not rely on his assent (The Hill). Future hostilities by Iran against the United States are hypothetical, but experts warn that Tehran excels at asymmetric warfare, including cyber battles, in which there are no clear rules of engagement. There’s no international definition about what type of cyberattack by a sovereign nation or its proxies is an act of war (The Hill). Democrats in Congress suggest that intelligence offered to lawmakers last week to justify killing Soleimani to stave off an “imminent” threat to the United States was vague and unpersuasive. Trump, when pressed by Fox’s Laura Ingraham on Friday, provided a new detail, saying he believed four U.S. embassies were in the crosshairs for Iran-ordered attacks. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, when asked about Trump’s surprising comment, said Sunday he “didn’t see” intelligence pointing to four embassy targets. White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien defended Trump, but without corroborating those details. “The president’s interpretation of that intelligence is very consistent with it,” O’Brien said. He described the president’s decision not to share all classified intelligence with most in Congress as “standard procedure” for recent presidents to prevent leaks, an assertion publicly disputed by House and Senate Democrats who are experienced members of the intelligence panels. The Hill: Administration officials grilled about Iran intelligence, policy during Sunday talk shows. CIA officers described to The New York Times intelligence about Iran that formed a “mosaic effect” — dots connected suggesting Soleimani was organizing forces around the region, including in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, to attack American embassies and bases. Several officials said they saw a pattern but did not have enough specific information to describe a threat from Iran as “imminent.” Trump advisers said Sunday that killing Soleimani and nine others in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport eliminated plots against U.S. interests that were under discussion between Tehran and Iraqis sympathetic to Iran. The president, Esper (pictured below), O’Brien and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insist Soleimani’s killing, along with tightened economic sanctions and Trump’s rejection of the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, will prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and could force the regime back to the negotiating table on Trump’s terms. But analysts who have decades of experience with Iran say the administration erased leverage to nudge Iran to “act like a normal country,” a phrase the administration uses to describe its policy goal. “The people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose,” O’Brien said on Sunday. When journalist Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” said Iran was behaving more aggressively, not less, under Trump’s policies, O’Brien disagreed. “Iran is choked off,” he said. “There is no other way for them to get the money … to fund their malign activities. … They’re going to have to come to the table to negotiate. I think that’s highly likely.” U.S. officials said they were encouraged by weekend protests in Iran condemning the government for its admission that it mistakenly shot down a passenger jet, killing 176 people, including its own citizens. The demonstrators in Tehran and a dozen other cities demanded that Iran’s leaders step down (Reuters). Video soon emerged showing Iranian security forces using ammunition and tear gas to try to disperse critics who gathered and chanted “Death to the dictator!” (The Associated Press). Trump warned Iran in two tweets on Sunday not to kill protesters and to allow journalists to “roam free.” Iran’s police today denied shooting into crowds (Reuters). The president has long said that toppling Iran’s government is not U.S. policy. “We’re not looking for regime change. I want to make that clear,” Trump said in May at a news conference. “We’re looking for no nuclear weapons” (The Washington Post). © Getty Images OPINIONTrump is wrong. The United States does need Middle East oil, by Julian Lee, opinion contributor, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/35MuEmj Will we do better in the 2020s than we did in the last decade? By Robert D. Hormats, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/35SvsX7 WHERE AND WHEN📺 Hill.TV’s “Rising” program sits down with Nina Turner, the national co-chairwoman of Sanders’s presidential campaign; interviews Cassie Chambers, author of “Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains”; and looks at the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses with Dave Redlawsk, professor and chairman of the University of Delaware’s political science department. Coverage starts at 9 a.m. ET at http://thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10 a.m. at Rising on YouTube. The House meets at noon. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. The president has lunch with Vice President Pence at 12:30 p.m. Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House at 4:10 p.m. to fly to Kenner, La., to attend the college football playoff national championship in New Orleans between the Louisiana State University Tigers and the Clemson University Tigers at 8 p.m. It’s the third college football game Trump has attended in person this season. CBS Sports has details about the game. The Trumps return to the White House after midnight. Pompeo is in the San Francisco Bay area through Wednesday to meet with representatives from U.S. tech companies as well as counterparts from Japan and Korea. He will speak at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and at the Commonwealth Club of California at a gathering of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. ELSEWHERE➔ U.S. economy: Trump is heading into the final year of his first term celebrating a stable job market, robust stock market, continued consumer spending and low inflation. Yet beneath the positive economic indicators are vulnerabilities that could impact November’s elections (The Hill). … Businesses are concerned that Trump’s “phase one” trade deal — to be signed by the United States and China on Wednesday at the White House (finally disclosing 86 pages of specifics) — won’t immediately produce phase two, which would mean many tough tariffs remain in place. Trump says the next round of negotiations will begin immediately but may not conclude until after the election (The Hill). ➔ Supreme Court: Justices on Tuesday will hear oral arguments in a case involving New Jersey’s “Bridgegate” scandal. The high court will weigh whether public officials commit fraud when they lie about reasons for policy decisions. The case hinges on convictions of an aide to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and a Port Authority official and a scheme gone wrong to punish a local mayor who refused to endorse Christie (The Hill). ➔ Firefox patch: Quick! If Firefox is your browser, update it. Hackers are exploiting a serious bug in the browser to take over computers, reports PCMag. The Department of Homeland Security’s cyber division issued an alert on Wednesday to encourage users to review the Mozilla advisories and apply necessary updates. ➔ Pigskin: The NFL’s conference championship slate is now set after a wild divisional round saw upsets, near-upsets, and favorites taking care of business. In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers will head out west to face the San Francisco 49ers. As for the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, which came back from 24 points down on Sunday to defeat the Houston Texans, will host the upstart Tennessee Titans. The underdog Titans toppled the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night (The Associated Press). The president apparently tuned in to watch. ➔ Hollywood 💙Australia: Devastating bushfires Down Under inspired Hollywood stars and international celebrities to open their wallets for Australia and join a global push to battle climate change (The Hill). © Twitter THE CLOSERAnd finally … We wonder if Democratic presidential candidates will pursue potential voters, selfies and viral news exposure on icy slides at a New Hampshire winter amusement park, Ice Castles, which opened this weekend, along with another location in Utah. The man-made ice formations usually last well into February, depending on weather. The Ice Castles chain, which sports frozen sculptures, thrones, fountains and tunnels, has six locations in North America. Each is made up of hundreds of thousands of icicles hand-placed and illuminated by “professional ice artists“ (The Associated Press). © Twitter The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE! TO VIEW PAST EDITIONS OF THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT CLICK HERETO RECEIVE THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT IN YOUR INBOX SIGN UP HEREMORNING REPORT SIGN UPFORWARD MORNING REPORTPrivacy Policy | Manage Subscriptions | UnsubscribeEmail to a friend | Sign Up for Other NewslettersThe Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. |
AXIOS
Axios AMSubscribe
By Mike Allen
Good Monday morning. It’s 21 days to the Iowa caucuses … 29 days to the New Hampshire primary … 193 days to the Tokyo Olympics … 295 days to Election Day.
- Today’s Smart Brevity™ count: 1,197 words … 4½ minutes.
1 big thing: Amid chaos, real action on climate
President Trump pushes the biggest changes to environmental law in 50 years. The world’s biggest investor is going big on global warming. House Democrats are going it alone on climate policy.
- And all that happened just last week.
It was easy to miss, amid hostilities with Iran, Australia burning, and other crises, Axios’ Amy Harder writes in her weekly “Harder Line” energy column.
- But big changes are happening on the energy and climate change front that suggest more polarization and acrimony that could last long after the presidential election.
1) Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced a sweeping legislative framework on Wednesday, laying out policies that the lawmakers say could achieve net-zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within the next three decades.
- Why it matters: It adds policy substance to what has otherwise been mostly rhetoric coming from House Democrats.
Some Republicans, are offering narrow bills focused on innovation.
- Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) recently introduced legislation to provide subsidies for all types of clean-energy technologies.
2) Trump announced proposals Thursday to drastically narrow the scope of a law governing environmental reviews of America’s infrastructure, as a way to hasten the construction of everything from bridges to pipelines.
- Why it matters: The proposals are likely the biggest changes to the law — the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — in its 50-year history, and could implicitly exclude climate change from consideration.
3) BlackRock, the world’s largest asset investor, joined Climate Action 100+, an investor network pushing companies to be more transparent and aggressive in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
- This group now represents $41 trillion in assets.
4) The Trump administration on Friday imposed more sanctions on Iran, deepening a policy whose centerpiece is sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.
- Oil markets are responding with a shrug. Prices are reliably low despite unrest in the Middle East.
- Thanks, American oil!
2. Iranian fury rises: “Death to the dictator!”
A crowd flees police near Azadi, or Freedom, Square in Tehran yesterday. Image from video: Center for Human Rights in Iran via AP
Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic’s initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, AP reports.
- Why it matters: Iranians — who revolted in November over gas prices, in the worst unrest in 40 years — are returning to the streets to protest the shootdown, and the initial lies from senior officials.
Videos sent to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran and later verified by AP show a crowd of demonstrators near Azadi, or Freedom, Square fleeing as a tear gas canister landed among them.
- People cough and sputter while trying to escape the fumes, with one woman calling out in Farsi: “They fired tear gas at people! Azadi Square. Death to the dictator!”
Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Rahimi, later denied his officers opened fire though the semiofficial Fars news agency said police “shot tear gas in some areas.”
3. FBI spied on Chinese students and scientists
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Cover: Riverhead
In 1967, at the height of the Cold War, the FBI began collecting information on thousands of Chinese scientists and students in cities across the U.S., according to “The Scientist and the Spy,” a forthcoming book by former Shanghai correspondent Mara Hvistendahl.
- Why it matters, from Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: Recent FBI indictments and investigations have raised fears among Chinese-Americans that another period of racially tinged suspicion is upon them.
In the book, out Feb. 4, Hvistendahl traces the history of China’s theft of trade secrets, using the case of a Chinese scientist imprisoned in 2016 for stealing corn seed from Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
- A letter sent to FBI agents in 1967 “ordered agents to cull names of ethnically Chinese researchers including, implicitly, U.S. citizens from the membership records of scientific organizations,” Hvistendahl writes.
The result: A “rolodex of an estimated four thousand ethnically Chinese scientists under surveillance.”
- Chinese science students were also targeted. In New York City, 200 students were surveilled; in San Francisco, up to 75.
- “In their haste to follow orders, some offices followed shaky leads,” writes Hvistendahl.
Our thought bubble: The spate of investigations and indictments is a response to a real problem.
- A massive, unlawful transfer of intellectual property from the U.S. to China has unquestionably occurred.
- But experts say foreign researchers benefit U.S. innovation and racial profiling can backfire by driving talented scientists away.
4. War on telework
“After a big push toward telework in the Obama administration, President Trump’s government is scaling it back at multiple agencies,” the WashPost’s Lisa Rein reports.
- Why it matters: The administration theory is that “a fanny in the seat prevents … slacking off.”
Telecommuting has been dialed back at Agriculture, Education, Interior and the EPA, as well as parts of Commerce, HHS and the Social Security Administration.
5. “Trump’s sword and shield”
Illustration by Zohar Lazar for The New Yorker. Used by permission.
Attorney General Bill Barr is “the most feared, criticized, and effective member of Trump’s Cabinet,” advancing a lifeline mission to protect executive power, David Rohde writes in The New Yorker.
Barr has strong opinions on issues ranging from legal arcana to the proper mustard to apply to a sandwich.
He designed his own home, a sprawling house in McLean, Virginia, and is not above boasting about it. During a trip to Scotland with a friend, he quizzed the owner of a local inn about whether the paint on the wall was “Card Room Green or Green Smoke, by Farrow & Ball.” The innkeeper had no idea what he was talking about.
In high school, Barr was known as “Billy.”
6. James Carville endorses
James Carville, the last Democratic strategist to unseat an incumbent Republican president, today endorsed Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) for president, per the campaign.
- “The best way to beat Donald Trump is to show you’re not him,” Carville said. “Senator Bennet has less in common with Donald Trump than any human being in the United States when it comes to worldview, priorities, and demeanor.”
Carville will campaign for Bennet in New Hampshire ahead of the primary.
7. Two popes: Benedict prods Francis on celibacy
In 2017, Pope Francis (left) and Pope Benedict meet at the Vatican on the occasion of the elevation of five new cardinals. Photo: L’Osservatore Romano via AP
Former Pope Benedict, 92, in a book written with a conservative cardinal, defends priestly celibacy in an apparent strategic appeal to Pope Francis, 83, to keep the centuries-old rules, Reuters’ Philip Pullella writes from Vatican City.
- “Benedict wrote the book, ‘From the Depths of Our Hearts,’ with Cardinal Robert Sarah, 74, a Guinean prelate who heads the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.”
Why it matters: Pope Francis is considering a recommendation that would allow the ordination of married men as priests in the remote Amazon.
- The pope’s Apostolic Exhortation on this and other issues — including the role of women — is expected in the next few months, Reuters said.
8. Colbert’s new sidelight
Stephen Colbert will be executive producer of “Tooning Out The News,” a seriesfor CBS All Access where animated characters mock news of the day, and interview real world guests and newsmakers, Deadline reports:
- “The host of CBS’ ‘The Late Show’ and Chris Licht, showrunner of the late-night talkshow, have once again teamed up with RJ Fried and Tim Luecke, who co-created Showtime’s ‘Our Cartoon President’ with the comedian.”
9. Obama alumni plan 2021 “first 100 days”
The Center for American Progress tomorrow will convene prominent Obama administration alumni to create a foreign-policy “master plan” for what they hope will be an incoming Democratic president in 2021.
- CAP says the conference will feature Ambassador Samantha Power, Ambassador Susan Rice, Denis McDonough, Michèle Flournoy, Avril Haines, Jake Sullivan and more.
10. 1 🏈 thing: NFL’s final 4
Green Bay Packers’ Davante Adams celebrates a touchdown catch at Lambeau Field last night. Photo: Mike Roemer/AP
The Kansas City Chiefs dug out of a 24-0 hole to beat the Houston Texans, 51-31 — becoming the first team in NFL playoff history to win by at least 20 points after trailing by at least 20, AP reports.
What’s next: After a thriller divisional weekend, the Chiefs host the Tennessee Titans at 3 p.m. ET Sunday for the AFC spot in the Super Bowl.
- The San Francisco 49ers host the Green Bay Packers at 6:30 p.m. ET for the NFC title.
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THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS
| CDN’s Daily News Blast delivers the day’s news first!View this email in your browserCDN Daily News Blast01/13/2020Excerpts:President Donald Trump’s Schedule for Monday, January 13, 2020By R. Mitchell -President Donald Trump will have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and receive his daily briefing. Then, he and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Louisiana to watch the College Football Playoff National Championship. Keep up with Trump on Our President’s Schedule Page. President Trump’s Itinerary for 1/13/20 – …President Donald Trump’s Schedule for Monday, January 13, 2020 is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » Tytler Cycle of Freedom – where are we?By Blue Agent007 -Alexander Tytler was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who served as Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. Tyler lived at the same time as the American founding fathers and described a repeating cycle in history. Tyler found that democratic societies …Tytler Cycle of Freedom – where are we? is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » ‘Repeatedly Betrayed Black Voters’: Sanders Co-Chair Rips Into Joe BidenBy Peter Hasson -The national co-chair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign tore into former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on race in an op-ed Sunday. Biden has “repeatedly betrayed black voters,” Turner argued in an op-ed published in South Carolina newspaper The State. She hammered Biden’s opposition to forced desegregation busing …‘Repeatedly Betrayed Black Voters’: Sanders Co-Chair Rips Into Joe Biden is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » Young Pelosi Disagrees With Old Pelosi On War PowersBy Chris White -House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized President Donald Trump for killing Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, but she was singing a different tune during the Obama administration. “You have a responsibility to consult with Congress,” the California representative said during a Jan.9 press conference responding to Trump’s airstrike targeting the Iranian …Young Pelosi Disagrees With Old Pelosi On War Powers is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » To Win The 21st Century, It’s Time For A Detente Between The Government And Big TechBy Ryan Khurana -States around the world are waking up to the geopolitical value of the information and communication technology revolution, and the United States’ global technology dominance is under threat. Made in China 2025 has garnered headlines for its ambition of making China the world’s high-tech leader, prioritizing investments in artificial intelligence …To Win The 21st Century, It’s Time For A Detente Between The Government And Big Tech is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court Not To Fast-Track Obamacare ChallengeBy Kevin Daley -The Trump administration told the Supreme Court there is no reason to fast-track its consideration of two petitions seeking review of a lower court decision that struck down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. A coalition of blue states and congressional Democrats asked the high court to decide whether to …Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court Not To Fast-Track Obamacare Challenge is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » Ukraine Flight Tragedy Due to Iranian Leaders’ Failure to Value Human LifeBy Dave King -Iran has been mortally pestering America, Israel and the rest of the civilized world for decades, and finally, on January 8, 2020, it’s acts of terrorism caused the deaths of 176 innocent people trying to leave that horrible nation on a commercial jetliner. The majority of the fatalities were themselves …Ukraine Flight Tragedy Due to Iranian Leaders’ Failure to Value Human Life is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » Ex-DOJ Official Picked To Assist FISA Reform Was Ardent Defender Of FBI’s Surveillance Of Carter PageBy Chuck Ross -Former DOJ official David Kris was picked Friday to oversee the FBI’s reforms of its surveillance procedures in the wake of a damning inspector general’s report. Kris was an ardent defender of the FBI’s surveillance of Carter Page. He was also a vocal critic of Republicans who suggested that the …Ex-DOJ Official Picked To Assist FISA Reform Was Ardent Defender Of FBI’s Surveillance Of Carter Page is original content from Conservative Daily News – Where Americans go for news, current events and commentary they can trust – Conservative News Website for U.S. News, Political Cartoons and more. Read on » See all breaking news, conservative commentary, political cartoons and more posted to CDN at our Home Page. Follow on TwitterFriend on FacebookAdd on Google PlusCopyright © 2020 Conservative Daily News, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list |
LIBERTY NATION
| Daily BriefingCONSERVATIVE NEWS | LIBERTARIAN NEWS | COMMENTARYVISIT LibertyNation.com FROM OUR NEWSROOMVirginia Set for Showdown at Gun Rights RallyBy Lorraine Silvetz, MSWHow far will Gov. Northam go on gun control, and how far will Virginians go to resist?Click Here What America’s Thinking46% of likely U.S. voters believe the president will be re-elected. Just 33% think a Democrat will win.Only 12% now feel it’s more likely that Trump will be impeached and removed from office before serving his first full term.The Rasmussen Reports Economic Index hit 147.8 in January, up 3.5 points from last month and smashing through the five-year high.Just 21% of American Adults think Epstein actually committed suicide while in jail. Migrant “Children” Evoke Sympathy But How Many Really Are Minors?By Onar ÅmAdult economic migrants have been faking their way into the West as minors.Click Here Washington WhispersComing down the pipeline:President Trump has stated that he “couldn’t care less” if Iran comes to the negotiating table, signifying a hardliner stance that could further impact the future of the Iran nuclear deal.Rapper Cardi B, who has admitted to drugging and robbing men at a strip club she used to work at, has suggested that she is considering a career in politics.A new coalition has formed that aims to support President Trump’s plans to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that she and fellow Democrats will soon discuss sending articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. Read One of Our BooksBy Liberty Nation StaffSic Semper Tyrannis: The Uprising of the Common ManClick Here Your Daily Political DevotionalA Glimpse at What’s Hot in the PolitisphereWith only 12% of voters believing that President Trump will be removed from office before the next election, and just 33% thinking a Democrat will win in November, infighting has begun in the opposition party. Democrat strategists are lashing out at Bernie Sanders, suggesting his rhetoric is harmful to other contenders and may end up damaging their chances against Trump. Are they implying that Sanders is not going to win? Will the deck be stacked against Bernie in favor of a more mainstream candidate? If it appears the fix is already in, the odds of the party faithful turning out on election day will drop sharply. Liberty Nation On The Go: Listen to Today’s Top News 01.13.20By Liberty Nation StaffConservative News – Hot Off The Press – Audio Playlist – AD FREEClick Here News RoundupWe’ve Surfed The Web for YouPatronizing New Ad Aimed At Christians Highlights Never Trump’s Lingering FlawsDemocrats Are Forming A Circular Firing Squad#RedforEd Founder Promoting ‘Teacher Agency’ in Politics to AcademiaWhite House’s ‘first snow of the year’ tweet confuses Washington, DC, residentsJoe Biden Claims Bolivia Is On The Border Of Venezuela. It’s Not Tech Tyranny: Rights Vs. Safety – Jan. 13By Laura ValkovicSurveillance of Iranians and the virtual lives of animals.Click Here WATCH NOWFEATURED LNTVLNTV: Illinois Lets Gun Owners In On New Marijuana Rules – WATCH NOW!LNTV: Bernie Closing In On Biden – WATCH NOW!LNTV: 2019 Moments Haunting 2020 Democrats – WATCH NOW! The Rabbit Hole: Retaliation or Revenge? Check out one of our podcasts!Subscribe and get notified of new arrivals.SUBSCRIBELNTV: Robert Kraft Now Facing Felonies In Prostitution Arrest – WATCH NOW! Check out one of our videos!View the latest Liberty Nation videos on YouTube.WATCH NOW |
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THE BLAZE
| View this email in your browser January 13, 2020Trending now Top House Republican believes Nancy Pelosi withheld impeachment articles for nefarious reasons Just two days on the job, San Fran’s new socialist DA fires 7 tough-on-crime prosecutorsMore from TheBlaze Trump’s support for Iranian protestors breaks a Twitter record, something the MSM ‘will not report’ Iran’s only female Olympic medalist announces her defection from Iran in scathing message Powerful video shows Iranians demonstrating more respect for the US flag than Colin Kaepernick has Viral Twitter thread by prominent journalist exposes liberal hypocrisy on Iran protestsListen live to Blaze RadioTune in to the next generation of talk radio, featuring original content from hosts like Glenn Beck, Pat Gray, Stu Burguiere, Steve Deace and more!Start listeningOne last thing …Judge hits Florida Democrat with stiff sentence for slapping, spitting on elderly man wearing MAGA hatA Florida man who was caught on surveillance camera assaulting an elderly man for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat last October learned last week that he would spend the next several months in jail.Judge David Morgan sentenced 43-year-old Matthias Ajple, a registered Democrat, to 90 days in jail after finding him guilty of battery against 6 … Read moreGot friends?FORWARD THIS EMAIL © 2020 Blaze Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive emails from Blaze Media.Privacy Policy | Manage your preferences | Unsubscribe8275 S. Eastern Ave, Ste 200-245Las Vegas, Nevada, 89123, USA |
BRIGHT
| Share with a friend you think would love this!Monday, January 13, 2020 Pelosi Caves After pressure from hardcore impeachment-supporters, Speaker Nancy Pelosi caved and sent a letter to the Senate saying that they would soon be able to vote on the articles of impeachment. From the AP: “In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said Friday she was proud of their ″courage and patriotism” and warned that senators now have a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president. ‘In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to do ’impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,‴ Pelosi wrote. “Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution.'” The Senate trial could begin this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is ready to get started. In what many think will ultimately be a show-trial since Republicans have a majority, the AP reports that it will be run similar to the Clinton impeachment trial: “Republicans have the leverage, with a slim 53-47 Senate majority, if McConnell can keep GOP senators on board with his strategy. So far, they are supportive of modeling the trial after the one used in the last presidential impeachment, of Bill Clinton, 20 years ago. It set out a path for starting the trial and voting on witnesses later. Despite McConnell’s wishes for a speedy trial, some Republicans in his caucus have indicated that they are open to witnesses. It takes just 51 senators to set the rules, and Democrats have been trying to win over wavering GOP senators to vote with them on hearing new testimony.‘I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for witnesses for both the House managers and the President’s counsel if they choose to do so,’ [Sen. Susan] Collins said. “It is important that both sides be treated fairly.’” Author and podcast host Michael Malice wrote, “This whole ‘well we tried impeachment but the Republicans were unfair to us’ is such a confession of impotence that the effects will be difficult to quantify.” Iranian Protestors Demand Ayatollah Resign Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran, clashing with riot police and demanding the Ayatollah resign. Many are chanting “Death to Liars” and “Death to the Islamic Republic.” The protests come after the Iranian government admitted they shot down the Ukrainian Airlines flight of civilians last week. From the Daily Mail: “At Amirkabir University, protesters chanted ‘Down with the dictator’ and ‘shame on IRGC [Revolutionary Guard], let the country go.’ At Sharif University, crowds of outraged Iranians chanted ‘commander in chief, resign!’ The Ayatollah is Iran’s commander in chief.‘Our enemy is right here; they lie when they say it’s the US’ protesters were heard chanting in one video. ‘I now believe the word of the Great Satan,’ one protester wrote in Persian on Twitter, apparently referring to the U.S. intelligence reports that blamed Iran for shooting the plane down, which the regime furiously denied at first.” President Trump tweeted (translated from Farsi), “The Iranian government should allow human rights groups to monitor and report on the current reality of protests in the Iranian people. We should not see the peaceful killing of protesters again or the Internet shut down. The world is watching.” On Sunday, the President also tweeted a message to the Iranian government: “To the leaders of Iran – DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!” More to read: Iran’s only female Olympic medalist reportedly defects (AP) Despite Tweeting Often About Iran This Week, No 2020 Democratic Contender Has Commented on Iranian Protests (The Federalist) “Iranians are in the street calling for prosecutions, saying Soleimani is a murderer. Telling leadership of the Iranian government to resign and saying that Trump isn’t the problem, that the Iranian government is. To say that these protesters are brave is an understatement.” (Yashar Ali on Twitter) New Book Investigates the ‘Biden Five’ In Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite, author Peter Schweizer focuses on politicians and when it comes to the five members of the Biden family, how they’ve benefitted financially from Vice President Biden’s political power. From The Political Insider: “A new yet to be released book will reveal how Joe Biden’s family had five members—the “Biden Five”—that allegedly siphoned tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer cash. Sources also say the recent controversies involving Joe and Hunter Biden, Ukraine, and Burisma are just ‘the tip of the iceberg.’ … For now, HarperCollins has the book under an embargo until its release on January 21. Sources believe what the book reveals will “upend official Washington,” similar to the way Schweizer’s work in the past like “Clinton Cash” and “Secret Empires” did. Schweizer also was the first to report on the Uranium One and Biden-Burisma scandals. In addition to the Biden revelations, Profiles in Corruption has new news regarding top liberals, like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Sherrod Brown, Eric Garcetti, and Cory Booker.” Golden Globes Plays It Safe After the hilarious and viral opening monologue from actor and comedian Ricky Gervais, the Golden Globes announced that the 2021 show will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, said, “There’s no denying that Tina and Amy’s comedic chemistry is infectious. We can’t wait to see the dynamic duo return to the Golden Globes stage.” Yawn. What I’m Reading This Week I’m headed to New York via Amtrak today and after motivational, new year/new me reading (that I’ve enjoyed, to be clear!), it’s time for a fun read on the train. I’ll be reading, So Lucky by Dawn O’Porter. From the description: “Beth shows that women really can have it all. Ruby lives life by her own rules. And then there’s Lauren, living the dream.AS PERFECT AS IT LOOKS? Beth hasn’t had sex in a year. Ruby feels like she’s failing. Lauren’s happiness is fake news.And it just takes one shocking event to make the truth come tumbling out…” A Case of the Mondays Ask me to go sledding and you’ll get this response (Trey Kennedy on YouTube)Patsy The Border Collie Helps Save Flock Of Sheep From Australian Fire (Tammy Bruce)Last week we saw the First Lady’s stunning winter white look upon her return from the family’s Christmas trip to Palm Beach. This week, John Binder gives us the details in Fashion Notes: “Melania Trump, alongside President Trump and their son Barron, strutted off Air Force One in a light grey cashmere coat by Loro Piana featuring a cream and beige geometric chevron pattern. The coat was paired with a custom white knitted tea-length dress by Hervé Pierre. On her feet, Mrs. Trump wore a pair of Gianvito Rossi white leather knee-high slouch boots. The heeled boots retail for about $1,745.” If you want to replicate this outfit, going luxe with the dress and coat are must to avoid that go-go look. I searched high(end) and low(end) for the chevron coat and couldn’t find anything comparable, but here are some good dupes for the First Lady’s Gianvito Rossi boots: Nine West Maxim Dress Boots from Macy’s, $149.99 Scrunch Shaft Knee High Chunky Heel Boots from SHEIN, $32.00 (manage your expectations given the price) Sam Edelman Hai Boots from Zappo’s, $120.00 Mondays with Melania is a weekly feature that highlights what the First Lady is doing and wearing. BRIGHT is brought to you by The Federalist.Copyright © BRIGHT, All rights reserved. www.GetBRIGHTemail.com Want to change how you receive these emails? 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THE DISPATCH
The Morning Dispatch: What’s in ‘Phase One’ of the China Deal?Plus, Is China helping ease the U.S.’s economic pressure on Iran?The Dispatch StaffJan 13Happy Monday! We were feeling pretty good about ourselves here at The Morning Dispatch wrapping up launch week. Five morning newsletters, a few pieces for the website, we finally both have a digital recorder. Then we read that 17-year-old Wolf Cukier discovered a new planet on the third day of his internship at NASA, and we recalibrated.Quick Hits: What You Need to KnowStirring images poured out of Iran this weekend as thousands of Iranian citizens flooded the streets of Tehran, outraged over the Iranian government’s accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 on board. President Trump tweeted in support of the demonstrations.RadioFarda@RadioFarda_EngNew video from #Tehran shows people marching towards the Azadi Tower #IranProtests #IranProtests2020 January 12th 2020200 Retweets526 LikesAfter weeks of stalling, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate this week.Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he had not seen evidence that Iran had planned to attack four U.S. embassies before the Suleimani strike, despite President Trump’s claims that such an attack was imminent last week. The Trump administration has reached out to North Korea in an effort to restart diplomatic talks that have stalled in recent months.The United States will expel a handful of Saudi cadets who were in the U.S. to receive military training, after an investigation found they failed to alert authorities of warning signs before one of their compatriots killed three and injured eight in a shooting at a naval base in Florida last month.Women held more jobs in the American workforce than men for the first time since 2010, per new Labor Department data from December. The NFL conference championships are set. The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans next weekend, while the Green Bay Packers will visit the San Francisco 49ers.Depressurizing the Trade WarAt a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, last week, President Trump led off his stump speech with some big news to report to the assembled faithful on trade. After a few minutes of bragging about his new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, he turned to talk of China:“You remember I came and I’d always talk about how bad our trade deals are. … On January 15, we’re signing a monster, a big beautiful monster: $40 to $50 billion to our farmers. Our farmers will be taken in. I keep saying to buy larger tractors.”When The Hill tweeted out the clip, it caused a minor sensation. Shorn of context, it seemed like Trump was saying the White House was about to authorize another monster aid payout to farmers hurt by his trade war with China—payouts that have already neared $30 billion, triple what the 2008 auto bailout ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers.But the “monster” Trump plans to sign on January 15 isn’t another bailout. It’s the “phase one” trade agreement the U.S. has finally hammered out with China—the first small step toward reconciliation in a trade war that has only escalated over the last few years, and a ray of hope for the U.S. industries that have felt its effects the worst.Last year was a bleak one for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. Despite the aforementioned tens of billions of dollars of federal farm aid, farm bankruptcies climbed 24 percent from 2018 and farm debt reached an all-time high. U.S. manufacturing failed to sustain the healthy growth the sector had enjoyed during Trump’s first two years in office. As Trump’s tariffs expanded to include more products, that growth ground to a halt, then reversed, with manufacturers reporting net job losses through the fall and into December.The “phase one” deal promises at least partial relief, in two ways. First, there’s the tariff relief: Rather than impose another $156 billion in tariffs going into 2020, as Trump had planned last year, the White House will halve the 15 percent tariff on approximately $120 billion in Chinese goods it imposed last September.And second, there’s China’s reported agreement to buy $200 billion in U.S. goods over the next two years, which the White House says will include—and here’s that number—$40 billion to $50 billion a year in U.S. agricultural products.We won’t see the actual text of the agreement until it’s signed this week, and we won’t know whether China will hold to its side of the bargain until much later than that. The agricultural products number in particular has been met with plenty of skepticism, given that China has never bought more than $26 billion in farm products from the U.S. in a single year. And although the deal isn’t the out-and-out socialism critics mistook it for, it is fair to knock the central planning of the deal in one respect: It’s plain that one big consideration that went into the arrangement was Trump’s own political prospects. This could be seen from his own comments to reporters last Thursday about what went into “phase one” versus what will hopefully happen in “phase two”: “Phase one is a big, big number. It is a big percentage of the deal. It’s pretty much all for the farmers. … We’ll start right away negotiating phase two. It will take a little time. I think I might want to wait to finish it until after the election, because by doing that I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal.”All in all, though, any deal at all is cause for relief—although how much remains to be seen.(For a highly accessible and thorough look at trade policy in the Trump era, check out Scott Lincicome’s analysis today in The Dispatch.)Concerns Over China’s Iranian Oil BuyingIn the wake of Qassem Suleimani’s death and Iran’s retaliatory strikes on American bases in Iraq, President Trump reached into his diplomatic toolbox and pulled out his second-favorite economic weapon (tariffs being the first): sanctions. “The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday’s ballistic missile strikes,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a press release. “We are also designating Iran’s largest metals manufacturers, and imposing sanctions on new sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, and mining. These sanctions will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”The administration has been ratcheting up the economic pressure on Tehran since withdrawing the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018. And it appears to be having the desired effect: Iran’s economy is in the midst of a deep recession as oil exports have nose-dived.The United States essentially presented foreign countries and businesses with a choice. You can either do business with us, or you can do business with Iran. For most, the choice was simple.The Trump administration hopes to leverage Iran’s weakened standing and desperation to coax them back to the negotiating table over their nuclear program and extract more concessions than the Obama administration was able to back in 2015.Enter China.When the Trump administration imposed what it called its “unprecedented U.S. economic pressure campaign” on Iran in November 2018, it granted eight countries—including China, India, South Korea, and Japan—six-month waivers, allowing them to continue buying Iranian oil for 180 days without incurring the economic wrath of the United States.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the waivers were granted “only because [those countries] have demonstrated significant reductions in their crude oil and cooperation on many other fronts.” But the exemptions also provided Iran a little breathing room.Now more than a year has passed, and the United States has punished Chinese companies multiple times for continuing to ship and import Iranian oil. Dan Katz had a great piece for the Atlantic Council a few months ago detailing China’s skirting of the sanctions.And now that tensions between the United States and Iran seem to be ratcheting up near all-time highs, concerns have begun anew that China could help ease Tehran’s burden.Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures yesterday, Mnuchin admitted that, while the administration has “cut off probably over 95 percent of [Iran’s] oil revenues,” it has not eliminated them entirely. “A big component of that is China.”Mnuchin said he “sat down with the Chinese officials,” and that “they’ve cut off all of the state companies from buying oil.” But that’s difficult to verify and other senior Trump advisers, at the State Department and NSC, aren’t buying it. The concern is that China doesn’t mind seeing the U.S. preoccupied with Iran. Buying more oil from Iran not only provides relief to the Islamic Republic, it gives China additional leverage in its other talks with the U.S.Worth Your TimeThe lack of a shared set of facts is certainly a contributing factor to our deep partisan divides. How can you craft compromises and build bipartisan bridges when the two sides can’t even agree on what the problems we face are? A fractured media landscape has long been blamed for this divided reality, but, as Dana Goldstein’s latest piece in the New York Times illustrates, the split may start even earlier in a child’s life, with school history textbooks varying in tone and content across the country.Like her mother before her, Anna Altman has spent a huge portion of her adult life beset by crushing migraines. Her essay about living with and through them in n+1 Magazine is chilling and full of insight, as she describes how chronic illnesses like migraines break down the barriers between what we see as sickness and health. Read it here. Conservative thinker and philosopher Roger Scruton passed away yesterday at the age of 75. Last month, he wrote this piece recapping his 2019—it’s worth the read.Presented Without Commenthenno@jrhennessyJanuary 10th 20205,367 Retweets41,847 LikesSomething FunThis 1993 letter from former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy inviting his colleagues Antonin Scalia and Byron White over to try out his new fax machine, is so sweet and quaint! “The thing works 24 hours a day.”Jarvis Good@jarvis_bestJustice Kennedy writing a letter to Scalia and White, inviting them to come over and check out his sweet new fax machine. January 10th 2020748 Retweets3,549 LikesSpottedAt the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, home to the Florida Everblades minor league hockey team. A … creative new frontier in political advertising from William Figlesthaler, a urologist from Naples, FL looking to replace retiring GOP Rep. Francis Rooney.Toeing the Company LineDavid’s latest edition of the faith-focused Sunday French Press is a must-read: a frank look at the dire circumstances behind the lives and deaths of despair that afflict so many people in our country, and a call for those more fortunate to examine not only what policy changes might help to heal these problems, but also what they themselves can do to lighten the burden of their fellow citizens.In last week’s Friday G-File, Jonah has some grudging praise for Matt Gaetz and Rand Paul and a dire malediction against the “foul weather constitutionalists and statesmen” who make up much of the rest of Congress. (If that isn’t enough to pique your interest, there’s also a theory about a Suleimani set-up for you to chew over.)We mentioned the Scott Lincicome piece on Trump’s trade policy earlier in the newsletter, but we really mean it. Give it a read.Let Us KnowMike Morrison claimed last week to have witnessed “one of the most iconic game show moments” of all time. Mike Morrison ️@mikesbloggityI tuned in to Canada’s new version of Family Feud and may have witnessed one of the most iconic game show moments I’ve ever seen. January 10th 202033,123 Retweets134,803 LikesThat’s pretty great, but we figured we’d put our readers on the case. Send us the best game show moments you’ve ever seen, and we’ll feature some of our favorites later this week.Reporting by Declan Garvey (@declanpgarvey), Andrew Egger (@EggerDC), and Steve Hayes (@stephenfhayes).Photograph of Bill Waugh of Des Moines, Iowa, leaning on his 1950 Farmall tractor at the 2019 Iowa State Fair by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.You’re on the free list for The Morning Dispatch. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber.Subscribe© 2020 Steve Hayes Unsubscribe PO Box 720263, San Francisco, CA 94172 |
ROLL CALL
Morning Headlines
Road Ahead: Impeachment trial imminent and war powers debate continues
Impeachment action is bound for the Senate this week, ending a standoff between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over the framework of President Donald Trump’s trial. Pelosi intends to send impeachment articles to the Senate and name managers, launching a trial that could begin before the week is out. Read More…
Michigan Republicans line up to keep Justin Amash’s seat in the party
Rep. Justin Amash may be making new friends in Washington, with some Democrats suggesting the Republican-turned-independent help prosecute President Donald Trump at his Senate impeachment trial. But back in Michigan, Republicans are competing to replace Amash to help the party regain a seat that has safely been in its column. Read More…
The last time the Senate impeached, they got their man
OPINION — Once upon a time, there was a Senate impeachment trial where Rep. Adam Schiff was the lead House manager, law professor Jonathan Turley argued against impeachment, multiple witnesses testified, and the verdict was bipartisan and unanimous. The most incredible part? It really happened, and not that long ago. Read More…Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developments in finance and financial technology.
Emails ensure Boeing scrutiny will continue, DeFazio says
The chairman of the committee investigating how the troubled Boeing 737 Max made its way through the FAA flight certification process has questioned whether the company has given his panel the “full picture” of the jet’s development, saying he believes Boeing may be trying to scapegoat lower-level employees. Read More…
Campus Notebook: Rick Scott’s lavish estates and exclusive clubs
Florida Sen. Rick Scott has a solid setup when he’s not in Washington. Scott’s home in Naples, Florida, is worth between $5 million and $25 million. He also has a boathouse there, which is valued between $100,000 and $250,000. The Republican has another house in Troy, Montana, worth between $1 million and $5 million. Read More…
Watch: Capitol Police are ‘West Wing’ fans too
Actor Martin Sheen, best known in D.C. for playing President Jed Bartlet in NBC drama “The West Wing,” was on the Hill on Friday for the last of Jane Fonda’s weekly climate protests. Sheen and actor Joaquin Phoenix were apprehended by Capitol Police after the crowd of protesters moved to the Capitol steps. Watch the video here…
Reapportionment could force a Rhode Island showdown
This year’s census will likely prompt a political showdown between longtime members of Congress in the nation’s smallest state. An analysis based on Census Bureau population projections has Rhode Island losing its second congressional seat in 2022, which would force a decision for current House members David Cicilline and Jim Langevin. Read More…
‘Fire Drill Friday’ finale: Jane Fonda goes back to Cali
The season finale of Jane Fonda’s weekly Fire Drill Fridays saw some passionate speeches, a mass arrest and her most star-studded lineup yet. The Hollywood veteran turned out hundreds for her final rally, including celebrity pals such as former “West Wing” actor Martin Sheen, Joaquin Phoenix and Susan Sarandon. Read More…
Forgive our lawmakers for falling short: Congressional Hits and Misses
In closing out the first session of the 116th Congress at the beginning of 2020, House Chaplain Patrick J. Conroy asked for “forgiveness” when “the efforts of this Congress have fallen short.” If that’s any indication of what’s to come for the rest of 2020, we’re in for a long year. Watch the video here…
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THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
| Washington Examiner’s Examiner Today NewsletterView this as website ADVERTISEMENT HIGHLIGHTS‘We’ve been trying to talk to you’: Homeless veteran protesters crash Buttigieg town hallTrump administration rolls back Obama-era ‘joint employer’ rulePelosi falsely claims court fight for Ukraine impeachment witnesses FBI defender and Nunes critic picked to help with FISA reform oversightThe FISA Court selected a longtime defender of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation to be its adviser in overseeing the FBI’s implementation of reforms following the Justice Department’s watchdog report on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Billionaire Clinton friend providing luxury Canadian hideaway for Meghan and Prince Harry A Canadian billionaire has reportedly been allowing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to hide out in his multi-million-dollar waterfront mansion amid boiling tensions in the British royal family. Trump reaches out to North Korea in hopes of getting negotiations ‘back on track’President Trump has signaled to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un his hope to resume diplomacy since negotiations over denuclearizing the Korean peninsula stalled late last year. Trump administration rolls back Obama-era ‘joint employer’ rule The White House has formally rolled back one of the Obama administration’s most ambitious attempts to rewrite federal labor law to benefit unions, the so-called joint employer rule. ADVERTISEMENT Roger Scruton, advocate for aesthetic beauty and conservative British philosopher, dead at 75 Roger Scruton, a conservative intellectual and British philosopher, has died at the age of 75. Cathedral blesses Bible dedicated for Space Force swearing-in ceremonies A Washington, D.C., cathedral blessed a King James Bible for the Department of Defense’s newly formed Space Force. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of heightened tensions with Iran Over half of Americans disapprove of how President Trump has dealt with Iran in recent weeks, and nearly as many feel less safe after the United States killed Iran’s top general and terror leader. Sanders undercuts Biden on climate change: The way we were is ‘not good enough’ IOWA CITY, Iowa — Bernie Sanders took a veiled swipe at center-left rivals such as Joe Biden, warning that even if a Democrat were elected president this fall, climate change policy can’t return to what it was in the past. ‘Disappointed’: Warren hits back at Sanders for sending his volunteers to ‘trash’ herSen. Elizabeth Warren ripped efforts by Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign to attack her as only appealing to “affluent” and “highly educated” voters. Muslim scholar: Iran regime threatened for ‘first time ever’ under Trump “They’ve had a disastrous outcome to their attempt of intimidating the United States,” Council on Foreign Relations member Qanta Ahmed said Sunday on Fox & Friends. THE ROUNDUPIran cracks down as protests grow over downed airlinerSanders goes on offensive in IowaPelosi defends impeachment delay, warns of ‘cover-up’ by SenateADVERTISEMENT |
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THE WASHINGTON POST MORNING MIX
| Sign up for this newsletterRead onlineStories from all over. (Alaska DPS)His cabin burned down in the Alaskan wilderness. He survived in frigid weather for more than 20 days.Tyson Steele’s dog died in the blaze, leaving him entirely alone and with no way to contact the outside world.By Meagan Flynn ● Read more » ‘I am livid’: Canadian CEO blasts ‘narcissist in Washington’ after an employee lost his family in plane crash caused by Iranian missileThe CEO of a Canadian food company seemingly slammed President Trump for stoking conflict with Iran after U.S. military officials killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani earlier this month.By Katie Shepherd ● Read more » White House shares photo celebrating ‘first snow of the year’ — on a day when temperatures in D.C. hit 70“What???” one person tweeted in response to the photo Sunday. “I was wearing shorts this afternoon.”By Allyson Chiu ● Read more » She said a Bethlehem church was in Palestine. But ‘Jeopardy!’ accepted Israel as the right answer.Commentators and pro-Palestinian activists have demanded an apology from the TV game show.By Teo Armus ● Read more » ‘We’re not sure how it got through’: Utah is investigating whether to recall a driver’s vanity license plate that read, ‘DEPORTM’“ … how does this plate I just saw not violate your guidelines?” he asked in a tweet.By Timothy Bella ● Read more » Adjunct professor who jokingly said Iran should list 52 U.S. cultural sites to bomb has been firedAyatollah Ali Khamenei “should tweet a list of 52 sites of cultural American heritage that he would bomb,” his post said.By Teo Armus ● Read more » We think you’ll like this newsletterCheck out By The Way for tips and guides that will help you travel better and make you feel like a local wherever you go. Delivered every Thursday. Sign up » |
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE
| VIEW IN BROWSERJANUARY 13, 2020CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COMDAYWATCH1Family wants to know why security guard cleared in fatal shooting of man when no gun was foundMONDAY, JAN 13Mario Dingillo was fatally shot in the early morning hours of Nov. 3 around the corner from the Bluelight, a small bar in Roscoe Village after police said security guards from the bar tried to break up a fight. After a struggle, a security guard fired his gun, hitting Dingillo four times, police said. The guard told police that Dingillo pulled a gun, but none was found at the scene. Police sought charges against the guard, but prosecutors rejected them, concluding the guard fired in self-defense. Now the man’s family is demanding answers.“Self-defense?” protested Sandra Dingillo. “All I know is that he (the guard) followed them and he killed my son.”2On the largest freshwater island in the world, Lake Huron’s Native Americans warn of the fragility of waterMONDAY, JAN 13On Lake Huron’s Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world, the six First Nation tribes that call this land home have an ineffable connection with the waters that surround them. But amid pollution and invasive species, perhaps the greatest blow to First Nation communities is they feel they have little influence over what happens in a region that was once under their control.Homeowners near the Great Lakes face a “very scary” challenge: How do you handle a generation’s worth of water level changes in just a few years? 3Weed is legal, but using it can still get you fired. Here’s how Illinois companies are dealing with marijuana users.MONDAY, JAN 13 People with jobs – or looking for them – might want to stay in the shadows for now instead of openly talking about their marijuana use as Illinois companies figure out how to handle workers who partake. According to the new law, employers can fire workers who bring marijuana to the office, show up impaired or fail random drug tests. But companies who do so may face a host of legal questions.More dogs are falling prey to THC poisoning and vets say legal marijuana may be a factor.Where to buy legal weed in Chicago and across Illinois.4Investigators exploring whether ‘rape in Champaign’ email is linked to early release of prison inmate, sources sayMONDAY, JAN 13 State investigators are looking into whether an explosive email that refers to keeping quiet about a “rape in Champaign” could be tied to an inmate who got out of prison early and then sexually abused a young girl, sources familiar with the probe told the Tribune.The development comes after politicians from both parties spent last week calling for an investigation into the email, which was sent in July 2012 by Mike McClain, a close confidant of Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. 5Would faster service get you back on the bus? CTA, Pace hope to lure you back with new projects to speed your commuteMONDAY, JAN 13As bus ridership continues to drop with the rise of ride-sharing and lower gas prices, the CTA and Pace are joining transit agencies around the country in finding ways to make buses faster and more reliable to win riders back. The CTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation are creating bus priority zones on busy routes and Pace is expanding “on-shoulder” routes on expressways, among other changes.6Column: Aurora’s retired ‘Cross Man’ reflects on the toll his ministry took on himMONDAY, JAN 13How can someone possibly haul some 27,000 crosses across the country in the back of a pickup truck to the sites of mass shootings without personally feeling the weight of that heavy load? No matter how buoyed Greg Zanis would get by the responses those crosses created, the burden of facing and trying to bring comfort to so many grieving loved ones had become increasingly apparent in his face, in his voice and in his demeanor, writes Aurora Beacon News columnist Denise Crosby. 7The most expensive ZIP codes for homes in the Chicago area are mostly outside city limitsMONDAY, JAN 13According to real estate website PropertyShark, of the 10 most expensive ZIP codes in the entire Chicago area, six are North Shore communities, three are western suburbs, and one is in the Loop. Kenilworth ZIP code 60043 is No. 1 at a median sales price of $1.24 million. In Chicago proper, the Loop’s 60603 ZIP code had the highest property sales prices in 2019, with a median of $570,000.8Chicago Restaurant Week is only a few weeks away. Here’s what you need to know.MONDAY, JAN 13The 13th annual Chicago Restaurant Week returns and more than 400 restaurants are participating in the 17-day feast this year. Despite the name, it is more than two weeks of restaurant specials, a promotion to attract diners during what is traditionally the slowest period of the year.Here is what you need to know if you go.advertisement UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF SERVICECopyright © 2020 | Chicago Tribune | 160 N. Stetson Ave., Third Floor, Chicago, IL 60601ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this email because you are following the Daywatch newsletter. |
THE FEDERALIST
| Your daily update of new content from The Federalist Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray January 13, 2020 IG Report Bombshell: Did The FBI And DOJ Ask Putin’s Buddy To Help Get Trump?By Margot Cleveland DOJ official Bruce Ohr called a meeting of several federal agencies to discuss ‘working with’ a Russian oligarch because of his belief, premised on the unverified Steele dossier, that Trump was corrupt. Full articleHow Prince Harry Turned Into Lena DunhamBy Sumantra Maitra Composure and class, stoic fortitude, and a sense of duty are not due to bloodline or money. Some people naturally possess them, and some can attain them through discipline, but most do not. Full articleBen Rhodes Attacks Trump To Obscure Obama’s Complicity In Iran’s Forever WarBy Ben Weingarten Despite Rhodes’ propaganda, America is in a far stronger position to deal with Iran’s provocations under Trump than at any time since Obama entered office. Full articleIn The Past 5 Years, The Transgender Explosion Has Wounded More And More PeopleBy Walt Heyer What’s changed in the last five years is the explosion in the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria and the lack of help for them. Full articleIn Wake Of Iran Strike, Congress Needs To Debate Overseas DeploymentsBy Chip Roy After 18 years at war without debate in Congress about overseas U.S. troop deployments, President Trump’s decision to take out Qassem Soleimani catalyzed a national conversation. Full articlePro-Life Doesn’t Mean Artificially Keeping Tinslee Lewis Alive ForeverBy Joe Pojman Cases like Tinslee’s are not easy for anybody. Medical interventions are prolonging her death and causing her further pain and suffering without the hope of improving her condition. Full articleWhy Harry And Meghan’s Gambit Endangers The ThroneBy Sarah Elliott The duke and duchess blindsided the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William. This is truly unique, and it could determine the relevancy and existence of the monarchy itself. Full articleIf People Can’t Get Married On Plantations, They Can’t Get Married AnywhereBy Casey Chalk Yes, horrible things happened at Southern plantations. But horrible things have happened all across the entire nation. To start banning venues due to evils is to prevent attempts to replace evil with good. Full articleNew York Pressures OB-GYNs To Perform Abortions Or Leave MedicineBy Regina Frost If New York and Planned Parenthood succeed in blocking conscience protections for medical professionals, I may be forced to either violate my conscience or leave the medical profession. Full article40 Percent Of People Awaiting Trial In New York Jails Might Soon Go Home Under New Bail LawBy Leo Briceno Democrats are right about the need for a change in policy. But will the 2020 Bail Reform Bill provide changes that will protect poor defendants and the people on the streets? Full articleMany Hong Kongers Have An Exit Strategy: CanadaBy Jeremy Lott As the pro-Beijing crackdowns escalate in Hong Kong, many residents will consider relocating to Canada. After all, they have a right to be there. Full articleWhy Young People Still Feel The BernBy Paulina Enck Insane policies and poor performances in many debates present the question: Why are young people such huge Bernie Sanders fans? Full articleDespite Tweeting Often About Iran This Week, No 2020 Democratic Contender Has Commented on Iranian ProtestsBy Erielle Davidson Whether it’s antisemitism or the oppression of the Iranian people, the left has no interest in drawing attention to any issue unless the problem can be attributed to President Trump. Full articleSpy Court Picks FISA Abuse Denier To Tackle FISA AbuseBy Mollie Hemingway The appointment of a former official who served as an apologist for the FBI signals that the court isn’t particularly concerned about the civil liberty violations catalogued by Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Full article PELOSI’S CHOICE In the immediate aftermath of Nancy Pelosi’s decision to hold the Articles of Impeachment rather than send them to the Senate, not even the most pro-Pelosi hacks in existence could make the case for the strategy. The same question pingponged through DC greenrooms: “Is she really doing this?” Read more of The Transom by signing up for a free trial today. follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2020 The Federalist, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences |
AMERICAN THINKER
Hey, GOP! This is What Pushback Looks LikeGetting too much email? Unsubscribe | Manage subscriptionsATAmerican Thinker <no-reply@americanthinker.com>Mon 1/13/2020 08:01
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| View this email in your browserRecent ArticlesHey, GOP! This is What Pushback Looks LikeJan 13, 2020 01:00 am Republican voters have lamented for years over the lack of pushback from their elected leaders. President Trump has changed that and others are cathcing on. Read More… Useful Idiots on the Right: The Never TrumpersJan 13, 2020 01:00 am What drives such otherwise sensible people to join the crazed left’s Trump-hating jamboree? Read More… Don Cherry and the Alpha White MaleJan 13, 2020 01:00 am The alpha white male has been neutered and replaced by the pencil-neck hall monitor. And we pretend not to notice. Read More… Impeachment Articles Must Be Challenged in CourtJan 13, 2020 01:00 am The Schiff-Nadler Star Chamber violated President Trump’s Fifth Amendment rights to procedural due process. Read More… Is today’s Democratic Party deceiving the people?Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Finding similarities between the Democrats’ desired program for the USA and what goes on in communist China. Read More… What 1,602 Miles Teaches about GunsJan 13, 2020 01:00 am It’s 1,602 miles from Monsey, New York to White Settlement, Texas. It’s a world of values and maturity away. Read More… Recent Blog Posts Meghan Markle won’t move back to the states until Trump is gone Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Instead of helping out the royal family as a trusted member, she’d rather sell tshirts, walk the red carpet, and spout anti-Trump garbage like the rest of them for the papers. Read more… The media uses the transgender movement as a lever forcing people to deny reality Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am There is a grave danger that, if our media gets us to believe the big lie behind the transgender movement, it can get us to believe anything. Read more… Mike Bloomberg’s vendetta against Trump continues, but does anybody care? Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Mike Bloomberg has made no secret of the fact that he wants to buy the White House away from Donald Trump, but currently no one seems very interested in him. Read more… Trump has triggered a great social media pullback Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am If Hillary Clinton were president instead of Donald Trump, imagine what social media today would look like… Read more… What the global warming advocates really have in mind Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Man-made global warming is a three-tail con game for returning power to the elite. Read more… From ‘blue’ to ‘red’ Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Five leftist states with leftist policies are losing congressional seats. Red states are gaining them. Read more… A tale of two approaches to Middle Eastern struggles Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am President Trump’s confrontation with the Iranian mullahs is redolent of President Jefferson’s confrontation with the Barbary pirates. Read more… Ordinary citizens and tyranny Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Sometimes, the normal people out there never realize that the radical left is at war with us. Read more… Parents on both the Left and the Right are battling public schools Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Parents on both the Left and the Right are frustrated by public schools’ rigidity and ideology, and they’re starting to fight back. Read more… Smelling blood in the water, Bernie and his supporters attack Warren Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am In 2016, when running against Hillary, Bernie paid a price for playing the gentlemen. He’s not making that mistake this time. Read more… Why should we care what Soleimani’s future plans were? Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am The media’s obsession with Soleimani’s imminent attacks obscures the fact that he deserved to be executed for his past deeds. Read more… Bernie’s pandering to young people increases America’s economic risks Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am Bernie’s plan for student debt panders to economically ignorant people who do not realize they’re already buried under debt. Read more… Democrats become first national party to hate the nation they wish to lead Jan 13, 2020 01:00 am When Obama said ‘fundamentally transform America’ … Read more… San Francisco, solid blue city of — empty storefronts and missing young people Jan 12, 2020 01:00 am Read more… Prominent Trump- and Fox News-hater gets punked by a joke about POTUS – and then writes a fake news story Jan 12, 2020 01:00 am A leading light of the MSM and MSNBC takes the bait from Republican pollster Frank Luntz and falls flat on his face Read more… View this email in your browser American Thinker is a daily internet publication devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to Americans. |
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AMERICAN MINUTE
| View as Webpage American Minute with Bill FedererFighting the Sultan in Europe to founding the Colony of Georgia in America: Eugene of Savoy & aide-de-camp James Oglethorpe; and a look at Georgia’s Religious HeritageEarly in his career, Eugene of Savoy, under the command of Polish King Jan Sobieski, helped defeat 200,000 Muslim Turks on S eptember 11, 1683, thus saving the city of Vienna, Austria.Austrian Prince Eugene of Savoy went on to become one of Europe’s most famous commanders.Savoy helped drive the Turks from Budapest in 1686. In 1687, he gallantly commanded a cavalry brigade defeating the Turks at the Second Battle of Mohács in Hungary.This victory was so significant that the Ottoman army mutinied, resulting in its general, Grand Vizier Sarı Süleyman Pasha, being executed, and the Sultan, Mehmed IV, being deposed.Prince Eugene of Savoy was most renown for his victory over 100.000 Muslim Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Zenta, Serbia, September 11, 1697.Then Turks invaded Russia. The new Turkish Grand Vizier, Baltacı Mehmet, defeated Peter the Great’s Russian Army in the Russo-Turkish War (1710-1711).Turks then invaded Greece and Venetian territories, led by Turkish Grand Vizier Damat Ali in the Turkish-Venetian War (1714-1718).Once again, to Europe’s rescue came Austrian Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Austro-Turkish War, 1716-1718. In 1716, Savoy defeated the Turks at Petrovaradin, captured the Banat (areas of Romania, Serbia and Hungary) and the capital city of Timisoara.In 1717, Savoy recaptured Belgrade, Serbia, whose Christian population had been brutally crushed and enslaved by numerous Muslim campaigns dating back to 1521.Savoy’s successful halt of the Ottoman invasion into Europe resulted in Turks suing for peace in 1718 with the Treaty of Passarowitz, as the Islamic practice was, when you are strong fight without mercy, but when you are weak, make treaties till you can become strong.What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an-A History of Islam and the United StatesOne of the young soldiers fighting at the Battle of Belgrade was 17-year-old Englishman James Oglethorpe, who served as Prince Savoy’s aide-de-camp.Oglethorpe, after fighting with distinction in the Austro-Turkish War, returned to England at the age of 21. He unintentionally killed a man in a brawl and spent five months in prison. Upon release, James followed in the footsteps of his father, Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, and became a member of Parliament, where he served for 32 years, 1722-1754.In Parliament, he became known for opposing slavery. In 1728, one of James Oglethorpe’s friends, Robert Castell, was unable to pay his debts and was thrown into London’s notorious Fleet Debtor’s Prison.At the time, in English prisons, prisoners had to pay the guards to get food and a decent room. As Castell was unable to pay, he was put in a cell with someone dying of smallpox. Castell caught the disease and died. When Oglethorpe heard the news, he was distraught. He soon began a national campaign for prison reform, heading a parliamentary committee to investigate them. Steps were made to end the extortion and abuse of prisoners, and improve sanitary conditions.James Oglethorpe conceived of an idea for a colony in America where poor debtors and religious refugees could get a second chance. He named the colony “Georgia” after Britain’s King George II.A side note is, that after America became independent, Britain began to send their convicted felons to the penal colony of Australia in 1783.Georgia’s Colonial Charter, 1732, stated regarding religious freedom: “There shall be a liberty of conscience allowed in the worship of God … and that all such persons, except papists, shall have a free exercise of their religion.”Sailing on the ship Ann, the 115 settlers landed on JANUARY 13, 1733. A year later, Protestant refugees from Salzburg, Austria, called “Salzburgers,” settled the town of Ebenezer, Georgia.In 1735, Moravian Christian settlers from Bohemia arrived through Fort Argyle.Scottish Presbyterians arrived from New Inverness in 1736. Huguenot Protestant refugees had arrived from France.James Oglethorpe’s secretary was Charles Wesley, who later became a hymn writer, composing among others, the carol “Hark, the Herald Angel Sings.”Charles Wesley’s brother, John Wesley, served in 1735 as the Georgia’s Anglican minister. He later began the Methodist movement.The Wesleys’ friend, Rev. George Whitefield, preached to enthusiastic crowds in Georgia in 1738, and later started an orphanage there.THE ORIGINAL 13 – A Documentary History of Religion in America’s First Thirteen StatesOn July 11, 1733, 34 Portuguese Sephardic Jews and 8 German Ashkenazic Jews, arrived in Savannah, Georgia. This was the largest group of Jews to land in North America prior to the Revolutionary War. They began the Holy Congregation Hope of Israel-“Kahal Kodesh Mickve Israel,” the third oldest Jewish congregation in the United States.In 1742, during the War of Jenkin’s Ear, some 3,000 Spanish soldiers landed on Georgia’s St. Simon’s Island.Oglethorpe repelled them in the Battle of Bloody Marsh, July 7, 1742. The next year, Oglethorpe returned to England where he served in the military. Georgia’s Royal Governor Henry Ellis made peace with the Creek Indians, and issued an Act regarding religion in 1758: “Establishing Religious Worship therein, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England; and also for empowering the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the respective Parishes … for the repair of churches, the relief of the poor, and other Parochial service.”This Act established the Anglican Church as the Colony of Georgia’s official denomination, with a £25 per annum salary for every Anglican clergyman. Catholics were specifically excluded from the colony.Beginning in 1755, Britain expelled all French Catholics from Acadia, Canada. Some 400 French Catholics arrived in Savannah, Georgia. They were only allowed to stay the winter before being ordered to leave.Some expelled Acadians traveled to South Carolina, others to St. Dominique Island, and still others to the French Catholic Louisiana Territory, where the pronunciation of “Acadian” evolved to “Cajun.”Other Protestants arrived in Georgia. In 1772, Daniel Marshall established Kiokee Baptist Church – the first Baptist Church in Georgia.Georgia is also known for Polish General Casmir Pulaski, father of the American cavalry, who died fighting the British at Savannah.Georgia had many Revolutionary War patriots, such as Nancy Hart. While her husband was away, six British soldiers converged on their frontier home.Soldiers shot her prize gobbler and ordered her to cook it. After feeding and serving them lots of wine Nancy grabbed one of their guns, promising to shoot the first one that moved.After shooting two, her husband showed up and they hung the rest.Mordecai Sheftall of Georgia became the Continental Army’s highest ranking Jewish officer.American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They OccurredIn 1777, Georgia passed its first State Constitution, stating: “We the people of Georgia, relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” Georgia’s Constitution, 1777, Article 6 stated: “Representatives shall be chosen out of the residents in each county … and they shall be of the Protestant religion.”In 1785, John Adams was sent as the first U.S. Ambassador to Britain. While there, he visited with James Oglethorpe just months before his death.In 1788, Georgia was the 4th State to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1789, Georgia’s population was over 82,000. It adopted a second Constitution which removed the Protestant requirement, simply stating: “All persons shall have the free exercise of religion.” A third Georgia Constitution was adopted in 1798, establishing religious toleration.In the first 34 years of Georgia’s statehood, conflicts arose between settlers and Indians, especially when gold was discovered on Cherokee land in 1829, causing the Georgia Gold Rush.An Indian Removal Act was hurriedly rushed through a Democrat controlled Congress in 1830. This resulted in the tragic “Trail of Tears” where over 16,000 men, women, and children of the tribes Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee, were forcibly removed from their homes by the Federal Government in the bitter winter of 1838. Over 4,000 died on the forced march from Georgia and southeastern United States to the Oklahoma Territory.Georgia’s religious history included the Jewish Mickve Israel Congregation, which in 1786 had an attendance of 73. In 1790, Georgia’s Governor granted the Jewish congregation a State Charter.President Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in S avannah, Georgia, May 1790: “May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in the promised land, whose Providential Agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of Heaven, and make the inhabitants of every denomination partake in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people, whose God is Jehovah.”The first Catholic residents moved into Georgia from Maryland around 1793. They had no priest until the French Revolution sparked a slave revolt on the Island of St. Dominique/Haiti causing a few priests to flee to Georgia. In 1810, the State Legislature incorporated the Catholic Church of Augusta.In 1820, Irish Bishop John England was appointed over the State’s one hundred Catholics in Savannah, plus a few more in Augusta. Bishop England founded America’s first Catholic newspaper, The United States Catholic Miscellany. Bishop John England delivered the first Catholic Sermon in the U.S. Capital at the Sunday morning Church service held in the House of Representatives, January 8, 1826.The overflow audience included President John Quincy Adams , who had previously stated, July 4, 1821, that Catholicism and Republicanism were incompatible. Bishop England reassured the predominately Protestant audience: “We do not believe that God gave to the Church any power to interfere with our civil rights, or our civil concerns … I would not allow to the Pope, or to any bishop of our Church … the smallest interference with the humblest vote at our most insignificant balloting box.”By 1839, Bishop John England listed 11 priests in Georgia. The population of Georgia in 1830 was 516,823.In 1836, Methodists founded Emory College, named after Methodist Bishop John Emory, in the city of Oxford, and Wesleyan Female College at Macon — the first institution of learning founded specifically for women in America.THE ORIGINAL 13 – A Documentary History of Religion in America’s First Thirteen StatesGeorgia supported the State’s Right doctrine before the outbreak of the War Between the States, and when Lincoln was elected, politicians moved for secession from the Union.Georgia was devastated as the Civil War progressed, especially in the fall of Atlanta and General Sherman’s march to the sea.In 1865, Atlanta University was founded by the Protestant American Missionary Association to help freed slaves, as was Clark University, founded in 1869 by the Methodist Episcopal Church.The population of Georgia in 1870 was 1,184,109. In 1877, Georgia’s Constitution stated: “Relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God … All men have the natural and inalienable right to worship God, each according to the dictates of his own conscience.” In 1877, Baptists founded Shorter College at Rome, and in 1881, Methodists founded Morris Brown College.In 1895, history was made at the International Exposition in Atlanta when the black President of the Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington, was invited to give a keynote address. In 1900, the population of Georgia was 2,216,331. As of 1910, the State of Georgia gave full liberty of conscience in matters of religious opinion and worship, but did not legalize willful or profane scoffing. It was unlawful to conduct any secular business on Sunday. Georgia’s oath of office was administered with one hand upon the Bible and the other uplifted, with the affirmation: “You do solemnly swear in the presence of the ever living God” or “You do sincerely and truly affirm, etc.” Legislative sessions opened with prayer.The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2007, published in the USA Today, listed Georgia as: 83 percent Christian, consisting of: -Evangelical Protestant – 38 percent-Mainline Protestant – 16 percent-Black Protestant – 16 percent-Catholic – 12 percent-Orthodox – <0.5 percent-Other Christian – <0.5 percent 1 percent – Jewish<0.5 percent – Mormon<0.5 percent – Jehovah’s Witnesses<0.5 percent – Muslim<0.5 percent – Buddhist<0.5 percent – Hindu<0.5 percent – Other World Religions<0.5 percent – Other Faiths<0.5 percent – Did not answer12 percent – UnaffiliatedWhen James Oglethorpe and the first settlers touched Georgia’s shore, JANUARY 13, 1733, they knelt while Rev. Herbert Henry offered prayer. They declared: “Our end in leaving our native country is not to gain riches and honor, but singly this: to live wholly to the glory of God.” Their object was: “To make Georgia a religious colony.”The Treacherous World of the 16th Century and How the Pilgrims Escaped It: The Prequel to America’s FreedomSchedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924 wjfederer@gmail.comAmerican Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.www.AmericanMinute.comhttps://www.themaven.net/americanminute/Click to shop AMERICAN MINUTE store Donate to American Priorities. Thank you Faith in History TCTArchivesMiracles in American History CTVN CBN “Liberty” Special Today’s Bible reading View as Webpage |
REALCLEARPOLITICS
01/13/2020Share: Carl Cannon’s Morning NoteTrump-Adams Nexus; Summer Surprise? Kovacs’ Corvair Good morning. It’s Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. I’m out on assignment this week, but didn’t want to leave you hanging, so I’m reprising history-themed essays from years gone by. Today’s references this date in 1962, when a comedic genius named Ernie Kovacs was killed in a one-car crash.Although Kovacs’ loss was tragic for his family and left a void in Hollywood, the accident that took his life had repercussions far beyond the world of entertainment — not all of them negative. Some still reverberate in U.S. politics and American corporate life, as I’ll explain in a moment. First, I’d point you to RealClearPolitics’ front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion pieces spanning the political spectrum. We also offer original material from our own reporters, columnists, and contributors, including the following:* * *Trump Channels John Adams in Confrontation With Iran. Frank Miele draws parallels between the president’s actions and Adams’ response to French aggression in 1798.The Odds on a Contested Convention (and a Tie on Nov. 3). Bill Whalen mulls the 2020 math.Democrats’ Milwaukee Surprise. In a column, I look back in history for a template that could provide the party with an unexpected standard-bearer in a year where no clear front-runner has emerged.Impeachment Doesn’t Matter — Health Care Does. Jessica Tarlov writes that Democrats can capitalize on voters’ top concern for 2020 — and GOP inaction regarding it.Foiled in Court, Anti-Trumper Took Ukraine Info to Mueller, FBI. Eric Felten has the story in RealClearInvestigations.What Edward Wedbush Could Have Taught Janet Yellen. RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny laments the Los Angeles investor’s recent death, and the untaught lessons he might have imparted to the Fed chairwoman.A New Grad School for D.C. Professionals. RealClearPolicy editor Bill Zeiser spotlights a master’s degree program offered by Hillsdale College aimed at working professionals in government, law, think tanks, media, and nonprofits.* * *Ernie Kovacs was born in Trenton, N.J., but he was born for Hollywood. He arrived in Southern California as television was establishing itself as the ascendant medium in this country, and quickly put his stamp on the new technology. He was once described affectionately as a “comedian who looked like a friendly but possibly demented insurance salesman.” But Kovacs was much more than a comedian. He wrote for magazines and television, experimented with sound and visuals, and influenced two generations of television entertainers (including news anchors) — and is doing so to this day.Kovacs was uninhibited in front of the camera as well as behind it. With his trademark cigar, he often ad-libbed, which came naturally, and he addressed the audience as though they were in the room with him. “Kovacs did things no one did before,” media critic Jeff Edelstein noted. “He spoke to the camera. He set up drawn-out visual gags. He ad-libbed his way around the set. And while these quaint little tics are the domain of just about every TV personality today, you must understand this: Kovacs created these things.”“Nothing in moderation,” reads the first line on his headstone. “We all loved him,” reads the second. They did, too. The pallbearers at his funeral included Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Much of Kovacs’ acclaim came after his death, but those on the front lines in television’s pioneering days knew what they would miss. “We lost a real genius,” lamented Lucille Ball.Kovacs died in the early morning hours when he missed a turn at the corner of Beverly Glen and Santa Monica boulevards. He and his wife, actress and singer Edie Adams, had been attending a baby shower, hosted by Wilder, for Milton Berle and his wife. Ernie and Edie were heading home in separate cars.Ernie was driving his new Chevrolet Corvair station wagon, probably too fast, when a light rain began falling. He was not wearing a seat belt — few motorists did back then — and he was killed instantly. A photograph from the scene showed an unlit cigar a few feet from his body, leading to speculation that he was trying to light it and lost control of the vehicle.Two years later, however, another culprit emerged: the car itself. The indictment came in the form of a book, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” by a young Harvard Law School graduate named Ralph Nader. The book focused on the popular Corvair, manufactured by General Motors.GM’s ill-considered decision to hire private detectives to look for dirt on Nader backfired, helping make the book a runaway bestseller, prompting congressional investigations, inspiring the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 — along with ushering in entirely new national attitudes about consumer safety.Today, Ralph Nader is viewed with little fondness by the leaders of the Democratic Party. They blame his quixotic third-party presidential run in 2000 for keeping Al Gore out of the White House, and they’ve taken steps — some of them quite undemocratic — to keep him off the ballot ever since. That is part of the man’s legacy. There is also this: Tens of thousands of Americans, perhaps hundreds of thousands, are alive today because Ralph Nader investigated the safety of the Chevy Corvair.Carl M. Cannon Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics @CarlCannon (Twitter) ccannon@realclearpolitics.com Having trouble viewing this email? | [Unsubscribe] | Update Subscription Preferences Copyright © 2020 RealClearHoldings, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email becuase you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: RealClearHoldings666 Dundee RoadBldg. 600Northbrook, IL 60062 Add us to your address book |
NOQ REPORT
- NOQ Report hit by massive attack from ‘Riyadh’
- Nancy Pelosi made herself a lame duck Speaker this week
- Nancy Pelosi held Articles of Impeachment to benefit Joe Biden
- Matt Gaetz picked the wrong hill
- The DC swamp dwellers have no clue how ridiculous they are
- Shannon Grove on California budget: ‘$20 million will go towards cracking down on AB5 and limiting worker’s freedom’
- Over $50 million raised for Australia wildfire relief efforts on Facebook
- Liz Wheeler demolishes Virginia’s gun control push in under three minutes
| NOQ Report hit by massive attack from ‘Riyadh’Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:10 AM PSTSaturdays are my one semi-day-off. I work six days a week on NOQ Report, often bell-to-bell on heavy news days. But last Saturday was different. Around 5:00 am, this site was hit with a massive, complex attack from IP addresses allegedly centered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And it wasn’t just a DDoS attack, of which we’ve had several over the past year. This wasn’t an attempt to take down the site. It was intended to destroy us completely.And it worked.Within a couple of hours from the initial attack, we started losing functionality in the site. Images, while present on the server, wouldn’t attach to the stories. I was on with level 1 tech support at our host when it became clear we needed level 2. And then level 3. By the time they initiated a comprehensive malware scan that would take several hours, nearly everything we tried to do on the site was not working. Thankfully, there was no malware, but infusing the site with phishing software of dirty pictures wasn’t their goal. These weren’t pranksters. As my second level 3 tech support lady told me, this was like nothing she’d ever seen before.What made it truly concerning is they were using exploits in files that hadn’t been updated for weeks, and that’s just among the ones we found. This made restoring backups problematic; how far back did we need to go to make certain they couldn’t just repeat the process next week, next month, or around November, 2020?As one who thoroughly enjoyed Aliens and has watched it several times, I invoked Ripley. I took a deep breath and told my downtrodden tech support warriors, “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”We nuked the site. Everything. Only the text from the articles was preserved as we installed only the verified safest software and began the long, tedious journey of rebuilding it all from scratch.As for the source being “Riyadh,” I’m not buying it. Sure, it’s possible, but based on the sophistication of this attack, it seems unlikely they would undertake it without masking their IPs, bouncing them off proxies in one enemy to attack another. Who has a beef with both Saudi Arabia and pro-Trump conservative Christians in America? Who has been caught red-handed trying to spoof, hack, and otherwise disrupt vulnerable news sites like The Guardian and now us? Who have we been heavily criticizing since the day we launched (other than Democrats)? Who wasn’t happy when we posted an article blaming Iran for taking down the Ukrainian 737-800 over 24-hours before it was announced? The answer to all of these questions is Iran.The Lord works in wonderful ways that we often never expect. We’ve been playing around with a redesign for weeks. It was supposed to be our shift into 2020-election-mode as we tightened our focus and increased our volume to match with dramatic surges in traffic the last three months. Whoever hacked us, they did us at least a bit of a favor unwittingly. The forced a play that may or may not have happened. Now, we’re in redesign mode.Rebuilding a site from scratch is much harder than just changing the look and feel. We’re literally going story-by-story, reformatting all 7000+ of them manually. It’s going to take a while, but it’s a necessary cleansing as we steam along towards the election. As long as we stay focused, we’ll be able to put forward a strong site that will help conservatives win in November.They can keep coming after us, but the mission is too important to abandon. We will continue to fight against the left and anyone else who wants to prevent patriotic Americans from leading this nation into the future. Praise God for His mysterious ways!Mixi.Media NewsThe post NOQ Report hit by massive attack from ‘Riyadh’ appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| Nancy Pelosi made herself a lame duck Speaker this weekPosted: 10 Jan 2020 03:06 PM PSTSpeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s political fate is sealed. She made three critical errors this week that will likely cost her the gavel she cherishes. In about one year, we will likely see her handing it to Representative Kevin McCarthy, but even if the GOP doesn’t retake the majority in the House, she’ll be handing it to a different Democrat. They’ve tried her way once before and it resulted in her losing the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014, and the White House in 2016. And when President Trump wins reelection, she’ll lose the gavel for a second time.The first big mistake is obvious. Even some of her closest allies are getting antsy about her holding onto the Articles of Impeachment with no path to leverage them for any more political fodder. She had momentum after the House voted in favor of impeachment, then she squandered that momentum for some reason. Nobody’s quite sure what she hoped to accomplish by holding onto them, but there are theories.Pelosi’s Embarrassing Impeachment BlunderMy working theory is this: Pelosi realized that impeachment was a mistake. She didn’t want the president to be able tell voters that he had been exonerated by Senate. The only way to mitigate the damage was to undertake a ham-fisted effort to attack the Senate trial and dampen, or perhaps circumvent, that inevitable moment.In the process, however, Pelosi destroyed the Democrats’ justification for rushing impeachment in the first place. Nadler and Schiff both argued that Trump’s tenure in office constituted a national emergency, and that the only way to save the republic from another stolen election was to move quickly.McConnell, on the other hand, had to take only a short break from confirming judges to inform the House that the Senate would treat the impeachment of Donald Trump the same way it treated the impeachment of Bill Clinton — with a rules package that passed 100-0 in 1998. Under the Clinton precedent, the Senate would allow both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers to make their case, with questions from the Senate to follow.Her second big mistake was to go down the path of assuming we were going to war with Iran. She took everyone in her caucus with her as they started echoing the same concerns. But then, war didn’t happen. The Iranian “retaliation” for the killing of terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani was nothing more than a fireworks display so they could lie to their people about being tough guys showing the weak Americans they won’t be bullied.So, the war was cancelled. But instead of changing the subject, she decided to play politics with a symbolic resolution to score points with her base. Unfortunately, her base didn’t get the memo since most of them went into their bomb shelters waiting for Iranian nuclear weapons to strike any minute now.The House is moving forward with @RepSlotkin‘s War Powers Resolution limiting the President’s military actions regarding Iran. The Admin must work with the Congress to advance an immediate, effective de-escalatory strategy which prevents further violence. https://t.co/i3KU9bqWqh pic.twitter.com/9bwnjBMjnz— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 8, 2020You already knew all of this. Now, let’s get to the part you likely didn’t know, the third critical mistake she made. It’s not one that will get much publicity outside of the initial report. For this mistake, what the press tells us about it will make it seem like a nothingburger. But the effect it will have on her caucus is to prompt whispers behind the scenes as dissension quietly rises in her ranks. When all of us have moved on from the minor news, it will stick in the back of the minds of many Democrats who have supported her thus far.The mistake actually happened last month, but it was revealed this week. And while most will ignore it, this will be used by Pelosi’s far-left critics within he caucus as proof that she needs to be replaced even if Democrats retain control of the House after the 2020 elections.In new @TIME profile: Speaker Pelosi got idea to withhold impeachment articles from watching John Dean on CNN. https://t.co/0GuN6o9h9o pic.twitter.com/2llM9dhEdp— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 9, 2020On the surface, it’s not a big deal. But the way it will be portrayed by the increasingly powerful radical progressives in her caucus if President Trump is reelected can be broken down into three bullet points:Pelosi didn’t trust her caucus enough to discuss strategies, but she listened to an old Republican convicted of impeachment crimes being interview on CNNShe didn’t communicate her strategy to her caucus after she made her decision, and as it turned out, she didn’t really have onePresident Trump’s reelection is her fault because she dropped the impeachment ballThey will remain a solid group until the election, and if a Democrat wins the White House while the party retains control of the House, Pelosi will be safe. But if President Trump wins, her John Dean moment will be used as a reason for the hyper-leftist wing of the party to say it’s time to push out the old and bring in the new.At every turn the last few weeks, Nancy Pelosi has demonstrated weakness in both strategy and resolve. Her days as Speaker are numbered whether Democrats retain control of the House or not… as long as President Trump wins reelection.Which he will.Mixi.Media News The post Nancy Pelosi made herself a lame duck Speaker this week appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| Nancy Pelosi held Articles of Impeachment to benefit Joe BidenPosted: 10 Jan 2020 06:07 PM PSTNext week, Nancy Pelosi plans to take her Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, launching the official impeachment hearing that will almost certainly result in President Trump being exonerated. As many Democrats question what the holdup was, our EIC has theory:Conspiracy Theory: Nancy held the Articles of Impeachment so Bernie, Liz, Amy, and Cory would be stuck in DC instead of Iowa ahead of the caucus.Impeachment was launched to protect Joe.Articles were held to benefit Joe.It’s all Joe.Conclusion: Epstein didn’t kill himself.— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) January 11, 2020It’s true that Joe Biden benefited from impeachment because it exposed that the President wanted Ukraine to investigate Burisma, the company that had Hunter Biden on the board. It also happens to be the company Prosecutor General Viktor Slokin was investigating when Biden had Ukraine fire him. Thanks to impeachment, that investigation will likely not move forward and any attempts by the DoJ to look into the matter will be viewed as a political attack.It’s also true that Pelosi’s holding of the Articles until next week will greatly hamper four (well, five if you include Michael Bennet) Senators who will be stuck in DC while Biden is covering up Iowa for the first caucus. Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren will all be at the impeachment trial. Pelosi’s master plan has been revealed. She clearly loves Biden as the candidate and wants to keep his Senatorial opponents locked down in DC. Also, Epstein didn’t kill himself.Mixi.Media News The post Nancy Pelosi held Articles of Impeachment to benefit Joe Biden appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| Matt Gaetz picked the wrong hillPosted: 10 Jan 2020 07:53 AM PSTPresident Trump made an important point at his rally in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday. He said (and I’m paraphrasing) Democrats may be crazy but they are quite good at staying united. He was pointing out how on impeachment, they weren’t completely united which made it an exceptional case. He also knows that on certain issues, they will walk the party line invariably. He then highlighting how House Republicans were united in their opposition to impeachment.Representative Matt Gaetz broke party lines to vote in favor for the Democrats’ Iran War Powers resolution. He wasn’t alone, but he was notable as a staunch Trump supporter who voted against the President’s wishes this time. It seemed like an ideological move, one that under normal circumstances would make sense. I’m a fan of those who will vote for what’s right and best for their constituents and not along party lines 100% of the time. But this was the wrong time. It was the wrong hill for Gaetz’s rising celebrity within the GOP to die on.First, Iran is not the best example as a subject to voice one’s Article I concerns. They have demonstrated they want to kill us. They have taken steps to kill us. They have killed many Americans in recent years and will want to continue doing so until the people they call the “great satan” are finally vanquished. Moreover, there seems to be a fuss over whether or not Qasem Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on United States forces. This point should be moot and, to be fair, I’m disappointed the White House chose to highlight this point at all. The narrative should have been, “He was an American-killing terrorist leader and his death makes Americans safer.”Second, this was a resolution without teeth. It’s symbolic as a concurrent resolution instead of having the legal backing of a joint resolution. As such, it’s pure politics. Some may say that’s the right circumstance for Gaetz to express his concerns since there was no harm so there’s no foul. But in reality, the exact opposite is true. A symbolic concurrent resolution that has no chance of ever being enforced is the time to stand behind the politics of the day, which is Americans supporting the killing of Soleimani and the current path to peace that we’re now on as a result. A resolution with the teeth necessary to hold a President under the constraints of Article I, allowing Congress to maintain full powers of war, is the time to abandon symbolism and vote for what’s right.It’s hard to tell what motivated Gaetz to go down this road despite his explanations, such as his interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson below. At the end, he says President Trump is too smart to be painted by Nancy Pelosi as a pro-war politician. But here’s the thing. This phony war powers resolution with no teeth was 100% intended to paint the President as a pro-war politician. It would have been a great time for Gaetz to vote against the resolution, then explain to the world that he supports restraints on presidential power when it comes to war but wouldn’t support this pseudo-resolution because it was pure partisan- and election-year-jockeying.This was a huge miss for Gaetz. We can agree that every president should be restrained by the Constitution and still acknowledge that Pelosi is playing politics with this toothless resolution. It seems like a “look at me” spotlight move by Gaetz.Mixi.Media News The post Matt Gaetz picked the wrong hill appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| The DC swamp dwellers have no clue how ridiculous they arePosted: 10 Jan 2020 07:25 AM PSTRemember last week, when the drone strike against Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani was going to lead to reinstatement of the draft and World War III?Yes, that was actually a thing–although among the meme makers of the internet, it was largely an opportunity to engage in some merry mischief and crack a few jokes. The mainstream media, on the other hand, treated the subject credulously enough, running stories with terror-inducing headlines such as “Will There Be a Draft? Young People Worry After Military Strike” and “Is Trump really about to start World War III? Here’s what we know,” not to mention parading so-called experts across the cable news shows to discuss how Donald Trump’s reckless actions could spark a conflagration the likes the world had never seen–as this compilation of CNN hot takes from the Media Research Center shows:https://cdn.mrctv.org/videos/32997/32997-480p.mp4So what happened? Well, since we’re all still here and the planet hasn’t turned into a smoldering, radioactive crater, I think we can safely assume that all the talk of a third world war was just a bit premature. And since that eventuality didn’t come to pass the way the media hoped, they’ve moved on to the next phase of the narrative, which consists of casting Soleimani as some kind of a revered statesman greatly beloved by his nation, and how his death represents a great loss not just for Iran but for the rest of the world as well.No, really:Chris Matthews: Soleimani killing on par with deaths of Elvis, Princess Diana pic.twitter.com/Z089Sx3pjl— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 9, 2020Of course, what Chris Matthews neglects to mention is that Iran is governed by a dictatorial regime, and that those “mourners” didn’t have much of a choice in the matter when a squad of goons with guns arrived at their doorstep and kindly requested their presence at Soleimani’s funeral. But then that’s all part and parcel of spinning the narrative in such a way as to make a murderous thug who was directly responsible for hundreds of American military deaths–and who played a major role in a Syrian civil war that killed hundreds of thousands, which led to the refugee crisis in Europe–into a heroic figure murdered in cold blood by an out-of-control American president. What’s splitting a few hairs when it comes to casting Donald Trump as the bad guy in this situation?Like Ron Popeil used to say in those late-nite TV commercials, though, just you wait–there’s more. On the very good chance that the media’s efforts to turn Soleimani into a cuddly teddy bear fall short, they’ve preemptively opened up another offensive–one that assumes mass gullibility, not to mention stupidity, on the part of the American public. It involves the crash of a Ukrainian airliner the night Iran fired a bunch of missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq, which now appears to be the mistaken result of Iranian anti-aircraft fire. Over 170 people were on board, all of whom were killed. Rather than fixing the blame squarely on Iran, however, guess who the media are trying to hold responsible?If Soleimani hadn’t been assassinated, Iran wouldn’t have launched a strike against a US baseIf Iran hadn’t launched the strike, a Ukrainian plane wouldn’t have been shot down176 people lost their lives unnecessarily because of Trump’s reckless foreign policy decisions— Edward Hardy (@EdwardTHardy) January 9, 2020Not to be outdone, Pete Buttigieg–who is running for President, no less–also warbled a similar refrain:Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat.My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all 176 souls lost aboard this flight. https://t.co/zWaVgWxfdL— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) January 9, 2020So even though the Iranians were the only ones firing missiles that night, it’s basically Donald Trump’s fault that one of them shot that Ukrainian airliner out of the sky. Everybody got that?If there’s ever been proof that the denizens of the DC swamp are living in a bubble, this is most decisively it. How else can you explain them not realizing how ridiculous they sound? It was bad enough during the eight long years of Bush Derangement Syndrome, when we used to joke that the President could walk on water and the New York Times would run a headline blaring, “Bush can’t swim!” Now we’re in an era when Donald Trump could give away his entire fortune to charity, and Democrats with their media allies would accuse him of trying to bribe voters. It’s absolutely insane–and every person with even a remotely functioning intellect knows it. That elected Democrats and the media can’t seem to get it through their heads, though, tells you just how much their partisanship has blinded them, and how much of a disservice they are doing to the country.Perhaps Trump was really on to something when he branded them the Enemy of the People.Mixi.Media NewsThe post The DC swamp dwellers have no clue how ridiculous they are appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes.This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Shannon Grove on California budget: ‘$20 million will go towards cracking down on AB5 and limiting worker’s freedom’Posted: 10 Jan 2020 06:40 AM PSTSACRAMENTO – Today, Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) issued the following statement after the Governor announced his 2020-21 budget proposal:‘This year’s budget proposal continues to add to the state’s Rainy Day Fund which Republicans have long pushed for. Money for better emergency preparedness and forest management is overdue. I’m pleased that the governor is continuing to focus on the wildfire efforts with the additional funding for CalFire positions which will help ensure better disaster preparedness and response.‘But too much of this budget is out of touch with everyday Californians. For example, nearly $20 million will go towards cracking down on AB 5 and limiting worker’s freedom, despite the pleas from so many industries to fix the law. This is a clear case of poor prioritization. We should be using this funding to house Californians instead of preventing them from earning an income the way they choose.‘More than 50% of Golden State residents are already considering fleeing because Democrats have imposed high costs on too many basic necessities. The governor offers a lot of new programs, but it’s time to get back to the basics such as lowering the cost of living, ensuring safe communities, providing high-quality education, and serving the disabled.‘Another immediate priority must be tackling the out-of-control homelessness crisis that we all agree on, but California needs to be smart about it. The state has provided significant investments on this issue over the last several years, yet the homeless population dramatically increased in California. Instead of addressing the root-causes of homelessness such as mental health and drug abuse, the Democrats have poorly prioritized their spending,’ said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.Senate Republicans’ priorities (pdf) include the following:Improve Californians’ quality of life by lowering the cost of living and shortening commutes.Address the homelessness crisis by providing shelter and access to mental health services and substance use treatment.Prepare for natural disasters and bring down the high cost of insuring rural homes.Ensure California students have access to higher education and vocational training.Fulfill our longstanding commitment to fund needed services for those with developmental disabilities.Invest in public safety by properly funding our courts and law enforcement efforts.Increase the state’s budget reserves and spending responsibly to prepare for the next recession.Mixi.Media News The post Shannon Grove on California budget: ‘$20 million will go towards cracking down on AB5 and limiting worker’s freedom’ appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| Over $50 million raised for Australia wildfire relief efforts on FacebookPosted: 10 Jan 2020 05:47 AM PSTOver the past week we’ve seen people come together on Facebook in inspiring ways to support the people and wildlife affected by the Australia wildfires, including creating record-breaking fundraisers and groups.People have created more than 19,000 fundraisers on Facebook that have raised over $50 million USD for relief efforts, with support and donations coming from more than 75 countries.Australian actor and comedian Celeste Barber created a fundraiser that has raised more than $34 million USD for fire relief efforts from more than 1 million people around the world, making it the largest-ever fundraiser on Facebook. We know how critical funds are in the wake of a crisis, so we worked to expedite payouts, which began today.Another fundraiser for the NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service has raised more than $9 million USD from nearly 300,000 people to support the millions of species endangered by the wildfires, including 30% of the koala population.People affected by the wildfires are also coming together using Facebook Groups to share information, find important resources and support one another. There are more than 9,000 members in the Bushfire Emergency accommodation in Canberra group connecting people evacuating their homes with those who can provide accommodations. And knitters from around the world are coming together in the Animal Rescue Craft Guild group to create handmade pouches and mittens for injured animals.To help support and amplify our community’s efforts, Facebook has matched AU$1 million (approximately $685,000 USD) in donations made to GlobalGiving, which is directing funds to local, community-led relief organizations in Australia. We also donated AU$250,000 (approximately $171,000 USD) to the Australian Red Cross to support relief and recovery efforts.Thank you to everyone who has donated and supported those affected. We’re inspired by the generosity of people on Facebook and the power of these tools to bring people together and make a difference. There is still much work to be done as the crisis is ongoing, and we hope to continue to be part of a holistic solution.Mixi.Media News The post Over $50 million raised for Australia wildfire relief efforts on Facebook appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
| Liz Wheeler demolishes Virginia’s gun control push in under three minutesPosted: 10 Jan 2020 05:39 AM PSTIn most circumstances, complicated issues such as the gun control debate require a fairly long time to break down and properly contest points from the opposition. I’ve seen documentaries that still barely scratched the surface simply because the elements are far too complex individually, combining to form an overarching set of facts and suppositions that can be used to demonstrate why gun control is a bad idea.There are certain circumstances in which the argument can be made quickly and easily by examining the parts proposed by gun control advocates. Virginia delivered such a circumstance by taking their newfound majorities in the legislature and creating an atmosphere in which an educated and astute gun owners’ rights advocate could expose their full agenda quickly. One America News host Liz Wheeler was such a person and she took 10 of their proposed laws to make it clear they have one goal: subverting the 2nd Amendment altogether.Individually, most of the proposed laws rest firmly in the progressive populist camp that seeks moderates to embrace their proposals. They’re mostly “common sense” gun control laws; in a bubble they do very little to affect most Virginians. But seen as a whole or even as the sum of some of the parts, it’s clear the Democrats have in their ambitions a complete disruption of lawful gun ownership across the state. That’s why Wheeler’s commentary is so important and must be shared. When you look at the package deal, it’s clearly not progressive populism. It’s radical progressivism.Virginia is a bellwether for the nation. It’s arguably the most historically favorable nation for the 2nd Amendment if we go all the way back to when the 2nd Amendment was first written. Guns and Virginia were happy bedfellows then and onward until the leftist surge in the state. But even that surge wasn’t enough, which is why Michael Bloomberg spent millions of dollars pushing his gun control agenda before last year’s decisive election. He and others indoctrinated many voters into believing they needed government to keep them safe.But as conservatives know, taking firearms away from law abiding citizens doesn’t make them safer. It makes them slaves to the authorities and victims to criminals who take advantage of the disarmed population. One need only to look at places like Chicago to see gun control didn’t make a dent in combating “gun violence” (a misnomer since it’s the criminals who are actually perpetrating the violence).If any 2nd Amendment video about Virginia ever needed to go viral, it’s this one. OAN’s Liz Wheeler did an excellent job of framing the narrative as a whole by showing the proposed laws combine for a dangerous gun confiscation monstrosity.Mixi.Media News The post Liz Wheeler demolishes Virginia’s gun control push in under three minutes appeared first on NOQ Report – Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes. |
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| From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann. FIRST READ: Bernie Sanders goes on the attack, reviving memories of 2016Bernie Sanders is now in the lead in Iowa – albeit within the margin of error. And what does he do with that lead three weeks before the first Democratic nominating contest? He and his supporters are on the attack. It’s Bernie vs. the World, as NBC’s Gary Grumbach puts it.REUTERS/Scott MorganOn Saturday night – a day after the Des Moines Register poll showed Sanders narrowly leading the Dem race – his campaign blasted Joe Biden’s vote to authorize the Iraq war. “It is appalling that after 18 years Joe Biden still refuses to admit he was dead wrong on the Iraq War, the worst foreign policy blunder in modern American history,” said senior adviser Jeff Weaver in a statement from the campaign. On Sunday morning, Nina Turner, the national co-chair of Sanders’ campaign, went after Biden on the issue of race in South Carolina. “Will our community side with former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly betrayed black voters to side with Republican lawmakers and undermine our progress?” Turner wrote in a published op-ed in South Carolina’s The State newspaper. And then came the Politico report of a volunteer script from the Sanders campaign that knocks Elizabeth Warren and her support. “The script instructs Sanders volunteers to tell voters leaning toward the Massachusetts senator that the ‘people who support her are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what’ and that ‘she’s bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party,’” Politico writes. “I was disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me,” Warren told NBC’s Ali Vitali on Sunday afternoon. “Democrats want to win in 2020 we all saw the impact of the factualism in 2016 and we can’t have a repeat of that.” Sanders responded afterward, per NBC’s Grumbach: “We have over 500 people on our campaign. People do certain things, I’m sure that in Elizabeth’s campaign, people do certain things as well. But you heard me for months, I have never said a negative word about Elizabeth Warren, who is a friend of mine. We have differences on issues, that’s what campaigning is about. But no one is gonna be attacking Elizabeth.” If this all sounds familiar, it’s similar to what we saw in 2016. Sanders, his supporters and his surrogates – like Weaver and Turner – go on the attack; Sanders downplays or dismisses the attacks; and the party becomes more divided. And the memories of 2016 remain Sanders’ top challenge in winning the Dem nomination and uniting the party in 2020. “Doesn’t surprise me about Bernie,” Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi, a top Warren supporter, told the New York Times. “He went straight to the gutter with Hillary. More of the same.”DATA DOWNLOAD: And the number of the day is… 58 percent58 percent. That’s the share of Iowa Democratic caucus-goers who say they could be persuaded to support a different candidate (45 percent) or say they haven’t decided on a first choice yet (13 percent), according to the latest Des Moines Register/CNN Iowa poll. Four-in-ten said their minds are made up, up 10 percent from November.Trump’s credibility deficit on the Soleimani killingKey Trump national security officials went on the Sunday shows, including “Meet the Press,” to argue that the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was based on an “imminent” security threat. The problem for the Trump administration, however, is that its message has been all over the place – on top of the president’s already-established credibility deficit. Here was the president on Friday night: “I believe it would have been four embassies [under attack]. And I think that, probably, Baghdad already started. Baghdad certainly would have been the lead. But I think it would’ve been four embassies. Could’ve been military bases. Could’ve been a lot of other things, too.” But here was the president’s Defense secretary on CBS yesterday: “Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that he ‘didn’t see’ specific evidence that Iran was readying to attack four U.S. embassies, as President Donald Trump claimed last week, though Esper said he shared Trump’s view that such an attack was ‘probably’ in the works,” per NBC News. “‘What the president said was he believed that it probably and could’ve been attacks against additional embassies,’ Esper told CBS.” And now comes this report from NBC’s Carol E. Lee and Courtney Kube: “President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran’s increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials.” Seven months ago…TWEET OF THE DAY: Now THIS is fake news… 2020 VISION: Buttigieg gets endorsement from Iowa congressmanRep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, endorsed Pete Buttigieg on Sunday, becoming the second member of Iowa’s congressional delegation to pick a side in the Dem 2020 race, Politico writes. Earlier this month, Rep. Abby Finkenauer endorsed Joe Biden. And at publication time this morning, the Biden campaign announced that Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, endorsed the former vice president.On the campaign trail today: It’s a relatively quiet day with tomorrow’s Dem debate in Iowa: Pete Buttigieg holds town halls in Winterset and Ames… Jill Biden stumps for her husband in the Hawkeye State… And Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer and John Delaney also campaign in Iowa.Dispatches from NBC’s campaign embeds: At his first Iowa town hall of 2020 yesterday, Pete Buttigieg was interrupted by protestors from the South Bend Black Lives Matter group, per NBC’s Priscilla Thompson. “Around ten minutes into his speech someone near the stage called for medical support (this was meant to be an attention grabber it seems), at this point a protestor approached the stage and asked Buttigieg a question [that] was inaudible to those not in the immediate area. Buttigieg and the protestors engaged in a brief back and forth, which included a question about Buttigieg’s signature ‘1,000 Houses in 1,000 Days’ program as mayor, which some say disproportionately negatively impacted homeowners of color. Buttigieg told the protester he had his facts wrong.” “Soon ‘Black Lives Matter,’ chants broke out and were drowned out by ‘Boot Edge Edge.’ Eventually the protestors were escorted out shouting ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and ‘Eric Logan’ along the way.THE LID: Steyer’s millionsDon’t miss the pod from Friday, when we looked at how Tom Steyer’s ad spending in early states like Nevada and South Carolina helped him qualify for Tuesday’s Dem debate.ICYMI: News clips you shouldn’t miss Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran’s increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, five current and former senior administration officials tell NBC News. Nancy Pelosi says she doesn’t regret holding on to the articles of impeachment. Pete Williams looks at what Chief Justice John Roberts’ role would be in the impeachment trial. A key New Hampshire union is backing Sanders.Thanks for reading. If you’re a fan, please forward this to a friend. They can sign up here. We love hearing from our readers, so shoot us a line here with your comments and suggestions. Thanks, Chuck, Mark and Carrie. |
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NATIONAL REVIEW
| WITH JIM GERAGHTYJanuary 13 2020The Iranian People Are Taking a StandMonday launches the week with lots of good news: Crowds of ordinary citizens of Iran are marching in the streets, outraged about their government’s lies about the downed passenger airliner; the truce between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is torn to pieces; the old Obama crew comes off the sidelines to hinder Bernie; and a consultant who’s not as well-known as he used to be endorses the presidential candidate that almost everyone has forgotten. But there’s sad news, too, as National Review says farewell to one of Great Britain’s greatest thinkers and writers.May God Bless and Protect the Iranian People in This Dangerous HourWe’ve witnessed the Iranian people marching in the streets against the regime back in 2009 and 2017, but this latest round of angry protests feels a little different. Sometimes these are just flares, brief releases of tension, and sometimes they signify a genie being let out of a bottle. Over in Hong Kong, it is hard to imagine the relationship between the people and the government will ever be quite the same.Think about it: One of the highest priorities of the Iranian regime is to … READ MORE |
| ADVERTISEMENTTRENDING ON NATIONAL REVIEW1. In Taiwan, the Incumbent President’s Big Win Portends a Tough 2020 for China2. Women Deserve Better Than What Michelle Williams Has Had to Live3. Of Course Artificial-Intelligence Startups Are Helping Businesses Fake DiversityTOP STORIESMICHAEL BRENDAN DOUGHERTYRoger Scruton, R.I.P.Roger Scruton may be the only conservative of this generation whose work will be read 100 years …NR PLUSWhat Was It For?Impeachment may be another moral victory for the Democrats, but it’s a political fight they will lose at great …SCOTT SEGRESTA Critical Defense of Common SenseA guide for getting back in touch with …NEWSGaetz Tried to Rally Republicans to Support War Powers Resolution, Angering TrumpThe Democrat-led resolution passed Thursday in a 224-194 vote along party lines, with three Republicans voting in …ZACHARY EVANSAnti-Semitic Attacks Shine Spotlight on Long-Simmering Tri-State TensionsAttacks in Jersey City, N.J. and Monsey, N.Y. bring national attention to political fights between the region’s …NEWSAOC’s Reelection Campaign Keeps Half of All Donations to ‘Working-Class Champions’ PACOcasio-Cortez framed the “Courage to Change” PAC as a progressive alternative to the Democratic Congressional …WHAT NR IS READINGThe Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and FreeBY RICHARD LOWRY“Makes an original and compelling case for nationalism . . . A fascinating, erudite—and much-needed—defense of a hallowed idea unfairly under current attack.” — Victor Davis HansonLEARN MOREPODCASTSEpisode 69: Legal and Strategically… Episode 185: All about the AUMF PHOTOSApple’s Robot iPhone Recycler Top Shots VIDEOState Department Says… Justice Department… NRPLUS ARTICLESDo the Right Thing in Paris The Art of Posters Ready for Election Season?National Review subscribers get the most out of National Review. Don’t miss out.SEE MY OPTIONSADVERTISEMENTFollow Us & Share19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser. |
CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY
| Highlighted Articles/InterviewsVOA talked to Clare Lopez about Kataeb Hezbollah boss before drone strikeFleitz: In terminating Soleimani, Trump ‘laid down a marker’ for Iran’s mullahsHow a CIA officer should file a whistleblowing complaint against the PresidentAs Iran planned attacks on US, Russia & China held naval maneuvers with IranQassem Soleimani ran IED program to kill American & Coalition troopsIran’s red flag of war flies over JamkaranRight after the US eliminated Iran’s Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian regime raised the Red Flag of War over the mosque in Jamkaran.The highly symbolic gesture holds great significance. It symbolizes the declaration of a blood feud to avenge a grievance. Read the article by Center Vice President for Research and Analysis, Clare Lopez.Taiwan votes for freedom, we must help her secure itOn Saturday, freedom was powerfully affirmed by the Taiwan’s electorate. In a stunning rebuke to Communist China and the mainland’s efforts to impose its will on the island – as it has tried to do in Hong Kong, voters gave a 20-point margin of victory to their incumbent President, Tsai Ing-wen, and a strong mandate to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty. In response, the Chinese Communist Party is insisting that reunification is inevitable, whether the Taiwanese want it or not. The not-so-subtle implication is that force will be used to seize the island. And Beijing is increasingly equipped with ballistic missiles, amphibious ships, sealift and a fleet of some three-thousand passenger aircraft that can enable a no-notice invasion.Now that Taiwan’s voters have courageously repudiated the PRC, the United States must find new ways of deterring Chinese threats to their freedoms – and ours.This is Frank Gaffney.With Ken Timmerman, Sam Faddis, Jim Fanell, and Joe BoscoKEN TIMMERMAN, President and CEO of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, Author of Deception: The Making of the YouTube Video Hillary and Obama Blamed for Benghazi, Author of Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi, Nationally recognized investigative reporter:Qassem Soleimani’s importance to IranHow Iranians have reacted to the media’s portrayal of the killing of SoleimaniSAM FADDIS, Former CIA Ops Officer, Spent twenty years as an Operations officer in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, Former Candidate for Congress:Will the US ever find peace with the Iranian regime?Does the US need to be involved in the Middle East anymore?The dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weaponJAMES FANELL, Retired from US Navy in 2015 concluding 30 year career as a naval intelligence officer specializing in Indo-Asia Pacific security affairs with an emphasis on the Chinese Navy, Assignments included tours as the Assistant Chief of Staff for intelligence for the U.S. Seventh Fleet aboard the USS Blue Ridge, the Office of Naval Intelligence China Senior Intelligence Officer, etc., Former National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University:Significance of the recent naval exercise by Russia, Iran, and China in the Indian OceanAn update on Hong KongAn overview of the upcoming election in TaiwanJOE BOSCO, Former China Country Director, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Member of the U.S.-China task force at the Center for National Interest:An update on China’s use of the South China SeaChina’s increasing presence in the North and South PolesThe political warfare China has been waging against AustraliaTWEET OF THE DAYRetweet, like, and comment!DONATEView this email in your browser Copyright © 2020 Center for Security Policy, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 189 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 835-9077 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |
MANHATTAN INSTITUTE
| January 13, 2020Featuring the latest analysis, commentary, and research from Manhattan Institute scholarsNEW YORK CITY & STATEPhoto: LightFieldStudios/iStockHow New Jersey Did Bail Reform Better Than New York“[Anyone] comparing New York’s bail reform to New Jersey’s needs to understand how pretrial detention is handled in the two states.” By Rafael Mangual New York Post January 12, 2020 Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesHow the NYPD Is Counting Homicides Wrong“Pop quiz: Was New York’s murder rate up 3 percent last year, or 8 percent? … [Under] the city’s archaic system of recording murders, you could use either figure, whichever suits your narrative.” By Nicole Gelinas New York Post January 13, 2020 Photo: Utica, in upstate New York (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)One State, Two StoriesIn economic fortunes and political leanings, New York is split dramatically along regional lines. By E. J. McMahon City Journal Winter 2020 Issue Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesAlbany’s Self-Inflicted Medicaid CrisisNew Yorkers will suffer the consequences of the program’s ballooning deficits. By Bill Hammond City Journal Online January 10, 2020 ECONOMY & FINANCEPhoto: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesTrump’s Vast Deregulatory Landscape Goes Unnoticed by the Experts“The myriad deregulatory actions of the Trump administration are generating considerable cost savings, savings that even conservative critics of regulatory overreach are underestimating.” By Casey B. Mulligan Economics21 January 13, 2020 HEALTH POLICYPhoto: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesAre Health Insurance Premiums Really a Tax?“Under Warren’s Medicare for All proposals … paying for health-care benefits would drive up the cost of compensating workers, because the policy would involve an actual tax increase, rather than an effective tax cut.” By Chris Pope Economics21 January 13, 2020 POLITICSPhoto: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesSenate Republicans Are Not ‘Obstructionist’Or else Senate Democrats are, too By Brian Riedl National Review January 27, 2020, Issue Photo: Lindsey Parnaby – WPA Pool/Getty ImagesBlue-Collar Conservatism in Britain?Boris Johnson’s party answers to a different voting coalition—and could deliver major reforms, especially in housing policy. By Oliver Wiseman City Journal Online January 10, 2020 NATIONAL SECURITYPhoto: Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesOman’s Sultan Was a Valuable Friend to AmericaQaboos helped in the Iran hostage crisis and the Gulf War and was a voice for moderation in the region. By Judith Miller The Wall Street Journal January 13, 2020 PODCASTPhoto: deberarr/iStockRent Control: Unjust and IneffectiveManhattan Institute’s Michael Hendrix interviews Mayer Brown partner Andrew Pincus, the lead attorney in a lawsuit taking on New York State’s sweeping rent-regulation laws. FEATURED BOOKPhoto: Manhattan InstituteDigital CathedralsToday’s global Cloud is society’s first foundationally new infrastructure in nearly a century. It is comprised of thousands of warehouse-scale computers and history’s biggest network of “information superhighways.” Powering this data behemoth consumes more energy than all global aviation. Yet, as disruptive as the Cloud has already become, we are only at the end of the beginning of what digital masons are building for the 21st century. In Digital Cathedrals, Mark Mills explores this new infrastructure through the lens of energy demand, and the implications for policymakers and regulators, who will be increasingly tempted—or enjoined—to engage issues of competition, fairness, and even social disruptions, along with the challenges of abuse of market power, both valid and trumped up.Buy NowCIVIL SOCIETY AWARDSNominations are open for the Manhattan Institute’s 2020 Civil Society Awards. This fall, four winners will each receive a $25,000 award for their efforts to keep our social fabric from fraying, assist those who need it most, and help people change the course of their lives. Nominate an outstanding nonprofit by March 20, 2020. Learn more at civilsocietyawards.com.SUBMIT A NOMINATIONManhattan Institute is a think tank whose mission is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility. 52 Vanderbilt Ave. New York, NY 10017 (212) 599-7000SUPPORT MICopyright © 2020 Manhattan Institute, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Manhattan Institute52 Vanderbilt Ave.New York, NY 10017 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list View this email in your browser |
BERNARD GOLDBERG
| A new post from Bernie.Trump, Soleimani, and Partisan Politics … in an Election YearBy Bernard Goldberg on Jan 13, 2020 02:00 am Below is a sneak peek of this content! Fair-minded people may reasonably speculate on the wisdom of President Trump’s decision to eliminate Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani. It’s understandable that politicians would have questions about a presidential order to take out the second most powerful person in Iran. Why now? … CONTINUE Read More » More to read:Bernie’s Q&A: Trump/Soleimani, Megyn Kelly, Royal Family Drama, and more! (1/10) — Premium Interactive ($4 members) Off the Cuff: Good Journalism vs. Good Racial Manners Democrats Game Plan for 2020: Bash the Rich Bernie’s Q&A: Christianity Today, Chuck Todd, Evangelicals, the Monsey Attack, and more! (1/3) — Premium Interactive ($4 members) Off the Cuff: About My Friend, Don Imus…Become A FanFollow on TwitterForward to a FriendWant emails sent directly to you?SIGN UP NOW In this issue:Trump, Soleimani, and Partisan Politics … in an Election Year Want to Help Spread the Word? Forward this Email!About BernieBernard Goldberg, the television news reporter and author of Bias, a New York Times number one bestseller about how the media distort the news, is widely seen as one of the most original writers and thinkers in broadcast journalism. He has covered stories all over the world for CBS News and has won 13 Emmy awards for excellence in journalism. He won six Emmys at CBS, and seven at HBO, where he now reports for the widely acclaimed broadcast Real Sports. [Read More…] Bernie’s Amazon Page follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2020 BernardGoldberg.com, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences |