MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – OCTOBER 3, 2019

Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Thursday October 3, 2019.

WASHINGTON FREE BEACON

Buttigieg Says He Would Not Execute 9/11 Mastermind By Charles Fain Lehman Soros Gives Planned Parenthood Va. Its Largest Outside Contribution Ever By Joe Schoffstall Warren Laughs at Harris’s Plan to Kick Trump Off Twitter By Nic Rowan Human Cash Incinerator Jon Ossoff Revs Up for Round 2 By Andrew Stiles Biden Expresses Support for National Gun Registration ‘Down the Line’ By Stephen Gutowski Sanders Suspends Campaign After Heart Surgery By Nic Rowan Steyer Pushes Debunked Claims of 2016 Wisconsin Voter Suppression By Todd Shepherd Rifle Murders Declined Nearly 24 Percent, FBI Report Shows By Stephen Gutowski Vegan Organization Sics FTC on Academic Journal For Study Promoting Red Meat By Alex Griswold Libs Owned Again: D.C. Journalism Museum to Close Amid Financial Difficulties By Andrew Stiles CBS Anchor: Al Gore Won the 2000 Election By Andrew Kugle You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website. Copyright © 2019 Free Beacon, LLC, All rights reserved.  To reject freedom, click here. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

THE DAILY SIGNAL

Oct 03, 2019
  Good morning from Washington, where President Trump is fighting mad about the continuing insiders’ game to cripple or end his presidency. Fred Lucas reports highlights of a memorable press conference. On the podcast, theology professor Bruce Ashford explains Marxism’s roots as a false religion. Plus: Olivia Enos on what the violence in Hong Kong means, Ted Bromund on crunch time for Brexit, Jude Schwalbach on one mom’s remarkable championing of school choice for poor kids, and our Problematic Woman of the week. On this date in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announces an official Thanksgiving holiday.  
  Commentary Hong Kong’s ‘Shot Heard Around the World’ Will Continue to Reverberate The shooting of an 18-year-old protester by a police officer represents the sharpest uptick in violence since the Hong Kong protests against Chinese control began. More News Trump Decries ‘Scandal’ That Democrat Foe Involved in Whistleblower Complaint The president calls the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee a “fraud” while offering rare praise of The New York Times in a contentious White House press conference. More Commentary How 1 Woman Helped DC’s Underprivileged Kids to Find School Success Virginia Walden Ford helped nearly 9,000 children attend their school of choice in the nation’s capital. Her story is told in the upcoming movie “Miss Virginia.” More Analysis The Gospel of Marx: A False Religion Explained “Any time you take some aspect of the natural order and elevate it to a level of ultimacy, absolutize it, you’ve got yourself an idol or a false religion. And I think Marx did that with material equality,” theologian and author Bruce Ashford says. More Commentary It’s Crunch Time for Brexit. Here’s How It Could Happen. Those who oppose Brexit have lost the argument, which means leaving the European Union will stay on Britain’s agenda no matter how long it’s delayed. More Commentary Problematic Women: Transgender Funeral Home Case Could Set New Precedents This case could have major implications across the country for sex-segregated spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms. More News 3 Things to Know About Paul Ray, Trump’s Pick for Top Deregulator To carry on his aggressive deregulation agenda, the president taps the lawyer who has been running the office since March. More Commentary Today’s Christians Gather in 3 Camps When It Comes to Presidents Perhaps instead of trashing politicians they don’t like and revering other ones, politically conservative Christians should contemplate another powerful verse. More  
   
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THE EPOCH TIMES

View this email in your browser Today’s newsletter is sponsored by GSI Exchange. GSI helps investors convert their savings into Gold or Silver and rollover IRA or 401(k) into physical precious metals, tax-free and penalty free.
“No one is educated who knows only one side of an argument.”

JOHN STUART MILL Good morning!

The ‘Spygate’ investigations into the origins of the probes into the Trump campaign in 2016 have now expanded overseas.

Attorney General William Barr and US Attorney for Connecticut, John Durham, are receiving assistance from Australia, Italy, and the UK, in their probe. 

Read the full article here

  DOJ Tells White House to Keep Notes of Trump’s Calls With Foreign Leaders

NPR Reporter Alleges Pence Was on Ukraine Call, Forced to Issue Correction: ‘I Misheard This’

Cities in North America Fly Chinese Flag on Regime’s Anniversary, Drawing Ire From Local Groups

Kamala Harris Gets $11 Million in Third Quarter, Andrew Yang Raises $10 Million

  The administration of President Donald Trump has redirected nearly $34 million from Planned Parenthood and other entities to nonabortion family planning providers that agreed to comply with the administration’s rule generally prohibiting abortion referrals by the funds’ recipients. Read more Former intelligence operatives are expressing shock and disappointment at the intelligence community’s handling of a complaint lodged against President Donald Trump related to his phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read more Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr in early June outlining her belief that the government targeted Flynn for “concocted and political purposes” in order to “take out” President Donald Trump. Read more The United States and Finland agreed to strengthen cooperation on defense and fifth-generation wireless technology (5G) in the face of growing Chinese and Russian challenges in the Arctic. Read more Republican congressional leaders accused Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Democrats of rigging the impeachment scheme after news broke that Schiff was in contact with the whistleblower before the complaint against President Donald Trump was filed. Read more Parents are calling teen vaping a more severe health crisis than any in decades and are warning others of the risks of electronic cigarettes as the number of deaths and lung illnesses associated with the devices continue to rise. Read more
  See More Top Stories Attention: If you Currently Own or are Considering Buying Physical Precious Metals for your portfolio, please read carefully.

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Click here to claim your complimentary copy of our exclusive Bank Failure Survival Guide while supplies last Impeachment Stands No Chance of Success
By Stephen Meister

Under Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, conviction on an impeachment resolution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate—today, 67 of 100 senators. Even if all 45 Democratic senators were to vote in favor of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, 22 of the 53 Republicans and two independents would have to join them for the effort to succeed. Since 12 Democratic senators have already come out against impeachment… Read more Trump vs. Iran: How Did Trump Become the Villain?
By Larry Elder

Of the numerous reasons that opponents of President Donald Trump offer for their hatred of the president, the criticism over his withdrawal of the Iran deal is among the most difficult to follow. That these critics blame Trump for Iran’s recent aggressive behavior is even more bizarre. Iran attacks oil tankers and bombs Saudi Arabian oil facilities and Trump becomes the villain? Read more
  See More Opinions Understanding the Financial System
By Valentin Schmid
(July 5, 2016)

It was in the late 1990s when Willem Middelkoop finally figured it out. He came home from work one day and told his girlfriend: “I understand the financial system.” This may seem ironic because Willem is not a banker, financier, or an economist. Or maybe not, because most mainstream economists and bankers have a horrible track record at predicting market movements or major shifts in the financial system. Read more Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz finished his almost 2-year-long investigation into alleged abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court earlier this month and turned in his draft report to Attorney General William Barr. That report is currently undergoing classification review, after which it will be put into its final form and publicly released. When that happens, the entire sordid truth about the 2016 election and its aftermath will be laid bare at last. The Impeachment Theater Won’t Stop The Spygate Fallout Copyright © 2019 The Epoch Times, All rights reserved.


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THE RESURGENT

The Resurgent’s Morning Briefing for October 3,2019 View this email in your browser Share Tweet Forward Good morning,

Here is all the news conservatives need to know to start their day.  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.  

I Support the President I’ll be honest, there are days I wish someone else were President. It is not easy to support the President. Many of my friends detest him. Many of his supporters are more uncivil towards a person like me than his opponents are. I support the President, but I have a hard time cheering. There is much to not like. But there is even more to not like on the left. To support the President and not cheer on everything he does is to be the hostage tied on top of the bull in the china shop. Still, I do not see an impeachable offense. If I see one, I will not support the President. What I see are a bunch of people who have despised the President since I did who have never come to terms with him who are now just recycling arguments lost on voters in 2016 in the least persuasive fashion possible. I am unaware of any person on the national stage right now tweeting “I cannot believe you could support him” who was not thinking the same thing in 2016, if less dogmatically. What I see is a group of people who have interpreted every single thing the President has done in the worst possible light to continue to do so. What I have seen are the people who were wrong about Hillary Clinton winning and wrong about Russia working with Trump to steal the election and wrong about so many other things now doubling down in self-righteousness with very little humility and absolutely no charity. A lot of people outraged at evangelicals sticking with Trump are modeling a graceless hypocrisy and a sinful impatience. What I also see is a Democratic Party and a media operation that started saying we were at a turning point in February of 2017 and before we even rolled into 2018 were talking about impeachment. They have wanted this moment all along. We have reached so many turning points, breaking points, tipping points, bombshells, and surprises that Washington should resemble Beirut circa 1988. The post I Support the President appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


Please Pray for the ERLC Today The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission starts its national conference today in Dallas, TX. They are focusing on abuse in the church and the care of survivors. It is a sensitive subject and one that is very painful for a lot of people. I am very proud of Dr. Russell Moore and my friends at […] The post Please Pray for the ERLC Today appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


This Is How Trump Will Go Democrats don’t need to convince the public of Trump’s impeachable conduct. They only need to convince enough Republicans who are willing to oust him. The post This Is How Trump Will Go appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


NY Times Leaves Out KEY DETAIL About Adam Schiff’s Coordination With Whistleblower I told you all this was coordinated and many of you didn’t want to believe me. You were willing to dismiss a clear pattern because you wanted to believe. But the New York Times is reporting that Adam Schiff coordinated with the whistleblower. The Democratic head of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff […] The post NY Times Leaves Out KEY DETAIL About Adam Schiff’s Coordination With Whistleblower appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


2020 is going to suck like never before for Big Tech. Here’s the secret reason why. Big Tech is under fire in Washington, D.C. like never before. But come January 2020, the amount of scrutiny of the industry could vastly increase, thanks to action planned by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Tillis chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. In that capacity, he’s been telling lobbyists for Big Tech firms […] The post 2020 is going to suck like never before for Big Tech. Here’s the secret reason why. appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


UC Berkeley Poll: 52% of California Voters Have Thought About Leaving the State A new UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies (IGS) poll released on September 27th, 2019, revealed half of California’s registered voters have thought about leaving the Golden State. They polled 4,327 registered voters from September 13-18, 2019. For example, their findings found that respondents “admit to having given serious (24%) or some (28%) consideration recently […] The post UC Berkeley Poll: 52% of California Voters Have Thought About Leaving the State appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


One Israel Fund Creates Innovative Solutions to Prevent Tragedies Since 9/11, and more recently due to senseless acts of violence, Americans have started to have some concern about random acts of terror. For fifty years, the residents of Judea and Samaria have lived with this constant threat. For hundreds of thousands of Jews living in this area that was home to the Jewish people […] The post One Israel Fund Creates Innovative Solutions to Prevent Tragedies appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


Our Corporate Overlords Banks are increasingly the vehicle for pushing the progressive agenda. The post Our Corporate Overlords appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


LIVE: The Erick Erickson Show – HUGE Upset in Georgia and Trump Outraised Obama? The Erick Erickson Show is live! Here’s the plan for today. Hour 1 Sakrison v Singleton Big freaking deal Outspent by tens of thousands Sakrison ahead till Ralston Popular with notable name Lost with 41% GOP gonna have problems The President and the conspiracy theories No harm with Barr going Feedback amplification by media objections […] The post LIVE: The Erick Erickson Show – HUGE Upset in Georgia and Trump Outraised Obama? appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »


Reminder: Be Careful With Media Analysis of the President’s Travails We have been here before. The post Reminder: Be Careful With Media Analysis of the President’s Travails appeared first on The Resurgent.  Read in browser »




  Recent Items: Remember, 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 Erickson THE RESURGENT Facebook Twitter Instagram Copyright © 2019 The Resurgent Media Group, LLC, All rights reserved.


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THE FLIP SIDE

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Thursday, October 3, 2019 Warren Rising in the Polls “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) leads the Democratic primary field by 4 points in the latest Economist/YouGov weekly tracking survey, leapfrogging former Vice President Joe Biden.” The Hill From the Left The left supports Warren’s policies, and believes she has a solid chance of winning the nomination. “Working together, Sanders and Warren have been incredibly effective not just in making the case for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and all the other issues that are common ground for them but also in dramatically widening the entire left lane of American politics. Thanks to Sanders’s political courage and consistency and Warren’s skillful, steady push at the boundaries of political possibility, ideas once dismissed as radical now dominate the Democratic debates… 

“At some point, we probably will have to choose. The Iowa caucuses in early February should help clarify matters, and the New Hampshire primary the following week is a test of strength both Sanders and Warren need to win. Until then, though, we hope the two candidates maintain their truce, competing to outdo each other in the boldness of their ideas and the breadth and passion of their support—but also continuing to have each other’s backs. This country has never been in greater need of bold progressive leadership. Or, arguably, been more open to radical solutions to the problems we face. Warren and Sanders show every sign of knowing that.”
D.D. Guttenplan, The Nation

“Sure, it’s theoretically possible that some entrepreneurs and investors might work less hard because of a 2 percent annual tax on their holdings above $50 million (the tax threshold under the Warren plan), thus sapping economic growth. But it’s more likely that any such effect would be small — and more than outweighed by the return that the economy would get on the programs that a wealth tax would finance, like education, scientific research, infrastructure and more. Those basic investments all have a long record of lifting economic growth… 

“Don’t be fooled by the scaremongering. A wealth tax would have a significant effect on the economy’s distribution but probably only a modest effect on the growth rate. And if anything, the tax is likely to be pro-growth. Of course, the people who would lose money from a wealth tax understand that defending today’s severe levels of inequality isn’t a very persuasive argument. Instead, they have opted to make flimsy predictions about how a wealth tax would somehow end up hurting the nonwealthy.”
David Leonhardt, New York Times

Regarding Warren’s plan to break up the tech giants, “Breaking up Facebook is far from the worst thing that could happen to the company… No, the real nightmare for Zuckerberg is not being broken up, but being regulated. And the more Facebook integrates its various pieces into one big platform, the easier it will be to monitor, legislate and penalize… With her penchant for big government and detailed plans, Elizabeth Warren may be the only candidate willing to finally parent and discipline petulant CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg.”
Douglas Rushkoff, CNN

While “she almost certainly won’t see donations from Tim Cook or Larry Page… Warren is making significant inroads with some of tech’s wealthiest Democrats… the two dozen tech executives, investors, and veteran fundraisers who spoke with Recode outlined three key reasons why their industry is making this unexpected shift toward Warren: They say they respect her policy rigor. They see her as less radical than once imagined (and especially when compared to Bernie Sanders). And perhaps most importantly, she has a reasonable path to winning the nomination, and there’s nothing Silicon Valley loves more than a winner… 

“Above all else, Silicon Valley leaders value in a candidate what they value in their C-suites: intense competency. Analysts have widely praised Warren for running one of 2020’s most effective campaigns, and fundraisers say that has endeared her to donors who aren’t predisposed to like her but who admire her execution.”
Theodore Schleifer, Vox

“In phase one of the 2020 presidential campaign, Warren’s team largely achieved what it set out to do: a slow and steady rise to frontrunner status… Rather than running on a core message about electability and beating Trump, Warren’s campaign has been characterized by its relentless dedication to rooting out corruption in Washington, DC… Warren doesn’t have the same immediate pressure as Biden on the Trump and Ukraine scandal. Nonetheless, it gives her another opening to hammer her message of anti-corruption, especially with the current administration embodying much of what she opposes.”
Ella Nilsen, Vox

“The thinking behind Warren’s tax on lobbying expenditures is slightly different ― maybe even opposed to ― the restrictions on lobbying usually considered by Congress. It can be argued that some of these restrictions have simply had the effect of making lobbying less transparent ― as more people involved in the influence industry find loopholes to evade registering as lobbyists. The tax, however, is simply a mechanism to deter excessive lobbying ― or at least impose a cost on it.”
Paul Blumenthal, Huffington Post

Dated But Relevant: “Critics of the Massachusetts senator’s DNA gaffe remain unsatisfied with her response—and the establishment media has no idea how to handle it… 

“Reality is such that Warren can’t come out and call her grandparents liars and profess the fact that she’s white and knows she always has been, both because that would be harmful to her campaign—which has gained a tremendous amount of steam over the past six months—and because nobody, politician or not, is going to publicly, posthumously, call out their grandparents… But, to her critics’ point, all her apologies thus far have felt either overly calculated or forced upon her, to a degree that undermines the genuine nature she typically exudes… For me, it has not been difficult to admit that Warren is among the best available options for Indian Country and also simultaneously believe she still has some making up to do.”
Nick Martin, New Republic From the Right The right is critical of Warren’s policy proposals, arguing that they would be harmful or unconstitutional. “Elizabeth Warren might be rising in the primary polls, but there’s one group of Democratic voters who view her nomination as a worst-case result: Wall Street Democrats… For one thing, Warren has pushed for an unprecedented (and likely unconstitutional) wealth tax — that is, a tax on net worth, not income. Wealth taxes’ widespread record of failure in European countries where they were implemented apparently of no concern to the senator, who is too busy pandering to the far left… she’s literally boasting about how much business fears her presidency. That’s right, she’s proud of the threat her campaign poses to the economy… it’s only common sense that Warren’s radical anti-capitalist plans would prove a bridge too far for even Democrats in the business industry.”
Brad Polumbo, Washington Examiner

“Portraying herself as Wall Streets’ boogeyman will certainly appeal to a certain segment of the Democratic Party. The problem with this is that campaigns do run on money and not just presidential campaigns. The DNC has been struggling to raise cash for months. While the RNC raised more than $20 million in June and again in July, the DNC raised just over $16 million in those two months combined. In August, the RNC set a fundraising record for this year bringing in $23.5 million while the DNC raised just under $8 million (and the DNC spent more than it raised last month). Selecting Warren as the nominee may present a real challenge to turning those numbers around.”
John Sexton, Hot Air

“Senator Warren has made a crusade of interfering with the business of payday lending, a high-risk, high-interest portion of the consumer-credit game in which borrowers with few or no alternatives take out unsecured short-term loans intended to tide them over until the next payday… It looks like a terrible arrangement, until you ask the always-relevant question: Compared with what? People do not turn to payday lenders because they temporarily misplaced their American Express Platinum cards. Borrowers turn to payday lenders because those are, as the borrowers calculate, their best alternative — maybe their best bad alternative, but their best alternative nonetheless… 

“As the payday lenders themselves are eager to point out, their allegedly usurious interest rates compare pretty favorably with the plausible alternatives: bank-overdraft fees, or late fees and penalties on credit-card debt, utility bills, and housing payments. The real-world near competitors to payday lending — pawn shops and car-title loans — do not have a great deal to recommend them, and in many cases they are worse for borrowers than payday loans are… Simply cutting the poor off from credit is one way to keep them from going more deeply into debt, but that will produce consequences nobody will much like, the poor themselves least of all.”
Kevin Williamson, National Review

While Warren’s plan to break up the tech giants “may sound laudable for conservatives plagued by online platforms’ habits of silencing or curtailing their voices on these systems… Rather than just breaking up these platforms and allowing real competitive pressures to incentivize more responsiveness and openness, Warren would replace their current biased leadership with government-managed regulatory regimes… 

“Electricity, gas, and water are necessities for maintaining a basic quality of life, whereas Facebook and Google most decidedly are not. If the federal government sees them as monopolies, then break them apart and leave the components to sink or swim on their own against start-ups that emerge as the markets open up. Turning them into ‘utilities’ will only perpetuate their status as monopolies, as the necessary regulation needed to deal with that will all but kill any start-ups that might challenge them.”
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air

Regarding Warren’s proposal to tax lobbying expenditures, “[the problem] is that it runs smack up against the First Amendment, which states that, ‘Congress shall make no law… abridging… the right of the people… to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’ Given that businesses have the constitutional right to lobby, Congress cannot pass a law explicitly aimed at curbing their ability to exercise that right by way of a punitive tax. If that were the case, a federal government frustrated with media coverage could levy special taxes on publishing or could crack down on protesters by imposing a punitive tax on protesting… 

“Curbing lobbying is a worthy goal. But the way to curb lobbying is to shrink the power of the federal government over the economy, so that changes to taxes, spending, and regulations in Washington do not have such a dramatic influence on the fortunes of corporations.”
Philip Klein, Washington Examiner

Finally, “I suppose people think that the controversy over Warren’s past claims of Native American ancestry has been put to bed, with Warren rising in the polls because she has plans for everything, including for Native Americans. But in fact, the controversy has not been put to bed, and it shouldn’t be… She claims that her belief in her Cherokee heritage came from longstanding family lore. But the fact that she participated in the now-cringe-inducing Pow Wow Chow cookbook and plagiarized her recipes from a French cookbook suggests a certain awareness that she was perpetrating a racial fraud… 

“Warren has repeatedly claimed over the years that her parents’ marriage was rejected by racist grandparents because of her mother’s Cherokee ancestry. But Cherokee genealogist Twila Barnes has said there’s simply no evidence of Cherokee genealogy in Warren’s family. Warren’s mother was not some racial outcast, but the popular daughter of a prominent local family. And there’s no evidence of the romantic elopement, or racist animus on the part of her paternal grandfather, Grant Herring, who regularly played golf with Carnal Wheeling, a recognized Cherokee.”
Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review On the bright side…

Costco Is Selling An Advent Calendar Filled With 24 Cans Of Beer.
Delish Our volunteer 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! Share Tweet Forward Sign Up Here Copyright © 2019 The Flip Side, All rights reserved.


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Larry J. SABATO’S CRYSTAL BALL

IN THIS ISSUE:

– The Senate: Ratings Changes and the Shadow of Impeachment – Republicans Hunt for Safer Ground in Shifting Southern California THE SENATE: RATINGS CHANGES AND THE SHADOW OF IMPEACHMENT
By Kyle Kondik
Managing Editor, Sabato’s Crystal Ball

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Nationalization is an increasingly important trend in American election outcomes. It’s hard to think of a more nationalizing issue than a presidential impeachment. — Vulnerable members on both sides in the Senate will have a lot to consider if and when they have to cast a vote on convicting President Trump in a potential Senate impeachment trial. — There are two Senate ratings changes this week, one benefiting each side. The most vulnerable senator, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), moves from Toss-up to Leans Republican, while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up. Table 1: Crystal Ball Senate ratings changes Senator Old Rating New Rating Doug Jones (D-AL) Toss-up Leans Republican Thom Tillis (R-NC) Leans Republican Toss-up Map 1: Crystal Ball Senate ratings Ratings changes and impeachment A major overall theme in American political life is the nationalization of politics. How people feel about the president is bleeding down the ballot to an extreme degree, to the point where congressional expert Gary Jacobson observed that the 2018 midterm was “the most sweeping national referendum on any administration at least since the Great Depression.” This helps explain the 2018 results, when Democrats swept the House but lost ground in the Senate because they held too many seats in states that had trended so far to the right in presidential races. This trend showed up in 2016, too. Every state with a Senate race voted for the same party for Senate and for president for the first time in the history of Senate popular elections. Nationalization seems very germane when assessing the Democrats’ drive for impeaching President Trump in the House and the possibility of an impeachment trial in the Senate. In what is already a nationalized political time, impeachment may be the ultimate nationalizing event for members of the House and the Senate. An up-or-down vote on the continuation of the Trump presidency in advance of a presidential general election would be an unprecedented event in our lifetimes, and it would be occurring in a time when down-ballot politics is more defined by opinions of presidents than in any time in most, if not all, of our lifetimes as well. It would make sense, therefore, that the impeachment vote would most potentially threaten members of Congress who occupy seats in enemy partisan territory. Let’s take a look at the Senate, where the president would be tried if the House impeaches him. Only a little more than a third of the Senate is up in 2020 (35 out of the 100 seats), so while certain members of the Senate not up for reelection next year might be unpredictable votes on impeachment, like Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) or Joe Manchin (D-WV), let’s just focus on the seats up next year. If there is a major political fallout over impeachment one way or the other, one would expect it to happen in this cycle as opposed to future ones, when this impeachment battle may be, politically speaking, ancient history (and it may be ancient history by November 2020, given how quickly the news cycle moves these days). The senator on the ballot next year who most clearly represents the enemy territory we referred to above is Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL). He most clearly needs to attract a significant amount of crossover support next year, given that Trump won Alabama by 28 points in 2016. Jones can’t be looking forward to a possible impeachment vote, because he’d either let down his party base if he votes to acquit, or burn some already rickety bridges with Trump voters if he votes to convict. In truth, our Toss-up rating in Alabama was being generous to Jones; it should be more like Leans Republican, particularly in a hyper-nationalized political environment. While it’s true Jones may again face Roy Moore, his disastrously bad GOP opponent from the December 2017 special election, in all likelihood another Republican should win the nomination, and even Moore vs. Jones would probably be a Toss-up, at best, for the Democrat. So we’re moving this race to Leans Republican, formalizing Jones as the most vulnerable incumbent of either party next year. The one possible exception might be Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), who faces a stiff primary challenge from Rep. Joe Kennedy (D, MA-4), but that seat is safe for the Democrats either way. Other Democrats up next year who may have trouble with a Senate vote represent Trump’s smallest win by margin, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), and his smallest loss, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). We have both rated as Leans Democratic, matching our Electoral College ratings in those states. Neither appears to be leading the Democratic drumbeat on impeachment. Caution is also evident so far in the cases of Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who are the only two Republicans up for reelection next year from states Hillary Clinton won in 2016 — in fact, they are the only two Clinton-state Republican senators, period. But their states are not quite as blue as commonly believed. Colorado’s turn toward the Democrats is only recent, and Clinton carried it by five points — a respectable victory margin, for sure, but not an overwhelming one. Maine, meanwhile, only backed Clinton by three, very similar to her national margin of victory. Gardner and Collins are keeping their opinions close to their vests, and the nationalization trend could hurt both of them: Collins has lost some of her once-overwhelming crossover appeal as part of the fallout from the last great nationalizing moment in American politics, the confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year. A vote to acquit Trump might nationalize Collins even further, although at the moment we’re keeping her race rated Leans Republican. Gardner, meanwhile, has generally positioned himself as pro-Trump following the president’s election (although he doesn’t yell it from the rooftops, understandably), and his state could very well get bluer in 2020, which puts him in real trouble. Gardner’s seat is the second-likeliest to flip parties next fall, behind only Jones, although we’re not moving him out of the Toss-up category yet. Two other vulnerable Senate Republicans, Sens. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), seem to be more clearly supportive of the president in the impeachment battle in the early going, and part of the reason may be that they both have at least somewhat serious primary challengers. Tillis, in particular, appears to be sweating the challenge from businessman Garland Tucker (R), as the incumbent has dropped $2 million on a pre-primary ad buy and is highlighting his backing from Trump. McSally and Tillis should both be OK in their primaries, but pressure from the right likely will keep them in line with their party on an impeachment vote, which could deprive them of crossover support in states that backed Trump in 2016 by about 3.5 points apiece but appear to be live targets for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee next year. McSally was already firmly in the Toss-up column, and we’re moving Tillis to that rating too. His personal favorability numbers are not good, and his primary challenge is pushing him to embrace Trump strongly, which may or may not be the right move in the long term. The Democratic field is uncertain, but the preferred pick for D.C. Democrats appears to be Cal Cunningham (D), a veteran and former one-term state senator who lost a primary for U.S. Senate in 2010. Cunningham does not have the profile of an obvious top-tier U.S. Senate recruit, although the last two winners of this seat, Tillis and former Sen. Kay Hagan (D), didn’t have elected experience beyond the state legislative level either. One final point: While there are potentially vulnerable senators here we’ve left out, such as Sens. David Perdue (R-GA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and John Cornyn (R-TX), most of the others are only hypothetically vulnerable in primaries. We have no clue when a Senate trial and vote on removing the president might occur, but the timing may be important depending on whether it comes before or after a state’s filing deadline. If there are senators on either side of the aisle who decide they want to buck their party on impeachment, it might be an easier decision if they could cast this vote after major party candidate filing deadlines have passed. Some of these deadlines — helpfully compiled by Daily Kos Elections and listed in Table 2 along with the Senate seats on the ballot next year — are coming up as early as November, although others don’t come until the middle of next year. In fact, only eight of the 34 states with Senate elections next year — Georgia has two — have filing deadlines that come before the end of January. So if the impeachment wheels turn quickly, many members on the ballot next year may have to cast their votes prior to their states’ filing deadlines, which means that if there are political consequences from the decisions they make, that could lead to the emergence of new general election or primary challengers. This may have the effect of hardening party discipline in the Senate on an impeachment vote, although given the nationalization and polarization of our politics, strong party discipline should be the baseline expectation anyway. Table 2: Filing deadlines in 2020 Senate states
Notes: * indicates member is retiring at the end of next year. ** indicates a special election for 2020; Martha McSally (R-AZ) is running for reelection to the Senate after taking over for the late John McCain (R-AZ) last year, while Johnny Isakson (R-GA) is resigning at the end of this year. Source: Filing deadlines are from Daily Kos Elections’ compilation. Conclusion: Impeachment’s uncertain directions We would be lying if we said we had a great sense as to how the Democrats’ drive to impeach Trump will impact the elections next year. There are just too many variables and moving pieces to feel strongly about it. But the potential for the battle to harden partisan attitudes may have down-ballot effects for some members of Congress, as noted above. But don’t be surprised if, for all the noise, the impeachment inquiry — and even a successful House vote for impeachment and subsequent Senate trial — does not lead to sharp changes in public attitudes. It is true from limited polling that, at the very least, Democrats are coalescing around impeachment after the revelation of the now-famous telephone readout between Trump and the Ukrainian president. What seems to be happening is that Democrats are taking their cues from party leadership, which has resisted calling for impeachment until now, and increasing their own support for impeachment as a result. There has been some movement in favor of impeachment among independents and Republicans, although one would have to cherry-pick data to argue that overall support for impeaching and removing the president is significantly more than mixed. Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating — as it seems to do — has remained largely fixed where it’s been, in the low-to-mid 40s, with disapproval over 50%. Could the Ukraine bombshell and subsequent discoveries from the impeachment process cause it to dip over time? Sure. But after years of observing the president’s durability in polls, thanks in large part to strong GOP support, it’s safer to expect continuity as opposed to change in the president’s standing.
REPUBLICANS HUNT FOR SAFER GROUND IN SHIFTING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
By J. Miles Coleman
Associate Editor, Sabato’s Crystal Ball

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — San Diego County, once a linchpin of the GOP’s Golden State coalition, now votes reliably Democratic, like most other counties with large populations. — It’s rare that former members of Congress switch districts to primary incumbents, but political realignment in San Diego has facilitated such a scenario in CA-50, where former Rep. Darrell Issa (R) is attempting a comeback against damaged incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter (R). — Democrats’ chances at flipping CA-50 will depend largely on which Republican makes the runoff. Musical chairs in Southern California For most of us, America’s Finest City, San Diego, is known for its agreeable climate, world-famous zoo, and picturesque parks. Travel a few miles east, however, and political junkies will find a game of congressional musical chairs developing. In the inland-based 50th District, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) finds himself in the throes of a criminal trial stemming from alleged misuse of campaign funds. Hunter’s name is well-known in the area; in 1980, his father was elected to Congress as part of the Reagan Revolution before handing off his seat to his son in 2008. Though the younger Hunter’s ethical troubles surfaced in 2017, he still managed to win reelection the next year, thanks to the red lean of his district. Looking to 2020, if the incumbent moves ahead with reelection, his heftiest challenge will be beating out fellow Republicans. Last week, former Rep. Darrell Issa (R, CA-49) announced he’d challenge Hunter in CA-50. As Issa represented the neighboring district for 18 years, this move creates something of a unique situation. It’s not especially uncommon for ex-members to go district-shopping, but it’s rare for them to do so while trying to primary an incumbent, aside from redistricting-generated scenarios that create member vs. member matchups. During Barack Obama’s presidency, Issa was one of the administration’s most vocal critics in Congress; chairing the House Oversight Committee, he was best known for his highly-visible investigations. In the Trump era, his hold on a once-secure seat waned; Hillary Clinton carried his 49th District by eight percentage points, and Issa himself won with just 50.3%. Rather than run in a potentially hostile Trump midterm, Issa retired and Democrats went on to flip his seat by 13 points (Map 1): Map 1: CA-49’s change from 2016 to 2018 A second prominent Republican running in the district is former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio. Like Issa, DeMaio ran in a swingier district before looking to CA-50. After losing the San Diego mayoral race in 2012, DeMaio ran against Rep. Scott Peters (D) in the 52nd District. That district takes in much of San Diego proper, and DeMaio lost by a three-point margin in 2014. While its northern neighbor, Orange County, has gotten more attention — perhaps rightfully so, given its congressional turnover in 2018 — San Diego County has seen similar effects as a result of electoral realignment. This trend has helped induce the unusual scenario in CA-50. For most of its time transitioning from a U.S. Naval hub to a highly populous county, San Diego voted Republican. In the 15 elections spanning from the end of World War II to the George W. Bush presidency, the county voted Democratic just once, when Bill Clinton squeaked out a 37% plurality in 1992. California’s last non-celebrity GOP Governor, Pete Wilson, served as San Diego mayor, before using the region as his base in his statewide runs from 1982 to 1994. In what is one of the Republicans’ last vestiges of strength there, of the top 10 largest cities in America, San Diego is the only one to have a GOP mayor. California’s last two gubernatorial elections produced similar overall results — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took 62%, up slightly from ex-Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) 60% — but blue movement was evident in the San Diego-area districts (Map 2). Newsom flipped Issa’s CA-49, getting 51.5%, up from Brown’s 45%. CA-52, which nearly elected DeMaio in 2014, is a considerably less attractive target for the GOP these days; Newsom carried it by nearly 17%, after it was within 5% in 2014. Given this shift, it makes sense that big-name Republicans would prefer running against a damaged incumbent for the area’s only safe seat, as opposed to trying to win the area’s other districts, which are all now Democratic and getting more Democratic. Map 2: San Diego-area congressional districts Given his name recognition in the area, ability to self-fund, and the incumbent’s legal troubles, Issa seems to be in a better position than most former House members who have tried to primary incumbents. Looking at a recent sampling of former members who have attempted comebacks against sitting members, a few themes emerge: they’re generally more common on the GOP side and in the South. They also haven’t ended well for some former members in recent years. Table 1: Recent primary challenges by former House members
In California’s jungle primary system, the top two finishers in the primary, regardless of party, will advance to a runoff. Last year, statewide Democratic candidates got between 40%-44% of the vote in CA-50. Their only announced candidate here is their 2018 nominee, Ammar Campa-Najjar, meaning his spot in a runoff looks relatively secure. If Hunter finishes second, a runoff may look like 2018, where he nearly lost, running significantly behind other state Republicans (Map 3). Either Issa or DeMaio, who lack the incumbent’s ethical baggage, would seem to be safer bets for the GOP. Since the dynamics of the runoff largely hinge on which Republican makes the race with Campa-Najjar, Likely Republican remains a suitable race rating for now. Map 3: CA-50 in 2018 This week, two other races have made news that share aspects of CA-50’s plotline. In upstate New York, Buffalo-area Rep. Chris Collins (R, NY-27) resigned to plead guilty in an insider trading trial, which will force a special election. Hunter and Collins were among President Trump’s first congressional supporters during the 2016 primary season. Both also won reelection in 2018 despite their ethical troubles; Collins won by less than half a point, while Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) took just 34% in this seat. The Democrats’ 2018 nominee, Nate McMurray, is running again; without a damaged GOP incumbent, Democrats will have a harder time flipping this Trump +24 seat. Still, given the volatility that can come with special elections, we’re keeping NY-27 at Likely Republican. In Texas, we have evidence that Issa-esque district shopping may be in vogue. Former Rep. Pete Sessions (R, TX-32) is expected to launch a bid for the Waco-based 17th District. Sessions represented the Dallas area for 22 years, eventually becoming chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. In last year’s blue wave, though, he was defeated in his suburban 32nd District. If Sessions wins the primary, he’ll find a much friendlier electorate in the more rural 17th; last year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R) carried TX-17 by 10% but lost TX-32 by 11%. While Sessions’ comeback bid should be interesting to follow, and will provide political junkies with another data point, it doesn’t impact our current ratings: TX-17 is Safe Republican while TX-32 remains Likely Democratic. Out Now: The Blue Wave, the UVA Center for Politics’ book on the 2018 election Our new book on the 2018 midterm elections, The Blue Wave: The 2018 Midterms and What They Mean for the 2020 Elections, is now available from Rowman and Littlefield. Edited by University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato and Crystal Ball managing editor Kyle Kondik, The Blue Wave features top journalists, academics, and analysts who explore the 2018 midterm from all angles and look ahead to the monumental presidential election coming in 2020. Use code RLFANDF30 for 30% off at Rowman and Littlefield’s website. The Blue Wave features the following contributors and chapters: — Larry J. Sabato: The Blue Wave: Trump at Midterm — Alan I. Abramowitz: The Trump Effect: The 2018 Midterm Election as a Referendum on a Polarizing President — Rhodes Cook: The Primaries: Democrats Shine in the Shadow of Trump — David Byler: Humpty Dumpty’s Fall: How Trump’s Winning Presidential Coalition Broke Down in 2018 Kyle Kondik: The House: Where the Blue Wave Hit the Hardest — James Hohmann: The Senate: The Republicans’ Bright Spot — Madelaine Pisani: The Governors: Democratic Wave Falls Short of a Wipeout — Michael Toner and Karen Trainer: The Money Wars: Emerging Campaign Finance Trends and Their Impact on 2018 and Beyond — Emily C. Singer: Women Rule: The Surge of Women in Congress — Theodore R. Johnson: Hindsight in 2020: Black Voting Behavior and the Next Presidential Election — Matt Barreto, Gary Segura, and Albert Morales: The Brown Tide and the Blue Wave in 2018 — Diana Owen: Presidential Media and the Midterm Elections — Joshua T. Putnam: Foresight is 2020: New Features of the Democratic Delegate Selection Rules — Sean Trende: Was 2018 a Wave Election? Read the fine print Learn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here. Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox. Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!”
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THE HILL

© Getty Images     Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Happy Thursday! 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 up-early co-creators. Find us @asimendinger and @alweaver22 on Twitter and CLICK HERE to subscribe!
 
President Trump and House Democratic leaders continued trading accusations and threats on Wednesday, digging into the impeachment battlefield to distract from questions at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.   Trump dispensed with niceties in the Oval Office while seated next to the visiting president of Finland to declare that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is dishonest.    The president said Schiff, who has the investigative reins during the impeachment inquiry, is especially untrustworthy following a report on Wednesday that an Intelligence Committee staff member advised the unnamed intelligence community whistleblower to file a formal complaint. A lawyer for the whistleblower said his client filed a document that was drafted “entirely on their own” (ABC News).   The complaint asserted the president used a July conversation with the president of Ukraine to ask for the government’s help to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s activities while in Kiev for the Obama administration (The New York Times).   The Hill: Biden said again there is “zero” evidence he or his son Hunter Biden did anything wrong in Ukraine, as argued repeatedly by Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schiff met with reporters to publicly warn Trump to expect a subpoena in the Ukraine investigation (The Associated Press). The president threatened a lawsuit tied to the Russia probe he approved, headed by former special counsel Robert Mueller (The Hill).   The Speaker and her California colleague defended the whistleblower, who is weighing whether or how to speak to Congress after being publicly attacked by Trump as partisan, factually incorrect and a “spy” who merits punishment. The president has said he wants to face his “accuser,” something Pelosi and Schiff said would not happen (The Hill).   “Let’s not make any mistake here; the president wants to make this all about the whistleblower and suggest people that come forward with evidence of his wrongdoing are somehow treasonous, and should be treated as traitors and spies,” Schiff said. “This is a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses. It’s an incitement to violence” (The Hill).   Against that venomous backdrop, House Democrats and staff members participated in a closed-door “urgent” briefing from the State Department’s watchdog on Wednesday. It was reportedly focused on documents disseminated to employees that were perceived  within the department as threats of retaliation should employees speak to Congress as part of impeachment fact-finding.   Relations between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, and Democrats in the House went from bad to worse after impeachment investigators subpoenaed him to provide information about Trump’s interactions with Ukraine by Friday.   Pompeo conceded for the first time on Wednesday that he had been listening to Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky (The Associated Press). The secretary on Sept. 22 dodged a question from ABC News about his knowledge of the president’s conversation. Pelosi asserted to her caucus on a conference call that Pompeo, Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr have “gone rogue” to try to protect the president (The Hill). Democratic lawmakers want to question them all.   In the meantime, House investigators today will depose former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, who before his recent resignation met with Giuliani and Ukrainian officials. On Friday, House members expect to hear from Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who received the whistleblower complaint and sought to turn it over to Congress in August. Next week, lawmakers expect question former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump and Giuliani criticized before she was withdrawn from Kiev (The Los Angeles Times).   The bottom line: The White House and Trump’s allies favor a “this is war” public relations strategy practiced during the Russia probe. Shaping a narrative for voters, according to that playbook, involves shredding the investigators, throwing up roadblocks to slow the process, elevating Trump’s poll numbers and keeping Senate Republicans in the fold. House Democrats, on the other hand, say they need speed, clear-cut evidence, unblemished witnesses and a compelling justification for the pursuit of impeachment just 13 months before voters will speak for themselves.   The Hill: Meet Atkinson, the Trump-appointed watchdog at the center of the whistleblower drama.   The Hill: GOP turns furor on media amid impeachment fight.   The Hill: House Republicans voice messaging frustrations tied to impeachment. “We have to do better.”   The Hill: The president rails about the impeachment inquiry before saying he “always” cooperates.    The Hill: Here’s how the impeachment process works.  
© Getty Images  
 
LEADING THE DAY
POLITICS: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) underwent a heart procedure in which doctors inserted two stents to clear a blocked coronary artery. Jeff Weaver, a top adviser to Sanders, said Vermont independent would be was postponing campaign appearances “until further notice.”     The senator experienced chest discomfort during a campaign event Tuesday and was taken to a Las Vegas hospital. According to the campaign, the stents were “successfully inserted,” and Sanders “is conversing and in good spirits” (The Washington Post).   Sanders, who is one of three septuagenarians in the 2020 Democratic primary race, was set to campaign across California in the coming days, but those plans are now on hold while he recuperates. The news comes at a key time for Sanders, who announced on Tuesday that he raised $25.3 million in the last three months of his campaign as he looks to blunt the rise of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and cut into the lead held by Biden.    The news also comes less than two weeks before the fourth Democratic debate in Ohio and amid growing party concerns about nominating a candidate well beyond retirement age. Until this week, many of those conversations focused on Biden. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) alluded to age, mental dexterity and the party’s need for fresh ideas on and off debate stages this summer, which angered Biden’s campaign and allies.    Sanders turned 78 last month and will be 79 on inauguration day in January, 2021. Biden is 76, and will be 78 on inauguration day, while Warren turned 70 in June (The Hill).    Trump is 73 and would be 74 at the outset of a potential second term.    The Hill: Booker struggles to sell unity as Democrats itch for fight.   The Associated Press: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) faces questions about whether Iowa focus is too late.   Politico: With Warren gaining, Biden builds a Super Tuesday fortress.   The Washington Post: Andrew Yang raises $10 million, campaign says, outpacing two senators so far in the third quarter.  
© Getty Images     > 2020 Tech: The social media giants are in a vise as the 2020 presidential race heats up and both sides work the referees over fears the platforms are being abused by their rivals for political gain.    As Jonathan Easley reports, on one side, Democrats are demanding that Facebook and Twitter censor Trump and his campaign, headlined by Harris’s call to suspend the president’s Twitter account. Democrats are deeply worried that the social media giants will tilt the election in favor of Trump by running ads filled with distortions, echoing concerns from 2016, when foreign agents flooded the platforms with divisive ads and misinformation aimed at harming Hillary Clinton.    On the other side are Trump and the GOP, who have long held that conservative voices are being suppressed by the Silicon Valley liberals running the tech conglomerates. This week alone, Warren and Donald Trump Jr. renewed their calls for the government to dismantle Facebook and Twitter, though for completely different reasons.   “The prevailing view from both sides now is that these companies have become so large and so important in political and social life that there needs to be some sort of government intervention,” said Shannon McGregor, a professor of communications at the University of Utah. “What that looks like could depend on the outcome of the election.”
 
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
ADMINISTRATION: With impeachment taking up all the oxygen in the political world, it was nearly a foregone conclusion that the next 13 months would be spent getting nothing done between Capitol Hill and the White House outside of must-pass legislation.    Not so fast, says Pelosi.   As Niv Elis writes, the hullabaloo surrounding impeachment seems to have had little effect so far on the potential passage of the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which Pelosi said on Wednesday could get done no matter the situation surrounding impeachment.    “They have nothing to do with each other,” she said at her weekly press conference.  “The president has said he wants this U.S. Mexico Canada trade agreement to go forward, and we are awaiting the language on enforceability. Does it mean he can’t do that? That’s really up to him.”   Democratic strategists argue that Pelosi has incentive to work with Trump and Republicans on the issue in order to show that Democrats can “walk and chew gum” at the same time.   The Hill: Hispanic voters push campaigns to address gun violence.  
© Getty Images     > Tariffs: The Trump administration announced plans to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of European goods, including Scotch and Irish whisky, gouda cheese, and aircrafts starting on Oct. 18 in retaliation for the illegal subsidies the European Union gave Airbus for 15 years.   The administration’s move came after the World Trade Organization gave the go-ahead to do so, ruling that the U.S. could impose the tariffs over the illegal aid EU gave to Airbus in its longtime battle with Boeing.   European aircrafts will face a 10 percent import tax, while the other products on the administration’s list will be taxed at a 25 percent rate (The Hill).   The Associated Press: Trump administration to expand DNA collection from migrants.
 
OPINION
On impeachment, Pelosi has many good options, by Rahm Emanuel, opinion contributor, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2oHhlUj    Jamal Khashoggi reminds us all to never forget our fallen journalists, by former Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2n6Qhh6
 
WHERE AND WHEN
Hill.TV’s “Rising” at 9 a.m. ET features Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, investigative reporters for The New York Times, on their new book, “She Said;” and Gigi Sohn, a Benton senior fellow and public advocate, to discuss California privacy law, net neutrality ruling, and Yang’s proposal to turn data into a property right. Find Hill.TV programming at http://thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10 a.m.   The House anticipates its next roll call votes will take place on Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m.    The Senate convenes on Friday at 4:30 p.m. for a pro forma session.   The president travels to central Florida this morning to speak about Medicare and sign an executive order at a senior living development called The Villages at 2 p.m. He returns to Washington this evening.    Vice President Pence is in Phoenix today where he will lead a roundtable discussion with Hispanic American leaders at the First Baptist Church of Scottsdale at 8:45 a.m. Flying to Tucson, Pence will advocate ratification of the USMCA in Congress during remarks at Caterpillar Inc.’s Tinaja Hills facility at 12:30 p.m. He returns to Washington in the evening.   Pompeo meets with Pope Francis in Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. He plans to visit Italy’s Pacentro World War Memorial and his family’s ancestral homes in Pacentro at midday. The secretary will attend a working dinner in Rome at 8 p.m. hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Italy Lewis Eisenberg and American and Italian business leaders.   Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks at the German Embassy in Washington during its German Day of Unity celebration at 6:30 p.m.   Attorney General William Barr will speak at 1:45 p.m. at the Securities and Exchange Commission Criminal Coordination Conference in Washington.
 
ELSEWHERE
Brexit: The United Kingdom offered the European Union a last-minute Brexit deal on Wednesday, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that the proposal represents a realistic compromise for both sides and calling for “rapid negotiations towards a solution” for finalized deal with the union. Johnson said in a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that not reaching a deal would be “a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible” as the British are scheduled to leave the EU at the end of the month (The Associated Press).     ➔ Boeing: The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering new inspections of used versions of the Boeing 737 for potential cracks in the wings of aircrafts, delivering a fresh blow to the airplane manufacturer after a year of tumult. The order will force 2,000 planes to be inspected, with 165 of those coming in the next seven days. The announcement came months after the 737 Max was grounded after two crashes in five months (USA Today).   ➔ Ocean refuse: A giant boom device is working in the Pacific Ocean to capture and retain plastic garbage, including microplastics, in a current-driven waste field three times the size of France between California and Hawaii. The plan of the nonprofit Ocean Cleanup project is to perfect the design and fortify the device so it can retain plastic for up to a year before collection is necessary. The boom’s designers want it to be able to clean up at least half of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (The Guardian).   ➔ Commercial space travel: Virgin Galactic said Wednesday the Italian air force contracted with the company for a suborbital research flight aboard its winged rocket ship. The mission will be flown as early as next year, carrying three Italian payload specialists who will focus on the experiments while the craft is in space, the company said (The Verge).  
© Twitter  
 
THE CLOSER
And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Inspired by the 29th anniversary of the reunification of East and West Germany, which officially began on Oct. 3, 1990, we’re eager for some smart guesses about news and events in history.   Email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and/or aweaver@thehill.com, and please add “Quiz” to subject lines. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.   Which U.S. president hailed Germany’s newly signed unity agreement during a White House event, saying, “When East Germans were punished for dissent, we shared your spirit of defiance. And when German people were shot for attempting to flee to freedom, we shared your outrage. And when West German leaders dared to hope for a Germany united in freedom, we shared your dream?”   David D. Eisenhower Ronald Reagan George H.W. Bush Bill Clinton   The fall of the Berlin Wall began almost a year prior to the official 1990 reunification of Germany. What took place in late 1989 that produced indelible images for the history books?   East Germans authorities, overrun by crowds who had been told they could leave the East, opened the wall to create more crossing points between East and West Germany Exultant “wall peckers” and demonstrators used hammers and chisels to deface the wall and take home pieces  Demolition of the concrete and barbed wire barriers got under way and continued in Berlin for a year All of the above   As a young professional, German Chancellor Angela Merkel worked in East Germany at the time of unification. What was her job?   Professor of chemistry Newspaper journalist Mayor of Dresden Deputy spokesperson for the last leader of East Germany   East Germans once lived under the repressive watch of the feared state intelligence service known as the Stasi. After the reunification in 1990, what happened to the Stasi’s surveillance files and materials about millions of citizens?   All Stasi files and records were destroyed All Stasi files and materials were sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague  Files and records are archived in Germany, but will not be made public until 2040 The Stasi Records Agency welcomes citizens to inspect their personal files on request and the public can examine other materials online or conduct research in Berlin  
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Sign up for this newsletter Read online The morning’s most important stories, curated by Post editors.       Trump involved Pence in attempts to pressure Ukraine’s leader, officials say Officials close to Vice President Pence insist he was unaware of President Trump’s efforts to press the Ukrainian president for damaging information about Joe Biden and his son, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company when his father oversaw U.S. policy on Ukraine. By Greg Miller, Greg Jaffe and Ashley Parker ● Read more » Biden, in fiery remarks, tells Trump: ‘I’m not going anywhere’ The president’s attacks came after Democrats announced that they would subpoena documents related to Trump’s phone call with the leader of Ukraine, with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff warning that “we’re not fooling around.” By John Wagner, Felicia Sonmez and Colby Itkowitz ● Read more » Trump rides a roller coaster of grievance, victimhood and braggadocio as Finland’s leader looks on The combustible mix of President Trump’s emotions has only become more potent as he faces a growing impeachment threat. The Debrief ●  By Toluse Olorunnipa ● Read more » Giuliani has consulted on Ukraine with imprisoned Paul Manafort via a lawyer President Trump’s attorney is promoting a narrative that the real story of 2016 is not Russian interference to elect Trump, but Ukrainian efforts to support Hillary Clinton.  By Josh Dawsey, Tom Hamburger, Paul Sonne and Rosalind Helderman ● Read more » Odd markings, ellipses fuel doubts about the ‘rough transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine call Current and former U.S. officials studying the document pointed to several elements that they say indicate the document may have been handled unusually. By Carol Leonnig, Craig Timberg and Drew Harwell ● Read more » ADVERTISEMENT What you missed while not watching Day 9 of the impeachment drama A tough question for President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi jockeys for attention, Rudolph W. Giuliani threatens a “jaw suit,” and the White House Twitter war turns profane. By Michael Scherer ● Read more » Opinions On impeachment, Pelosi has many good options By Rahm Emanuel ● Read more » In the Bahamas, you can smell more bodies than you can find By Juliette Kayyem ● Read more » California did the right thing. Don’t buy into the NCAA’s propaganda. By John Feinstein ● Read more » ADVERTISEMENT Pompeo is enabling the destruction of U.S. diplomacy By Editorial Board ● Read more » Trump’s impeachment defense is all alligators and snakes By Dana Milbank ● Read more » For this, Democrats must unite By E.J. Dionne ● Read more » More News Ex-Dallas police officer’s 10-year sentence sparks both protests and an act of forgiveness The punishment for Amber Guyger, who shot and killed her unarmed neighbor Botham Jean in his apartment, was called “a slap in the face” by Jean family supporters. But in the courtroom, Jean’s brother held her in a long embrace. By Annette Nevins, Brittany Shammas, Hannah Knowles and Reis Thebault ● Read more »   Government has dramatically expanded exposure to risky mortgages, echoing concerns before Great Recession The increased risk is the direct result of pressure from the lending industry, consumer groups and political appointees, who clamored for the government to intervene when homeownership rates fell several years ago. By Damian Paletta ● Read more » 7 lessons I learned while traveling by myself Traveling by yourself comes with its own highs and lows. The author shares some insights from a trip to Japan that can help you navigate the challenges. By The Way | A Post Travel Destination ●  By Natalie Compton ● Read more »   Federal judge rules that supervised injection site in Philadelphia does not violate federal law The unprecedented decision, which could affect the way cities across the country address the opioid crisis, allows a nonprofit group to move forward with plans to open a facility where drug users would be monitored to prevent overdoses. By Lenny Bernstein ● Read more » How the White House rehabilitated Saudi Arabia’s reputation after the death of Jamal Khashoggi John Hudson examines the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, one year after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. Nick Miroff on an interview with the Department of Homeland Security’s isolated acting chief. And Mike Ruane with a newly discovered audio recording of the D-Day invasion. Post Reports | Listen Now ●  By The Washington Post ● Read more »     We think you’ll like this newsletter Check out Carolyn Hax for Post columnist Carolyn Hax’s latest advice column every day. Sign up »  
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE

View In Browser October 3, 2019 chicagotribune.com Daywatch
1.) CPS teachers, support staff, parks workers will all strike together if no contract deals reached THURSDAY, OCT 3 The Chicago Teachers Union, school support staff and Park District workers will all go on strike together on Oct. 17 if they can’t reach contract deals by then.
The joint announcement late Wednesday by the three labor groups sets up the prospect of about 35,000 public employees in Chicago walking off the job at the same time. It also means that the 360,000 children who attend Chicago Public Schools will be out of class indefinitely if CTU and the city fail to settle their differences by then.
The psychology of teachers strikes: Emotions can get in the way
Where can Chicago parents send their kids if a CPS teachers strike happens? CPS says it’s staying open.
2.) Rahm Emanuel raised taxes to get city worker pension funds on a ‘path to solvency.’ The shortfall still ballooned by $7 billion. THURSDAY, OCT 3 A record-high property tax increase. A new tax on water and sewer service. A higher 911 emergency fee on telephone lines.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s series of tax hikes were painful, but he promised the extra money was part of a plan to get the woefully underfunded city worker pension funds on a “path to solvency.” So what’s happened in the four years since taxpayers started digging deeper? The pension funds are actually worse off — by $7 billion.
Our reporters examined the reasons why the pension shortfall has continued to grow and what options are on the table for Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fix the mess she inherited.Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds final budget town hall on city’s $838 million shortfall: ‘We heard a lot of great ideas’  
3.) With help from a stranger, a dad is expected to survive after being shot in the forehead while driving in Humboldt Park: ‘It’s a miracle he’s alive’ THURSDAY, OCT 3 A 44-year-old man who was driving through Humboldt Park on Saturday night when a shot shattered the window and struck him in the forehead is expected to survive.
The man, a construction worker from the West Side, had been headed downtown to drop off his wife to celebrate her birthday with friends. Then he was going to take his 3-year-old daughter to a princess-themed party.
An emergency room nurse who has been driving by stopped to help and grabbed the closest thing he could find to press on the injury: a teddy bear lying on the front seat.
4.) Recent federal raids connected to probe of red light camera company that does millions of dollars in business in Chicago’s suburbs, source says THURSDAY, OCT 3 A clout-heavy red light camera company that does millions of dollars in business in Chicago’s suburbs is one focus of the federal investigation that led to last week’s raids on state Sen. Martin Sandoval and several towns in his district, a source with knowledge of the probe told the Chicago Tribune.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls for state Sen. Martin Sandoval to step down as transportation chairman amid federal criminal investigation   
5.) Roosevelt University seeks to acquire Robert Morris University, uniting two downtown Chicago colleges with shrinking enrollment THURSDAY, OCT 3 Roosevelt University has submitted the acquisition request to the Higher Learning Commission. The merger also needs to be approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and U.S. Department of Education, a process officials say likely would not be complete until early 2020.
Should the proposal be approved, Robert Morris would operate under the Roosevelt name and umbrella. Much of the programming, however, could continue on under a new unit called the Robert Morris Experiential College.
6.) Takeda wants to sell one of the Chicago area’s fanciest corporate campuses. Will a big employer buck the downtown migration? THURSDAY, OCT 3 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s massive Deerfield headquarters is for sale, putting one of the Chicago suburbs’ fanciest corporate campuses up for grabs during a time of flux for the Lake County office market.
The 70-acre campus has the potential to fetch one of the highest prices in the suburban office market in recent years, because of the sheer size of the property and zoning that’s already in place to add several new structures alongside 660,000 square feet of existing buildings.There also are significant headwinds, including several other large vacancies in the area amid a trend of suburban jobs moving to downtown Chicago.  
7.) 100 years ago, White Sox players conspired to throw the 1919 World Series. Here’s how the Tribune covered it. THURSDAY, OCT 3 The 1919 White Sox — considered by some baseball historians as one of the greatest teams ever to take the field — were heavy favorites to beat the Reds in the World Series. But in the best-of-nine series, the Reds dominated.There had been rumors and reports that the fix was in, and indeed the Sox’s performance was suspect. Here is how the Tribune covered the series.
The Black Sox series rocked the baseball world 100 years ago. But the fight to clear the names of Shoeless Joe and Buck Weaver is far from over.
8.) A year after making enemies over its trademark, Aloha Poke plans an ambitious expansion — 100 restaurants in 3 years THURSDAY, OCT 3 Chris Birkinshaw had barely settled in as CEO at Aloha Poke last year when the budding young chain became engulfed in a branding crisis. But the controversy didn’t quell Aloha Poke’s ambitions.
The chain, which has 11 locations in the Chicago area and seven more in a handful other states, is about to embark on an expansion it hopes will quintuple its presence across the country within the next three years.In more business news, a new Illinois law prohibits employers from asking job applicants for their pay history. Here’s what to know about the measure.
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Unsubscribe   |   Newsletters   |   Privacy Policy   |   Terms of ServiceCopyright © 2019 | Chicago Tribune | 160 N. Stetson Ave., Third Floor, Chicago, IL 60601ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this email because you are following the Daywatch newsletter.

POLITICO PLAYBOOK

POLITICO Playbook: Behind the president’s struggles with impeachment

By ANNA PALMER and JAKE SHERMAN 

10/03/2019 05:53 AM EDT

Presented by

President Donald Trump is pictured. | Getty Images
Most elected Republicans are unwilling to go on television to defend the president, because they don’t know where this story ends. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

DRIVING THE DAY

WHY THE PRESIDENT SEEMS TO BE STRUGGLING WITH IMPEACHMENT …

— HIS RHETORICAL TRICKS ARE WORN OUT. Everyone knows he thinks the media is crooked and corrupt, we know he thinks Democrats are up to no good and don’t operate on the level, and he’s said before the government is rising up against him. Everything he doesn’t like is a “hoax” or a “scam” or “phony.” AP’s Kevin Freking and Jonathan Lemire: “‘Are you talking to me?’ Trump’s anger on impeachment erupts”

TO BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT’S SPIN at this point is to believe that every single news story printed is wrong.

— REPORTERS ARE GETTING MORE ADEPT at sidestepping his strong-arming. See JEFF MASON’S interaction with him Wednesday. The president tried to redirect Mason’s inquiries, and the Reuters correspondent calmly stood his ground. NYT’s Mike Grynbaum on Mason’s exchange with TrumpVideo

— QUITE CURIOUSLY, TRUMP NO LONGER uses his White House press secretary to drive daily messaging. Ever. Think of how useful it might be to the White House for reporters to hear from the administration periodically, not just a president who is tweeting angrily from the residence or teeing off during pool sprays.

— PEOPLE AROUND HIM ARE LEAKING LIKE CRAZY. Today, The Washington Post has a story with details about VP MIKE PENCE’S involvement in all the comings and goings with the Ukraine matter. When the people you hire want to knife you, you have a problem.

— MOST ELECTED REPUBLICANS are unwilling to go on television to defend the president, because they don’t know where this story ends. THE SURROGATES who go on television are not to be believed, because it’s been proven time and time again that the only word that matters is the president’s.

NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN and ANNIE KARNI: “Impeachment War Room? Trump Does It All Himself, and That Worries Republicans”

NEW … THE NRCC is going to release a new polling memo today that, in their view, backs up the contention that impeachment is harmful for some Democrats.

THE MEMO says this: “Two-thirds (63%) of voters in NRCC target seats and 66% of voters in Republican-held battleground seats agree that Democrats in Congress are too obsessed with impeaching the president and should be working on issues they campaign on such as funding our military, improving the nation’s infrastructure, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and caring for our nation’s veterans.”

— REPUBLICANS TOLD US THIS is how they asked the question: “Below is a statement on the impeachment inquiry. After you’ve read it, please select whether you generally agree or disagree with that particular viewpoint: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress are too obsessed with President Trump and instead should be working on the issues they were elected to do like funding our military, improving the nation’s infrastructure, lowering cost of prescription drugs, or caring for our nation’s veterans.”

— DETAILS: This is a poll of 800 respondents across 253 House districts — all GOP-held seats and 55 target seats. The polling memo

COOL TOOL: FiveThirtyEight has a new tracker for impeachment polls.The current breakdown: An average of 46.7% of Americans support impeachment, while 45.1% oppose it.

NOT BACKING DOWN — SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI on a call Wednesday afternoon with House Democrats: “I do think that this is a moment beyond Donald Trump. He’s almost not worth it, to do an impeachment, because he is so what he is, but the Constitution is worth it, and our democracy is worth it, and our ‘Republic, if we can keep it’ is worth it.”

— MUCH OF THIS CALL was about H.R. 3, the Democrats’ drug pricing bill.

Good Thursday morning. THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS are in Los Angeles for Game 1 of the NLDS tonight against the Dodgers. First pitch is at 8:37 p.m.

SPOTTED: Mick Mulvaney buying yogurt Wednesday night at the Streets Market on Massachusetts Avenue.

A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women:

Since 2008, Goldman Sachs has trained and empowered women business owners in developing economies through our 10,000 Women program, with 70% of graduates reporting higher revenues and nearly 60% creating new jobs in their communities.

IMPEACHMENT CLIP PACKET …

— WAPO: “Trump involved Pence in efforts to pressure Ukraine’s leader, though officials say vice president was unaware of allegations in whistleblower complaint,” by Greg Miller, Greg Jaffe and Ashley Parker: “President Trump repeatedly involved Vice President Pence in efforts to exert pressure on the leader of Ukraine at a time when the president was using other channels to solicit information that he hoped would be damaging to a Democratic rival, current and former U.S. officials said.

“Trump instructed Pence not to attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in May — an event White House officials had pushed to put on the vice president’s calendar — when Ukraine’s new leader was seeking recognition and support from Washington, the officials said.

“Months later, the president used Pence to tell Zelensky that U.S. aid was still being withheld while demanding more aggressive action on corruption, officials said. At that time — following Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelenksy — the Ukrainians probably understood action on corruption to include the investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.” WaPo

— WAPO: “Giuliani consulted on Ukraine with imprisoned Paul Manafort via a lawyer,” by Josh Dawsey, Tom Hamburger, Paul Sonne and Ros Helderman: “In his quest to rewrite the history of the 2016 election, President Trump’s personal attorney has turned to an unusual source of information: Trump’s imprisoned former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

“Rudolph W. Giuliani in recent months has consulted several times with Manafort through the federal prisoner’s lawyer in pursuit of information about a disputed ledger that would bolster his theory that the real story of 2016 is not Russian interference to elect Trump, but Ukrainian efforts to support Hillary Clinton.

“The relationship, which Giuliani acknowledged in an interview this week with The Washington Post, stems from a shared interest in a narrative that undermines the rationale for the special counsel investigation. That inquiry led to Manafort’s imprisonment on tax and financial fraud allegations related to his work in Kiev for the political party of former president Viktor Yanukovych.” WaPo

— BEN SCHRECKINGER: “Ukraine scandal ropes in the usual suspects”: “The Ukraine scandal engulfing Donald Trump’s presidency goes well beyond the core cast of characters at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. It’s now drawing in a duo familiar to anyone who has followed past Washington imbroglios: conservative lawyers and GOP operatives Joe diGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing. And the scandal is beginning to reveal the opaque agendas of a pair of Ukrainian oligarchs whose legal troubles have led them to seek favors in Washington.” POLITICO

— HMM … WAPO: “Odd markings, ellipses fuel doubts about the ‘rough transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine call,” by Carol Leonnig, Craig Timberg and Drew Harwell

— CNN: “State Department inspector general gives Congress documents that Giuliani provided”

— MARIANNE LEVINE: “Graham urges foreign leaders to assist Barr with investigation into 2016 election”: “Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham on Wednesday asked several foreign leaders to continue to assist Attorney General William Barr with his investigation into the 2016 election.

“In a letter to the prime ministers of Australia, Italy and Britain, the South Carolina Republican requested their ‘continued cooperation with Attorney General Barr as the Department of Justice continues to investigate the origins and extent of foreign influence in the 2016 election.’” POLITICO

— BURGESS EVERETT: “Schumer to Dems: Press McConnell on impeachment but don’t forget ‘legislative graveyard’”

Playbook PM

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ON THE ROAD, IMPEACHMENT EDITION … BOSTON GLOBE: “In a deep red Tennessee district, impeachment elicits sighs, not anger,” by Laura Krantz in Rutledge, Tenn.: “Many people are already weary of this new round of accusations against President Trump, who they say still deserves the benefit of the doubt. They sigh and call this latest controversy just another sign of partisanship and dysfunction in the nation’s capital — a far cry from the outrage heard from Democrats over the Ukraine whistle-blower complaint or the Civil War-type backlash that Trump has predicted from his supporters. …

“‘People are just burnt out on it,’ said U.S. Representative Tim Burchett, a first-term Republican who represents the area.” Boston Globe

2020 WATCH … NATASHA KORECKI: “With Warren gaining, Biden builds a Super Tuesday fortress”: “Joe Biden’s campaign is ramping up its investment in the Super Tuesday states, anticipating a Democratic race that narrows to two candidates by early March.

“The increase in staffing across the 14 states that will vote March 3 comes as Biden’s polling numbers have declined and Elizabeth Warren’s have surged, particularly in states like Iowa and New Hampshire where she’s heavily invested in field organization.

“The former vice president’s campaign is still counting on strong finishes in the four early nominating states. But in the event of weaker-than-expected performances, a built-out Super Tuesday organization would provide a fail-safe for Biden.”POLITICO

A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women:

of our 10,000 Women graduates and find out how they’re generating revenue and creating jobs in their communities.

THE JUICE …

— NEW … CONVENTION 2020 WATCH: Veteran Republican operatives JEFF KIMBELL and JOHN GREEN have secured the Fillmore in Charlotte for the RNC Convention from Aug. 24-27. The duo, which have been putting on live music events at GOP conventions since 2004 through Magnum Entertainment Group Inc., have locked in “The Spazmatics” as their opening act for each night.

HAPPENING TODAY: Former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker, who stepped down last week, testifies behind closed doors on Capitol Hill to members of the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees. NPR previewWhat he’ll say

TRUMP’S THURSDAY — The president will leave the White House at 10 a.m. en route to Ocala, Fla. He will travel to The Villages, a sprawling retirement community outside of Orlando, where he will give a speech at 1:10 p.m. and sign an executive order on health care for seniors at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. Afterward, Trump will take photos with supporters. He will depart at 2:45 p.m. en route back to Washington.

GARY FINEOUT in Tallahassee: “In adult Disney World, Trump will escape critics”

PLAYBOOK READS

Brandt Jean and Amber Guyger are pictured. | AP Photo
PHOTO DU JOUR: Brandt Jean hugs former Dallas cop Amber Guyger on Wednesday after forgiving her during his impact statement for murdering his brother Botham, for which she was sentenced to 10 years. | Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool

CONWAY VS. CONWAY … GEORGE in THE ATLANTIC: “Unfit for Office: Donald Trump’s narcissism makes it impossible for him to carry out the duties of the presidency in the way the Constitution requires.”

IMMIGRATION FILES … NYT’S CAITLIN DICKERSON: “U.S. Government Plans to Collect DNA From Detained Immigrants”: “The Trump administration is moving to collect DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of people booked into federal immigration custody each year and to enter the results into a national criminal database, an immense expansion of the use of technology to enforce the nation’s immigration laws.

“Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that the Justice Department was developing a federal regulation that would give immigration officers the authority to collect DNA in detention facilities across the country that are currently holding more than 40,000 people.

“The move would funnel thousands of new records to the F.B.I., whose extensive DNA database has been limited mainly to genetic markers collected from people who have been arrested, charged or convicted in connection with serious crimes.” NYT

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TRADE WARS — “Cheese, French wines, planes on Trump target list for $7.5B retaliation award,” by Jakob Hanke in Brussels and Doug Palmer: “President Donald Trump plans to slap punitive tariffs on about $7.5 billion worth of European aircraft, agricultural and industrial goods later this month after the United States won an important victory in a ruling before the global trade body that handles trade disputes.

“The action brings a 15-year-old case one step closer to resolution while allowing Trump to impose tariffs with the official blessing of the World Trade Organization. … Cheese and dairy products figure prominently on the retaliation of list to the delight of U.S. dairy producers who face substantial sales barriers in the EU.

“Imports of single-malt Scotch, Irish whiskey, liqueurs, French wines, sweaters, coffee, pipe cutters, various tools, sweet biscuits, olives and pork will also be slapped with 25 percent duties.” POLITICO Europe

POSTCARD FROM ROME … NYT’S JASON HOROWITZ: “First Barr, Now Pompeo: Italy Is Hub of Impeachment Intrigue for Trump Officials”: “As Washington seethes amid accusations of quid pro quos, conspiracy theories and abuses of power, Italy, with its brilliant early autumn light and amenable political leaders, has become a recent destination for two central officials in the Trump administration who are in the thick of the impeachment inquiry.

“Their comings and goings have provoked some consternation, and more than a little speculation, in the Italian media. The Italian government has so far refused to say a word about a trip to the capital last week by Attorney General William P. Barr to meet with Italian intelligence officers as part of President Trump’s efforts to discredit the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 United States election.

“The Italian prime minister is Giuseppe Conte, whom Mr. Trump has called ‘my friend Giuseppe.’ In August, Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Conte in a Tweet, albeit one that misspelled his name, amid an Italian government crisis. … While the Italian government has gone officially silent on the issue, Mr. Conte seemed to be helping out, according to reports in the Italian news media.” NYT

A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women:

HISTORY LESSON — “GOP veterans of Clinton’s impeachment urge caution on Trump,” by AP’s Andrew Taylor: “Then there’s former Rep. Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina who wasn’t an impeachment manager but forced a Judiciary Committee discussion on easily the most vulgar accusation levied against Clinton for his conduct. He seemed almost sheepish when encountered in the Capitol recently.

“‘We made a mistake’ impeaching Clinton, Inglis said, adding that the substance of the matter ‘wasn’t so very consequential.’

“‘I can say that now, in retrospect — I didn’t think that at the time — but I think that was because I was probably sort of blinded by my dislike of President Clinton, you know, and wanting to stop him,’ Inglis said. ‘So there may be some similarities there in this scenario.’” AP

ALL NEWS IS LOCAL — “Who is Gordon Sondland? Portland hotel magnate’s stunning climb to Trump inner circle lands him in impeachment scandal,” by The Oregonian’s Jeff Manning

VALLEY TALK — “The FBI is running Facebook ads targeting Russians in Washington,” by CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan and David Shortell: “One ad seen by CNN features a stock photo of a young woman at her graduation with her family. Russian text overlaid on the image reads, ‘For your future, for the future of your family.’ Another shows a picture of a chess set, with Russian text that translates to, ‘Isn’t it time for you to make your move?’’ CNN

MEDIAWATCH … MICHAEL CALDERONE: “Fox News emerges as Trump’s firewall”

— QUOTE DU JOUR … CNN’S JAKE TAPPER: “A parental advisory for you: In this block, I’m going to be quoting from things that the president of the United States has tweeted, so if you have kids in the room, you might want to mute the television.”

— YES, THAT HAPPENED — “Fox News Host Todd Starnes Out After Suggesting Democrats Worship Pagan God Moloch,” by The Wrap’s Lindsey Ellefson

— Longtime foreign correspondent Michael Slackman is joining the NYT masthead as assistant managing editor for international. He previously ran the international desk. Announcement

PLAYBOOKERS

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Rachel Millard will be deputy director of public affairs at the CFTC, starting next week. She currently is communications director for the House Agriculture Committee Republicans.

OUT AND ABOUT — RIGHTNOW held a professional women’s speed mentoring event at Edison Electric Institution, sponsored by Maria Cino, Ashley Davis, Susan Neely and Beth Saunders. SPOTTED: Marlene Colucci, Lisa Spies, Shelley Hymes, Jean Card, Susan Hirschmann, Jane Adams, Lauren Maddox, Maddie Milam, Maura Gillespie.

TRANSITIONS — Bill McGinley is now a principal at the Vogel Group. He previously was assistant to the president and Cabinet secretary at the White House. … Matt Mazzone is now creative director at Ascent Media, a Republican advertising agency. He most recently was director of production at Poolhouse, and previously was director of film and visual media at the RNC during the 2016 cycle. …

… Casey Clemmons is now Iowa deputy state director for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign. He previously was Iowa caucus director for Kirsten Gillibrand’s campaign. … Miles Taylor is now head of national security relations at Google. He previously was chief of staff at DHS.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Logan Dobson, managing director at Targeted Victory. How he’s celebrating: “I’ll be celebrating with a trip to the gym and a few drinks at my favorite neighborhood bar with friends tonight, and a larger gathering over the weekend. The real birthday highlight will be a trip with my sister to Las Vegas next month to see a major boxing fight — her gift to me this year. Chemical engineers make the real dough.” Playbook Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) is 66 … Rev. Al Sharpton is 65 … Asawin “Swin” Suebsaeng, White House reporter at The Daily Beast … Cristóbal Alex, senior adviser for Joe Biden’s campaign … AP’s Darlene Superville and Verena Dobnik … former Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is 76 … former Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.) is 81 … former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) is 48 … former Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) is 72 … former Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) is 71 … POLITICO’s Eric Wolff and Emma Kinnucan … J. Toscano, partner at 76 Words … Katie Whelan, senior adviser at Dewey Square Group … Jonathan Lamy … Pam Gilbert, partner at Cuneo Gilbert and LaDuca … Sally Painter, co-founder and COO of Blue Star Strategies (hat tips: Jon Haber) …

… Sarah Feinberg, principal and CEO of Feinberg Strategies … Bradley Tusk,founder and CEO of Tusk Holdings … Betsey Apple … Beth Jones … Sean Gibbons … Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner … Edie Emery … Laura Brown … CNN’s Maegan Vazquez … Tim Albrecht, manager of strategic initiatives at Apple and a Kim Reynolds alum … Chelsea Radler … Maury Nolen … DISCUS’ Eric Reller … Deloitte’s Eden Joyner White … Kevin Kelley … Chris Michel … Mark Hamrick … former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is 75 … Peter Stegner … Jennifer Bland … Nancy Gabriner … Scott Richardson … Ben Adler … Josh Kinney is 31 … Darrell Brock Jr. … Joel Haubrich … Mariam Ehrari … Michael Medved

A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women:

Investing in women is smart business. That’s why, for more than 10 years, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women has been empowering women entrepreneurs around the world with a business education, access to capital, and a peer network. The program’s business education curriculum is also now available online, for free, through our partnership with Coursera. Participants of the program lead businesses in over 50 different countries, with specialties ranging from original clothing design and home-cooked catering to all-natural healthcare products and more. of the women entrepreneurs who are going above and beyond in paying it forward—taking their success and using it to strengthen the communities in which they live and work.

LIBERTY NATION

  Daily Briefing Conservative News | Libertarian News | Commentary VISIT LibertyNation.com     FROM OUR NEWSROOM Is there a Ukrainian Armageddon Dead Ahead for Dems? By Graham J Noble For Democrats, all roads lead to Ukraine – and that’s bad news for them. Click Here   What America’s Thinking 53% of Likely U.S. Voters are angry at the president, with 39% who are Very Angry. Forty-six percent (46%) are not angry at Trump, including 34% who are Not At All Angry. 52% of Likely U.S. Voters think Trump is more to blame than his political opponents for the division in America. That’s up from 45% in April of last year. Thirty-eight percent (38%) blame the president’s political opponents more. To read more on this story, click here. Forty-nine percent (49%) are angry at Trump’s political opponents, including 32% who are Very Angry. 35% of Likely Democratic Voters view socialism as an economic and political system that has failed in the past. A plurality (44%) believes instead that socialism has never really been given the chance to succeed.     Tears Flow In The Desert At Candidates Gun Control Forum By Scott D. Cosenza, Esq. Candidate forum, and multi-hour propaganda campaign against civil-rights. Click Here   Washington Whispers Coming down the pipeline: In light of Bernie Sanders facing surgery, many are beginning to question the age-appropriateness of political figures. Will Elizabeth Warren start to outpace Joe Biden in National Polling if Sanders pulls out of the campaign and his support jumps to her? Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib could be in for a media storm as she told Detroit’s chief of police that he should hire only black people as analysts to run their facial recognition software. She claimed non-black people think they all look alike. With Biden in trouble and Sanders struggling for position, desperate faces are beginning to turn to Hillary Clinton, who seems ready to answer the call.   Read One of Our Books By Liberty Nation Staff Sic Semper Tyrannis: The Uprising of the Common Man Click Here   News Roundup We’ve Surfed The Web for You Joe Biden to Trump: ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’ Trump presidential library should be in Staten Island since borough backed him in 2016, lawmaker says ‘A little desperate’: Rival campaigns tire of Buttigieg jabs Stop Blocking Us! By John Stossel WATCH: Students Plan to Celebrate Bring Your Bible to School Day   Illegals Crime Report: Brothels and Kidnapping By Kelli Ballard Women and young girls are often the first victims. Click Here     WATCH NOW FEATURED LNTV
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Wednesday, October 3, 2019



Rep. Adam Schiff Knew about Whistleblower’s Accusations Before Complaint Was Filed
According to latest reporting from both The Federalist and The New York Times, the whistleblower shared the contours of his allegations with the Democratic Head of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., before filing an official complaint. From The New York Times:

“It [the fact that the allegations were shared]…explains how Mr. Schiff knew to press for the complaint when the Trump administration initially blocked lawmakers from seeing it.

The C.I.A. officer approached a House Intelligence Committee aide with his concerns about Mr. Trump only after he had had a colleague first convey them to the C.I.A.’s top lawyer. Concerned about how that initial avenue for airing his allegations through the C.I.A. was unfolding, the officer then approached the House aide. In both cases, the original accusation was vague.

The House staff member, following the committee’s procedures, suggested the officer find a lawyer to advise him and meet with an inspector general, with whom he could file a whistle-blower complaint. The aide shared some of what the officer conveyed to Mr. Schiff. The aide did not share the whistle-blower’s identity with Mr. Schiff, an official said.”
 
But as Sean Davis of The Federalist points out, the Whistleblower could be subject to criminal liability as a result of bypassing the usual procedures for filing a complaint:

“Under federal law, whistleblowers within the intelligence community are required to report any allegations of wrongdoing to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) in order to receive statutory whistleblower protections for their disclosures. The law does not provide any protections to employees or contractors who bypass the process required by law and go directly to Congress, nor does it provide any avenue to disclose classified information to Congress without first going through the ICIG. If the complainant or a colleague leaked classified information to Schiff or his committee, those individuals could be subject to criminal liability for illegal and unauthorized disclosure of classified information.”
 
Bernie Sanders Has Successful Surgery to Repair Blocked Artery
After complaining of chest pains on Tuesday while campaigning in Nevada, 2020 Democratic contender Bernie Sanders headed to the doctors, where it was discovered that the 78-year old had a blocked artery. According to his campaign, two stents were successfully inserted yesterday, and the candidate will be taking the next few days off of the campaign trail to rest, per Fox News
 
Trump Accuses Democrats of Coup in Latest Campaign Ad
It seems President Trump is continuing to gin up support from the Democrats’ latest cries to impeach. Trump’s 2020 campaign just released its latest campaign ad, and it provides a window in to how the Trump campaign may spin impeachment, should the Democrats decide to go forward with impeaching him. From Fox News

“It [the ad] addresses the whistleblower complaint over Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, featuring a clip of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calling it “based on hearsay.” It also focuses on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who discussed the complaint while using language he claimed was “parody.”

“Democrats are trying to undo the election regardless of facts,” the ad opens, displaying images of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Schiff, and members of the “Squad” of freshman congresswomen with whom Trump has feuded, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

The full ad can be found here

What I’m Reading Today The Key Point about Whistleblowers’ First-Hand Knowledge Isn’t the Law, It’s the Shady Regulation Changes (The Federalist) Social Justice is Academia’s New Theology (American Mind) Joker: The Latest Installment in the Derangement Franchise (National Review) Top Motivation for Hating Capitalism Isn’t Compassion, It’s Resentment (The Federalist) Harvard Won this Round but Affirmative Action Is Weak (The Atlantic)   
Makeup Recommendations for the Week
Ouai Super Dry Shampoo, Ouai, $24
This dry shampoo, while highly effective, is not for the faint of heart. I usually use Dove brand dry shampoo that I pick up at CVS, but I’ve been wanting to “upgrade” my hair care regime.  After a little scouting, I thought I would give this product a try. First off, it’s great at removing hair grease and giving your hair the much-needed bounce between washings. It also has a fantastic rose scent, but warning, if you are sensitive to smells, it might be too much for you. It definitely calms down over the course of the day. Also, there is a small white film after initial application (pretty much indiscernible in my blonde hair, but ever-so-slight), but it disappears with brushing. 
 
Farmacy, Very Cherry Bright 15% Clean Vitamin C Serum, $62
Given I’ve recommended Farmacy’s Honeymoon Glow serum in the past, I was excited to try this product. And I was wowed. The scent is divine, not sickly sweet. And the product itself works fabulously to smooth out flare ups. I had a small breakout, and after using this twice, I noticed that my skin had calmed down quite a bit. I have used Vitamin C serum in the past and have had to build up a tolerance to it. This one, however, did not cause irritation. I don’t recommend using it every night, since Vitamin C can be harsher, but it’s definitely gentler than some other products out there. 
  BRIGHT is brought to you by The Federalist.
Today’s BRIGHT Editor
Erielle Davidson is a law student at Georgetown University Law Center. She previously was an economic research assistant at the Hoover Institution and a Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute.  She enjoys Chick-Fil-A, her pug, and Russian literature. Find her on Twitter at @politicalelle.

 
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AXIOS

Axios AM

By Mike Allen

🎰 Good Thursday morning from Vegas. Today’s Smart Brevity count: 1,175 words … 4.5 minutes.

1 big thing: Impeachment engulfs government

President Trump speaks during a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office yesterday. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

The House’s formal impeachment inquiry is just 10 days old, but has swiftly transcended D.C. inertia and swept in huge swaths of America’s government:

  • Vice President Pence’s role suddenly became a major issue; President Trump seethed about the investigators during an appearance with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö; and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked about the Ukraine call while appearing in Rome with his Italian counterpart.
  • That was all yesterday. For good measure, a Trump tweet included the word “BULLSHIT” — all caps.
  • Other parts of government that are ensnared: An intelligence community whistleblower lit the fire; Attorney General William Barr has been a central figure from the get-go; impeachment is an issue for senators and others on the 2020 trail in a way that the Mueller investigation never was; and most other Capitol Hill business has been drowned out.

Why it matters: We thought nothing could break through Washington gridlock, nothing could stick to Trump, and nothing could command sustained attention in this media environment.

  • Those “certainties” could turn out to be wrong, wrong and wrong.

Two things we learned yesterday, from Axios’ Zach Basu:

1) House Democratic leaders struck a tough, insistent tone, and committees are threatening the White House with subpoenas if it doesn’t meet tight timelines.

  • House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said: “We’re not fooling around here.”
  • Speaker Pelosi said on a call with the House Democratic Caucus, according to a readout from her office: “I think that our Chairman [Schiff] used a really good word for Barr and Pompeo and Giuliani, and they are, henchmen.”

2) Trump, who always needs a foil, and his media chorus are trying to make Schiff the face of the inquiry, way more than Pelosi.

  • Trump, who has suggested arresting Schiff for treason, said: “We don’t call him ‘Shifty Schiff’ for nothing. He’s a shifty, dishonest guy.”

A letter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Photo: Wayne Partlow/AP

What’s next: Congress hears its first impeachment witness today.

  • Kurt Volker, the special U.S. envoy to Ukraine until he resigned last week, was little known outside of foreign policy circles. Now a central figure in the early stage of the inquiry, he’s scheduled to testify in private today. (AP)

💣 Just posted at The Atlantic … George T. Conway III argues in an 11,400-word essay, “Unfit for Office,” that Trump’s “ingrained and extreme behavioral characteristics make it impossible for him to carry out the duties of the presidency in the way the Constitution requires.”

2. The trade deal that might survive impeachment

A hand holding a shipping container by a fine string
Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

The impeachment war has hastened Speaker Pelosi’s determination to approve a trade deal with Mexico and Canada, making it the one thing most likely to get done this year, lawmakers and their aides tell Axios’ Stef Kight and Alayna Treene.

  • Why it matters: Democratic lawmakers need something to bring home to their constituents ahead of 2020 — especially in vulnerable districts. And while Pelosi has said she is committed to passing several different proposals, the USMCA trade deal is the most realistic and urgent, Hill sources say.
  • If Pelosi fails, Republicans have more ammunition to scorch House Democrats for being impeachment obstructionists.

The state of play: Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), lawmakers in the USMCA working group and others are meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico on Tuesday to discuss the deal, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), a member of the working group, told Axios.

  • “Sometimes a good crisis creates more opportunity,” Gomez said of the impeachment inquiry.

What’s next: Democratic aides also said they were optimistic about passing legislation to address high drug prices along with USMCA. House Democrats will almost certainly pass a drug pricing bill.

3. Manufacturing’s trade war threat

Inside Fuyao Glass, a Chinese-owned factory in Moraine, Ohio. Photo: Andrew Spear/Washington Post/Getty Images

As the Trump administration ramps up the trade war with China, a number of foreign companies are reconsidering their place in the U.S., writes Axios’ Erica Pandey.

  • While some are concerned about doing business in an “America First” environment, others appear to be delaying big-ticket projects — with scores of jobs hanging in the balance.

Why it matters: Almost a fifth of all manufacturing jobs in the U.S. are created by foreign companies that put their factories in American towns to get closer to the U.S. market, according to Brookings, and around a quarter of U.S. exports come from factories owned by foreign countries, reports the Washington Post.

4. Pic du jour

Photo: Margaret Talev/Axios

Spotted at Tuesday’s Nats-Brewers NL wild-card game at Nationals Park in Washington …

5. Third Way poll: What could government do to improve your life?

Word cloud: Third Way

In a quarterly poll of Democratic primary voters for Third Way, the center-left think tank, David Binder Research found:

  • “[V]oters want candidates to focus on kitchen-table concerns like health care and the economy, as well as cleaning up Washington.”

See full results.

6. Kamala Harris: “Emphatic but elusive”

Courtesy TIME

From a Kamala Harris interview with Molly Ball in the forthcoming TIME:

  • On President Trump: “This guy has completely trampled on the rule of law, avoided consequence and accountability under law. For all the sh-t people give me for being a prosecutor, listen. I believe there should be accountability and consequence.”
  • On questioning Attorney General William Barr: “It has become clear to me that these are the kinds of questions you have to ask members of this administration. What kind of unethical requests has this president made of you?”

7. Beto, Mayor Pete mix it up on guns

Photo: Rob Groulx for Axios

No other 2020 Democrat at a gun-policy forum yesterday endorsed Beto O’Rourke’s proposal to implement a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons, Axios’ Alexi McCammond reports from Vegas.

O’Rourke explicitly called out Pete Buttigieg — both on stage and in a brief press conference — for their disagreement on this issue:

  • Buttigieg said when asked about the buybacks debate among 2020 Democrats: “We have a way, sometimes, as a party … of getting caught. Just when we’ve amassed the discipline and the force to get something done right away, a shiny object makes it harder for us to focus.”
  • O’Rourke’s retort: “Those who are worried about the polls, or want to triangulate or talk to consultants or listen to focus groups — and I’m thinking about Mayor Pete on this one, who I think probably wants to get to the right place, but is afraid of doing the right thing right now.”

Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/MSNBC

Above, Gabby Giffords asks Joe Biden a question from the audience.

8. “Everything Is Private Equity Now”

Courtesy Bloomberg Businessweek

“Spurred by cheap loans and investors desperate to boost returns, buyout firms roam every corner of the corporate world,” according to the forthcoming Bloomberg Businessweek:

[H]aving once operated on the comfortable margins of Wall Street, private equity is now facing tougher questions from politicians, regulators, and activists. One of PE’s superpowers is that it’s hard for outsiders to see and understand the industry.

Keep reading.

9. First look: Twitter celebrates women journalists

Courtesy Twitter

Twitter has started a video series called #HerStory that highlights the work and lives of women journalists.

  • It’s launching its Washington, D.C., series, which includes sit down interviews with USA Today’s Susan Page, American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan, PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor, and the Washington Post’s Ashley Parker and Seung Min Kim.

10. 1 film thing

A change to U.S. copyright law in the late 70s allows authors to reclaim rights to their work from studios after a few decades, so the passage of time may now “unsettle who owns the ability to make sequels and reboots of iconic films from the mid- to late-’80s,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

  • Some of the classic franchises that could change hands: “Terminator,” Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Beetlejuice,” “Die Hard,” “Predator,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Why it matters: “Studios might be hesitant to greenlight anything under a legal cloud.”

CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS

CDN’s Daily News Blast delivers the day’s news first! View this email in your browser CDN Daily News Blast 10/03/2019 Excerpts: President Donald Trump’s Schedule for Thursday, October 3, 2019 By R. Mitchell – President Donald Trump will meet with and participate in a press conference with the President of Finland. Keep up with Trump on Our President’s Schedule Page. President Trump’s Itinerary for 10/3/19 – note: this  page will be updated during the day if events warrant All Times EDT 10:00 AM Depart … President Donald Trump’s Schedule for Thursday, October 3, 2019 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 »

Chuck Schumer Wants IRS To Investigate NRA, Consider Stripping Tax-Exempt Status By Chris White – Sens. Ron Wyden and Chuck Schumer are urging the IRS to investigate and possible strip the NRA of its tax-exempt status after a Democrat-led investigation revealed its connections to a foreign agent. Findings in a recent invitation by the House Finance Committee raises “questions” about whether violated its “social welfare … Chuck Schumer Wants IRS To Investigate NRA, Consider Stripping Tax-Exempt Status 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 »

Schiff Knew Of Whistleblower Complaint Before It Was Filed: Report By Shelby Talcott – Adam Schiff knew about allegations that President Donald Trump used his position to ask Ukrainian officials to look into Joe Biden and his son before the whistleblower’s complaint was filed, a spokesman and numerous American officials said, according to the New York Times. The whistleblower, a CIA officer, had a … Schiff Knew Of Whistleblower Complaint Before It Was Filed: Report 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 »

Watch Live: President Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with the President of Finland By R. Mitchell – President Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with the President of Finland. Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and requirements. Watch Live: President Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with the President of Finland 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 Declares Victory After A Judge Blocked California’s Attempt To Keep Him Off The Ballot By Chris White – President Donald Trump declared victory Wednesday after a judge blocked a California law that sought to keep his name off the state’s ballot ahead of the 2020 election. Judge Morrison England Jr. officially blocked the law Tuesday afternoon, giving the president a major victory pending a California appeal. The law, … Trump Declares Victory After A Judge Blocked California’s Attempt To Keep Him Off The Ballot 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 »

Blocked Artery Takes Bernie Off Campaign Trail By Chuck Ross – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is off the campaign trail and in a Las Vegas hospital after having surgery to clear up a blocked artery. “During a campaign event yesterday evening, Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort. Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in … Blocked Artery Takes Bernie Off Campaign Trail 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 »

Girl Who Cried Wolf – Al Goodwyn Cartoon By Al GoodwynGirl Who Cried Wolf – Al Goodwyn Cartoon 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 »

Christopher Steele’s State Department Contacts Have Avoided Scrutiny By Chuck Ross – State Department officials aided two politically-charged operations, one carried out by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani; the other by former British spy Christopher Steele State Department officials set up meetings for Steele in 2016. At least one official hyped Steele’s reputation to the media, and disseminated his now-infamous dossier to other … Christopher Steele’s State Department Contacts Have Avoided Scrutiny 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 »

Schiff Head – A.F. Branco Cartoon By A.F. Branco – Schiff’s lies and attacks against President Trump continue to grow the Trump campaign funds for 2020. Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2019. See more Branco toons HERE Schiff Head – A.F. Branco Cartoon 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 »

Democrats Hoist on Their Own Transcript By Michael R Shannon – “Heard it from a friend who Heard it from a friend who Heard it from another you been messin’ around”                REO Speedwagon Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s call for formal impeachment proceedings is not the first time this has happened in Congress. It’s not even the first time President Trump has … Democrats Hoist on Their Own Transcript 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 Twitter Friend on Facebook Add on Google Plus Copyright © 2019 Conservative Daily News, All rights reserved.


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CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS

Connect: Facebook Twitter YouTube View this email in your browser “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit,” (Galatians 5:25, ESV). Brandt Jean to Amber Guyger: “I Forgive” By Shane Vander Hart on Oct 03, 2019 01:58 am
18-year-old Brandt Jean to his brother’s killer, Amber Guyger: ” forgive, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.”
Read in browser »


Protecting At-Risk Children By Shane Vander Hart on Oct 02, 2019 04:51 pm
A federal court ruled that faith-based foster and adoption agencies in Michigan cannot be forced to close because they will not compromise their religious beliefs by placing foster children with same-sex or unmarried couples.
Read in browser »


Saying “Free Speech Is Important” Is A Fox News Talking Point? By Shane Vander Hart on Oct 02, 2019 09:48 am
Shane Vander Hart: Tulsi Gabbard stating that “free speech is important” is not a Fox News talking point, but a constitutional principle.
Read in browser »


Recent Articles:
Trump Congratulates China on 70 Years of Communism
Miller-Meeks Announces 4th Run in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District
Court Says University of Iowa Officers Personally Liable for Religious Discrimination
There Will Be No Second Civil War Over Donald Trump
Linda Upmeyer to Step Down as Iowa Speaker of the House Launched in 2006,  Caffeinated Thoughts reports news and shares commentary about culture, current events, faith and state and national politics from a Christian and conservative point of view.  Caffeinated Thoughts
P.O. Box 57184
Des Moines, IA 50317
(515) 321-5077
Editor, Shane Vander Hart
Connect: FacebookTwitterInstagram, and YouTube. Share Tweet Share Forward Copyright © 2019 Caffeinated Thoughts, All rights reserved.


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THE BLAZE

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here Trending now Mystery surrounds deaths of mutilated cattle in Oregon   Rosie O’Donnell deletes Twitter poll that failed to show support for impeachment       More from TheBlaze Victim Botham Jean’s brother forgives convicted ex-officer for killing, embraces her at sentencing   New poll shows support for President Trump growing despite  impeachment campaign by Democrats     Breaking: Wealthy Democratic donor Ed Buck indicted for overdose deaths of black men at his apartment   Media SMEAR journalist John Solomon after research on DNC and Ukraine corruption   more stories One last thing… Class-action suit: CPS in Illinois took newborns at birth after parents legally opted out of Vitamin K shot Several parents in Illinois have filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, affiliated agents, doctors, nurses, and major hospitals who they say worked in coordination to either take their newborns or threatened to after they chose not to have the elective Vitamin K shot administered to their babies right afte… Read more Share Tweet Email  

DESERET NEWS

View this email in your browser Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019 The pope is making a statement about immigration with this new statue at the Vatican  Christian Sagers: I was only 6 when Clinton was impeached. Here’s what I think of impeaching Trump Utah’s $60,000 solution to keep school teachers from fleeing 5 reasons a fulfilling job is important (Sponsored) Boyd Matheson: What a Washington Post op-ed writer got wrong about Brigham Young Mark Shurtleff says he’s accepted Utah’s offer of $600K for his legal fees MORE NEWS The Utah Jazz made a philosophical change during the offseason. How might that affect Rudy Gobert? Utah pharmaceutical company rolls out first affordable drugs to combat nationwide shortages University of Utah students make safety recommendations to school leaders Copyright © 2019 Deseret News, All rights reserved.


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THE WASHINGTON TIMES

MORNING EDITION
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Moderate Democrats in GOP crosshairs after tipping scales on impeachment Rep. Elaine Luria and other moderate Democrats backing impeachment are feeling the heat from conservative groups back home, complicating their … more
Top News  Read More >
Trump slams Schiff as ‘fraud’ over report that whistleblower gave him heads-up on complaint         Bernie Sanders’ hospitalization revives question: How old is too old to be president?         Biden bucks corruption charges, backs impeachment: ‘You’re not going to destroy me’ 52 minutes ago         State Department IG delivers conspiracy theory packet to Congress, Democrat says         Neil Gorsuch no ‘swing vote’ despite liberal crossovers, court watchers say         ISIS fighters find refuge, rebuild networks in northern Iraq, Kurdish peshmerga warn        
Opinion  Read More >
The case of the so-called Ukraine whistleblower scandal 21 minutes ago         Democratic tactics undermine their case for impeachment         Faith, President Trump and the political power debate      
Politics  Read More >
Most Giuliani mentions in whistleblower complaint came from public statements, news         Kevin McCarthy signs censure resolution against Adam Schiff         Stonewalling alone could be grounds for impeachment, top Democrats say      
Special Reports for Times Readers   Special Report – Energy 2019 Special Report – Free Iran Rally 2019 Special Report – Qatar: What Makes America’s Great Ally Special
Security  Read More >
Trump says whistleblower and informants must be identified         North Korea seeks to twist U.S. arm in talks with sub-launched ballistic missile test         China’s new hypersonic missile      
Sports  Read More >
Vrana scores in OT, Capitals beat Blues in opener         LOVERRO: Bellinger-Rendon MVP debate to be part of NLDS narrative         A league of parity? NFL’s 2019 sees extremes from good teams to poor      
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THE WASHINGTON POST MORNING MIX

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories from all over.       WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 2 : President Donald J. Trump talks about the whistleblower during a meeting with President of Finland Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday, Oct 02, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) ‘Has anyone checked in on the president of Finland?’: Trump’s ‘off the rails’ performance turned a foreign leader into a meme “Have you ever gone over to a couple’s house not knowing they just decided to get a divorce?” one person tweeted. “That’s Finnish President Sauli Niinistö today.” By Allyson Chiu ● Read more » Amber Guyger was hugged by her victim’s brother and a judge, igniting a debate about forgiveness and race The two extraordinary moments would polarize just like the case that led up to them, raising fresh questions about race in a white officer’s fatal shooting of a black man. By Hannah Knowles ● Read more »   ‘I’m laughing’: Gang member ‘executed’ 9-year-old boy in an alley and then joked about it, prosecutors say Prosecutors used DNA evidence, GPS tracking and a recorded jailhouse boast to lay out the frightening final minutes of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee’s life. By Katie Shepherd ● Read more » ADVERTISEMENT ‘Burn this letter xoxo’: Fake weight loss nurse tried to hire a hitman from Florida jail, police say Faced with felony charges for operating an unsanctioned weight loss clinic in central Florida, Jesusadelaida “Jesse” Lopez worried that her husband would be a key witness, officials say. By Antonia Farzan ● Read more » Sperm donor says fertility clinic ‘lied’ after discovering he fathered 17 kids ― most in the same area Some attended the same school and church. One lives in the same Oregon town as the donor. He thought they were all on the East Coast. By Meagan Flynn ● Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT A burglar broke into a Florida home. A 15-year-old died protecting his little sister, police say. Students at local schools wore blue on Monday in honor of Khyler Edman who died from injuries related to the attack. By Teo Armus ● Read more »   ‘Not racist but …’: White police officer who killed innocent black man in his home sent offensive texts After a jury convicted former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger of murder, prosecutors introduced text messages that show her making offensive statements. By Katie Shepherd ● Read more »   ‘It’s a dumb thing to say’: Critics blast Trump for calling his impeachment inquiry a ‘COUP’ The claim is recycled from the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton, legal scholars say. By Meagan Flynn ● Read more »     We think you’ll like this newsletter Check out The Trailer for news and insight on political campaigns around the country, from David Weigel. 435 districts. 50 states. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings. Sign up »  
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THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Washington Examiner’s Examiner Today Newsletter View this as website   ADVERTISEMENT
HIGHLIGHTS Ukrainian prosecutor alleges he was told to back off Biden-connected investigation Fox News parts with radio host after guest claims Democrats worship demonic god Moloch ‘I love you as a person’: Brother of Botham Jean hugs Amber Guyger after she is sentenced to 10 years   ‘Normal activities’: Graham urges foreign leaders to keep helping Barr in Russia origins inquiry   Sen. Lindsey Graham is urging the leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia to cooperate with the Justice Department in its broad inquiry into how the Trump-Russia investigation began.     Trump administration to implement DNA testing of detained undocumented people   The Trump administration will reportedly begin DNA testing migrants who are detained trying to enter the country illegally, according to the New York Times.     ‘Everybody has a plan for something, right?’: Kamala Harris takes veiled swipe at Warren slogan   2020 presidential hopeful Kamala Harris took a swipe at her primary competitor Elizabeth Warren during MSNBC’s Wednesday evening gun town hall.     To save labor, Democrats revive idea unions dropped in 1950s: ‘Sectoral bargaining’   In a sign of the importance of labor backing in the 2020 Democratic primary, several candidates have courted unions by endorsing the idea of “sectoral bargaining,” that is, collective bargaining on a large scale, involving multiple unions and companies, often covering an entire industry.   ADVERTISEMENT
  ‘Not going to take a fall’: Kurt Volker, former Ukraine envoy, poised to dispute Giuliani in congressional testimony   Kurt Volker, the former special representative for Ukraine negotiations, will dispute Rudy Giuliani’s account of back channel meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sources told the Washington Examiner.     ‘An orchestrated farce’: House Intel Republicans accuse Schiff of concealing info about whistleblower   Top House Intelligence Committee Republicans accused Chairman Adam Schiff of withholding information from the panel about a whistleblower complaint concerning President Trump before it became public.     DOJ ordered White House personnel to preserve all records of calls with foreign leaders   The Justice Department ordered White House personnel and other Trump administration officials to preserve all records related to any of President Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders.     Warren faces multiple pro-Trump protests in Nevada   Elizabeth Warren may be surging in early primary polls, but the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate received a mixed reception during her one-day swing through Nevada.     ‘Did you have a little Merlot?’: Fox Business host wonders if Lewandowski is drunk on air   Fox Business host Lisa Kennedy asked former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski if he was drunk during his appearance on her show Wednesday night.     Imprisoned Paul Manafort is Rudy Giuliani’s guide on Ukraine ‘black ledger’   Rudy Giuliani consulted the imprisoned Paul Manafort through a lawyer for his investigation into allegations that Ukraine aided Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.     ‘Look at this photograph’: Trump drags Nickelback into impeachment controversy with picture of Bidens golfing President Trump trolled former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter with a viral video featuring a Nickelback song.     William Barr has John Brennan ‘concerned’ about DOJ inquiry into Russia investigation origins   Former CIA Director John Brennan said he is “concerned” about the Justice Department’s review of the origins of the Russia investigation.   THE ROUNDUP Is age only a number, even when you’re running for president? Trump involved Pence in efforts to pressure Ukraine Andrew Yang puts other Dems to shame with big cash haul ADVERTISEMENT

   

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Columnists There’s Dumb And Then There’s Impeachment Dumb
Kurt Schlichter How China ‘Woke’ America
Victor Davis Hanson Tragic Amber Guyger Case Concludes With a Ray of Hope
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LEGAL INSURRECTION

Share This
  What did Adam Schiff know, and when did he know it?
REPORT: Schiff Knew of Whistle-Blower Accusations Before Complaint Was Filed   Desperate Kamala Harris Calls for Trump’s Twitter Suspension in Midst of Campaign Disarray
Bernie Sanders Hospitalized in Las Vegas, Undergoes Procedure for Artery Blockage
Germany to Boost Border Checks Amid Surge in Illegal Immigration       Dartmouth Prof Thinks Colleges Should Require White Privilege Courses
U. Wisconsin Pulls Promotional Video for Homecoming that Didn’t Include Minorities
Activists Use Harvard President’s Slavery Gaffe to Demand Divestment from Prisons  
 
William Jacobson:WILL I SEE YOU IN AUSTIN? October 15 at Texas Public Policy Foundation
Kemberlee Kaye: “LOL at the Democrats. This Schiff business is going to blow up in their faces. Again. For the gazillionth time. And they still won’t learn.”
Mary Chastain: “HOLY SCHIFF! You mean Adam Schiff isn’t an honest person? I’m shocked. Truly.”
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David Gerstman: “Maybe Hunter Biden didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe he really deserved $50,000 monthly consulting fees from the Ukranian energy company Burisma Holdings. Still it’s hard to take the “Hunter Biden didn’t do anything wrong” narrative I keep seeing in the media. It wasn’t that long ago that Jared Kushner was being accused left and right with potential conflicts of interest by the same folks who have no problem with the younger Biden’s business dealings. Every new piece of evidence that his father’s position was what Burisma was paying for makes it harder to ignore that maybe not everything was on the up and up.”
Vijeta Uniyal: “Germany will ramp up border checks to stop illegal immigrants, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced. The move comes after the country’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) made big gains in last month’s regional elections.”
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REALCLEARPOLITICS


10/03/2019 Share: Carl Cannon’s Morning Note Fundraising Buzz or Bust? Whistlegate’s Loose Lips; Charlie and Us By Carl M. Cannon on Oct 03, 2019 08:32 am
Good morning, it’s Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Sixty-nine years ago this week, a new comic strip made its maiden appearance in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post and five other U.S. newspapers. Its author and illustrator was a 27-year-old Minnesota native named Charles M. Schulz. The syndicated strip was “Peanuts.” By the time Schulz died 50 years later — a millionaire with books and TV specials to his credit and his name etched in the annals of mass culture — his drawings and commentary were considered by many newspaper editors to be corny and tragically un-hip. Millions of their readers, particularly those of a certain age, still found them amusing and profound. One thing is sure, however: At its inception, “Peanuts” was considered edgy. That initial strip, which ran on Oct. 2, 1950, featured two unnamed kids whom readers would come to know as Shermy and Patty, sitting on a sidewalk. A third kid, who says nothing, passes by. “Well, here comes ol’ Charlie Brown,” observes Shermy. In two successive frames, the boy uses the expression “good ol’ Charlie Brown” until the innocent object of this discussion is out of the picture — and out of earshot. That’s when Shermy delivers the zinger: “How I hate him!” It was funny, but dark, especially since kids were doing all the talking. In a moment, I’ll offer a thought on what Schulz was driving at — and about the broader cultural significance of Charlie Brown and friends. First, I’d point you to RealClearPolitics’ front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion columns spanning the political spectrum. We also offer original material from our own reporters and contributors, including the following: * * * Trump Fundraising Haul Shows Impeachment Backfiring on Dems. Brad Parscale spotlights the $13 million the RNC and Trump campaign raked in within 36 hours of Nancy Pelosi’s announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry.  Why Trump Donor Bonanza May Be a Flash in the Pan. Matt Compton offers a Democratic view on the fundraising tally being touted by the GOP. Whistlegate Reveals Chatty Minders of State Secrets. A CIA analyst’s whistleblower complaint shows a flouting of rules regarding intelligence-sharing within the government, Eric Felten reports for RealClearInvestigations. The Real Reason for Increasing Prescription Prices. In RealClearPolicy, Wayne Sasser touts legislation intended to reveal how pharmacy benefit managers receive kickbacks from Big Pharma in the form of so-called rebates.  Biden Should Visit Glover Park. RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny advises the 2020 front-runner to get a glimpse of how Wall Street’s intrepid financing of big business creates opportunity for small businesses to thrive. University Admissions Scandals Go Deeper Than You Think. In RealClearEducation, Wallace Hall puts blame on trustees who turn a blind eye to administrators’ corruption. Are Mosquitoes Really Mass Murderers? RealClearScience editor Ross Pomeroy examines the oft-cited assertion that malaria has caused the death of half the humans who have ever lived. * * * In a media landscape fractured along numerous demographic and ideological lines, Americans of the Millennial and Gen Z generations might have trouble comprehending just how universally appealing the “Peanuts” comic strip was — and not just in the United States. At its apex, Charlie Brown and his friends appeared, via the mid-century miracle of syndication, in 21 languages in 75 countries to an audience that surpassed 350 million people. Although that audience eventually waned, Charles Schulz’s output didn’t. Over a period of five decades, he drew some 18,000 “Peanuts” strips and in almost all of them, children (and pets) are the only characters. So what lessons was he trying to impart? Well, there were many, but I’ll look at one. Human beings are complicated, he was telling us, and we are that way from an early age. Another way of saying this is that people are not strictly one way or another. Over the years, Schulz generally let his art do his speaking for him, but it was always clear that Charlie Brown and “Charlie” Schulz were not one and the same. Or, rather, that Charlie Brown’s brooding, somewhat depressive character is only one facet of the author’s own personality. A few years ago, his widow Jeannie told Stuart Jeffries, a feature writer with The Guardian, that her husband had said he possessed the traits of all the comic strip’s major characters. “Charlie Brown is my wishy-washy and insecure side,” Schulz would say. “Lucy is my smart-alec side. Linus is my more curious and thoughtful side. Snoopy is the way I would l like to be — fearless, the life of the party, and brushing off Lucy’s bad temper with a glancing kiss.” Nonetheless, a lead character with Charlie Brown’s insecurities connected with readers of all ages who were wrestling with their own anxieties. And he did so in a way that made readers smile. “Sometimes you lie in bed and you don’t have a single thing to worry about,” Charlie Brown reflected once. “That always worries me.” Stuart Jeffries wrote that he always connected with this brooding side of Charlie. In a 2018 piece for the BBC about a new museum exhibition of Schulz’s work, Canadian writer Cameron Laux made a similar personal observation. Laux also captured perfectly why we cared about these characters. “When I was growing up in the middle of nowhere in western Canada, I loved Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips,” Laux wrote. “Their meditative, downbeat tone resonated with my understanding of life. They are comic strips full of the vulnerabilities of childhood: what satisfactions they offer us are subtle and hard-won — such as those of friendship.”  Carl M. Cannon  
Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics
@CarlCannon (Twitter)
ccannon@realclearpolitics.com
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  Harris Leads U.S. Democrats in Facebook Ads on Impeachment; Biden Absent By Reuters, Thursday, October 3, 2019 7:28 AM “No one is above the law. He must be impeached.” More  Comments »   Trump to Unveil Order Aiming to Boost Medicare Health Program, Woo Seniors By Reuters, Thursday, October 3, 2019 7:27 AM Seniors are a key constituency for Republicans and Democrats. More  Comments »   Walmart to Test Programs for U.S. Workers to Cut Its Healthcare Costs By Reuters, Thursday, October 3, 2019 7:27 AM The company is the largest U.S. private-sector employer with a 1.4 million workforce. More  Comments »   U.S. Says Federal Court Should Decide Trump Tax Return Dispute By Reuters, Thursday, October 3, 2019 7:26 AM The scope of that investigation is unclear. More  Comments »   ‘Can I Give Her a Hug, Please?’: Brother of Man Killed by Dallas Cop Offers Forgiveness By Madison Dibble, Wednesday, October 2, 2019 8:13 PM “I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want…” More  Comments »   Ex-Dallas Cop Gets 10-Year Sentence for Wrong-Apartment Slaying By Reuters, Wednesday, October 2, 2019 5:21 PM Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced by a Texas jury to 10 years in prison on Wednesday, after a jury found her guilty of murder for walking into a neighbor’s apartment thinking it was her own and shooting him dead. More  Comments »
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NBC

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From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

FIRST READ: Exhibit A in the Ukraine flap is Trump’s refusal to answer one simple question

Yesterday brought us the most clarifying moment of this entire Ukraine-Trump-whistleblower story.

In a news conference, President Trump refused – repeatedly – to answer a simple question about what he wanted Ukraine President Zelensky to do regarding Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. 

Image

REUTERS/Leah Millis 

REPORTER: What about Mr. Biden? What did you want about Biden? What did you want him to look into about Biden?


TRUMP: Look, Biden and his son are stone cold crooked, and you know it. His son walks out with millions of dollars. The kid knows nothing. You know it, and so do we. Go ahead ask a question–


REPORTER: The question, sir, was what did you want President Zelensky to do about Vice President Biden and his son, Hunter?


TRUMP: Are you talking to me?

REPORTER: Yeah, it was just a follow-up of what I just asked you, sir.

TRUMP: Listen. You ready? We have the president of Finland. Ask him a question.

REPORTER: I have one for him. I just wanted to follow up on the one that I asked you, which was what did you want–

TRUMP: Did you hear me? Did you hear me? Ask him a question, please. I’ve given you a long answer. Ask this gentleman a question. Don’t be rude.

REPORTER: No, Sir. I don’t want to be rude. I just wanted you to have a chance to answer the question that I asked you.

TRUMP: I answered everything.


But he didn’t answer anything on that question.

If you wanted an “AHA” moment in this story, you got it.

To remind you, here’s what Trump asked Zelensky, according to the transcription memo of that July 25 call.

The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General [referring to Bill Barr] would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.

Trump can’t BOTH 1) claim that everything in that transcription memo is “perfect” and “not a thing wrong with it” – and 2) also refuse to answer the most significant allegation arising from that July 25 call.

That he asked another world leader for help against the man who might be his chief rival in the 2020 presidential election. 

Biden fires back at Trump

Former Vice President Joe Biden last night delivered his most forceful remarks to date responding to Trump over the Ukraine controversy, per NBC’s Marianna Sotomayor.

“Let me make something clear to Trump and his hatchet men and the special interests funding his attacks against me: I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going to destroy me. And you’re not going to destroy my family.”

Biden added, “I don’t care how much money you spend or how dirty the attacks get.”

The question we have: Why it did it take Biden this long to deliver that response? 

TWEET OF THE DAY: Former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker testifies today

Image

2020 VISION: We still don’t know a lot about Bernie Sanders’ medical situation

Here are the facts regarding Bernie Sanders’ health situation:

  • His campaign revealed yesterday that he had an emergency heart procedure on Tuesday night (“he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted,” a statement campaign said).
  • Sanders tweeted that he’s “feeling good. I’m fortunate to have good health care and great doctors and nurses helping me to recover.”
  • The campaign has canceled events and appearances until further notice.
  • And the political world is sending him best wishes for a strong recovery.

But that’s all we know. And the lack of additional information only leads to articles like this from Slate: “Did Bernie Sanders Have a Heart Attack?”

As long as he’s a presidential candidate, at age 78, the campaign owes the public more answers about his health situation.

Just ask yourself how we’d be approaching this story if the candidate was Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump, or Joe Biden. 

Image

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

On the campaign trail today: Elizabeth Warren holds a town hall in San Diego, Calif…. Kamala Harris and Beto O’Rourke stump in Nevada… Amy Klobuchar campaigns in Iowa… And Tulsi Gabbard is in New Hampshire.

Dispatches from NBC’s embeds: Tulsi Gabbard campaigned in New Hampshire, while most of her Democratic opponents were in Las Vegas at a gun control forum, and said she’d be open to meeting with NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre. NBC’s Julia Jester reports, “A lifetime NRA member suggested a ‘bold move’ that she take a meeting with Wayne LaPierre, arguing, ‘You sat down with Assad, I don’t think Wayne LaPierre is that scary.’” Gabbard responded, “That’s something I’d be open to. And you’re exactly right. Just as with our foreign policy, we have to be willing to meet with leaders and whoever they may be – adversaries or dictators or otherwise – because the only alternative to diplomacy is war. And we have to be willing to do the same right here at home.”

The chairman of the Nevada Republican Party tweeted out a video of supporters of President Trump heckling Elizabeth Warren as she arrived in Reno, Nevada, NBC’s Benjamin Pu flags. The video shows protestors screaming, “stop the impeachment” and calling Warren a Native American slur. The state party chairman Michael McDonald tweeted alongside the video, “Welcome to Reno @ewarren! This is @teamtrump country!!”

DATA DOWNLOAD: And the number of the day is … $1.3 million

$1.3 million.

That’s what Bernie Sanders planned to spend on a TV ad buy in Iowa before abruptly canceling it yesterday.

Sanders announced the major buy on Tuesday but pulled it from stations yesterday morning, according to ad trackers at Advertising Analytics. The campaign described the move as a “postponement.”  

THE LID: Nothin’ could be finer

Don’t miss the pod from yesterday, when we checked in with some early states that aren’t Iowa and New Hampshire.  

ICYMI: News clips you shouldn’t miss 

The Washington Post reports that Trump involved Mike Pence in his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian president.

The State Department’s inspector general briefed congressional aides yesterday about apparent attempts to smear the former ambassador to Ukraine.

The president used two interchanges with the media yesterday to turn impeachment into a partisan rallying cry, writes Jonathan Allen.

Trump, Republicans have accused House Intel Chair Schiff of orchestrating the whistleblower complaint.

The Trump administration wants to expand the collection of DNA from migrants in custody and share it with the FBI.
 

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

THE FEDERALIST

Your daily update of new content from The Federalist
Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray October 3, 2019
GOP Senators Demand Investigation Of Classified Leaks From Anti-Trump Whistleblower Complaint By Chrissy Clark
GOP senators demanded the intelligence community inspector general investigate classified leaks from the Russia probe and the Ukraine call.
Full article Ukrainian Officials Didn’t Believe Trump Used Funding As Bargaining Chip By Erielle Davidson
According to BuzzFeed News, at the time of the infamous phone call, the Ukrainian president already thought U.S. aid was on its way. It’s hard to have a quid pro quo without the other party knowing he is being threatened.
Full article 2020 Is All About The Binary, And That Means Impeachment Could Hurt Democrats By Emily Jashinsky
The impeachment inquiry challenges Democrats to a delicate balancing act for one critical reason: their effort plays into the GOP’s 2020 strategy.
Full article Natalie Portman’s Disappointing ‘Lucy In The Sky’ Is Definitely No Diamond By James Dawson
‘Lucy in the Sky’ is the second flick in two weeks about an emotionally broken astronaut who goes rogue with no regard for the consequences.
Full article Late-Term Abortionist Offers Mothers The Chance To Cuddle Their Dead Babies By Stella Morabito
The open practice of killing then cuddling does not simply represent a ghastly declaration that children are both fully human and disposable. It signifies a war against the mother-child bond.
Full article Impeachment Is Nothing But Throwing More Dirt And Hoping Some Will Stick By Andy Biggs
Democrats have tossed every piece of dirt and dung at the president hoping that something would stick. Well, nothing has.
Full article How The Media’s Lies About Innocent Fathers Also Harm Their Daughters By Vanessa Kohorst
While Justice Brett Kavanaugh made it through the confirmation process, my dad didn’t. His nomination was defeated because of completely unsupported abuse allegations.
Full article The New York Times’ 1619 Project Reeks Of Herbert Marcuse’s Divisive Ideology By Mike Gonzalez
Full of essays presenting slavery as the central issue of the American story, and accusing the free market of creating such bondage, the ‘1619 Project’ is another attempt to make Americans question their country’s very core.
Full article Why The Star Wars Franchise’s Decline Is A True Loss For American Culture By David Breitenbeck
If it were only ‘Star Wars’ being destroyed, we might pass over it as a mere unfortunate mistake, but hardly a major fictional franchise or character remains that has not suffered, from Marvel Comics to James Bond.
Full article According To Democrats, Everything Is A ‘Right!’ Except Owning A Firearm By Tristan Justice
While they might be convenient and sometimes in need, these are not ‘rights’ that warrant government infringement on the rights of others to secure them.
Full article How The Media Uses Twitter To Exacerbate Cancel Culture By Orrin Konheim
Entertainment media outlets need to be more responsible, and toe the line between defining cancel culture conflicts and manufacturing them.
Full article Far-Left Elizabeth Warren Picking Up Steam Against Biden And Sanders By Tristan Justice
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is on the rise, at a cost for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is sinking in critical states.
Full article BREAKING: Anti-Trump Whistleblower Colluded With House Democrats Before Filing Complaint By Sean Davis
The anti-Trump whistleblower and his CIA colleagues actively colluded with House Democrats before filing a complaint with the inspector general.
Full article Watch: Morrissey To Protester: ‘Go, Goodbye, We Don’t Need You’ By David Marcus
In Portland, Oregon on Sunday night, the singer Morrissey kicked out a lefty protestor before going on with his show.
Full article IC Inspector General Didn’t Review Ukraine Call Before Forwarding Whistleblower Complaint By Matt Beebe
In a recently declassified letter from Michael Atkinson, we learn that his investigation didn’t even include a review of the phone transcript at the core of the entire complaint.
Full article Nancy Pelosi Is Acting In Bad Faith On The Impeachment Inquiry By John Daniel Davidson
Pelosi thinks the White House should work with House Democrats to pass legislation even as they pursue a partisan impeachment inquiry.
Full article The Key Point About Whistleblowers’ First-Hand Knowledge Isn’t The Law, It’s The Shady Regulation Changes By Margot Cleveland
The problem is not altering the directions to comply with the statute. It is that the instruction suggests the inspector general’s office changed its policy to get Trump.
Full article Hillary Clinton Repeats Falsehood She Once Said Endangered Democracy By Madeline Osburn
Clinton once claimed that if Trump refused to accept the 2016 election results, it would be a “direct threat to our democracy.” Now she’s threatening democracy, according to her own definition.
Full article Bernie Sanders Hospitalized For Emergency Heart Procedure Following Arterial Blockage By Chrissy Clark
During a campaign event Tuesday evening, Bernie Sanders experienced “chest discomfort.” Doctors found a blockage in the senator’s artery.
Full article Fourth Employee Sues NYC Education Department For Anti-White Racism By David Marcus
This week, Leslie Miller Chislett became the fourth employee of the New York City DOE to bring suit against the department for its anti-white bias.
Full article




IMPEACHMENT: POMPEO WAS ON UKRAINE CALL:
The attempts to loop Barr and Pompeo into the impeachment process is very obvious. http://vlt.tc/3rv1 “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged for the first time that he listened in on the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine’s leader that has resulted in a House impeachment inquiry, and said the conversation occurred in the context of normal U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine.

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AMERICAN THINKER

View this email in your browser Recent Articles Why President Trump Is Likely to Win the Rust Belt in 2020 Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
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No Democrat in the Congress has stepped forward to say that we need to investigate what happened and ask the tough questions.  Read more…
The Dems are doomed
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
The impeachment Hail Mary is about to be intercepted.  Read more…
Buttigieg: Abortion is OK, but executing terrorist prisoners is not
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
What a windbag.  Read more…
The NYT and ‘shooting migrants’
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
It’s hard to see how a story like this makes it out of a newsroom.  Read more…
Wishin’ and Hopin’: The mainstream media is desperate for a recession
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
So they’re doing all they can to play down the Trump economic success story.  Read more…
The Political Civil War is real
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
It may be bloodless (so far), but it’s still dangerous.  Read more…
One dares call it treason
Oct 03, 2019 01:00 am
The Deep State is the enemy of the people.  Read more…
Six ways to Sunday? Intelligence chiefs not only altered rules about firsthand knowledge to file whistleblower report…
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
…they also tried to rig their impeachment bid on Trump at least seven additional ways, according to an explosive new report from the Federalist’s Sean Davis.  Read more…
Boulder warfare in blue and ever more Hobbesian San Francisco
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
Residents have taken matters into their own hands, purchasing and installing boulders on their home sidewalks in a bid to prevent homeless “camping.” The solid blue city is having none of it.  Read more…
In migrant-surged Sweden, now it’s the Swedes who are fleeing
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
The central planners who admitted all these migrants didn’t see that one coming.  Read more…
San Francisco backs down after NRA challenges its designation as ‘terrorist organization’
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
Bullies are cowards, especially progressive bullies. And when crazed, bullies get themselves into untenable situations from which the only option is a humiliating retreat.  Read more…
Chalupa is not merely a Taco Bell menu item; it’s also an exploding cigar
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
Democrats have opened Pandora’s box by taking up the subject of election influence coming from Ukraine.  Read more…
Kamala Harris reveals her totalitarian impulse
Oct 02, 2019 01:00 am
A confession that her side of the political divide can’t win arguments unless the other side is silenced. This  Read more…
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Impeachment: Two Ways to Go With Coup d’Etat 2.0 Posted: 02 Oct 2019 09:28 PM PDT Do NOT underestimate the combined power of the Democrat Party and its Leftmedia impeachment machine.
“We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.” —John Adams (1797)

by Mark Alexander: Last week, as I was preparing a comprehensive analysis on the threat to American Liberty posed by the Democrat Party’s latest proposal to register all firearm transactions, a much more immediate and significant threat to our Constitution emerged.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the centerpiece of the Democrats’ 2020 presidential campaign platform, which her House and Senate colleagues can also run on — “Impeach Trump.”

Make no mistake, Pelosi’s impeachment pivot is a hard extension of the previous soft coup d’etat to take down Trump, the fake Russia collusion fabrication, which fell flat after the Mueller investigation concluded.

President Trump responded to the version 2.0 coup attempt, declaring: “I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of the United States of America!”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a historian who chooses his words carefully, concurred: “This is not an impeachment process. This is a coup d’etat.”

Predictably, calling the Democrats’ impeachment effort what it is immediately set leftist heads aflame. But recall the words of key Demos during the impeachment of one of their own — serial liar and sexual assailant Bill Clinton.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), currently chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating Trump, insisted then that the Clinton impeachment was “a partisan coup d’etat.” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) called it an “impeachment coup d’etat, this unapologetic disregard for the voice of the people.” In her memoirs, Hillary Clinton declared Bill’s impeachment was an “attempted Congressional coup d’etat.”

So, is this a coup d’etat? Apparently for Democrats, “It depends what your definition of ‘is’ is,” as Bill Clinton absurdly declared in his “impeachment inquiry.” As Hillary would say, “What difference does it make?”

Well, there is a difference between the impeachment of Clinton and the effort to oust Trump — and it is a very BIG difference. The Clinton impeachment was not orchestrated by government operatives at the highest levels of the FBI and CIA, attempting to depose a president. That is precisely what happened to Trump after his election, and is happening again by way of complaint from an unnamed plaintiff believed to be a CIA case officer. These serial attacks on Trump are the most egregious assaults on Rule of Law in our nation’s history.

We correctly labeled the first conspiracy to overthrow the 2016 election a “coup d’etat” 18 months ago, when evidence surfaced that the FISA memo that set off the Trump investigation was engineered by deep-state operatives in the FBI and CIA.

They were, and still are, operating in the interest of Barack Obama and Hillary “Gutsy” Clinton, and deep-state fingerprints are all over Pelosi’s Ukrainian quid pro quo impeachment charade. I maintain this is a subversive “coup d’etat.”

Actually, what Pelosi announced on 24 September was the first salvo in what will be a deliberately drawn-out political saga, a theatrical sequel that picks up where their last hoax left off. At some point in this secretive and ill-defined process, she’ll call for a vote to inquire about what Democrats erroneously claim are impeachable offenses.

This round, House Demos are hoping to indict President Trump for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” and they’re doing so in a way that shields their process from public scrutiny while protecting their members — especially those from swing districts that Trump carried in 2016 — from public accountability. So, not only is this a constitutionally dubious process, it’s also a cowardly one.

As you know, Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of our Constitution stipulates: “The House of Representatives … shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7 stipulates, “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.”

Pelosi will eventually have her inquiry vote, though she claims, “There is no requirement that there be a full House vote.” But without the full House vote, her ranking members of committees are not able to issue subpoenas in connection with that inquiry.

Democrat House support for the inquiry now stands at 225, and Pelosi has asserted they will have a vote in November. (By way of comparison, the 1974 House inquiry vote to investigate Richard Nixon was for 410 to 4. The 1998 vote to investigate Clinton was 258 to 176.)

Pelosi can also get the required House Intelligence Committee vote from Chairman Adam Schiff, and a referral vote from Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, depending on where she and Sen. Chuck Schumer want to take it.

That will be one of two directions, depending on the prevailing winds.

First option: If Pelosi and Schumer believe voter sentiments for impeachment will stall in the coming months, then they will retain the whole affair in the House, keeping the threat of impeachment hovering over Trump’s head with endless investigations by Schiff and Nadler, until the American people can finally cast their votes on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Second option: If they believe voter sentiments will continue to grow in favor of impeachment, then Pelosi will eventually call for a vote to refer Trump for trial in the Republican-held Senate, where she and Schumer calculate it will give Democrats a chance to retake control of the Senate in 2020 by blaming Republicans for not helping them reach the requisite two-thirds of the Senate to convict and remove President Trump from office.

By way of assessing what direction they will go, if you believe all the pontifications about an upcoming electoral backlash against the Democrats similar to the one that met Republicans following the Clinton impeachment, I urge you to heed this warning: Do NOT underestimate the combined power of the Democrat Party and its Leftmedia propaganda machine to accomplish their common political goals with this impeachment charade. If the most recent evidence of how quickly their Leftmedia outlets can turn voter sentiments in favor of impeachment is any indication, a House indictment may actually make it to the Senate for trial.

In August, 35% of Americans supported impeachment. Within days of Pelosi’s announcement and the supporting Leftmedia deluge that followed, support for impeachment jumped to 43%. This week, that support is about evenly split — 50-50. While I expect that to drop off once the Trump administration begins its challenge to Round Two of the Pelosi/Schumer ruse to obstruct his MAGA agenda, the outcome of the Clinton impeachment is not a predictor for next year’s electoral outcome.

As for their current charade, impeachment was always the fallback plan if the Democrats’ collusion delusion failed — which it decidedly did.

If it’s not abundantly clear that the Democrats’ motivation for impeachment — undoing a national election — is based not on principle but on hatred, vengeance, and an insatiable lust for power, consider these additional Demo observations from Clinton’s 1998 impeachment.

According to Rep. Nancy Pelosi: “The Republican majority is not judging the president with fairness but impeaching him with a vengeance. … We are here today because the Republicans in the House are paralyzed with hatred of President Clinton. And until the Republicans free themselves of this hatred, our country will suffer.”

And here’s Rep. Jerry Nadler: “The impeachment of a president is an undoing of a national election. And one of the reasons we all feel so angry about what they are doing is that they are ripping asunder our votes. They are telling us that our votes don’t count.”

So, based on their own words, we can conclude that the Democrat majority in the House is driven by “vengeance” rather than “fairness,” that they’re “paralyzed with hatred” of President Trump, and that they’re committed to the “undoing of a national election” while “telling us that our votes don’t count.”

If you have any remaining question about their motivation for impeachment, longtime leftist pundit Michael Kinsley once famously observed, “A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.”

To that end, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) inadvertently told the truth about his party’s impeachment motivations. When asked if he was afraid that talk of impeachment “will help the president’s reelection,” he responded, “I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get reelected.”

And there you have it. This is a theatrical farce to reduce support for Trump’s reelection.

We know that Obama/Clinton deep-state operatives, in coordination with John Brennan at the CIA and James Comey at the FBI, orchestrated the first coup d’etat to overthrow the 2016 election results. Later this month, Inspector General Michael Horowitz will likely expose their co-conspirators with in his second report on the Russia collusion hoax.

The current impeachment setup is based on the same model, but exposing this ruse may not be sufficient to overcome public opinion against Trump, driven by the deluge of Demo/MSM drama.

And a warning: Reiterating a point which I first asserted in December of last year – Democrats are hoping for a one-two punch with impeachment proceedings. Knowing that Trump’s strongest re-election platform is the economy, Demos want a recession. If impeachment proceedings make it to the Senate, batten down the hatches!

Finally, amid all the din, if you missed our other key coverage this week, here are my top five picks:

Democrat Obstruction 2.0: Impeachment Game On! Pelosi has launched the impeachment inquiry — Phase 2 of the Demos’ effort to deny Trump the presidency.

The Real Whistleblower: Donald Trump is under attack for blowing the whistle on DC’s corrupt politics.

Clinton: Trump Is ‘An Illegitimate President’ — Clinton declares that Trump defeated her because of “funny things that happened.”

About the Altered Whistleblower Reporting Form

Impeachment Coup and Civil War? Trump repeats a warning to Democrats about their divisive obstruction strategy.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
——————-
Mark Alexander is Executive Editor and Publisher of The Patriot Post.
Tags: Mark Alexander, The Patriot Post, Impeachment, Two Ways to Go, With Coup d’Etat 2.0 To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Why The Debate On Guns Is So Polemic Posted: 02 Oct 2019 08:37 PM PDT by Frank Miniter: On Sept. 12, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted: “Democrats say we have guns in America because of ‘corruption’. No, we have guns because it’s our God-given right enshrined in the Constitution.”

The tweet went viral and drew reactions from Americans who know a lot about their freedom and from those who know little or nothing. Some of these later comments mocked Sanders’ mention of God.

“Oh, was God at the signing of the Constitution…?” wrote one.

Many responded by saying that yes, indeed He was.

One troll, who uses an image of one of the small people from the original movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971) as his or her picture, mocked Sanders’ allusion to God by writing: “You don’t remember ‘And He sayeth unto Thomas and George, ‘Carry thine holy musket forth and improveth upon it so that it mayeth slay many enemies in a matter of a minute. But stayeth away from lawn darts, as they are deadly and a sin in mine eyes.’”?

Funny, but really just an attempt to keep the conversation from exposing the ignorance of those criticizing Sanders.

At a time when gun-control is being talked about by many in Congress and by Democratic presidential candidates, more people clearly need to learn more about the nature of their rights.

Thomas Jefferson actually asked in 1782: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?”

Really though, this debate needn’t become religious as we all have the freedom to practice the faith we are called to or to practice none at all. Regardless of this individual decision, we all have the same fundamental rights, as Sanders says, “enshrined in the Constitution.”

The U.S. Bill of Rights is erected upon the fundamental belief that we have a body of other rights, natural rights we inherently have until someone else takes them away. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said natural rights were granted to us by “the Creator.” Others believe they are philosophical rights that developed in nature.

Some today, however, deny that natural rights even exist. They don’t want to acknowledge there is a deeper philosophical, or perhaps theological, foundation for our rights, because such rights have long acted as a moral check on government.

This debate is, however, very American.

During the U.S. Constitutional period, in the Federalist Papers (no. 84), Alexander Hamilton asked, “Why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?”

Hamilton thought a Bill of Rights would be superfluous because the federal government was then thought to be restricted to the powers it is granted in the Constitution. Other politicians, however, mainly the Anti-Federalists, such as Patrick Henry and George Mason, saw the need for a bill of rights to spell out an additional list of limitations on the federal government to prevent a centralized bureaucracy from exceeding its constitutional limitations.

So yes, from the beginning, there was a debate about whether a Bill of Rights should be included in the Constitution.

The Founders had read thinkers like John Locke (1632-1704), who defined natural rights as “life, liberty and estate [property].” And Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who, in Leviathan (1651), said natural rights extend from the “state of nature.” Hobbes thus argued that man has the essential human right “to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own Nature; that is to say, of his own Life….”

The idea that we have the natural right to preserve “our own nature” underlies our rights to self-defense, to protect our own property, to speak the truth as we see it and so on.

Sanders is exactly right. Unfortunately, today’s educational system rarely teaches these fundamental underpinnings of our freedom.
————————-
Frank Miniter is Editor in Chief of America’s 1st Freedom.
Tags: Frank Miniter, America’s 1st Freedom, Why, Debate On Guns, Is So Polemic To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
6 Reasons Why the US Should Not Rejoin the UN World Tourism Organization Posted: 02 Oct 2019 08:25 PM PDT by Brett Schaefer & James Carafano: Trump administration officials are traveling this week to Madrid to meet with leadership from the U.N. World Tourism Organization to continue to negotiate the terms of the U.S. rejoining it.

The Trump administration’s seeming infatuation with the World Tourism Organization is baffling for a number of reasons. Here are six.

1. The organization offers very little to its member states.

At least that was the conclusion of the Clinton administration, which withdrew the U.S. from the organization after conducting a “comprehensive interagency assessment of U.S. membership in all of the international organizations to which it makes assessed contributions.”

After looking at nearly 30 special-purpose organizations, the State Department decided in 1995 to withdraw from three, including the World Tourism Organization, in which U.S. membership was “least defensible.”

What could possibly motivate the Trump administration to consider rejoining an organization that even the Clinton administration determined to be of such poor value to the American taxpayer that it no longer deserved U.S. membership?

2. Other countries have recently concluded that the organization is poor value for the money or has exercised questionable judgment.

Australia, for instance, withdrew from the World Tourism Organization in 2015 after determining that the agency was unresponsive to its needs and increasingly expensive. Canada withdrew in 2012 after the agency appointed the now-deceased Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe as a global leader on tourism.

The United Kingdom withdrew in 2009 after concluding that there were higher priorities for funds spent on the World Tourism Organization and that international tourism objectives “could be best pursued through a range of other international and regional fora.”

Even many current member states see the organization as a low priority.

In the 2017 session of the World Tourism Organization’s General Assembly, 20 members (about one-eighth of the entire membership) had their membership suspended for persistent nonpayment of “obligatory contributions to the organization.”

3. The organization lacks oversight and accountability.

In 2009, the U.N. Joint Inspection Unit reported, “It should be noted that the Organization does not possess any internal audit, inspection, evaluation, investigation, or monitoring capabilities.”

Moreover, unlike other U.N. organizations, the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations, the Specialized Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency does not list the World Tourism Organization among the organizations audited by the current panel members.

The U.S. should not give taxpayer funds to any U.N. organization lacking basic oversight and accountability.

4. There seems to be a serious disconnect between what the World Tourism Organization is and what the Trump administration wants it to be.

The stated reason for the U.S. to be considering rejoining the World Tourism Organization is the belief that it would benefit the U.S. tourism sector or generate U.S. jobs. Unfortunately, there’s very little evidence to support that conclusion.

The World Tourism Organization focuses on publishing tourism statistics, tourism studies, and promoting various policy priorities, such as sustainable development and tourism, climate change and tourism, and gender and tourism.

It’s not a travel agency, nor does it promote tourism to specific countries or destinations. Asking it to assume those tasks would involve a significant increase in budget and staff beyond its total revenues of $20 million and 87 employees in 2017.

5. There’s a curious dichotomy in the White House toward international organizations.

A White House official announced in June that the U.S. was exploring rejoining the World Tourism Organization. Yet, less than two months later, the White House sought to rescind hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. funding for the United Nations and a number of other international organizations.

To say that those positions are conflicting is an understatement.

Leaving aside the questionable value of World Tourism Organization funding, why take an action to increase funding commitments by joining a new international organization when the White House clearly wants to reduce such payments?

6. Just last week, President Donald Trump criticized “global bureaucrats” for attacking the decisions of sovereign nations.

Doesn’t he know that the World Tourism Organization strongly condemned his visa policy and decision to restore travel restrictions on Cuba?

In contrast to the condemnations of U.S. policy, World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili is eager to praise Iran. Last November during a visit to Tehran, he stated that his goal was to “help Iran become more powerful” and that “[t]ourism will show the world how attractive Iran is.”

Overall, the motivation within the Trump administration to rejoin the World Tourism Organization is a head-scratcher.

The White House understandably wants to bolster the U.S. tourism sector that has seen declines over the past two years, but rejoining the World Tourism Organizations is not the answer.

It will not help the U.S. tourism industry, it lacks adequate oversight and accountability, and its policies are at odds with those of the Trump administration.

Instead, the U.S. should end its flirtation with rejoining the World Tourism Organization and seek solutions that will directly address the problem it wishes to resolve.
——————
Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at The Heritage Foundation. James Jay Carafano, (@JJCarafano) a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, is The Heritage Foundation’s vice president for foreign and defense policy studies. H/T The Daily Signal.
Tags: 6 Reasons, Why the US, Should Not Rejoin, UN World Tourism Organization To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Schiff Knew, Pompeo Pushes Back, Bring Your Bible To School Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:56 PM PDT by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: BREAKING NEWS: Schiff Knew
The New York Times is reporting that the Deep State operative, who the media refer to as a “whistleblower,” met with members of Rep. Adam Schiff’s staff about his complaint regarding the president’s call with the Ukrainian leader before the complaint was filed and made public.

During a press conference this afternoon with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland, President Trump said, “I think it’s a scandal that [Schiff] knew before. I think he probably helped write it. . . It’s a scam.”

Sanders Sidelined
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders suffered chest pains yesterday and underwent emergency heart surgery. His campaign announced this morning that “two stents [were] inserted to address a blockage in an artery” and all campaign events have been cancelled “until further notice.” We wish Senator Sanders a speedy and complete recovery.

As the oldest candidate in the presidential race, this is not the news the Sanders campaign wanted to be making today. Obviously, the senator and his family have a lot to discuss in the days ahead.

Recent polling indicates that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is surging, and is firmly in second place in the Democrat primary. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Biden is at 27%, Warren is at 23% and Sanders is at 18%. No other candidate is in double digits.

Should Sanders decide to drop out, or if his support erodes more, Warren would be the obvious beneficiary. It wouldn’t take much for her to overtake Biden as the Democrat frontrunner.

By the way, did you happen to catch Steve Bannon the other night? He suggested that the Democrat field was weak and another candidate, perhaps even Hillary Clinton, might yet jump into the race.

Pompeo Pushes Back
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is taking heat today for his participation in the president’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, as well as his resistance to unreasonable Democrat demands in their impeachment inquiry.

Speaking to reporters in Rome today, (he was there to promote religious liberty and human dignity, but the press didn’t want to talk about that) Pompeo pushed back against claims that he was “guilty of obstruction.” Here’s what he said:

“I was on the phone call. . . I’ve been secretary of state for coming on a year and a half. I know precisely what the American policy is with respect to Ukraine. It’s been remarkably consistent. . .

“We will, of course, do our constitutional duty to cooperate with this co-equal branch (Congress). But we are going to do so in a way that is consistent with the fundamental values of the American system. And we won’t tolerate folks on Capitol Hill bullying, intimidating State Department employees. That’s unacceptable, and it’s not something that I’m going to permit to happen.”


Pompeo was referring to Rep. Adam Schiff and the gang demanding that some State Department employees testify before Congress without informing their superiors and without personal or State Department lawyers on hand.

In a letter yesterday, Pompeo made it clear to Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, that there was a process that had to be followed and respected, and that he would not permit his department to be railroaded by Pelosi’s Impeachment Express.

Progressives are lecturing Trump about the rule of law, yet they are violating the rule of law in this attempted “coup.”

He’s Concerned?!
Former Attorney General Eric Holder expressed his concern yesterday that Attorney General William Barr was leading a “highly unusual” investigation of the U.S. intelligence community and acting more like Trump’s personal attorney than the attorney general of the United States.

This is coming from the guy who was the first attorney general ever to be held in contempt of Congress. Holder once bragged that he was Obama’s “wing-man,” adding, “I’m here with my boy.”

Why is Holder trying to smear Barr?

Because Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham are following up on several previous inspector general reports confirming that laws and Department of Justice rules were violated during the 2016 election. That is why Comey, McCabe, Strzok and others were fired.

As you may recall, Barr stated that he had more questions than answers after he began digging into the FISA warrants, and he was concerned that illegal spying took place on the Trump campaign in 2016. He appointed John Durham to investigate what is clearly more than just circumstantial evidence of corruption.

So it’s not surprising that former Attorney General Holder, who could be implicated in this corruption, is now objecting to Attorney General Barr investigating this corruption.

Bring Your Bible To School
Our friends at Focus on the Family have organized a national effort tomorrow that is very simple. Christian students aren’t being asked to protest or walk out of class. They are simply encouraged to take the most widely published book in the history of mankind, which as Christians we believe is the inspired word of God, to school for one day.

Maybe another student will ask, “Why’d you bring that?” Maybe there will be a quiet moment in the library for your son or daughter to read their favorite Bible verse to themselves.

Of all the influences in our schools today, the Bible is the last thing anyone should be worried about! And if a significant percentage of our students brought their Bibles to school tomorrow, we could probably breathe a sigh of relief that perhaps the worst is behind us and America is on the way to renewal.

In China right now, where some believe there may be more Christians than there are in the United States, the communist government is forcing churches to take down pictures of Jesus and put up pictures of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping. The Ten Commandments are being replaced with Xi’s quotes.

Of course, the schools in China are completely controlled by the communists. May it never happen here.

Talking to your children about this tonight would be a wonderful way to teach them just how precious their religious liberty is, that it should not be taken for granted. But to keep it, you have to use it.

If, after taking their Bible to school tomorrow, your children or grandchildren come home with some great stories or even not so great stories, I would love it if you shared them with me.
——————-
Gary Bauer (@GaryLBauer)  is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families
Tags: Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, Schiff Knew, Pompeo Pushes Back, Bring Your Bible To School To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Federal Employee Retirement Plan Should Not Be Investing $50 Billion In China Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:30 PM PDT by Rick Manning issued the following statement in opposition to a proposal by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to invest federal employees’ retirement savings in Chinese companies:

“At a time when the U.S. is engaged in high-level trade talks with China and actively considering whether to institute economic sanctions against Beijing, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is looking at ways to in effect transfer and put at risk $50 billion of federal employees’ retirement benefits by allowing investments in China, in return for nothing.

This runs contrary to current U.S. policy, and in effect sabotages the ongoing trade talks. As a former federal employee, I, like 3.3 million other Americans have a part of my retirement funds invested through the TSP, which manages over $550 billion in assets. Let me be clear, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board should not be in the business of offering $50 billion to nations engaged in economic warfare against the U.S.; it is both unpatriotic and fiduciarily unsound.

“If anything, not only should the Thrift Savings Plan not be considering Chinese investments at this stage, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration ought to be considering whether Chinese investments are suitable for private employee pensions, considering the lack of transparency typical with Chinese-owned and headquartered corporations. If Chinese companies and corporate bonds cannot be accurately priced and their assets placed under independent audit, the U.S. is in effect leaving it to the benevolence of the Chinese Politburo and state-run enterprises to give the right information, without any assurance that the companies even intend to remain profitable over the long-term when China’s direct economic interests have been satisfied. Retirement funds have a different responsibility under the law, and Chinese investments do not meet the unique security requirements demanded of retirement funds under the law and the Labor Department should review whether the inclusion of these insecure corporate assets meets the legal investment requirements for private sector pensions.

“It is beyond belief that federal employee retirement funds would be put at risk through opening the doors to Chinese-based investments, and the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board should reject this bad idea. Anyone with a passing knowledge of world economic affairs would be aware of the significantly higher risk entailed for U.S. assets invested in China based upon our active reorientation of the U.S. economic relationship with Beijing. The fact this statement even has to be released is evidence that those trusted with governance of the federal Thrift Savings Plan should be replaced with competent managers who occasionally read the Wall Street Journal.”
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Rick Manning (@rmanning957) is President of Americans for Limited Government (@LimitGovt).
Tags: Rick Manning, Americans for Limited Government, Federal Employee Retirement Plan, Should Not Be Investing, $50 Billion In China To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
University Officials Held ‘Personally Liable’ for Discriminating Against Christians Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:10 PM PDT by Tyler O’Neil: On Friday, a federal court ruled that officials at the University of Iowa must pay out of their own pockets for discriminating against InterVarsity Christian Fellowship by kicking them off campus, along with other religious student groups. The university deregistered the religious groups after an openly gay man claimed he was unjustly denied a leadership position in another Christian organization that required leaders to follow traditional Christian sexual morality. This morality may be unpopular, but organizations should have the freedom of association to limit their leadership to those who follow their precepts.

“We must have leaders who share our faith,” Greg Jao, director of external relations at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, said in a statement. “No group—religious or secular—could survive with leaders who reject its values. We’re grateful the court has stopped the University’s religious discrimination, and we look forward to continuing our ministry on campus for years to come.”

In the ruling, Judge Stephanie M. Rose of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, not only found that the university and its officials violated InterVarsity’s First Amendment rights to free speech, free association, and the free exercise of religion but she also held university officials personally liable. The officials must pay damages to InterVarsity from their own personal accounts. In handing down the ruling, Rose called the university’s actions “ludicrous” and “incredibly baffling.”

The university acted against InterVarsity and other religious groups after it deregistered the student group Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) for its policy of restricting leadership to those who believed in Christian teaching and adhered to Christian sexual morality. BLinC sued the university, claiming the school could not treat BLinC differently from other, non-religious groups.

A judge ordered the school to reregister BLinC, but the school responded by deregistering 37 other organizations, including the Imam Mahdi Organization, the Japanese Students and Scholars Club, the Latter-day Saint Student Association, the Sikh Awareness Club, and Young Americans for Liberty.

In February, Rose ruled in favor of BLinC, granting a nominal $1 in damages. The damages will be a great deal larger in the InterVarsity case.

“It’s rare for a federal judge to call out a public university for ‘ludicrous’ and ‘incredibly baffling’ violations of the First Amendment,” Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket, who represented InterVarsity and BLinC, told Fox News. “But it was necessary here. The court already told the University of Iowa to stop picking on one Christian student group. The University responded by doubling down and kicking out Christian, Muslim and Sikh groups. That was obviously wrong. And it’s even more clearly wrong once you consider, as the court did, that it was also unfair.”

This ruling upholding InterVarsity’s religious freedom and freedom of association follows the historic ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado commission had engaged in unlawful religious discrimination against a Christian baker who refused to craft a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. Government officials had compared the baker’s beliefs to the Nazis.

Also last week, a district court judge in Michigan granted a preliminary injunction protecting a Catholic adoption agency from discriminatory state action. That agency had refused to certify same-sex couples and single people for adoption.

The LGBT movement has become overzealous in efforts to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. These people deserve equal rights, but they do not have the right to silence dissenters or to force conservative religious believers to violate their consciences.

Conservative Christian organizations still have the right to restrict leadership to people who believe their doctrines and follow their moral codes.

The well-documented animus against conservative Christians referred to as Christianophobia helps explain the likely motivations behind these officials at the University of Iowa. Rather than merely accepting that BLinC had the right to choose its own members, the officials revoked the standing of dozens of other groups. Now it seems the chickens will be coming home to roost.
———————-
Tyler O’Neil is Assistant Editor of PJ Media, Tyler O’Neil is a conservative fundraiser and commentator. He has written for numerous publications.
Tags: PJ Media, Tyler O’Neil, University Officials, Held ‘Personally Liable,’ Discriminating Against Christians To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Senators to DOJ: Why Aren’t You Investigating Clinton? Posted: 02 Oct 2019 06:47 PM PDT A pair of GOP senators asking the DOJ
to investigate any ties between
Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and Ukraine.
by Free Press International News Service: As the State Department reportedly is ramping up its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, a pair of Republican senators asked Attorney General William Barr to investigate any ties between Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign and Ukraine.

In their letter to Barr dated Sept. 27, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wrote:

“The Justice Department has yet to inform Congress and the public whether it has begun an investigation into links and coordination between the captionUkrainian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Hillary Clinton or the Democratic National Committee. Ukrainian efforts, abetted by a U.S. political party, to interfere in the 2016 election should not be ignored. Are you investigating links and coordination between the Ukrainian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Hillary Clinton or the Democratic National Committee? If not, why not?”

Grassley and Johnson asked for a response by Oct. 14, requesting that unclassified material be sent to the committee and classified material kept separate from documents that could otherwise be made publicly available.

The State Department, meanwhile, said investigators have contacted as many as 130 current and former officials whose emails found their way into Clinton’s inbox, The Washington Post reported, citing current former officials.

According to The Post, those officials have received letters notifying them that their emails from years ago have been retroactively classified and their transmission could constitute security violations.

State Department investigators began contacting the officials around a year and a half ago, then the investigation seemed to fall by the wayside before picking up steam again last month, the report said.

Senior State Department officials denied they were acting at the specific direction of President Donald Trump.

“The process is set up in a manner to completely avoid any appearance of political bias,” a senior State Department official told The Post.

“This has nothing to do with who is in the White House,” a second senior State Department official said. “This is about the time it took to go through millions of emails …”

Jeffrey Feltman, a former assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, told the Post he found the recent retroactive classification of more than 50 of his emails to be out of the ordinary. “I’d like to think that this is just routine, but something strange is going on.”

Fox News noted that “Those being investigated will not face criminal prosecution since the FBI investigation of the Clinton email case closed before the 2016 election.”

The FBI began investigating Clinton’s use of a private email server in July 2015 based on a referral from the intelligence community inspector general. In July 2016, then-FBI director James Comey announced he was recommending the case be closed with no charges, saying Clinton and her aides’ handling of classified information was “extremely careless” but not criminal.
——————-
Free Press International News Service aka: Free Pressers (@FreePressers)
Tags: Senators to DOJ, Why Aren’t You, Investigating, Hillary Clinton, Free Press, International News Service To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
University of Oklahoma Students Banish Pledge of Allegiance Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:36 PM PDT by Todd Starnes: Student government leaders at the University of Oklahoma have passed a resolution removing the Pledge of Allegiance from their congressional agenda.

“For us to be like the best most inclusive body, I thought that we should remove it,” OU senior Gabi Thompson, who authored the bill, told television station KFOR.

The activists-in-training said pledging allegiance to the flag is incompatible with the First Amendment. They were especially triggered by the part about America being “one nation under God.”

The university’s College Republicans condemned the little leftists — pointing out the pledge “transcends partisanship, race, ethnicity, and all of the divides in our country.”

“It reminds us that though we may disagree, or look different, or not worship the same, we are one nation, indivisible,” the Republicans wrote on Instagram.
——————
Todd Starnes (@toddstarnes) is A Christian Conservative, the host of Fox News & Commentary and heard daily on 250+ radio stations and on his iTune podcasts.
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Impeach Trump And Say Hello To President Elizabeth Warren Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:24 PM PDT by I&I Editorial: Republicans thinking about supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump should consider this: If Trump is removed from office before the November 2020 elections, it would virtually guarantee that the next president will be Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with enough power in Congress to carry out much of her radical agenda.

In the week since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the start of an impeachment inquiry, the biggest loser in the polls has been Joe Biden. Support for Biden among Democrats dropped from 30.3% in the Real Clear Politics average to 27.2%. Warren’s numbers have climbed from 19.2% to 23%.

In other words, the gap between Biden’s lead went from more than 11 points to just 4.2 in the span of a week. Warren also managed to expand her lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ flagging campaign.

We’re not the only ones noticing that impeachment puts Warren in the catbird’s seat.

Stephen Auth of Federated Investors told CNBC, “the market is saying, look if anything, what this does is it increases the odds of a Warren nomination.”

Raymond James strategists Ed Mills and Chris Meekins wrote this week that “We believe Warren is within striking distance of winning both the nomination and White House,” and “the market under-appreciates Warren’s ability to capture the nomination and win the presidency.”

The Economist reports that “Elizabeth Warren could benefit from the impeachment saga.” Vanity Fair declared that “it’s just what Elizabeth Warren needed.”

Much of that speculation has focused on the fact that Biden himself is tied into the Ukraine story. When he was vice president, Biden got Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin fired by threatening to withhold $1 billion in aid. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company that was paying Biden’s son Hunter $600,000 a year to sit on its board despite having no qualifications (other than his relationship to the sitting vice president).

But even if Biden had no connection whatsoever to the impeachment inquiry, he’d still be on the losing end.

That’s because the only reason Biden has been getting front-runner status in the polls is that Democrats figured he’d have the best chance of beating Trump. As we’ve noted in this space, Biden is entirely out of step with the increasingly socialistic Democratic party – 70% of which now says socialism is a “good thing,” according to a recent Gallup Poll.

If Democrats believe that Trump has been mortally wounded by the impeachment, or if Republicans in the Senate actually decide to remove him from office, Biden’s supposed advantage in beating Trump evaporates. Any Democrat would have a solid chance of winning.

In that case, the base of the Democratic Party will almost certainly toss Biden overboard in favor of a more committed leftist, and right now Warren is the most appealing. She’s embraced every far-left policy proposal out there, from Medicare for All to the Green New Deal. She’s running on an anti-corruption platform. And unlike Sanders, she’s not an old white guy.

But could she get elected?

Absolutely. After Richard Nixon’s resignation on the eve of the House approving articles of impeachment, Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford by tying him to Nixon’s corruption. No matter who ran in 2020, Democrats would wrap Trump’s impeachment around their knecks.

What’s more, a President Warren would almost certainly have a majority in the House and Senate.

The first time voters had a chance to weigh in after Nixon’s resignation, they handed 49 more seats over to Democrats in the House and four in the Senate. Two years later, they handed the presidency to Carter. A loss of four Senate seats in 2020 would give control to the Democrats.

Warren Would Mean Far More ‘Change’ Than Obama
Warren won’t need a Democratic supermajority in the Senate to make her quasi-socialist dreams a reality. Back in April, Warren explicitly endorsed the idea of eliminating the Senate filibuster, saying it’s being “used by the far right as a tool to block progress on everything.”

“When the Democrats have the White House again, if Mitch McConnell tries to do what he did to President Obama, and puts small-minded partisanship ahead of solving the massive problems in this country, then we should get rid of the filibuster,” she said.

Eliminating the filibuster would give Warren the ability to enact most of her agenda. Socialized medicine, the destruction of the U.S. energy industry on the altar of climate change, waves of new regulations, an economically ruinous wealth tax. A country forever changed.

Does it seem farfetched? Well, voters elected Barack Obama after Democrats succeeded in thoroughly demonizing President George W. Bush in the midst of a war and a recession, and gave Obama a veto-proof majority in the Senate. In exchange, the country got strapped with Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, tax hikes, and a historically lackluster economy.

As we’ve stated repeatedly in this space, we are agnostic about the merits of the Democrats’ current impeachment claim, except to say that there are few actual facts available and the ones that are don’t show that Trump did anything on the scale of what Democrats and Never-Trump Republicans been repeatedly asserting.

In the end, however, evidence won’t matter. Politics will. More specifically, how Republicans handle the ensuing weeks and months. If polls veer in favor of the Senate voting to remove Trump from office, will they hold together, or buckle? Will they try to portray the current impeachment frenzy as nothing more than the next phase of the Democrats’ never-ending attempt to overturn a legitimate election? Or will they try to gain “respectability” by listening to Never-Trump Republicans and dumping the president?

Democrats faced a similar conundrum 20 years ago. Despite whatever qualms they had about President Bill Clinton’s scandalous actions and his sleazy character, they vigorously protected him. Democrats simply dismissed the fact that Clinton had committed perjury and obstructed justice for personal gain – to say nothing of his Oval Office conduct that was unquestionably unbecoming of a president. They convinced the country that his actual crimes were no big deal, that it was all about sex, and that impeachment was nothing more than a partisan witch hunt.

After Republicans failed to remove Clinton from office in 1999, Democrats gained four seats in the Senate and one in the House, and Vice President Al Gore got half a million more votes than George W. Bush in 2000. Gore would have taken the White House were it not for 537 votes in Florida.

Democrats hope impeachment will drive Trump out of office. So do Never Trumpers, who apparently operate under the delusion that removing Trump would save the GOP, and that a replacement Republican candidate could beat someone as radical as Warren in 2020.

We just hope Senate Republicans understand the enormous stakes involved in their decision. Ardent socialist Democrats running the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives will upend America beyond repair.
——————
Issues & Insights is a new site launched by the seasoned journalists behind the legendary IBD Editorials page.
Tags: Issues & Insights, Impeach Trump, And Say Hello To, President Elizabeth Warren To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Dems Target Mike Pompeo Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:11 PM PDT by Thomas Gallatin: With the whistleblower’s complaint coming up short, Dems aim for “corrupt” officials.

In an effort to prop up their “whistleblower’s” false allegations, House Democrats have lashed out at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his refusal to submit to their subpoena demands. Following Pompeo’s statement that he would not let State Department staff be bullied by Democrats into testifying, three Democrat committee chairmen led by Rep. Adam “B Movie” Schiff cried foul, disingenuously claiming that this was evidence that Pompeo was the one who was “intimidat[ing] witnesses.” They warned, “Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress — including State Department employees — is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry.”

Naturally, the mainstream media is taking cues from Democrats and is now framing the normal job-related actions of high-ranking White House officials like Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr as somehow being evidence of corruption. For example, Pompeo is alleged to have engaged in misconduct for simply listening to President Donald Trump’s infamous July 25th phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Why would this be wrong? As The Wall Street Journal notes, “Shouldn’t a Secretary of State be on a call to the new President of an important country? U.S. foreign policy is the secretary’s job.”

Why are Democrats playing this vilification game? Because their “smoking gun” whistleblower complaint failed to expose any impeachable offense. In all likelihood the Democrats knew that going in, but with a friendly press they calculated that it would serve to provide just enough of a cover story to justify acting on their long-running impeachment obsession. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and company know they don’t have any actual evidence of a crime, so they’re vilifying anyone near Trump to create the air of corruption around any action. Even innocuous job-related activities can be said to have been done with corrupt motivations to cover up Trump’s crimes. This is an effort to keep the narrative alive through the election.

Trump sees this, which is why he’s calling it what it is: “a coup.” On Tuesday, he asserted, “As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People, their Vote, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!” He’s right.

There may be another motive for the Democrats’ vilification of Pompeo and Barr — they don’t want them investigating the origins of the 2016 Russia-collusion hoax. In fact, The Washington Post suggests as much in an article titled, “Democrats’ worst fears about William Barr are proving correct.”
———————
Thomas Gallatin is a staff analyst at The Patriot Post.
Tags: Thomas Gallatin, The Patriot Post, Dems, Target, Mike Pompeo To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
ADL, Antifa and Koch: Toxic Anti-Trump League Posted: 02 Oct 2019 03:10 PM PDT Michelle Malkinby Michelle Malkin: The Anti-Defamation League is a joke.

Once a respected civil rights organization dedicated to fighting extremism and hate against Jews, the ADL lies in bed with violent antifa extremists and perpetuates hate against political opponents. The “progressive” group is now a brazenly partisan character assassination outfit headed by Jonathan Greenblatt, a Clinton/Obama operative and former George Soros-funded operative, whose contempt for President Donald Trump trumps all.

The ADL also partners with the corporate cheap labor lobby funded by Trump-hating billionaire Republican Charles Koch to stifle patriotic critics of open borders. In June, the Charles Koch Institute joined left-wing Silicon Valley companies and ADL’s speech police to exploit the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a means of demonizing all Trump supporters and nationalist activists while giving cover to antifa online.

In 2017, left-wing antifa protesters had provoked and engaged in violent encounters at the Unite the Right rally. A man drove his car into a crowd there, killing one woman. New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg tweeted on-scene that she “saw club-wielding ‘antifa’ beating white nationalists being led out of the park” (a candid observation that she later deleted after blowback from her narrative-enforcing colleagues). Live video footage showed left-wing protesters hurling objects at the white nationalists.

An independent review of the clashes by Timothy J. Heaphy of the Virginia law firm Hunton & Williams, commissioned by the Charlottesville city government, found that the Charlottesville police and Virginia State Patrol “failed to intervene,” “did not respond to requests for assistance,” were “insufficiently equipped to respond to mass unrest,” “failed to protect the points of egress, instead pushing the conflicting groups directly into each other,” and “failed to ‘stand up’ to protect human life.” Police supervisors told Heaphy they were ordered out of their protection zones,” one CPD lieutenant reported. “We were sitting there with our thumbs up our asses.” Another described how “we were prevented from doing police work” and a third officer stated plainly that “we failed this community.”

No matter. Charlottesville fueled efforts by the ADL, the Charles Koch Institute, the Center for American Progress, National Immigration Forum and Hope Not Hate (all Soros-funded satellites, as I report in my new book, “Open Borders, Inc.“) to conduct an internet witch hunt against conservatives and Trump supporters under the guise of eradicating “hate” and “extremism.”

That’s the backdrop you need to know for the ADL’s unveiling this week of a compendium of coded gestures it deems “hate symbols.” The database includes the “OK” hand sign (initially a joke on the 4Chan internet troll forum), bowl haircuts (because crazed church shooter Dylan Roof had one, all white men with bad hairdos like his must be massacre-minded white supremacists), and the numbers 1-11, 100%, 9%, 12, 13, 14, 18, 28, 38, 43, 83, 88, 311, 318, 511 and 737 (because somewhere someone purportedly associated with something remotely racist had some tattoo or slogan or hand sign using the Dastardly Digits of Evil).

It’s all beyond parody, but the most astonishing entries in the ADL’s kooky cookbook of code symbols are anti-antifa emblems. Drawing a slash mark through the antifa anarchists’ red and black flag is now tantamount to endorsing white nationalism. Opposing left-wing violence by a menacing network of black-masked bullies that has doxxed ICE agents, harassed elderly citizens and bloodied independent journalists, is inciting violence. Resisting defamation of immigration enforcement patriots standing up to smears by Abolish ICE and antifa is defamation.

Last weekend, I helped organize a Stand With ICE rally in Tacoma, Washington, at the GEO Group detention facility targeted by antifa firebomber Willem Van Spronsen. There, a brave Jewish immigrant from Germany, Jan Moritz held my hand and rallied the crowd of Old Glory flag-wavers against the open borders mob invoking the Nazi card to silence us:

“I escaped from tyranny and communism in East Germany as a small child. I was helped by a grandfather who escaped from tyranny and Nazi concentration camp in Germany. And these people call me a Nazi because I’m American?!”

When the violence-enabling, smear merchants of the ADL and its collaborators are in charge of weaponizing “hate” and “defamation” to destroy dissent, who will step up to de-platform them?
——————
Michelle Malkin is mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, and author. She shares many of her articles and thoughts at MichelleMalkin.com.
Tags: Michelle Malkin, ADL, Antifa, Koch, Toxic Anti-Trump League To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Stop Blocking Us! Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:48 PM PDT John Stosselby John Stossel: I now make my living by releasing short videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I assumed you who subscribed to my feed or became Facebook “friends” would receive that video every Tuesday.

Wrong! Turns out social media companies send our posts to only some of our friends. (That’s why I ask for your email address. Then they can’t cut us off.)

Why might they cut us off?

One reason is that we’d drown in a fire hose of information if they showed us everything. The companies’ algorithms cleverly just send us what the computer determines we’ll like.
Another reason may be that the companies are biased against conservative ideas.

They deny that. But look at their actions. Social media companies say they forbid posts that “promote violence,” including ones that encourage violence offline.

But antifa groups that promote violence still have accounts. The Twitter account of the group in Portland, Oregon, that recently beat up journalist Andy Ngo. leaving him with brain damage, is still up.

“In Austin, they were calling for a paramilitary operation!” says Glenn Beck. That antifa group’s Facebook account is also still up, even though it links to a manifesto calling for opponents to be “beaten bloody.”

In my newest video, Beck, who runs a big media operation called The Blaze, says social media companies push a leftist agenda.

“They manipulate algorithms to reshape our world.”

Beck himself hasn’t been banned, but he says Facebook limits his reach, putting him in a “digital ghetto.”

“They’re shaping you,” he warns.

Is it true?

Although I’m not a conservative, sometimes I do notice odd things happening with my posts.

On average, my videos get more than a million views. But when I did a one that criticized Facebook, that video got half as many views.

Because Facebook didn’t show it to many people?

I can’t know. Facebook won’t say.

Today, social media companies are pressured to cut off anyone spreading hate. In response, YouTube and Facebook say they now even demote content that almost violates policies.

But those antifa accounts are still up.

By contrast, Beck says, conservative accounts are censored merely for making fun of Democrats.

“Remember the person who slowed down (a video of House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi?” he asked.

The video made Pelosi sound drunk. It went viral, but once Facebook got complaints, the company announced it “dramatically reduced its distribution.”

When Facebook did that, notes Beck, “The person in charge happened to be one of the leaders in Nancy Pelosi’s office who had just left to go to work for Facebook.”

I told Beck that Facebook hires some Republicans. “They do,” he replied, “but only about 20%, and not in top level positions.”

The site Spinquark did the research Beck cites, finding dozens of Democratic campaign workers who now work for social media companies.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg once invited Beck and some others to come to his offices to talk about bias.

“I sat with him and he said, ‘Why would we do that?’ And I said, ‘I want to believe you, but your actions don’t match.'”

Beck was also unhappy with conservatives at that meeting. “Some said, ‘Mark, solve this by having affirmative action. … For every liberal you hire, hire a conservative.'”

“I don’t want that!” Beck said. “We don’t need more regulation!”

We don’t.

But it’s human nature, when people see a problem, to demand government do something.

Beck himself fell prey to that when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed she saw border guards telling migrants to drink water from toilets. On his radio show, Beck said government should “prosecute anyone making outrageous charges like this!”

I gave him a hard time about that. “You want prosecution of members of Congress who say nonsense?!”

Beck laughed and quickly walked his statement back. “John, I speak five hours off script every day. … There’s a lot that I vomit out.”

The solution?

“No censorship,” says Beck.

“Publish everything?” I asked.

“Yes!” answered Beck. “We can handle it. Stop treating us like children.”

I agree. On at least some platforms, all speech should be free. The more that is blocked, the less we learn.
———————
John Stossel is author of “No They Can’t! Why Government Fails — But Individuals Succeed.” Article shared by Rassmussen Reports.
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Goodbye America Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:48 PM PDT by Kerby Anderson, Contributing Author: How should we define America? Should we define it by its triumphs or its failures?

While there are certainly some dark chapters in American history, we don’t truly tell the story of this country if that is all we teach the next generation.

James Robbins appears in a recent PragerU video with the arresting title “Goodbye America.”

He was on my radio program a year ago to talk about his book, Erasing America. I recommend his 300-page book as a great resource that provides the foundation for his video.

If you look at many of the nation’s textbooks today, you would find that America is described in five ways: racism, sexism, income inequality, police brutality, and imperial wars. He concludes that is the narrative you find in most high schools, colleges, and the media. It is also the description that comes from many progressive politicians.

George Orwell once wrote, “The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” The history of America is being revised significantly, and that’s a problem. After all, history tells us who we are. If all you know about this country was what you read in these textbooks, would you have any respect for this country? Would you be very patriotic?

James Robbins explains that until the last few decades, liberals and conservatives shared a common understanding of America’s origins, its history, and its mission. But all of that changed in the 1960s with what has been called the “progressive narrative.” This new narrative sought not to uplift, inspire, and unite but instead attempted to demean, degrade, and divide.

His book and video remind us that there could be time in the future when there are no monuments to heroes and no stories to praise them. That is why we should be concerned about what is taught in the classrooms and what is proclaimed by politicians.
—————-
Kerby Anderson (@kerbyanderson) is a radio talk show host heard on numerous stations via the Point of View Network (@PointofViewRTS) and is endorsed by Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service.
Tags: Kerby Anderson, Viewpoints, Point of View, Goodbye America, James Robbins, appears in, PragerU video, Goodbye America, book, Erasing America To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Schiff Head . . . Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:16 PM PDT . . . Schiff’s lies and attacks against President Trump continue to grow the Trump campaign funds for 2020.

Editorial Cartoon by AF “Tony” Branco————————
Tags: AF Brano, editorial cartoon, Schiff Head, Schiff’s lies and attacks, against President Trump, continue to grow, Trump campaign funds for 2020 To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Don’t Call It Impeachment — Call It A Witch Hunt Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:02 PM PDT Newt Gingrichby Newt Gingrich: I want to talk about the importance of words and the context they create. And I want to urge everybody who’s fair to never use the word “impeachment” for the current political process, because it has nothing to do with an impeachment.

This is a legislative coup d’etat. It is an effort by the hard left, the news media, and the deep state to destroy the president chosen by the American people. This is a project they’ve been involved in since election night 2016.

So far, we have had two years of a totally false Russian narrative, which even the editor of The New York Times had to admit failed with the Mueller report because it revealed there was no collusion. In those two years, we had FBI agents who were leaking. We had all sorts of effort by people in the deep state to destroy the president. We had The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the networks doing everything they could to destroy Trump and they failed.

Now they’ve come back with a new effort based on a new supposed scandal — which will turn out to be as phony as the Russian project was. But this fits the whole attitude of the left because they wake up every morning just certain Trump has done something terrible. They think he must be replaced. We can’t wait till the next election, so they just try anything to get rid of him. This is, in constitutional terms, a coup d’etat. It is an effort by one branch of the government to destroy the incumbent president of the United States without any regard for the facts.

Let’s look at the current example. One of the questions that must be answered is: When did the intelligence community change the rules for whistleblowers? Up until recently, in order to be a whistleblower, you had to have personal, firsthand knowledge of what you were blowing the whistle about. For some reason, this was changed. Now, was it changed to make it easier to smear Trump? Probably. But the truth is that we don’t know who changed it. We don’t know why it was changed, but what it produced was somebody who was not in the room, did not hear the phone call, had no personal knowledge, pulling together innuendo, gossip and rumor into a multi-page complaint — much of which is just plain, factually false.

But the minute there was a supposed whistleblower report, the Times, Post, network news channels and Democrats in the House were all horrified to such a degree that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced they were pursuing impeachment. Keep in mind, she did this before she met the whistleblower and before anybody had read the transcript of the phone conversation between the president of Ukraine and the president of the United States.

It turns out when you read the transcript, you have to ask yourself — at least I do as a historian — what’s the big deal? We have all sorts of records of Franklin Delano Roosevelt talking with Winston Churchill. We have records of John F. Kennedy talking with heads of state. We have records of Ronald Reagan talking with Gorbachev. Presidents do this and there’s no quid pro quo. In fact, the brand new, reform-oriented, anticorruption former comedian-turned president of Ukraine was in a happy, positive conversational mood and was telling Trump that he actually modeled himself on Trump to help break up the old order.

It’s a fascinating moment, but what comes out of it? You get the hysteria at the Times, Post, and “Meet the Press.” You get the constant chanting of impeach, impeach, impeach — and yet, that’s not what was happening. The fact is, it isn’t Trump who brought up Biden to attempt to blackmail the Ukrainians. It was Joe Biden, who in his own speech to the Council on Foreign Relations says he threatened to take $1 billion in loan guarantees unless they fired the prosecutor who was investigating his son’s company.

Now, maybe Biden was not aware that his son was getting $600,000 a year from a company in Ukraine. That strikes me as pretty implausible. I think if one of my daughters had a $600,000 a year job, I’d know it. But you know we’ve seen Joe have some problems remembering things, so maybe he just forgot that Hunter was involved.

But it’s all weird. And it’s not Donald Trump, and it’s not Donald Trump’s tweets. It is a video in which Biden himself says that he threatened them, told them they had six hours to cave and fire the prosecutor. And as he put it, “Son of a b—-, he got fired.” So, it’s legitimate to ask, what was that all about?

And by the way, the prosecutor has said very clearly that he was investigating the company that Hunter Biden was involved in, and he was blocked because of that decision. So, then you get into a fight over whether this guy was corrupt or not corrupt? Part of the answer there is to investigate. Can you imagine the Democrats in the House having a hearing in which the Ukrainian prosecutor lays out the case against Hunter Biden? By any reasonable, normal standards, this is madness.

And it doesn’t stop there. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the Intelligence Committee — which is normally considered a serious committee charged with monitoring the intelligence community of the United States as a global power — opened a supposedly serious hearing by reading two paragraphs from Trump that Trump never said. They just straight-out lie. In fact, Schiff himself admitted he wrote them as an “interpretation” of how Trump thinks.

Now, I’m only citing all this because no person who has any serious concern about the Constitution should use the word “impeachment” to describe what is closer to a Salem witchcraft trial than an orderly process of seeking justice.

An investigation would be fine. The investigation should include looking into when and who changed the rules for whistleblowing — and who were the sources for the whistleblower? How many of them are in fact liberal Democrats buried deep in the federal bureaucracy who hate Trump? Who leaked it to the news media? This whole thing is a political mugging and should not be honored with the term “impeachment.” I hope that people would just recognize this as a coup d’etat.

It is a deliberate effort by the left, both in the news media and in the Congress, to destroy the sitting president of the United States. It should be dealt with as such and we should be prepared to demand that they have to be open and engaged.

No one should be confused by the current phony, one-sided partisan effort. It’s not in any way an impeachment process. It is a denial of the American Constitution, a repudiation of the American people’s choice of president, and an effort to impose on the country what the left wants — whether the rest of us want it or not.
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Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is the host of the “Newt’s World” podcast and author of the New York Times bestsellers “Understanding Trump and Trump’s America.” Shared on FoxNews.
Tags: Newt Gingrich, Don’t call it Impeachment, call it, Witch Hunt To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Deep State, Deeply Fake Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:46 PM PDT by Paul Jacob, Contributing Author: Is there a good, presumptive reason to believe what the government tells us?

Not when it comes from the “intelligence” agencies.

One of the more breathtaking developments of recent years has been the transformation of Democratic Party politicians and activists from skeptics of alphabet soup intelligence agencies — CIA, NSA, FBI and many more — to becoming enthusiastic cheerleaders.

On the bright side, Republicans are drifting in the other direction, from their old-fashioned lockstep support of “intelligence agencies” to a new realism — the relentless Deep State “coup” attempts against the Trump Administration having proved . . . instructive.

While we might wish to think that, whew!, these agencies are comprised of loyal Americans, consider what Senator Chuck Schumer said earlier this year, almost approvingly: “You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”

But more important than all this is the developing techniques the Deep State can marshal. I refer to Deepfake tech, where anything video can be faked, convincingly and completely. If not now, then very soon, technicians within the Deep State — and outside, too — will be able to videofake anything, from Trump cavorting with Moscow hookers to an Iranian “attack” to . . . UFO landings.

We shouldn’t have trusted intelligence agencies in the run-up to the Iraq conquest, now we have good reason to doubt anything and everything they tell us.

Which means Congress should take very tight control of them, rein these agencies in — for Congress is indeed worried about deepfake tech.

How?

Well, de-classifying old secrets might be a good start. The last bit of the JFK assassination files? Maybe. UFOs? Maybe. But it’s what’s not on our radar that may be the most important.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Paul Jacob (@Common_Sense_PJ ) is author of Common Sense which provides daily commentary about the issues impacting America and about the citizens who are doing something about them. He is also President of the Liberty Initiative Fund (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge Foundation. Jacob is a contributing author on the ARRA News Service.
Tags: Paul Jacob, Common Sense, Deep State, Deeply Fake To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
3 Obama Judges Deliver String of Losses to Trump’s Agenda on Illegal Immigration Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:27 PM PDT by Jason Hopkins: Three Obama-appointed judges ruled in one day against immigration initiatives by the Trump administration, dealing blows to the president’s effort to contain the border crisis.

In a span of several hours Friday, a judge in California ruled against the administration’s plan to detain migrant families indefinitely, another California judge blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from relying solely on databases when issuing detainer requests, and shortly before midnight, a D.C. judge barred fast-track removals of illegal aliens.

All three federal judges were appointed by former President Barack Obama, revealing the heavy weight that judicial appointments play in the fight over immigration policy.

Judge Dolly Gee of the District Court in Los Angeles, appointed by Obama in 2009, issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s attempt to detain migrant families for the duration of their court proceedings. Gee found that the plan still violates the so-called Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandates release of families after 20 days.

District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr., appointed by Obama in 2014, issued a permanent injunction against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s sole reliance on certain databases when lodging detainer requests to local law enforcement officials. A senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said the decision dealt a “tremendous blow” to Trump’s deportation programs.

In a 126-page ruling issued shortly before midnight Friday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, appointed by Obama in 2013, issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the administration’s fast-track deportation of illegal migrants.

The expedited removal program allowed the government to quickly remove illegal aliens who entered the country within the past two years by bypassing immigration judges.

The Trump administration hit back hard against the string of rulings.

“For two and a half years, the Trump administration has been trying to restore enforcement of the immigration laws passed by Congress. And for two and a half years, misguided lower court decisions have been preventing those laws from ever being enforced—at immense cost to the whole country,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement over the weekend.

The Department of Justice sent out three different public statements Friday, bemoaning each of the decisions that rolled back the immigration directives.

“The district court’s decision squarely conflicts with that express grant of authority and vastly exceeds the district court’s own authority. This ruling undermines the laws enacted by Congress and the Trump administration’s careful efforts to implement those laws,” a Justice Department spokesman said about the ruling on expedited removal.

The courts’ strong influence on immigration policy has been long noted.

Gee, for example, is the same federal judge who interpreted the Flores agreement in 2015 as not only applying to unaccompanied minors who cross the border, but also to accompanied minors, i.e. family units, setting the stage for the immigration fight taking place today.

Immigration experts continually have cited Gee’s 2015 decision as the main instigator in the current border crisis.

Thousands of immigrants every month, they argue, travel to the U.S.-Mexico border under the presumption that, if they bring a child, they ultimately will be allowed entry into the interior of the country.

The legal fights likely will land in the Supreme Court, where the Trump administration has found reprieve in the past.
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Jason Hopkins  (@thejasonhopkins) is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. And his article was shared by The Daily Signal
Tags: 3 Obama Judges, Deliver String of Losses, Trump, Agenda Illegal Immigration To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
Tech Censorship Has Huge Second Amendment Implications Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:09 PM PDT by Sean Davis: Just as the Big Three broadcast television networks—ABC, CBS and NBC—used to control what news was delivered into our living rooms, now a handful of tech companies have the power to determine which news articles you read, which friends’ social-media posts you see and even which political candidate’s ads show up when you search for information about the next election.

The thought of a few tech oligarchs amplifying political commentary they agree with, while muting what they find detestable, isn’t just the stuff of dystopian novels anymore. Time and again, there are indications that Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter have moved to help anti-gun causes and to hide gun-rights ones.

In 2016, some unnamed former Facebook contractors told the tech site Gizmodo that Facebook “routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers.” This included blocking topics from appearing on the trending-news list, including news about the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the pro-freedom writer who wrote American Sniper, and pro-Second Amendment U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Jen Gennai, an executive at Google, which owns close to 90% of the search market, was caught by Project Veritas saying Google “is bent on never letting somebody like [President] Donald Trump come to power again.” Trump has, of course, run a pro-Second Amendment administration.

Gennai also said Google’s size is what makes it so important, since smaller companies “charged with preventing the next Trump situation” wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

Undercover video showing Gennai talking about using Google’s market power to suppress views it doesn’t like was subsequently removed by YouTube, a Google subsidiary.

In another example, following a school shooting in Florida in 2018, Google refused to produce results for any shopping queries using the word “gun.” As a result, Google didn’t just disenfranchise anyone who might be interested in protecting themselves or their families with a firearm, it also left fans of the fighter pilot movie “Top Gun,” the Indianapolis Colts and the band Velvet Revolver scratching their heads about the lack of any search results.

Complaints against YouTube for blacklisting and censoring political content that conflicts with its employees’ political views are also well-founded; for example, the video-sharing company censored nearly two dozen videos from PragerU, an online educational resource founded by conservative talk-radio host Dennis Prager. YouTube hasn’t, however, taken down a video from PragerU on gun control titled “What Should We Do About Guns?”

Not to be left out, Twitter has also banned and censored accounts. Most recently, Twitter blocked John Lott, the founder and CEO of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), for sending a tweet about the New Zealand killer’s real political views.

My reporting on congressional testimony from a key federal law-enforcement figure involved in the FBI’s anti-Trump Russia investigation was also censored by Twitter. In an email sent days later detailing why a tweet citing a transcript from a congressional hearing on election interference was removed without notice or explanation, Twitter claimed that it was merely trying to “keep people safe on Twitter.” The company never explained how a transcript excerpt placed anyone in danger.

The bias is apparently so stifling at Twitter that even conservative employees who work for the San Francisco-based micro-blogging service are afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal.

“[T]o be honest, they don’t feel safe to express their opinions at the company,” Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said during a 2018 interview.

These overt attempts to control online political conversations should especially terrify gun owners. It is often said that the Second Amendment makes the First Amendment possible by affirming and protecting the right of Americans to protect themselves. Likewise, the First Amendment protects the Second Amendment from being watered down by politicians and judges who view the right to keep and bear arms as a barrier to plans for more government power. Federal judges who understand and respect the Constitution and the God-given rights it protects are made possible only by elected lawmakers who believe in those same rights. Those kinds of lawmakers, in turn, are only placed in office through free and fair elections in which citizens are able to speak their minds, organize as they see fit and mobilize likeminded individuals to vote.

The success of Second Amendment supporters is largely due to their use of the public square to persuade lawmakers to defend the right to keep and bear arms. Opponents of gun rights, having realized that they’ve lost the argument on the merits, are increasingly turning to censorship as their main weapon in the battle to disarm law-abiding gun owners all across the country.

What’s Government’s Role?
In late July, the Department of Justice levied a $5 billion fine against Facebook, less than 1% of its overall market cap, for misleading users about who was accessing their private information and for what purposes. Last January, the European Union fined Google for the search giant’s refusal to get the consent of its users to use their personal data for targeted advertising. Thus far, however, little formal action has been taken against the world’s biggest digital platforms for their efforts to suppress political speech.

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., however, have now started to notice the threat tech monopolies pose to freedom in the U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently sent a formal letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency tasked with monitoring anti-competitive behavior, asking it to investigate how the major companies curated content and decided what information would be shown to users.

“Big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter exercise enormous influence on speech,” the senators wrote. “The vast majority of internet traffic flows through just a handful of these companies. They control the ads we see, the news we read, and the information we digest. And they actively censor some content and amplify other content based on algorithms and intentional decisions that are completely nontransparent…. Never before in this country have so few people controlled so much speech. The possibilities for abuse in this area are alarming and endless…. By controlling the content we see, these companies are powerful enough to—at the very least—sway elections.”

President Donald J. Trump himself even took aim at social-media censorship, via a presidential summit at the White House in July, that featured multiple high-profile conservatives who had been censored or blacklisted by the big social-media companies because of their political views.

“I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms,” Donald Trump tweeted. “This is the United States of America—and we have what’s known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH! We are monitoring and watching, closely!!”

If the right to keep and bear arms is essential to protect us from those who would harm us, the right to speak freely in public about politics is essential to protecting us from ideologies and individuals who seek to erode our liberties.

Some Are Trying to Control the Narrative
Fox News ended the monopoly on television news, and is now far and away the most-watched cable news outlet. As a result, some billionaires who back anti-gun politicians have dedicated millions of dollars to attacking both the network and its advertisers in a naked attempt to make it impossible for the network to stay on the air. Similarly, conservatives have been so successful in their use of social media to promote constitutional values that the Left has decided that any contrary viewpoints must be shouted down or blacked out, lest those viewpoints about basic rights to life and liberty, and the means to defend them, take root in the minds of the American people.

Clearly, the well-funded and orchestrated attempts to censor and blacklist conservatives from social media is a direct attack on the Second Amendment, as well as the First.

“[T]he chief danger to freedom of thought and speech at this moment is not the direct interference of the [Ministry of Information] or any official body,” the author George Orwell wrote in a 1972 op-ed. “If publishers and editors exert themselves to keep certain topics out of print, it is not because they are frightened of prosecution but because they are frightened of public opinion. In this country, intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face, and that fact does not seem to me to have had the discussion it deserves.”

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear,” Orwell wrote. “It is only, or at any rate it is chiefly, the literary and scientific intelligentsia, the very people who ought to be the guardians of liberty, who are beginning to despise it, in theory as well as in practice.”

An expert on the totalitarian impulse to control a man’s every thought, Orwell might as well have been talking about the all-powerful tech oligarchs who now control the flow of information in the U.S. and the cowardly journalists who cheer on their censorship while claiming their love of freedom of speech is untainted.

The battle lines have been drawn and the social-media giants have made clear on which side they stand. The only question left for those who defend the right to keep and bear arms and the Constitution that affirms it is whether they plan to fight back. If the First Amendment falls, and along with it the culture that believes that the free exchange of ideas is a pillar of the American constitutional republic, the fall of the Second Amendment will not be far behind.
——————-
H/T America 1st Freedom.
Tags: tech censorship, second amendment rights, social-media companies, blacklisting, Sean Davis, America’s 1st Freedom To share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
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THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates
The Daily Edition Thursday, October 3, 2019
 
Netanyahu mulls snap Likud leadership primary; Sa’ar signals he’ll challenge him By Raoul Wootliff Likud: Move aims to quell talk of a coup in the party amid electoral deadlock preventing coalition; party rival Sa’ar, in first internal threat to Netanyahu for a decade: I’m ready
  Edelstein: Netanyahu prepared to take leave of absence if indicted By TOI staff   Report: PM’s allies refuse to declare they’ll back him right up to new election By TOI staff
 
Lapid announces he’ll give up PM-rotation deal for sake of unity government By Raoul Wootliff Accusing Netanyahu of pushing for 3rd elections, Blue and White No. 2 says ‘It’s far more important to me that there be unity in the country’; Liberman hails Lapid’s ‘noble step’
  Edelstein to remain interim Knesset speaker until new government sworn in By Raoul Wootliff
 
Live updates Swearing in new Knesset, Rivlin warns Israeli democracy facing an emergency By TOI staff President reiterates his call for unity government to be formed, calls election stalemate ‘a red card for populism’
 
Explainer TOI staff Ambition revealed, ambition stalled, but still no path to new Israeli coalition Netanyahu faces a rival challenge, Lapid puts aside his prime ministerial hopes, but a great deal still hinges on another would-be PM: Avigdor Liberman
  22nd Knesset sworn in under shadow of possible 3rd elections By Raoul Wootliff   Israel media review / Pomp and circumstance: 7 things to know for October 3 By Jacob Magid
 
Netanyahu legal team’s pre-indictment hearing with AG resumes for second day By TOI staff Defense lawyers for PM predict they will need many hours to finish presenting their arguments in Case 4000, the most serious of the three cases against him
  On 1st day of hearing, PM’s defense presents hundreds of pages of ‘new evidence’ By TOI staff   Netanyahu-Liberman unity talks get nowhere, end after only an hour By TOI staff
 
Terror suspects charged with August slaying of teen student By Judah Ari Gross and TOI staff IDF prosecutors accuse 5 Palestinian men of forming Hamas cell to kill Dvir Sorek, carry out other attacks against Israelis
  Senior member of terror group allegedly behind deadly Dolev bombing arrested By Judah Ari Gross
 
Iran says it foiled ‘Israel-Arab’ plot to assassinate top military commander By TOI staff Three arrested in plan that allegedly involved blowing up Qassem Soleimani during a memorial service for his father
  Satellite images show activity around Iranian-flagged tanker off Syria By Elena Becatoros   US Treasury official who oversaw Iran sanctions steps down for private sector By TOI staff
 
Top Ops
  Leora Kaufman One Jewess, many hats A small headband? A bulky turban-esque scarf? How much hair should I show? Can I wear pants? Should I ditch it entirely?   Ralph Genende Words, words, words Which of all the many words will I pass on and teach well to my grandchildren? Listen. Love. Remember. Celebrate.   Peter Buchsbaum How I became Jewish … again I was secular, uninvolved in Judaism and had married a non-Jew. I then I enlisted in the US army and discovered Shabbat   Neal Brodsky ’We are Jewish on both sides of our family’ An Ethiopian mother in Israel worries about those who remain in Ethiopia: ’Please bring us our family. If something bad happens, they are alone with no one left to help them.’
 
In Pittsburgh a year later, the shofar-blower is dead and the shul is shuttered By Ben Sales
 
Iraq death toll rises to 18 as protests spread across south By Ahmed al-Rubaye Defying curfew, demonstrators gather in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square; major network operators intentionally shut off internet access as protesters rally against unemployment, corruption
  Israeli firm traces cyberattacks on Egyptian activists to Cairo government By TOI staff
 
Iran displays ancient clay tablets, returned by US, from empire that freed Jews By AFP and TOI staff
 
Content discovery startups Outbrain, Taboola to merge into $2b company By Shoshanna Solomon New entity will be led by Taboola founder Adam Singolda; Outbrain shareholders to get $250 million in cash and a 30% stake in combined firm
  Private equity firm CVC said set to buy 25% stake in ad tech firm ironSource By Shoshanna Solomon   Early clinical trial for ALS sufferers shows biotech firm ‘on the right track’ By Shoshanna Solomon
 
More Headlines
  Jewish MP who criticized Corbyn faces Labour no confidence motion on Yom Kippur By TOI staff   Vandals smash windows of Brooklyn synagogue during Rosh Hashanah prayers By JTA   Bernie Sanders undergoes heart procedure, cancels campaign events By AP   Sorry not sorry / Demi Lovato apologizes after visiting, praising Israel By TOI staff   The usual supsect / Actor Kevin Spacey spotted out and about in Tel Aviv By TOI staff and Agencies   Incoming MK Yair Golan again compares right-wing to Nazis, drawing ire By TOI staff   Longest-jailed Israeli divorce-refuser freed after 19 years By Marissa Newman   Belly of the beast / National Library offers visitors a whale of a time By Jessica Steinberg   Thousands attend funeral of two brothers killed in brawl in northern Arab town By TOI staff   Trump accuses Democrat Schiff of fraud and treason, calls for his arrest By Ron Kampeas   Sheldon Adelson ordered to pay damages to Jewish Democratic group By JTA   Putin says no evidence Iran behind attack on Saudi oil facilities By TOI staff and Agencies

NOQ REPORT

NOQ Report Daily

Mainstream media goes into narrative-control-mode as impeachment story crumbles Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:42 AM PDT Any honest, lucid person who’s closely watching everything that’s going on with the Ukrainian hoax (also known as the impeachment inquiry) is likely confused by all of the information being disseminated by the various media outlets. On one hand, you have conservative media saying Adam Schiff lied, the Trump-Zelensky transcript was a nothingburger, and Rudy Giuliani […] The post Mainstream media goes into narrative-control-mode as impeachment story crumbles appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Giuliani claims he has Ukrainian docs showing ‘collusion’… with top Democrats Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:33 AM PDT As much as I hate cliches, there’s no way to avoid saying it appears the tables have been turned. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is releasing damaging information about multiple Democrats who were using Ukraine as corruption central for the 2016 election and beyond. The impeachment and whistleblower story started out about President […] The post Giuliani claims he has Ukrainian docs showing ‘collusion’… with top Democrats appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Nickelback scorns President after he made them great again, throws copyright at Tweet Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:12 AM PDT It was one of the funniest Tweets the President has made recently. It gave us a much-needed chuckle during such contentious times as the impeachment inquiry ramps up even as details cast doubt on the origins of the whistleblower’s complaint. But Canadian rockers Nickelback didn’t like their music being used in a meme posted to […] The post Nickelback scorns President after he made them great again, throws copyright at Tweet appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Unabashed racism: Rashida Tlaib wants Detroit to only have African-American facial recognition techs Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:36 PM PDT The quote you’re about to read was not spoken by an acknowledged member of a radical minority-power group. It was spoken by a United States Congresswoman. “Analysts need to be African Americans, not people that are not. Non-African Americans think African Americans all look the same.” Who was she speaking to? Detroit Police Chief James Craig. […] The post Unabashed racism: Rashida Tlaib wants Detroit to only have African-American facial recognition techs appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Mark Meadows lays out the questions Adam Schiff needs to answer Posted: 02 Oct 2019 10:05 PM PDT Revelations yesterday that Representative Adam Schiff’s team spoke to the Ukraine whistleblower before the complaint was filed has most on the right (and even a handful on the left) wondering whether this whole impeachment inquiry is another trumped up charge like the Russia hoax. But it’s worse than that for Schiff. Not only is his […] The post Mark Meadows lays out the questions Adam Schiff needs to answer appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
The sexism of Amber Guyger’s lenient sentence Posted: 02 Oct 2019 08:15 PM PDT About a year ago Amber Guyger shot Botham Jean in his own home, which set off the Black Lives Matter movement. But the injustice that occurred that day united every reasonable person that this needed to be treated as an intentional homicide. Now former officer Amber Guyger has been found guilty of murder. Legal experts […] The post The sexism of Amber Guyger’s lenient sentence appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Gov. Greg Abbott issues ultimatum to Austin Mayor: Clean up the city by Nov. 1 or the state will intervene Posted: 02 Oct 2019 03:20 PM PDT There’s a huge difference in the way California Governor Gavin Newsom and Texas Governor Greg Abbott handle cities in their states with rampant homelessness and dangerous conditions. Newsom defends cities like San Francisco (where he was once mayor) and tells everyone there’s nothing to worry about. Abbott issues ultimatums, as he did today to Austin’s […] The post Gov. Greg Abbott issues ultimatum to Austin Mayor: Clean up the city by Nov. 1 or the state will intervene appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Former Green Beret and conservative Republican Brian Thomsen launches PA-17 Congressional campaign Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:37 PM PDT A mission-driven leader, Thomsen will fight for Pennsylvania jobs and secure the border to end the flow of illegal drugs into our country BEAVER COUNTY, PA – October 2 – Conservative Republican Brian Thomsen, a former Green Beret, MBA and business consultant, announced his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. Thomsen’s announcement comes with a pledge […] The post Former Green Beret and conservative Republican Brian Thomsen launches PA-17 Congressional campaign appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Democrat party leadership impeachment obsession stems from the two-headed hydra of immaturity and immorality Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:50 PM PDT By Richard Ferguson First, nothing said here is against Democrat voters who are generally decent people. This is about Democrat party leaders in Congress who tend to act like a bunch of spoiled adolescents with seemingly little attachment to the foundations of truth and reality. Two key planks to the current chaotic Democrat impeachment obsession […] The post Democrat party leadership impeachment obsession stems from the two-headed hydra of immaturity and immorality appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
Democrats’ weaponized wealth taxes Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:42 PM PDT By Richard Ferguson Democrats have decided that taxing your income alone is no longer enough, so they have added injury to income by weaponizing taxation in a myriad of invasive ways, concocting ever-growing schemes to extract your money and productivity. If you have worked hard by devoting more of your life to producing goods and […] The post Democrats’ weaponized wealth taxes appeared first on Conservative Christian News.
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