Under the guise of stopping violent crime, a County Commissioner in Cook County, Illinois, went to New York City late last week to requestthat the United Nations deploy foreign troops in Chicago to tackle the city’s “quiet genocide.”
Perhaps, the geopolitical instability on the Korean Penisula and in the Middle East is just one giant distraction. The real action is currently unfolding in America’s out of control inner cities, such as Chicago. There is a pattern emerging across the United States, where inner cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Oakland, Mephesis, and St. Louis are experiencing out of control violent crime with local officials paralyzed.
Earlier this year, President Trump threatened Chicago with sending in the Feds, after crime statistics warned of an alarming surge in violent crime.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Monday, December 18, 2017
Paranoia grips Capitol Hill as harassment scandal spreads
Lawmakers and aides are consumed by one question: Who's next?
The details change almost daily, but the rumor won’t die: A credible news organization is preparing to unmask at least 20 lawmakers in both parties for sexual misconduct.
Speculation about this theoretical megastory is spreading like wildfire across Congress and beyond, a lurking bad-press boogeyman that’s always described as on the verge of going public. And it’s far from the only worry that’s seeped into the collective psyche of Capitol Hill, where members and aides are now perpetually bracing for the next allegation to drop.
Washington is also gripped by uncertainty over whether the nationwide awakening to workplace misconduct might be manipulated into a political weapon. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went to law enforcement after being targeted last week by a forged harassment complaint against him, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month parried a false accusation of misconduct posted on Twitter.
Lawmakers and aides are consumed by one simple question: Who’s next? That and, in this turbocharged news cycle of the Trump presidency, can actual misdeeds be distinguished from false smears?
“You want to have a welcome environment to report abuse — you don’t want to deter victims,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview. “But you’ve got to have enough due process and scrutiny to make sure it’s accurate.”
More
The details change almost daily, but the rumor won’t die: A credible news organization is preparing to unmask at least 20 lawmakers in both parties for sexual misconduct.
Speculation about this theoretical megastory is spreading like wildfire across Congress and beyond, a lurking bad-press boogeyman that’s always described as on the verge of going public. And it’s far from the only worry that’s seeped into the collective psyche of Capitol Hill, where members and aides are now perpetually bracing for the next allegation to drop.
Washington is also gripped by uncertainty over whether the nationwide awakening to workplace misconduct might be manipulated into a political weapon. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went to law enforcement after being targeted last week by a forged harassment complaint against him, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month parried a false accusation of misconduct posted on Twitter.
Lawmakers and aides are consumed by one simple question: Who’s next? That and, in this turbocharged news cycle of the Trump presidency, can actual misdeeds be distinguished from false smears?
“You want to have a welcome environment to report abuse — you don’t want to deter victims,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview. “But you’ve got to have enough due process and scrutiny to make sure it’s accurate.”
More
Nobel Laureate 'Discovers' Cause Of Opioid Crisis: Complete Economic Destruction Of The "White Working Class"
For several decades now the American Midwest has suffered from unprecedented economic decay courtesy of a persistent outsourcing of manufacturing jobs in the automotive and steel industries, among others. As we've noted frequently, that economic decay has resulted in a devastating surge in opioid overdoses that claim the lives of 100s of people each year.
Of course, many attribute Trump's staggering victories in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania to his efforts to tap into the frustration of the dispossessed Midwest masses by promising a rebirth of the manufacturing economy that once provided them a solid middle-class lifestyle.
That said, no economic crisis is truly "discovered" until an Ivy League, Nobel-prize-winning economist says it is. As such, we present to you the intriguing findings of Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton who said he was "looking for something else" when he noticed a staggering increase in white mortality rates for people aged 50-54. Per Market Watch:
That was the case with landmark research undertaken by Nobel Prize winning economist Angus Deaton. The Princeton economist, working with his wife Anne Case, stumbled on the fact that mortality rates were rising for working-age white Americans since 1999.
We were really looking for something else and then we discovered that, at least among people between 45-54, and even more between 50-54, a decline in mortality, particularly white mortality that had been established for about 100 years had actually stopped or even reversed itself. Whether it has reversed itself or not depends on a bit on your starting point and end point, but the century-long decline in mortality rates that had gone on since the beginning of the 20th century had just stopped and was starting to rise.
For mortality rates to rise instead of fall is extremely rare. It typically takes a war or epidemic for death rates to jump.
More
Of course, many attribute Trump's staggering victories in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania to his efforts to tap into the frustration of the dispossessed Midwest masses by promising a rebirth of the manufacturing economy that once provided them a solid middle-class lifestyle.
That said, no economic crisis is truly "discovered" until an Ivy League, Nobel-prize-winning economist says it is. As such, we present to you the intriguing findings of Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton who said he was "looking for something else" when he noticed a staggering increase in white mortality rates for people aged 50-54. Per Market Watch:
That was the case with landmark research undertaken by Nobel Prize winning economist Angus Deaton. The Princeton economist, working with his wife Anne Case, stumbled on the fact that mortality rates were rising for working-age white Americans since 1999.
We were really looking for something else and then we discovered that, at least among people between 45-54, and even more between 50-54, a decline in mortality, particularly white mortality that had been established for about 100 years had actually stopped or even reversed itself. Whether it has reversed itself or not depends on a bit on your starting point and end point, but the century-long decline in mortality rates that had gone on since the beginning of the 20th century had just stopped and was starting to rise.
For mortality rates to rise instead of fall is extremely rare. It typically takes a war or epidemic for death rates to jump.
More
Trump officials demand Mueller return thousands of emails
Officials of President Trump's transition team plan to ask Special Counsel Robert Mueller to return "many tens of thousands" of transition emails they contend were unlawfully provided to him. But the prosecutor's office says emails being used in the investigation were properly obtained.
President Trump, returning to the White House on Sunday, said when asked about the emails: "Not looking good. It's not looking good. It's quite sad to see that. My people are very upset about it. I can't imagine there's anything on 'em, frankly, because as we said, there's no collusion. There's no collusion whatsoever. A lot of lawyers thought that was pretty sad."
What's new: A source close to Trump's transition, which still exists as a legal entity so it can shut down what was once a 1,000-person operation, said the transition will send a letter to Mueller informing him that some of the emails are privileged, and asking for their return. The transition says it is willing to provide Mueller with vetted emails.
The source told me: "What they did is totally illegal, and they need to fix it."
More
What's new: A source close to Trump's transition, which still exists as a legal entity so it can shut down what was once a 1,000-person operation, said the transition will send a letter to Mueller informing him that some of the emails are privileged, and asking for their return. The transition says it is willing to provide Mueller with vetted emails.
The source told me: "What they did is totally illegal, and they need to fix it."
More
Comey edits revealed: Remarks on Clinton probe were watered down, documents show
Newly released documents obtained by Fox News reveal that then-FBI Director James Comey’s draft statement on the Hillary Clinton email probe was edited numerous times before his public announcement, in ways that seemed to water down the bureau’s findings considerably.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Thursday that shows the multiple edits to Comey’s highly scrutinized statement.
In an early draft, Comey said it was “reasonably likely” that “hostile actors” gained access to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email account. That was changed later to say the scenario was merely “possible.”
Another edit showed language was changed to describe the actions of Clinton and her colleagues as “extremely careless” as opposed to “grossly negligent.” This is a key legal distinction.
More
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Thursday that shows the multiple edits to Comey’s highly scrutinized statement.
In an early draft, Comey said it was “reasonably likely” that “hostile actors” gained access to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email account. That was changed later to say the scenario was merely “possible.”
Another edit showed language was changed to describe the actions of Clinton and her colleagues as “extremely careless” as opposed to “grossly negligent.” This is a key legal distinction.
More
Court Filing Confirms Fusion GPS Hired DOJ Official's CIA Wife To Dig Up Dirt On Trump
The head of opposition research firm Fusion GPS admitted in a court filing this week that his firm paid the wife of a senior Justice Department official to help dig up damaging information on then-candidate Donald Trump.
Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, filed the signed declaration in a D.C. court this week affirming that Nellie Ohr, wife of demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was contracted by Fusion through the summer and fall of 2016 "to help our company with its research and analysis of Mr. Trump," according to the filing. The House Intelligence Committee determined that in November 2016, Simpson met with Bruce Ohr shortly after the election to discuss their findings regarding Russia and Trump. Bruce Ohr lost his senior-level position at the DOJ as associate deputy attorney general after his meetings with Simpson and British spy Christopher Steele, who assembled the Trump-Russia dossier, were discovered.
And why would Fusion GPS hire Nellie Ohr? Aside from the obvious connection to her DOJ husband who was in a position to provide Fusion GPS with information on Trump gathered by US intelligence agencies, Nellie Ohr also represented the CIA's "Open Source Works" group in a 2010 "expert working group report on international organized crime" along with Bruce Ohr and Glenn Simpson.
More
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/14/comey-edits-revealed-remarks-on-clinton-probe-were-watered-down-documents-show.html
Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, filed the signed declaration in a D.C. court this week affirming that Nellie Ohr, wife of demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was contracted by Fusion through the summer and fall of 2016 "to help our company with its research and analysis of Mr. Trump," according to the filing. The House Intelligence Committee determined that in November 2016, Simpson met with Bruce Ohr shortly after the election to discuss their findings regarding Russia and Trump. Bruce Ohr lost his senior-level position at the DOJ as associate deputy attorney general after his meetings with Simpson and British spy Christopher Steele, who assembled the Trump-Russia dossier, were discovered.
And why would Fusion GPS hire Nellie Ohr? Aside from the obvious connection to her DOJ husband who was in a position to provide Fusion GPS with information on Trump gathered by US intelligence agencies, Nellie Ohr also represented the CIA's "Open Source Works" group in a 2010 "expert working group report on international organized crime" along with Bruce Ohr and Glenn Simpson.
More
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/14/comey-edits-revealed-remarks-on-clinton-probe-were-watered-down-documents-show.html
Ten women trade blows at McDonald's in Michigan
This is the shocking moment a violent mass brawl broke out between women at a McDonald's in Michigan.
Mobile phone footage shows at least 10 women trading blows at the restaurant as other customers watch in horror.
During the 40-second clip, at least four women can be seen punching and kicking a woman in a red T-shirt.
More/Video
Mobile phone footage shows at least 10 women trading blows at the restaurant as other customers watch in horror.
During the 40-second clip, at least four women can be seen punching and kicking a woman in a red T-shirt.
More/Video
SPD UPDATE
Salisbury Police Department
UPDATE suspicious death investigation within Smith St neighborhood reveals an apparent suicide.
Agency: 2 Immigrants Can LEAVE U.S. for Abortion
The Trump administration says two pregnant illegal immigrant teens who are being held in federal custody and prevented from obtaining abortions can leave the U.S. if they want to end their pregnancies.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed court papers Friday asking a judge to order the government not to interfere with or obstruct the girls' access to abortions. The ACLU says the girls arrived as unaccompanied minors.
More
The American Civil Liberties Union filed court papers Friday asking a judge to order the government not to interfere with or obstruct the girls' access to abortions. The ACLU says the girls arrived as unaccompanied minors.
More
Washington Examiner: Trump Wins on Immigration, That's Why the Media Don't Want to Talk About It
Writing at the Washington Examiner, Eddie Scarry argues Donald Trump’s stance on immigration has been proven right, which means the mainstream media is doing all it can to ignore the topic:
If an adult chosen at random were asked to name the biggest story of the week, odds are low that he’d say a Muslim immigrant terrorist set off a bomb in a New York subway station in an attempt to kill unknown numbers of innocent people.
That’s because national news editors and TV producers decided that story wasn’t as important as a Republican’s election loss and endless commentary that imagined President Trump slut-shaming Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s words, not mine).
There’s one major difference between the immigrant terrorist story and the other two about Moore and Gillibrand: The media can’t make the immigrant terrorist story bad for the White House.
Read the rest of the story at the Washington Examiner.
If an adult chosen at random were asked to name the biggest story of the week, odds are low that he’d say a Muslim immigrant terrorist set off a bomb in a New York subway station in an attempt to kill unknown numbers of innocent people.
That’s because national news editors and TV producers decided that story wasn’t as important as a Republican’s election loss and endless commentary that imagined President Trump slut-shaming Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s words, not mine).
There’s one major difference between the immigrant terrorist story and the other two about Moore and Gillibrand: The media can’t make the immigrant terrorist story bad for the White House.
Read the rest of the story at the Washington Examiner.
Left Attacks Women In Trump Admin While ‘Claiming to Champion Women’s Causes’
During an interview broadcast on Friday’s edition of the Fox News Channel’s “Ingraham Angle,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that many liberals have “contempt” for the “forgotten men and women” and also stated, “it’s sad that they’re attacking a lot of us while claiming to champion women’s causes and women’s issues.”
Sanders said, "This is a president who was elected by the forgotten men and women of this country, and a lot of liberals have contempt for those people, whether they’re men, whether they’re women, and they want to attack us. I think that it’s a great reminder of why this president was elected.
"We’re here to do a job. We’re here to get big things done. That’s what we’re focused on. And if they want to focus on petty attacks, that’s fine, let them have at it.
"While they’re doing that, we’re going to get tax cuts passed in this country. We’re going to continue to grow the economy, continue to create jobs, 2 million new jobs since this president came into office. "
More
Sanders said, "This is a president who was elected by the forgotten men and women of this country, and a lot of liberals have contempt for those people, whether they’re men, whether they’re women, and they want to attack us. I think that it’s a great reminder of why this president was elected.
"We’re here to do a job. We’re here to get big things done. That’s what we’re focused on. And if they want to focus on petty attacks, that’s fine, let them have at it.
"While they’re doing that, we’re going to get tax cuts passed in this country. We’re going to continue to grow the economy, continue to create jobs, 2 million new jobs since this president came into office. "
More
Consultant Investigating Anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ Inside EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hired a top consultant to investigate the agency’s employees who criticize the Trump administration.
Allan Blutstein, a vice president at the opposition research firm Definers Public Affairs, reportedly filed dozens of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the agency over the past year to find dirt on agency employees who criticized the EPA or the Trump administration while on the clock, the New York Times revealed.
“I wondered if they were emailing critical things about the agency on government time and how frequently they were corresponding about this,” Blutstein told the Times in an interview. “And did they do anything that would be useful for Republicans.”
Blutstein added that he specifically looked into government employees who were members of the “resistance.”
More
Allan Blutstein, a vice president at the opposition research firm Definers Public Affairs, reportedly filed dozens of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the agency over the past year to find dirt on agency employees who criticized the EPA or the Trump administration while on the clock, the New York Times revealed.
“I wondered if they were emailing critical things about the agency on government time and how frequently they were corresponding about this,” Blutstein told the Times in an interview. “And did they do anything that would be useful for Republicans.”
Blutstein added that he specifically looked into government employees who were members of the “resistance.”
More
Academics to Establish ‘Critical Menstrual Studies’
Academics intend to establish the field of "critical menstrual studies" with the upcoming publication of the first-ever scholarly handbook devoted to the consideration of menstruation.
The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstrual Studies, slated for publication in 2020, will be "animated by the central question: what new lines of inquiry, including research questions and social justice engagements, are possible when we center our attention on menstrual health and politics across the lifespan?" according to the book proposal.
The handbook will establish "‘critical menstrual studies' as a coherent and multi-dimensional trans-disciplinary subject of inquiry and advocacy, one that enables an exciting epistemological clarity and potential," the book proposal goes on. "Attention to menstrual issues across the lifespan surfaces broader societal issues and tensions, including gender inequality, practices and discourses of embodiment, processes of radicalization and commodification, and emergent technologies as read through various disciplines and inter-disciplines."
More here
[This is wonderful. Maybe they are getting closer to finding a cure.. --Editor]
The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstrual Studies, slated for publication in 2020, will be "animated by the central question: what new lines of inquiry, including research questions and social justice engagements, are possible when we center our attention on menstrual health and politics across the lifespan?" according to the book proposal.
The handbook will establish "‘critical menstrual studies' as a coherent and multi-dimensional trans-disciplinary subject of inquiry and advocacy, one that enables an exciting epistemological clarity and potential," the book proposal goes on. "Attention to menstrual issues across the lifespan surfaces broader societal issues and tensions, including gender inequality, practices and discourses of embodiment, processes of radicalization and commodification, and emergent technologies as read through various disciplines and inter-disciplines."
More here
[This is wonderful. Maybe they are getting closer to finding a cure.. --Editor]
Lawmakers Urge Funding to Keep Aging A-10 Aircraft Flying
The 1970s-era aircraft have been used to go after Islamic State fighters. However, about 110 of the planes, are now in need of wing replacements, estimated to cost about $103 million, according to the website.
The repairs were included in the National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Donald Trump. However, Congress has been unable to reach an agreement to fund the annual defense bill, the Examiner noted.
Earlier this year, the Air Force announced it planned to maintain the majority of the A-10 aircraft, commonly known as the Warthog.
The A-10’s GAU-8- 30mm gun, at 3,900 rounds per minute 'sparks panic' in ISIS fighters.
More here
Republican Elite — Not Trump’s Base — Lost the Alabama Race
Here we go again. In the aftermath of Democrat Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama on Tuesday night, the same familiar faces on television are coming to the same familiar, yet inaccurate conclusions about the latest Republican debacle. The sun rises in the morning. President Trump tweets. And pundits and political strategists get it wrong.
So let’s talk about the real takeaways from the Alabama Senate race.
Roy Moore was a supremely flawed candidate, without a doubt. However, simply blaming Alabama voters — and Steve Bannon — for picking a flawed candidate is foolish. The so-called “experts” making this argument, including many Senate Republicans, completely misunderstand what is taking place with the electorate across the country.
The rise of Roy Moore — and Donald Trump before him — was not an accident, but rather a predictable consequence of the GOP’s inability to follow through on campaign promises for decades. Like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy’s football, Republican voters have dutifully shown up year after year at the polls to elect Republican politicians who, invariably, have then turned around and made excuses as to why they can’t repeal ObamaCare, defund Planned Parenthood, build the wall, drain the swamp, etc.
This has had a twofold effect on the conservative base..
More here
So let’s talk about the real takeaways from the Alabama Senate race.
Roy Moore was a supremely flawed candidate, without a doubt. However, simply blaming Alabama voters — and Steve Bannon — for picking a flawed candidate is foolish. The so-called “experts” making this argument, including many Senate Republicans, completely misunderstand what is taking place with the electorate across the country.
The rise of Roy Moore — and Donald Trump before him — was not an accident, but rather a predictable consequence of the GOP’s inability to follow through on campaign promises for decades. Like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy’s football, Republican voters have dutifully shown up year after year at the polls to elect Republican politicians who, invariably, have then turned around and made excuses as to why they can’t repeal ObamaCare, defund Planned Parenthood, build the wall, drain the swamp, etc.
This has had a twofold effect on the conservative base..
More here
Bombshell: "The House Is Going To Be Rocked In The Next 72 Hours... Over A Dozen Congressional Members May Resign" Over Sex Scandals
What started as an attack on then-candidate Donald J. Trump leading into the 2016 Presidential election appears to have been flipped completely on its head as scores of media, music, movie and political resignations over sex scandals have left shock waves across the country.
Not a week has gone by without some high ranking member of the star-studded elite getting taken down by what overtly looks to be a viral movement under the #MeToo hashtag.
It’s no secret that back in the 1990’s President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that would shield sexually deviant Congressional members from being revealed to the public.
More
Not a week has gone by without some high ranking member of the star-studded elite getting taken down by what overtly looks to be a viral movement under the #MeToo hashtag.
It’s no secret that back in the 1990’s President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that would shield sexually deviant Congressional members from being revealed to the public.
More
Top FBI And DOJ Officials To Be Subpoenaed: McCabe, Strzok, Page In The Crosshairs
House Judiciary Committee member Jim Jordan (R-OH) says he's gotten a commitment from committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to issue subpoenas for several key officials at the FBI and Justice Department implicated in disturbing revelations of political bias against President Donald Trump.
House and Senate committees have turned their focus in recent weeks to Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, counterintelligence investigator Peter Strzok, FBI attorney Lisa Page, former associate deputy attorney general Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie - who worked for Fusion GPS, the firm behind the "Trump-Russia" dossier and several other concurrent campaigns to smear Donald Trump in an effort funded in large part by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.
"Chairman Goodlatte has told us he is going to subpoena those individuals," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), while speaking to a Fox panel on' "Justice with Judge Jeanine (longer clip here)."
More
House and Senate committees have turned their focus in recent weeks to Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, counterintelligence investigator Peter Strzok, FBI attorney Lisa Page, former associate deputy attorney general Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie - who worked for Fusion GPS, the firm behind the "Trump-Russia" dossier and several other concurrent campaigns to smear Donald Trump in an effort funded in large part by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.
"Chairman Goodlatte has told us he is going to subpoena those individuals," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), while speaking to a Fox panel on' "Justice with Judge Jeanine (longer clip here)."
More
Marco Rubio, unclear on the concept
On the heels of its multiple failures to repeal Obamacare, the troublesome Senate has finally gotten its act together enough to pass a $1.6-trillion tax cut. If it passes as expected, Americans can finally get the tax cut they elected a Republican Congress for, following years of Obama-era tax-harvests and stagnation.
But it was a close call.
One name stands out as a stinker here, and it still stands out as a stinker even though he's now voting yes: Senator Marco Rubio. The supposed conservative from Florida was willing to derail the whole thing for all of us and cost the Senate its majority if he didn't get the tax refund credit he wanted.
In reality, it wasn't a tax cut, but a dollop of pork slipped into the package, a refundable tax credit to hand to people whose incomes are so low they don't pay taxes at all. Read: illegals and unwed mothers who get all kinds of free stuff already. Now they each get $1,400 checks and another disincentive to work, courtesy of the taxpayers, something Rubio will be sure to tout as he seeks re-election votes from the underclass as a Bush-style "compassionate conservative."
More
But it was a close call.
One name stands out as a stinker here, and it still stands out as a stinker even though he's now voting yes: Senator Marco Rubio. The supposed conservative from Florida was willing to derail the whole thing for all of us and cost the Senate its majority if he didn't get the tax refund credit he wanted.
In reality, it wasn't a tax cut, but a dollop of pork slipped into the package, a refundable tax credit to hand to people whose incomes are so low they don't pay taxes at all. Read: illegals and unwed mothers who get all kinds of free stuff already. Now they each get $1,400 checks and another disincentive to work, courtesy of the taxpayers, something Rubio will be sure to tout as he seeks re-election votes from the underclass as a Bush-style "compassionate conservative."
More
Sweden Forced to Raise Retirement Age To Pay For Mass Immigration
The increasing costs of population growth in Sweden, driven almost entirely mass migration, have forced the government to seriously consider raising the national retirement age to pay for the additional costs.
Swedish Socialist party Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that the retirement age would likely be raised in the near future in order to offset increased welfare costs, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
“Looking at those who start working at 30, there should be opportunities to work longer than 65,” Andersson said.
The minister made her remarks following an economic report from the Local Authorities and County Council (SKL) released earlier this week. The report claimed that the welfare state would grow faster than revenue obtained through taxation due to the dramatic rise of Sweden’s population.
More here
Swedish Socialist party Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that the retirement age would likely be raised in the near future in order to offset increased welfare costs, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
“Looking at those who start working at 30, there should be opportunities to work longer than 65,” Andersson said.
The minister made her remarks following an economic report from the Local Authorities and County Council (SKL) released earlier this week. The report claimed that the welfare state would grow faster than revenue obtained through taxation due to the dramatic rise of Sweden’s population.
More here
Hundreds attend funeral of 'abandoned' Vietnam veteran
Glenn Shelton, 68, died Nov. 26 and earned a Purple Heart while serving with the Marines during the Vietnam War, according to his obituary.
Shelton had no known family and is formerly of Louisville, Ky., according to Indiana Funeral Care. It's unknown how he got to Indiana.
Indiana Funeral Care organized Saturday’s funeral service by spreading the word on social media, which grew so popular the ceremony had to be moved to a bigger venue.
Besides the hundreds who attended the ceremony Saturday to pay their respects, Shelton's online obituary also contained comments from people thanking him for his service and paying their respects.
More
Japan CPAC: In Searing Defense of 'Trump Miracle', Bannon Calls Out Chinese Regime
The United States and East Asian allies must unify to constrain China’s “frightening, “audacious,” and “global” ambitions, said Breitbart News’s Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon on Sunday. President Donald Trump, he added, has begun ushering in an American resurgence toward this end.
Bannon’s remarks came as he headlined a J-CPAC event in Tokyo, Japan, hosted by the The American Conservative Union.
Confronting China’s ascendance and growing hegemony, said Bannon, required America and her allies to enter the “valley of decision.” Drawing on twentieth century appeasement of Nazi Germany as illustrative, he warned of the dangers of appeasing China as an ascendant competitor nation state:
We’re going through – for the next ten, or fifteen, or twenty years – the valley of decision. Now go back and study what happened in other eras [such as] the 1930s, when leaders of the world [and] leaders on the side of freedom appeased people; didn’t face reality; kicked the can down the road. All the easy decisions are decades behind us. We don’t have any easy choices. We don’t have any easy decisions. There are no easy options on the range of alternatives. There’s only hard choices. There’s only tough choices.
More
Bannon’s remarks came as he headlined a J-CPAC event in Tokyo, Japan, hosted by the The American Conservative Union.
Confronting China’s ascendance and growing hegemony, said Bannon, required America and her allies to enter the “valley of decision.” Drawing on twentieth century appeasement of Nazi Germany as illustrative, he warned of the dangers of appeasing China as an ascendant competitor nation state:
We’re going through – for the next ten, or fifteen, or twenty years – the valley of decision. Now go back and study what happened in other eras [such as] the 1930s, when leaders of the world [and] leaders on the side of freedom appeased people; didn’t face reality; kicked the can down the road. All the easy decisions are decades behind us. We don’t have any easy choices. We don’t have any easy decisions. There are no easy options on the range of alternatives. There’s only hard choices. There’s only tough choices.
More
TRUMP: Deporting MS-13 is Cheaper than Jailing Them
“Who the hell wants to take care of them?,” President Donald Trump told graduates of the FBI National Academy while speaking about the MS-13 transnational criminal gang. During his speech in Quantico, Virginia, the commander-in-chief said it was cheaper to deport the hyper-violent gang members than to jail them.
“To any member of MS-13 listening, I have a message for you: We will find you,” the president said on Friday. “We will arrest you. We will jail you. We will throw you the hell out of the country.”
The president continued, “I mean, somehow, I like it better than jail. Jail we have to take care of them. Who the hell wants to take care of them.” The graduates responded with applause. “You know the jail stuff is wonderful but, we have to pay for it, right?”
President Trump reiterated his call to end chain migration and the visa lottery system. He called for replacing those immigration programs with “a merit-based system of immigration.” “We want a system that puts the needs of American families, taxpayers, and security first.”
“That is why I have also directed the federal government law enforcement to work closely with our state and local police to destroy criminal cartels like the savages of MS-13.”
More
“To any member of MS-13 listening, I have a message for you: We will find you,” the president said on Friday. “We will arrest you. We will jail you. We will throw you the hell out of the country.”
The president continued, “I mean, somehow, I like it better than jail. Jail we have to take care of them. Who the hell wants to take care of them.” The graduates responded with applause. “You know the jail stuff is wonderful but, we have to pay for it, right?”
President Trump reiterated his call to end chain migration and the visa lottery system. He called for replacing those immigration programs with “a merit-based system of immigration.” “We want a system that puts the needs of American families, taxpayers, and security first.”
“That is why I have also directed the federal government law enforcement to work closely with our state and local police to destroy criminal cartels like the savages of MS-13.”
More
Pelosi’s super PAC keeps donations from owners of child sex trafficking site
After California’s then-Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced felony pimping charges last year against the two owners of Backpage.com — a classified-ad website that is a hub for sex trafficking and prostitution, one of the men cut a $10,000 check to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s super PAC.
Mrs. Pelosi’s political action committee, House Majority PAC, has resisted giving the money back, and an aide to Mrs. Pelosi said the California Democrat knows nothing about the contribution.
Mrs. Pelosi isn’t the only Democrat struggling to deal with the piles of cash that Backpage’s owners spread around to candidates and state Democratic parties over the years.
Even Ms. Harris, a California Democrat who is now a U.S. senator, ducked the issue.
More
Mrs. Pelosi’s political action committee, House Majority PAC, has resisted giving the money back, and an aide to Mrs. Pelosi said the California Democrat knows nothing about the contribution.
Mrs. Pelosi isn’t the only Democrat struggling to deal with the piles of cash that Backpage’s owners spread around to candidates and state Democratic parties over the years.
Even Ms. Harris, a California Democrat who is now a U.S. senator, ducked the issue.
More
This Map Shows You The Richest Politician In Every State
This map from HowMuch.net shows the richest politician in every state, and reveals just how rich they really are.
More
Trump accusers being financially backed by George Soros, other left-wing groups
A left-wing group funded by billionaire globalist George Soros is working with the women who accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct to demand a congressional investigation into the allegations.
The leftist group, Brave New Films, held a press conference with the accusers on Monday and called for a congressional investigation into the President.
Brave New Films is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization that claims to be non-partisan, but they admit on their own website that they are funded by multiple far-left groups like Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Media Matters For America, the Ford Foundation and others.
More
The leftist group, Brave New Films, held a press conference with the accusers on Monday and called for a congressional investigation into the President.
Brave New Films is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization that claims to be non-partisan, but they admit on their own website that they are funded by multiple far-left groups like Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Media Matters For America, the Ford Foundation and others.
More
Michelle Malkin: 'How Many More People Have to Die' Before Congress Ends 'Visa Lottery?'
Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” conservative commentator Michelle Malkin slammed Republicans and Democrats in Congress for failing to end the so-called diversity visa lottery program, an immigration policy that’s been under fire for being exploited by foreign terror suspects.
Malkin attacked the GOP-led Congress for not having already ended the visa lottery, where 50,000 visas are randomly given out to foreign nationals from a multitude of countries. Those countries include ones with known terrorist problems, such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Yemen, and Uzbekistan.
More
Malkin attacked the GOP-led Congress for not having already ended the visa lottery, where 50,000 visas are randomly given out to foreign nationals from a multitude of countries. Those countries include ones with known terrorist problems, such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Yemen, and Uzbekistan.
More
ESPN president John Skipper resigns, citing substance abuse
John Skipper has resigned as president of ESPN, citing substance abuse. “Today I have resigned from my duties as President of ESPN,” Skipper said in a statement. “I have had...
Read More
Read More
Judicial Watch President: "Forget Mueller," The Real Question Is "Do We Need To Shut Down The FBI?"
Echoing the thoughts that are undoubtedly running through the minds of many Americans following startling revelations of an "insurance policy" crafted by FBI agents Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok to prevent a Trump presidency at all costs (something we covered here: FBI Texts Reveal "Insurance Policy" To Prevent Trump Presidency), Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton appeared on Fox News last night to say it's time to move beyond discussing whether or not it's appropriate to shut down Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and move on to consider whether it's now time to consider shutting down the entire FBI after "it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
"Fusion GPS was a Hillary Clinton campaign vendor and the DOJ was working hand and glove with it...perhaps paying them money...the suspicion is they were paying them money...top DOJ official's wife was working with them. There was no distinction between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Department of Justice and the FBI."
"Forget about the FBI investigation into Clinton and Trump being compromised by these conflicts. I think the FBI's been compromised. Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller...do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
More
"Fusion GPS was a Hillary Clinton campaign vendor and the DOJ was working hand and glove with it...perhaps paying them money...the suspicion is they were paying them money...top DOJ official's wife was working with them. There was no distinction between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Department of Justice and the FBI."
"Forget about the FBI investigation into Clinton and Trump being compromised by these conflicts. I think the FBI's been compromised. Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller...do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
More
'Hanoi Jane' Donates $100K to Defeat Issa
Fonda's contribution amounts to nearly one-quarter of the group's total $440,000 haul for the year.
Top donors to the group, Flip the 49th Neighbors in Action, include Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio, comedian Bill Maher, actor Ted Danson and former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.). Maher donated $15,000, DiCaprio and Boxer doled out $2,500 each, and Danson cut a $1,500 check, according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Jay Leno also contributed $2,500 through his JDM Foundation, an organization that Leno funds along with contributions from auto-racing companies.
Fonda, now 79, earned the nickname "Hanoi Jane" from Vietnam veterans for visiting Hanoi in 1972 as an anti-war protester in 1972 where she posed for photos on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft battery.
More
BREAKING NEWS: Amtrak train derails, dangles over interstate in Washington
The Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted a photo of the derailment, urging motorists to avoid the area.
CBS News affiliate KIRO-TV reports first responders are treating the derailment as a mass casualty incident. Authorities have not yet provided details on injuries.
Amtrak train 501 was part of a service that launched Monday morning. The service was supposed to be rated for a maximum speed of 79 mph for the section where it derailed in DuPont, according to passenger Chris Karnes.
Karnes, who was on board the train when it derailed, said at least seven cars derailed from the tracks. The emergency doors were not functioning correctly, which forced passengers to kick out train windows to exit.
"We had just passed the city of DuPont and it seemed like we were going around a curve," Karnes said. "All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill. The next thing we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there's water gushing out of the train. People were screaming."
"The tracks for this line were supposed to be upgraded to be able to handle higher speeds," he continued. "I'm not sure what happened at this juncture."
More/Video
World’s oldest man Francisco Nunez Olivera celebrates 113th birthday with a sponge cake, milk and visits from 15 great grandkids
Francisco Nunez Olivera, who also has four children and nine grandchildren, attributes his long life to a diet of home-grown vegetables and a daily glass of red wine.
But he began his special day by feasting on his traditional sponge cake, washed down with a glass of milk as he opened letters of congratulation from well-wishers around the world.
The widower’s daughter Maria Antonia, 82, was among those who spent the anniversary with him at his home in the village of Bienvenida in Badajoz, south-west Spain.
More
Progressives hunt down one of the last conservative Democrats
CHICAGO — Powerful interests are lined up against him. Outside spending groups are forming to advocate for his defeat. National political figures have endorsed his opponent.
And that’s just within Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski’s own party.
Lipinski, one of the few remaining conservative Democrats in Congress, is under siege from the left, battling for his political life against progressives who are teaming up to replace him with a candidate far more in line with liberal orthodoxy.
That candidate, Marie Newman, a businesswoman and former marketing consultant, already has high-profile endorsements from feminist icon Gloria Steinem and New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — an unusual show of opposition against a fellow Democratic congressional incumbent.
Newman has also received a rare joint endorsement from a handful of influential progressive groups: NARAL, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Human Rights Campaign.
While Lipinski is accustomed to drawing primary challenges in his Chicago-based district, he’s never before been targeted with so much local and national firepower.
First elected in 2004, Lipinski is something of an exotic species: a Democrat who opposes abortion and cast votes against both the Affordable Care Act and the DREAM Act, which sought to provide a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants.
More here
And that’s just within Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski’s own party.
Lipinski, one of the few remaining conservative Democrats in Congress, is under siege from the left, battling for his political life against progressives who are teaming up to replace him with a candidate far more in line with liberal orthodoxy.
That candidate, Marie Newman, a businesswoman and former marketing consultant, already has high-profile endorsements from feminist icon Gloria Steinem and New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — an unusual show of opposition against a fellow Democratic congressional incumbent.
Newman has also received a rare joint endorsement from a handful of influential progressive groups: NARAL, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Human Rights Campaign.
While Lipinski is accustomed to drawing primary challenges in his Chicago-based district, he’s never before been targeted with so much local and national firepower.
First elected in 2004, Lipinski is something of an exotic species: a Democrat who opposes abortion and cast votes against both the Affordable Care Act and the DREAM Act, which sought to provide a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants.
More here
Police Seek Public’s Help In Wicomico Co. Home Invasion
(Delmar, MD) – Maryland State Police investigators are searching for a suspect and seeking help from citizens who may have information about the individual involved in a Wicomico County home invasion.
Shortly after 7:00 p.m. yesterday, troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to the 2900 block of Waller Road in Delmar, MD, for report of a home invasion. This call was placed by one of the victims.
Preliminary, the investigation revealed that an unknown black male attempted to enter the residence by breaking a rear window leading into a bedroom area. One of the two adult victims home at the time observed the suspect trying to break into the bedroom and went outside to confront the suspect.
The suspect then assaulted the victim with a tire iron. The victim declined medical treatment at the scene.
After assaulting the victim, the suspect entered the residence and went into the bedroom that he attempted to break into earlier. However, the suspect ran out of the house a short time later without taking anything.
The suspect is described as a black male, about 6 feet tall with a thin build with mid-length dreadlocks and last seen wearing dark-colored jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt covering his face. No further suspect descriptions were provided to responding troopers.
Maryland State Police K-9 unit responded to the scene to assist and conducted a track with negative results. Maryland State Police Crime Scene responded to the incident as well and processed the scene for evidence.
State police investigators are hoping anyone with information will come forward. Callers may remain anonymous. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack at (410) 749-3101. This investigation is still active and ongoing.
Shortly after 7:00 p.m. yesterday, troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to the 2900 block of Waller Road in Delmar, MD, for report of a home invasion. This call was placed by one of the victims.
Preliminary, the investigation revealed that an unknown black male attempted to enter the residence by breaking a rear window leading into a bedroom area. One of the two adult victims home at the time observed the suspect trying to break into the bedroom and went outside to confront the suspect.
The suspect then assaulted the victim with a tire iron. The victim declined medical treatment at the scene.
After assaulting the victim, the suspect entered the residence and went into the bedroom that he attempted to break into earlier. However, the suspect ran out of the house a short time later without taking anything.
The suspect is described as a black male, about 6 feet tall with a thin build with mid-length dreadlocks and last seen wearing dark-colored jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt covering his face. No further suspect descriptions were provided to responding troopers.
Maryland State Police K-9 unit responded to the scene to assist and conducted a track with negative results. Maryland State Police Crime Scene responded to the incident as well and processed the scene for evidence.
State police investigators are hoping anyone with information will come forward. Callers may remain anonymous. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack at (410) 749-3101. This investigation is still active and ongoing.
Al Franken drags out Senate departure
Minnesota Democrat Sen. Al Franken resigned from Congress two weeks ago amid continuing sexual-misconduct allegations. However, he’s yet to say when he’ll empty his Capitol Hill office, even after his replacement was appointed earlier this week.
“Tina Smith will make an excellent United States senator. … I look forward to working with her on ensuring a speedy and seamless transition,” Franken said after the state lieutenant governor was appointed, without mentioning when he’ll leave.
In his Dec. 7 resignation speech, Franken said only that he’ll be leaving in the “coming weeks.”
Multiple people on Capitol Hill, including those in Senate leadership, told Fox News that they don’t know when Franken will leave.
“I’ll be coming home,” was Franken’s only response to a question after future plans, after his Senate floor resignation speech.
Franken was back at work this week, casting votes in the Senate, participating in a committee hearing, attending a senators-only luncheon with Democrats and even posing for a picture with a group of high school students.
More
“Tina Smith will make an excellent United States senator. … I look forward to working with her on ensuring a speedy and seamless transition,” Franken said after the state lieutenant governor was appointed, without mentioning when he’ll leave.
In his Dec. 7 resignation speech, Franken said only that he’ll be leaving in the “coming weeks.”
Multiple people on Capitol Hill, including those in Senate leadership, told Fox News that they don’t know when Franken will leave.
“I’ll be coming home,” was Franken’s only response to a question after future plans, after his Senate floor resignation speech.
Franken was back at work this week, casting votes in the Senate, participating in a committee hearing, attending a senators-only luncheon with Democrats and even posing for a picture with a group of high school students.
More
Trump lawyer: Mueller improperly obtained transition documents in Russia probe
A lawyer for the Trump presidential transition team is accusing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office of inappropriately obtaining transition documents as part of its Russia probe, including confidential attorney-client communications, privileged communications and thousands of emails.
In a letter obtained by Fox News and sent to House and Senate committees on Saturday, the transition team’s attorney alleges “unlawful conduct” by the career staff at the General Services Administration in handing over transition documents to the special counsel’s office.
The transition legal team argues it could be a violation of the 4th Amendment – which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Kory Langhofer, the counsel to Trump for America, wrote in Saturday's letter that the GSA “did not own or control the records in question.”
More
In a letter obtained by Fox News and sent to House and Senate committees on Saturday, the transition team’s attorney alleges “unlawful conduct” by the career staff at the General Services Administration in handing over transition documents to the special counsel’s office.
The transition legal team argues it could be a violation of the 4th Amendment – which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Kory Langhofer, the counsel to Trump for America, wrote in Saturday's letter that the GSA “did not own or control the records in question.”
More
Resistance: The Rise of Feminist Witchcraft
From organizing mass hexes to setting up witch-themed Etsy stores, the feminist movement and witchcraft are becoming increasingly entwined.
In an article this week, feminist and author Laurie Penny documented the “boom in online occultism” and why feminists are so attracted to witchcraft.
“Days after Donald Trump won the U.S. election, videos of women ‘hexing’ Trump went viral around the world, encouraging budding magical practitioners to burn images of the president-elect to bring his works to ruin,” reported Penny on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, an entire explosive industry of witch-paraphernalia is boiling out of the cauldron of digital consumer culture.”
“You can buy your crocheted bat-bunting and your broomstick-decals on Etsy, while a couple of clicks away anonymous web artisans peddle laptop stickers declaring the owner, with more or less accuracy, a daughter of the witches they weren’t able to burn,” she explained. “Commodification is usually a poisoned apple for movements like this, but there’s a proud legacy of re-purposing the witch-aesthetic for radical ends.”
The two scenes have become so intertwined that the term “witch” has even started to become synonymous with “feminist,” as online stores such as Witchsy sell feminist witch-themed goods.
More here
In an article this week, feminist and author Laurie Penny documented the “boom in online occultism” and why feminists are so attracted to witchcraft.
“Days after Donald Trump won the U.S. election, videos of women ‘hexing’ Trump went viral around the world, encouraging budding magical practitioners to burn images of the president-elect to bring his works to ruin,” reported Penny on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, an entire explosive industry of witch-paraphernalia is boiling out of the cauldron of digital consumer culture.”
“You can buy your crocheted bat-bunting and your broomstick-decals on Etsy, while a couple of clicks away anonymous web artisans peddle laptop stickers declaring the owner, with more or less accuracy, a daughter of the witches they weren’t able to burn,” she explained. “Commodification is usually a poisoned apple for movements like this, but there’s a proud legacy of re-purposing the witch-aesthetic for radical ends.”
The two scenes have become so intertwined that the term “witch” has even started to become synonymous with “feminist,” as online stores such as Witchsy sell feminist witch-themed goods.
More here
NBC Paid Chris Matthews Harassment Accuser
An MSNBC spokesman confirmed Saturday the company made a separation-related payment to one of Chris Matthews employees after the woman complained about sexual harassment.
Two sources familiar with the situation told The Daily Caller that Matthews paid $40,000 to settle with an assistant producer on his show, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” in 1999 after she accused him of harassment. An MSNBC spokesperson contested that claim to the Caller, saying the company instead paid significantly less as part of a severance package.
The woman complained to CNBC executives about Matthews making inappropriate comments and jokes about her while in the company of others.
The MSNBC spokesman said that they thoroughly reviewed the situation at the time and that Matthews received a formal reprimand. Based on people who were involved in the matter, the network concluded that the comments were inappropriate and juvenile but were not intended to be taken as propositions.
More
Two sources familiar with the situation told The Daily Caller that Matthews paid $40,000 to settle with an assistant producer on his show, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” in 1999 after she accused him of harassment. An MSNBC spokesperson contested that claim to the Caller, saying the company instead paid significantly less as part of a severance package.
The woman complained to CNBC executives about Matthews making inappropriate comments and jokes about her while in the company of others.
The MSNBC spokesman said that they thoroughly reviewed the situation at the time and that Matthews received a formal reprimand. Based on people who were involved in the matter, the network concluded that the comments were inappropriate and juvenile but were not intended to be taken as propositions.
More
Economist: $21 Trillion Missing From Federal Budget
US federal government may have spent as much as $21 trillion on things they can’t account for between 1998 and 2015, he says
The US government may have misspent $21 trillion, a professor at Michigan State University has found. Papers supporting the study briefly went missing just as an audit was announced.
Two departments of the US federal government may have spent as much as $21 trillion on things they can’t account for between 1998 and 2015. At least that’s what Mark Skidmore, a Professor of Economics at MSU specializing in public finance, and his team have found.
They came up with the figure after digging the websites of departments of Defense (DoD) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as repots of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) over summer.
More
The US government may have misspent $21 trillion, a professor at Michigan State University has found. Papers supporting the study briefly went missing just as an audit was announced.
Two departments of the US federal government may have spent as much as $21 trillion on things they can’t account for between 1998 and 2015. At least that’s what Mark Skidmore, a Professor of Economics at MSU specializing in public finance, and his team have found.
They came up with the figure after digging the websites of departments of Defense (DoD) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as repots of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) over summer.
More
Anti-Trump Liberal Activist Group Pulls in Another $420,000 In Gov’t Grants
A liberal activist group that has been involved in direct action campaigns against President Donald Trump and Republicans was recently awarded $400,000 more in taxpayer-backed government grants, records show.
Make the Road New York (MRNY), a New York City-based Latino immigrant group with nearly 20,000 dues-paying members, is closely linked to an $80 million dollar anti-Trump network and an approved funding group of the Democracy Alliance, a secretive liberal donor network.
MRNY has already hauled in millions of dollars in government grants. Between 2002 and 2014, the group was the recipient of more than $20 million in grants, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported. The amount that they received in 2015 and 2016 are not fully known, given the group's most recently available tax form is from 2014.
According to USASpending, a site that tracks federal government grants, MRNY was given $725,000 in grants in 2015 and more than $4.4 million in 2016. However, figures on the site show only a fraction of the total amount in government grants the group has received in previous years as marked on their tax forms.
On August 10, MRNY was awarded another grant totaling $420,000 from the Department of Education, records show.
More
Make the Road New York (MRNY), a New York City-based Latino immigrant group with nearly 20,000 dues-paying members, is closely linked to an $80 million dollar anti-Trump network and an approved funding group of the Democracy Alliance, a secretive liberal donor network.
MRNY has already hauled in millions of dollars in government grants. Between 2002 and 2014, the group was the recipient of more than $20 million in grants, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported. The amount that they received in 2015 and 2016 are not fully known, given the group's most recently available tax form is from 2014.
According to USASpending, a site that tracks federal government grants, MRNY was given $725,000 in grants in 2015 and more than $4.4 million in 2016. However, figures on the site show only a fraction of the total amount in government grants the group has received in previous years as marked on their tax forms.
On August 10, MRNY was awarded another grant totaling $420,000 from the Department of Education, records show.
More
D.C. Metro defends ban on Catholic Church’s Christmas ads
Metro defended the lower court’s ruling denying the Archdiocese of Washington’s “Find the Perfect Gift” campaign in a 32-page filing entered in response to a new emergency motion for injunction pending appeal currently being considered by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The Archdiocese of Washington sued Metro in D.C. District Court last month after the transit agency refused to let it advertise a website, FindthePerfectGift.org, on Metrobus exteriors. The archdiocese asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to grant a preliminary injunction forcing Metro to run the ads, but she ruled against them on Monday, December 11, prompting its attorneys to file another motion for injunction in D.C. federal court the next day.
The archdiocese claimed that Metro’s rejection constituted a violation of its First Amendment rights “because the prohibition creates an unreasonable and disproportionate burden on the exercise of the archdiocese’s speech without any legitimate justification.”
More here
Record sexual harassment settlement exposes byzantine congressional process
WASHINGTON — Of all the secret deals cut on behalf of accused members of congress, the one that resulted in the largest settlement yet uncovered may be the most surprising. The details provide a window into a process so opaque, convoluted and confusing that even the accused congressman was left in the dark about exactly how and why his accuser ended up being paid $220,000 for her claim.
With new harassment accusations being revealed on a nearly daily basis in Congress, documents obtained by NBC News from this one case shed light on how taxpayer money ends up being used to essentially sweep such incidents under a bureaucratic rug with little accountability.
The documents include drafts of a letter approving the settlement and a confidentiality agreement as well as an internal “lessons learned” memo written by a House employment lawyer. And while many of the accusations and details of the case remain in dispute, the eventual settlement is a case study of a process shrouded in secrecy despite being funded by taxpayers.
With new harassment accusations being revealed on a nearly daily basis in Congress, documents obtained by NBC News from this one case shed light on how taxpayer money ends up being used to essentially sweep such incidents under a bureaucratic rug with little accountability.
The documents include drafts of a letter approving the settlement and a confidentiality agreement as well as an internal “lessons learned” memo written by a House employment lawyer. And while many of the accusations and details of the case remain in dispute, the eventual settlement is a case study of a process shrouded in secrecy despite being funded by taxpayers.
The Complaint
In 2011, Winsome Packer, a congressional staffer who worked for the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (known as the Helsinki Commission) filed a complaint against the commission, alleging that its chairman at the time, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., made unwanted sexual advances toward her and that she was threatened with retaliation.
More/Video
In 2011, Winsome Packer, a congressional staffer who worked for the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (known as the Helsinki Commission) filed a complaint against the commission, alleging that its chairman at the time, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., made unwanted sexual advances toward her and that she was threatened with retaliation.
More/Video
SPD ---- Suspicious death
We are in the 600 block of Smith St investigating a suspicious death.
Breaking News: Puerto Rico's governor has ordered a recount of deaths from Hurricane Maria. The official toll is 64; a Times analysis put it around 1,000.
Chick-fil-A Feeding Thousands of Stranded Travelers at Atlanta Airport
How do you feed thousands of stranded airline passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with no electricity.
It turns out the answer was pretty simple: call Chick-fil-A.
Normally Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays so employees can attend church and spend time with their families.
But when the lights went out at the international airport — the mayor needed immediate help in feeding folks with no place to go. So he called Dan Cathy, the chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A.
Spokesperson Amanada Hannah tells me the famed, fast-food chicken restaurant quickly mobilized staff and team members who live near the airport.
“They are making sandwiches and delivering them to the emergency operations center,” she said. “City and airport officials there are distributing sandwiches to passengers who are stranded due to the power outage.”
More
Nephews of Venezuela first lady each sentenced to 18 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States
MANHATTAN, N.Y. – Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Raymond Donovan, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division, announced today that Efrain Antonio Campo Flores (“Campo Flores”) and Franqui Francisco Flores De Freitas (“Flores De Freitas”) were each sentenced to 216 months in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. A jury convicted Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas on November 18, 2016, following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty, who imposed today’s sentences.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “In part to fund an election campaign for the first lady of Venezuela, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas devised a plan to work with the FARC terrorist organization to send literally tons of cocaine to the United States. At their trial last November, a unanimous jury saw their plot for what it was – a massive drug distribution conspiracy. With today’s sentencing, for participating in this brazen cocaine trafficking scheme, they will spend many years in an American prison.”
“The sentencing of Campo-Flores and Flores-de Freitas serves as a strong reminder that anyone choosing to traffic drugs will be relentlessly pursued by the DEA and prosecuted for their involvement in such activities,” said DEA Special Operations Division Special Agent-in-Charge Raymond Donovan. “Campo-Flores and Flores-de Freitas were involved in illegal drug trafficking practices that assisted in transporting drugs to the doorstep of thousands of people in the United States, contributing to their addictions and overdoses on illegal substances.”
According to the evidence presented at trial and in connection with sentencing proceedings:
Beginning in August 2015, Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas worked with others in Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere – including at least one member of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (“FARC”), a designated foreign terrorist organization – in an effort to dispatch large loads of cocaine via private aircraft from premises controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at Simón BolÃvar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. The defendants’ aunt, Cilia Flores, is the first lady of Venezuela, and during the investigation, Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas told individuals acting at the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) that they intended to use part of the proceeds of their drug trafficking to fund her December 2015 campaign for a position in the Venezuelan National Assembly. Electronic communications seized from the defendants’ phones also demonstrated, among other things, that Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas had engaged in a scheme to solicit bribes from debtors of Venezuela’s state-run oil and natural gas company,Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PDVSA”), in exchange for promises that a cousin, Carlos Erik Malpica-Flores, would cause PDVSA to approve and make payments on certain debts. Maduro, Malpica-Flores, and other current and former senior Venezuelan officials have been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order (“E.O.”) 13692, which authorizes sanctions against officials of the Government of Venezuela and others undermining democracy there.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “In part to fund an election campaign for the first lady of Venezuela, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas devised a plan to work with the FARC terrorist organization to send literally tons of cocaine to the United States. At their trial last November, a unanimous jury saw their plot for what it was – a massive drug distribution conspiracy. With today’s sentencing, for participating in this brazen cocaine trafficking scheme, they will spend many years in an American prison.”
“The sentencing of Campo-Flores and Flores-de Freitas serves as a strong reminder that anyone choosing to traffic drugs will be relentlessly pursued by the DEA and prosecuted for their involvement in such activities,” said DEA Special Operations Division Special Agent-in-Charge Raymond Donovan. “Campo-Flores and Flores-de Freitas were involved in illegal drug trafficking practices that assisted in transporting drugs to the doorstep of thousands of people in the United States, contributing to their addictions and overdoses on illegal substances.”
According to the evidence presented at trial and in connection with sentencing proceedings:
Beginning in August 2015, Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas worked with others in Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere – including at least one member of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (“FARC”), a designated foreign terrorist organization – in an effort to dispatch large loads of cocaine via private aircraft from premises controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at Simón BolÃvar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. The defendants’ aunt, Cilia Flores, is the first lady of Venezuela, and during the investigation, Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas told individuals acting at the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) that they intended to use part of the proceeds of their drug trafficking to fund her December 2015 campaign for a position in the Venezuelan National Assembly. Electronic communications seized from the defendants’ phones also demonstrated, among other things, that Campo Flores and Flores De Freitas had engaged in a scheme to solicit bribes from debtors of Venezuela’s state-run oil and natural gas company,Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PDVSA”), in exchange for promises that a cousin, Carlos Erik Malpica-Flores, would cause PDVSA to approve and make payments on certain debts. Maduro, Malpica-Flores, and other current and former senior Venezuelan officials have been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order (“E.O.”) 13692, which authorizes sanctions against officials of the Government of Venezuela and others undermining democracy there.
Troopers Offer Tips to Protect Yourself and Your Property
Dover - Being in the midst of the holiday shopping season, with the weather turning colder and the hours of daylight decreased, the Delaware State Police have seen an increase in the number of thefts from vehicles, not only in parking lots, but at residences as well. Another crime trend also on the rise during the holiday season is the theft of delivered packages from residences.
In order to help you protect yourself and your property we would like to offer the following crime prevention tips.
Protect Yourself
- Keep your head up and scan your surroundings. Make eye contact with people so they are aware that you see them. This sends a message that you know they are there, and that you can also identify them if necessary.
- Walk confidently. Project an assertive, confident image.
- Avoid listening to music through earphones when out on the street. It prevents you from paying full attention, and distracts you from what and who is around you.
- If you are being followed, or you see a person or group that makes you feel uncomfortable, give yourself permission to act; cross the street, walk in another direction, go in to a business, or ask other people walking if you may walk a short distance with them.
- If someone demands your property and displays or implies in any way that they have a weapon, don't resist. Your physical property isn't worth getting injured or killed over.
Secure Your Vehicle
- Do not leave valuables in your car. That sounds like common sense, but drivers/passengers do leave items of value in plain view every day. If you leave valuable items visible in your car, your car is automatically a target.
- If you must leave valuable items in your car while out and about, place items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously.
- Once home, unload your valuables immediately. Do not store valuables in your car any longer than necessary, and certainly never overnight.
- Try to park in busy, well-lighted areas, or in your garage (if you have one).
- Raise your windows and lock ALL of your vehicle’s doors even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. Every week, items are stolen from unlocked vehicles where the owner expected to be away for “just a second.”
- Set any alarm or anti-theft device. If you have one, use it! Many people believe that car alarms no longer make a difference, but they can be an effective deterrent to vehicle break-ins
- Don’t think your dark tinted windows will hide your valuables. Thieves often use flashlights to see through tint, and after-market tint is handy to keep all the broken glass in one “sheet” when they break out your window.
Deter Package Theft
Package thefts often increase between the months of October and January. Some package thieves follow delivery trucks and then take the packages after the delivery is made. Others are crimes of opportunity, when thieves see packages in plain view of the street. Here are a few measures you can take to decrease your chances of being a target:
- Track your shipment online.
- Choose a shipping option that requires you to sign for delivery.
- Arrange to ship the package to another location for someone else to receive. This can be a friend, relative, trusted neighborhood or landlord/apartment leasing office. Many local 'mailbox' businesses may agree to accept shipment of your item for a small fee.
- Ask the delivery service to hold the package for customer pick-up at their facility.
- A more expensive option is to buy a locking bin. This should be bolted down so the bin cannot be removed. You can then give the key code to the delivery company.
Regardless of the situation, circumstance or location, if you observe any type of suspicious activity make sure to report it.
“TRUST YOUR GUT”
“SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING”
2018 Military BAH Rates to See Small Average Increase
Military Update: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) paid to 956,000 service members living off base in the U.S. will climb modestly Jan. 1, an average of only 0.7 percent or $10 a month, as an allowance-dampening formula enters its fourth year.
Actual BAH increases for individuals will vary widely based on where they are assigned, paygrade and whether they have family.
But military folks assigned to 128 of 301 of military housing areas will see no housing allowance increase in 2018 because local BAH rates will fall.
More
Actual BAH increases for individuals will vary widely based on where they are assigned, paygrade and whether they have family.
But military folks assigned to 128 of 301 of military housing areas will see no housing allowance increase in 2018 because local BAH rates will fall.
More
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)