With homeowners in blue states bracing for a higher federal tax burden now that their mortgage interest and property tax deductions have been capped thanks to the Trump tax reform plan, many are being reminded that this added burden comes on top of already disproportionately high taxes in many states - particularly on east coast (though California also struggles with a notoriously high tax burden).
A new analysis by the Tax Foundation revealed the five states with the highest per capita tax burden. While Washington, D.C.’s per-capita tax burden ($10,841) is higher than in any state, the five states with the highest tax burden per capita are New York ($8,957), Connecticut ($7,220), New Jersey ($6,709), North Dakota ($6,630), and Massachusetts ($6,469).
The states with the lowest tax burden per capita are Alabama ($3,206), Tennessee ($3,322), South Carolina ($3,435), Oklahoma ($3,458), and Florida ($3,478).
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Border Patrol struggles with flood of sick migrants
Border Patrol agents have spent nearly 20,000 hours since October driving asylum seekers to and from hospitals for medical evaluations, according to newly released Department of Homeland Security data.
Since Oct. 1, 2018, the Border Patrol, which works in rural areas between border crossings, has “seen an increase in the numbers of apprehended individuals requiring medical assistance.”
A total of 2,224 migrants, primarily from Guatemala and Honduras, have been hospitalized due to health issues that could not be treated on site in the last month alone, according to a CBP statement.
More
Since Oct. 1, 2018, the Border Patrol, which works in rural areas between border crossings, has “seen an increase in the numbers of apprehended individuals requiring medical assistance.”
A total of 2,224 migrants, primarily from Guatemala and Honduras, have been hospitalized due to health issues that could not be treated on site in the last month alone, according to a CBP statement.
More
Van Jones: John Lewis, Sheila Jackson Lee Opposed Criminal Justice Reform Because ‘They Just Didn’t Want Trump To Have A Victory’
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Prominent liberal Democrats opposed 2018’s criminal justice reform, and CNN progressive commentator Van Jones thinks he knows why.
Presidential hopefuls Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker joined Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. John Lewis and Sheila Jackson Lee on a May 2017 letter calling the First Step Act “a step backwards.”
“I think publicly they were saying it doesn’t go far enough,” Jones said in a video played at the winter Koch Seminar Sunday morning. “I think privately, they just didn’t want Trump to have a victory.”
The bill was prominently championed by an unlikely alliance of Jones, billionaire industrialist Charles Koch’s libertarian network, President Donald Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, Kim Kardashian West and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. President Donald Trump signed it into law Dec. 21, at the conclusion of the 115th Congress and just a day before partisan gridlock kicked off the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
More
Presidential hopefuls Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker joined Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. John Lewis and Sheila Jackson Lee on a May 2017 letter calling the First Step Act “a step backwards.”
“I think publicly they were saying it doesn’t go far enough,” Jones said in a video played at the winter Koch Seminar Sunday morning. “I think privately, they just didn’t want Trump to have a victory.”
The bill was prominently championed by an unlikely alliance of Jones, billionaire industrialist Charles Koch’s libertarian network, President Donald Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, Kim Kardashian West and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. President Donald Trump signed it into law Dec. 21, at the conclusion of the 115th Congress and just a day before partisan gridlock kicked off the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
More
Federal Court Refused To Unseal Documents Justifying FBI Raid On Reported Clinton Foundation Whistleblower
A federal court refused to unseal government documents that permitted the FBI to raid the home of a reportedly recognized whistleblower who, according to his lawyer, delivered documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a presidentially appointed watchdog.
The U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Chief Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner, a Clinton appointee, also sealed her justification for keeping the documents secret in a single-page Dec. 20 order.
On Nov. 15, federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher authorized the raid on Dennis Cain’s Union Bridge, Maryland, home. She sealed the government documents justifying it.
The Daily Caller News Foundation asked Gallagher on Nov. 29 to unseal the documents, noting that Cain’s attorney has said his client, a former employee of an FBI contractor, is a recognized whistleblower. The documents should be released in light of “an urgent public interest” surrounding the case, TheDCNF wrote.
More
The U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Chief Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner, a Clinton appointee, also sealed her justification for keeping the documents secret in a single-page Dec. 20 order.
On Nov. 15, federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher authorized the raid on Dennis Cain’s Union Bridge, Maryland, home. She sealed the government documents justifying it.
The Daily Caller News Foundation asked Gallagher on Nov. 29 to unseal the documents, noting that Cain’s attorney has said his client, a former employee of an FBI contractor, is a recognized whistleblower. The documents should be released in light of “an urgent public interest” surrounding the case, TheDCNF wrote.
More
Mitch Daniels denounces State of the Union as 'tasteless, classless spectacle'
Former Republican Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said he wants the pageantry of the State of the Union address to be once again reduced to a written letter to Congress.
The modern State of the Union, delivered in a prime-time speech and widely televised, is a "tasteless, classless spectacle," the George W. Bush-era White House budget director wrote in aWashington Post opinion piece published Sunday.
"Effusive, cued applause, camera-conscious backslapping, stony-faced growls of disapproval and eventually even catcalls from America’s lawmakers have drained what little was left of a serious tutorial about national challenges and priorities. What remains: a tired, farcical theatrical experience more likely to promote cynicism than citizenship in its viewers," Daniels wrote.
More
The modern State of the Union, delivered in a prime-time speech and widely televised, is a "tasteless, classless spectacle," the George W. Bush-era White House budget director wrote in aWashington Post opinion piece published Sunday.
"Effusive, cued applause, camera-conscious backslapping, stony-faced growls of disapproval and eventually even catcalls from America’s lawmakers have drained what little was left of a serious tutorial about national challenges and priorities. What remains: a tired, farcical theatrical experience more likely to promote cynicism than citizenship in its viewers," Daniels wrote.
More
Liberals' Holy War on Christian Orthodoxy
When Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Amy Coney Barrett, who is now confirmed as a judge for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and is a potential Supreme Court nominee, that “dogma lives loudly within” her and “that’s of concern,” she wasn’t voicing concern over the nominee’s religious orthodoxy as much as she was revealing her own.
After all, Catholicism, unlike progressivism, has never inhibited anyone from faithfully executing her constitutional duties—which the judge has done with far more conviction than Feinstein. Maybe Barrett should have been asking the questions.
Recently, by unanimous consent, the Senate approved a Ben Sasse resolution that declares that it is unconstitutional to reject nominees because of their membership to the Knights of Columbus. This move was instigated by a similar incident, when Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono criticized President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Brian Buescher, for being a bit too Catholic for their liking.
The Knights of Columbus, a benevolent society that still clings to antiquated notions about the dignity of human life—from the very beginning to the very end—doesn’t exactly adhere to the new progressive moral canon.
More
After all, Catholicism, unlike progressivism, has never inhibited anyone from faithfully executing her constitutional duties—which the judge has done with far more conviction than Feinstein. Maybe Barrett should have been asking the questions.
Recently, by unanimous consent, the Senate approved a Ben Sasse resolution that declares that it is unconstitutional to reject nominees because of their membership to the Knights of Columbus. This move was instigated by a similar incident, when Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono criticized President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Brian Buescher, for being a bit too Catholic for their liking.
The Knights of Columbus, a benevolent society that still clings to antiquated notions about the dignity of human life—from the very beginning to the very end—doesn’t exactly adhere to the new progressive moral canon.
More
Auditing Our Auditors
The Roman satirist Juvenal, in a famous passage, asked, “Who will watch the watchmen?”
That problem of policing the police has troubled Western thinkers from Plato to the American Founders.
The framers of the Constitution set in place a brilliant series of legislative, executive, and judicial checks and balances to thwart the abuse of power by the powerful. Their pessimistic take on human nature was that all power corrupts. Inevitably, elites will insist that they should not be subject to the very rules they enforce on others.
The sexual abuse crises within the contemporary Catholic Church arose from the de facto exemptions from the law given to priests. Too many assumed that men of faith were exempt from prosecution because as holy men they would be the last to violate the trust of minors.
More
That problem of policing the police has troubled Western thinkers from Plato to the American Founders.
The framers of the Constitution set in place a brilliant series of legislative, executive, and judicial checks and balances to thwart the abuse of power by the powerful. Their pessimistic take on human nature was that all power corrupts. Inevitably, elites will insist that they should not be subject to the very rules they enforce on others.
The sexual abuse crises within the contemporary Catholic Church arose from the de facto exemptions from the law given to priests. Too many assumed that men of faith were exempt from prosecution because as holy men they would be the last to violate the trust of minors.
More
D.C.’s Homicide Rate Soars In The Midst Of National Decline
WASHINGTON — Zyair Bradley was 20 years old. He loved football and boxing, music, dancing and playing jokes on people. He had a job and “a million friends.” He was a son, a protective big brother and his mother’s “beautiful angel.” He was also one of 18 people to have been murdered in the District of Columbia just this month.
As homicides across the country’s most populated cities declined overall in 2018, Washington, D.C. saw an increase of almost 42 percent in its murder rate, which experts saywill continue to trend upwards in 2019. The D.C. Chief of Police warned that easing penalties would make the District less safe.
“Repeat offenders who have committed gun crimes will be back on the street sooner,” wrote Chief Peter Newsham in an editorial that ran in The Washington Post last summer. “Less-stringent penalties embolden criminals, demoralize law enforcement and enable violent offenders to return more quickly to terrorizing the very communities who are calling out to the government for help.”
For law enforcement officers, it’s frustrating. For mothers like India Bradley, it’s devastating.
More
As homicides across the country’s most populated cities declined overall in 2018, Washington, D.C. saw an increase of almost 42 percent in its murder rate, which experts saywill continue to trend upwards in 2019. The D.C. Chief of Police warned that easing penalties would make the District less safe.
“Repeat offenders who have committed gun crimes will be back on the street sooner,” wrote Chief Peter Newsham in an editorial that ran in The Washington Post last summer. “Less-stringent penalties embolden criminals, demoralize law enforcement and enable violent offenders to return more quickly to terrorizing the very communities who are calling out to the government for help.”
For law enforcement officers, it’s frustrating. For mothers like India Bradley, it’s devastating.
More
Webster University Considers 'Witnessing Whiteness' Program on White Privilege
Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, is considering the implementation of “Witnessing Whiteness,” a new program that will encourage white students to discuss and come to terms with their own racism and white privilege.
Witnessing Whiteness was introduced by Webster University’s new Chief Diversity Officer, Vincent Flewellen, who has organized a the same program as the Director of Equity and Inclusion at Washington University, according to the university’sschool newspaper.
The program is based on the book Witnessing Whiteness: The Need To Talk About Race and How To Do It by Shelly Tochluk, and would require all participants to be white. The workshop is said to “help educate and shine light on racial injustices that happen in the world.”
More
Witnessing Whiteness was introduced by Webster University’s new Chief Diversity Officer, Vincent Flewellen, who has organized a the same program as the Director of Equity and Inclusion at Washington University, according to the university’sschool newspaper.
The program is based on the book Witnessing Whiteness: The Need To Talk About Race and How To Do It by Shelly Tochluk, and would require all participants to be white. The workshop is said to “help educate and shine light on racial injustices that happen in the world.”
More
Somerset Poultry House Fire Dublin Road
NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION
Date: January 25, 2019
Time: 12:14 pm
Location / Address: 32310 Dublin Road, Princess Anne, Somerset County
Type of Incident: Fire
Description of Structure / Property: 30’ x 300’ wood framed poultry house
Owner / Occupants: Linh Tran
Injuries or Deaths: n/a
Estimated $ Loss: Structure: $ 200,000 Contents: $ 5,000
Smoke Alarm Status: n/a
Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status: n/a
Arrests(s): None
Primary Responding Fire Department: Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Department
# of Alarms: 1 # Of Firefighters: 20
Time to Control: 1 hour
Discovered By: Owner
Area of Origin: Interior
Preliminary Cause: Under Investigation
Voter Fraud Leads to Removal of Alabama Mayor
The mayor of Gordon, Alabama, was removed from office last week after a jury found him guilty on two felony counts of absentee ballot fraud. Both he and his one-time constituents are learning firsthand the high price of voter fraud.
Of course, to hear many on the left tell the story, voter fraud isn’t real. They say fraud is just a myth designed by conservatives to suppress liberal voters. On the rare occasion that they acknowledge that voter fraud exists, they claim it is“vanishingly rare” and entirely insignificant.
Tell that to the residents of Gordon.
Their faith in the sanctity of the town’s electoral process may be diminished, and who could blame them? After all, the now former mayor, Elbert Melton, was willing to cheat to win.
More
Of course, to hear many on the left tell the story, voter fraud isn’t real. They say fraud is just a myth designed by conservatives to suppress liberal voters. On the rare occasion that they acknowledge that voter fraud exists, they claim it is“vanishingly rare” and entirely insignificant.
Tell that to the residents of Gordon.
Their faith in the sanctity of the town’s electoral process may be diminished, and who could blame them? After all, the now former mayor, Elbert Melton, was willing to cheat to win.
More
Pelosi Explains Her Shutdown Strategy: From Feather to Sledgehammer
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) celebrated the end of the partial government shutdown on Friday by sitting down with leftist media commentators and bragging about manipulating President Donald Trump into agreeing on a temporary reopening to allow negotiations over a border wall to take place.
The Daily Beast praised Pelosi — including referring to a CNN story that referred to her as “Queen Pelosi” — in its reporting for refusing to allow him to deliver the State of the Union speech on the House floor and saying, “no” repeatedly to his request for $5.7 billion in funding for the wall, saying:
Not many politicians have gone up against Trump and emerged victorious, with their dignity intact. How did she do it? “First you start with a feather,” she said, “then you move to a sledgehammer.” In her telling, when she first told the president he couldn’t give his SOTU while the government was closed, he said he was coming. She rebuffed him a second time, and he said he was coming anyway. Then she said, “please don’t,” telling him the House that she controls would not vote on a “concurrent resolution” to formally invite him.
Bingo! “One step at a time and he understood, and when he understood, he understood, and sometimes it’s about timing,” she said. Asked if she thought Trump and his people realized her power over something as traditional as the SOTU, she said, rather dismissively, “I don’t spend a lot of time sussing out what they know.”
More
The Daily Beast praised Pelosi — including referring to a CNN story that referred to her as “Queen Pelosi” — in its reporting for refusing to allow him to deliver the State of the Union speech on the House floor and saying, “no” repeatedly to his request for $5.7 billion in funding for the wall, saying:
Not many politicians have gone up against Trump and emerged victorious, with their dignity intact. How did she do it? “First you start with a feather,” she said, “then you move to a sledgehammer.” In her telling, when she first told the president he couldn’t give his SOTU while the government was closed, he said he was coming. She rebuffed him a second time, and he said he was coming anyway. Then she said, “please don’t,” telling him the House that she controls would not vote on a “concurrent resolution” to formally invite him.
Bingo! “One step at a time and he understood, and when he understood, he understood, and sometimes it’s about timing,” she said. Asked if she thought Trump and his people realized her power over something as traditional as the SOTU, she said, rather dismissively, “I don’t spend a lot of time sussing out what they know.”
More
Helpful reforms are on the way at Veterans Affairs
"Privatization," we noted two years ago, “ is a classic scare-word among liberals.” We were pointing out that the Department of Veterans Affairs, after its disgraceful neglect of veterans was first revealed in a series of scandals earlier this decade, had no leg to stand on in arguing that VA patients should not be allowed to seek care from private healthcare providers.
Our frustration at the lack of reform led us to excoriate then-President Barack Obama, arguing that he was “offering veterans no way out. He won't fix the agency which is meant to provide their benefits, and plainly intends to stop private medicine stepping into the breach to make up for its shortcomings.”
At long last, the Trump administration is finally setting the stage to give veterans the flexibility they deserve. Trump, the last Congress, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie deserve credit for making this happen. The only unfortunate thing is that it had to take so long.
More
Our frustration at the lack of reform led us to excoriate then-President Barack Obama, arguing that he was “offering veterans no way out. He won't fix the agency which is meant to provide their benefits, and plainly intends to stop private medicine stepping into the breach to make up for its shortcomings.”
At long last, the Trump administration is finally setting the stage to give veterans the flexibility they deserve. Trump, the last Congress, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie deserve credit for making this happen. The only unfortunate thing is that it had to take so long.
More
POLL: Nancy Pelosi most unpopular national politician in America
She’s under water by 19 points
Despite the beating he takes from the mainstream media on a daily basis, President Trump is not the most unpopular politician in America.
Nancy Pelosi is.
A new survey of Americans finds the House Speaker — who considers herself an equal to the President — suffers from a -19 difference between total positive and total negative approval.
The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds Pelosi enjoys a 28 percent positive approval rating, while suffering a 47 percent negative rating.
That’s means she’s under water by 19 points.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s numbers are both lower, and his net disapproval is 18 points.
President Trump’s positive rating is 39 percent, while his negative is 51 percent, for a net -12.
The National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar notes the House Speaker’s negatives “shot up” during the government shutdown, and is the most unpopular politician tested in the NBC/WSJ survey.
The poll results are surprising, given the generally positive coverage Pelosi receives from the mainstream media.
As she was about to be sworn in as Speaker, for example, CNN took her to get ice cream.
More
Despite the beating he takes from the mainstream media on a daily basis, President Trump is not the most unpopular politician in America.
Nancy Pelosi is.
A new survey of Americans finds the House Speaker — who considers herself an equal to the President — suffers from a -19 difference between total positive and total negative approval.
The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds Pelosi enjoys a 28 percent positive approval rating, while suffering a 47 percent negative rating.
That’s means she’s under water by 19 points.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s numbers are both lower, and his net disapproval is 18 points.
President Trump’s positive rating is 39 percent, while his negative is 51 percent, for a net -12.
The National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar notes the House Speaker’s negatives “shot up” during the government shutdown, and is the most unpopular politician tested in the NBC/WSJ survey.
The poll results are surprising, given the generally positive coverage Pelosi receives from the mainstream media.
As she was about to be sworn in as Speaker, for example, CNN took her to get ice cream.
More
Newt Gingrich: Democrats and Never Trumpers will put Trump back in the White House in 2020 -- Here's why
As you listen to the liberal media, the Never Trumpers and the left-wing Trump haters chatter on about President Trump’s current situation, remember these two numbers — 35 and 49.
The first number was President Ronald Reagan’s approval in January 1983.
The second number was the number of states Reagan carried 22 months later.
I am not predicting President Trump will carry 49 states. This is a different environment, and the tribalism that divides the country is deeper than it was 36 years ago.
However, in contrast to the enthusiastic doomsayers on television, I am willing to predict President Trump will recover. Also, he is much more likely to be re-elected than any of his opponents at The New York Times, The Washington Post, or the liberal networks currently believe.
President Trump’s resilience, despite two straight years of the most negative media coverage of any president since Lincoln (at least 90 percent negative according to studies by the Media Research Center that analyzed nightly broadcasts) is a sign that he has a devoted base that will stick with him. The most recent unemployment applications are the lowest since November 1969 (when there were a lot fewer Americans at work). There are powerful initiatives underway to continue to increase American jobs and economic growth.
The left will do for Trump what it did for President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and what it is currently doing for Prime Minister Theresa May (who is surviving because the alternative is so terrible). A few more proposals for 70 percent tax rates, sanctuary states, tax paid health care for everyone including illegal immigrants, open borders, anti-Semitism, and anti-Israeli hostility, and the Democrats will begin driving away everyone but the hard left. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wildly left-wing ideas are going to be a striking contrast to President Trump’s comparatively mainstream views (Newsom was mayor of San Francisco and is carrying its leftist ideology to the entire state). New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may set a new standard for willful ignorance by a non-Hollywood personality. There is a point where smiling while saying things that are factually false simply doesn’t sustain a national movement.
The energy in the Democratic Party is entirely on the left, and as Hillary Clinton discovered, the nominating process is going to drive the Democratic candidates to get as nutty as necessary to please the new generation of radical bigots.
More
The first number was President Ronald Reagan’s approval in January 1983.
The second number was the number of states Reagan carried 22 months later.
I am not predicting President Trump will carry 49 states. This is a different environment, and the tribalism that divides the country is deeper than it was 36 years ago.
However, in contrast to the enthusiastic doomsayers on television, I am willing to predict President Trump will recover. Also, he is much more likely to be re-elected than any of his opponents at The New York Times, The Washington Post, or the liberal networks currently believe.
President Trump’s resilience, despite two straight years of the most negative media coverage of any president since Lincoln (at least 90 percent negative according to studies by the Media Research Center that analyzed nightly broadcasts) is a sign that he has a devoted base that will stick with him. The most recent unemployment applications are the lowest since November 1969 (when there were a lot fewer Americans at work). There are powerful initiatives underway to continue to increase American jobs and economic growth.
The left will do for Trump what it did for President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and what it is currently doing for Prime Minister Theresa May (who is surviving because the alternative is so terrible). A few more proposals for 70 percent tax rates, sanctuary states, tax paid health care for everyone including illegal immigrants, open borders, anti-Semitism, and anti-Israeli hostility, and the Democrats will begin driving away everyone but the hard left. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wildly left-wing ideas are going to be a striking contrast to President Trump’s comparatively mainstream views (Newsom was mayor of San Francisco and is carrying its leftist ideology to the entire state). New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may set a new standard for willful ignorance by a non-Hollywood personality. There is a point where smiling while saying things that are factually false simply doesn’t sustain a national movement.
The energy in the Democratic Party is entirely on the left, and as Hillary Clinton discovered, the nominating process is going to drive the Democratic candidates to get as nutty as necessary to please the new generation of radical bigots.
More
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/newt-gingrich-democrats-and-never-trumpers-will-put-trump-back-in-the-white-house-in-2020-heres-why
Google Is Vulnerable to RICO and Defamation Lawsuits Thanks to Its Relationship With the SPLC and Its Malicious ‘Hate Group’ Labels
In recent years, the far-Left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has faced a slew of lawsuits regarding its deceptive practice of branding mainstream conservative and Christian groups "hate groups" on par with the Ku Klux Klan. Google has decided to partner with the SPLC, even encouraging employees to work for the organization. Conservative lawyers told PJ Media this partnership may make the tech giant vulnerable to defamation and racketeering lawsuits.
This month, Fortune reported that Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, launched a program that will pay Google employees to do pro bono work for nonprofit groups for up to six months. The company aims to achieve 50,000 hours of pro bono work this year. Google.org names the SPLC as one of its partners for "inclusion." Google.org started funding the far-Left group in 2016, and has given the organization $250,000, specifically to fund a "total redesign of the Teaching Tolerance website."
More
This month, Fortune reported that Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, launched a program that will pay Google employees to do pro bono work for nonprofit groups for up to six months. The company aims to achieve 50,000 hours of pro bono work this year. Google.org names the SPLC as one of its partners for "inclusion." Google.org started funding the far-Left group in 2016, and has given the organization $250,000, specifically to fund a "total redesign of the Teaching Tolerance website."
More
Trump Promotes Bible Literacy Classes at Schools
President Donald Trump espoused “Bible Literacy classes” as a “turn back” for the nation in a tweet Monday morning.
“Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
Kentucky passed a Bible studies bill in 2017, and similar bills have been introduced in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia in 2019, reported USA Today on Wednesday.
“The Bible is an integral part of our society and deserves a place in the classroom,” Republican North Dakota state Rep. Aaron McWilliams, who co-sponsored his state’s Bible studies bill that would apply to public high schools, said, according to USA Today.
More
“Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
Kentucky passed a Bible studies bill in 2017, and similar bills have been introduced in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia in 2019, reported USA Today on Wednesday.
“The Bible is an integral part of our society and deserves a place in the classroom,” Republican North Dakota state Rep. Aaron McWilliams, who co-sponsored his state’s Bible studies bill that would apply to public high schools, said, according to USA Today.
More
Shutdown Politics: Where to Now?
After 35 days, the partial government shutdown is over. President Donald Trump conceded to an increasingly painful reality Friday afternoon, signing a bill to reopen the government until Feb. 15, during which time he will continue to try to persuade Democrats to negotiate for a border barrier. They won’t. And then the president will “really have no choice” but to declare a national emergency so he can allocate funds to build a couple hundred miles of barrier. There’s little question that Friday’s deal was a temporary defeat for Trump and a big victory for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But there’s a lot more to this fight than meets the eye, and it’s certainly not over yet.
Trump arguably mis-stepped when he told “Chuck and Nancy” in their December meeting that he’d happily take responsibility for a shutdown. That sound bite only made blaming him for the shutdown easier for the media. Two other factors strengthened the Dems’ position. First, Trump Derangement Syndrome means anything Trump pitches — and he campaigned heavily on a “big, beautiful wall,” paid for by Mexico — is anathema. Second, Pelosi had taken to calling a border wall “immoral,” and there is simply no compromise when an issue has been made that black and white.
So what was Trump’s play in forcing the shutdown?
Trump arguably mis-stepped when he told “Chuck and Nancy” in their December meeting that he’d happily take responsibility for a shutdown. That sound bite only made blaming him for the shutdown easier for the media. Two other factors strengthened the Dems’ position. First, Trump Derangement Syndrome means anything Trump pitches — and he campaigned heavily on a “big, beautiful wall,” paid for by Mexico — is anathema. Second, Pelosi had taken to calling a border wall “immoral,” and there is simply no compromise when an issue has been made that black and white.
So what was Trump’s play in forcing the shutdown?
Nolte: Fox News Promotes Microsoft’s NewsGuard Blacklist as ‘Good Idea’
On Friday’s Fox & Friends, Kurt Knutsson gushed over Microsoft’s NewsGuard blacklist as “fair” and a “good idea.”
Knutsson’s only concern is if Silicon Valley, is if Facebook grabs control of NewsGuard, but as is, with establishment types running the blacklist, he thinks it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.
Well, of course, the backstabbers at Fox News love this blacklist. Why wouldn’t they? 1) Fox News is not blacklisted and 2) Fox News’s competition at Breitbart News and other right-leaning sites are blacklisted.
And so, what we have here from Fox News is a perfect example of “I’ve got mine” or “I’m going to appease the alligator, hoping he eats me last.”
Question…
What is Fox News going to do when Microsoft and NewsGuard add Fox News to this blacklist?
More
Knutsson’s only concern is if Silicon Valley, is if Facebook grabs control of NewsGuard, but as is, with establishment types running the blacklist, he thinks it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.
Well, of course, the backstabbers at Fox News love this blacklist. Why wouldn’t they? 1) Fox News is not blacklisted and 2) Fox News’s competition at Breitbart News and other right-leaning sites are blacklisted.
And so, what we have here from Fox News is a perfect example of “I’ve got mine” or “I’m going to appease the alligator, hoping he eats me last.”
Question…
What is Fox News going to do when Microsoft and NewsGuard add Fox News to this blacklist?
More
US Military Eyes Tiny Nuclear Reactors for Deployed Troops
Getting fuel to remote operating bases is a big problem for the U.S. military. In 2008, during the height of combat in Iraq, the Government Accountability Office estimated that more than 900,000 gallons of fuel went to bases for basic power needs like lighting and refrigeration (on top of the 6.7 million gallons the military burned that year in jets and ground vehicles.) The U.S. military’s Strategic Capabilities Office has put out a request for information about small nuclear reactors that could deploy to the sorts of hillside forward bases U.S. troops set up in places like Afghanistan.
According to the request for “Project Dilithium,” the reactor should fit on a truck and a C-17 aircraft and generate from one to 10 megawatts of electric power for three years without refueling. Soldiers have to be able to stand it up in 72 hours and take it down in a week. It’s got to be meltdown-proof. The office is looking to fund three different prototype designs and will then select a winner from among them.
The idea of deployable nuclear reactors only seems outlandish. In fact, the research has a long history in the military.
In 1954, the Army launched the Nuclear Power Program, under its Corps of Engineers developed a variety of nuclear reactor cores of different sizes.
More here
According to the request for “Project Dilithium,” the reactor should fit on a truck and a C-17 aircraft and generate from one to 10 megawatts of electric power for three years without refueling. Soldiers have to be able to stand it up in 72 hours and take it down in a week. It’s got to be meltdown-proof. The office is looking to fund three different prototype designs and will then select a winner from among them.
The idea of deployable nuclear reactors only seems outlandish. In fact, the research has a long history in the military.
In 1954, the Army launched the Nuclear Power Program, under its Corps of Engineers developed a variety of nuclear reactor cores of different sizes.
More here
Congressman Demands Probe into CNN’s Presence at Roger Stone FBI Raid
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Friday sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking for an investigation into whether details of political operative Roger Stone’s indictment were leaked to the media ahead of his dramatic pre-dawn arrest.
CNN’s cameras were staked outside Stone’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home when over a dozen heavily armed FBI agents arrested him shortly after 6:00 a.m. EST. According to CNN crime and justice producer David Shortell, the network set up a crew outside the home after “noticing unusual grand jury activity” in connection to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe the day prior.
However, Biggs, a member of the Freedom Caucus and ally of the president, isn’t buying CNN’s assertion.
“On January 25th, FBI agents executed an arrest warrant on Roger Stone pursuant to a grand jury indictment in the District of Columbia. At approximately 5:59 a.m. CNN’s morning show ‘New Day’ posted a tweet with a video showing FBI agents in full tactical gear executing the arrest of Mr. Stone,” the Arizona Republican wrote.
“It is hard to believe that this reporter and camera crew showed up at the home of Mr. Stone, on the right day at the right time, on a hunch,” he continued. “This leads me to believe that CNN may have received advance notice of the date and time of the arrest.”
More
CNN’s cameras were staked outside Stone’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home when over a dozen heavily armed FBI agents arrested him shortly after 6:00 a.m. EST. According to CNN crime and justice producer David Shortell, the network set up a crew outside the home after “noticing unusual grand jury activity” in connection to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe the day prior.
However, Biggs, a member of the Freedom Caucus and ally of the president, isn’t buying CNN’s assertion.
“On January 25th, FBI agents executed an arrest warrant on Roger Stone pursuant to a grand jury indictment in the District of Columbia. At approximately 5:59 a.m. CNN’s morning show ‘New Day’ posted a tweet with a video showing FBI agents in full tactical gear executing the arrest of Mr. Stone,” the Arizona Republican wrote.
“It is hard to believe that this reporter and camera crew showed up at the home of Mr. Stone, on the right day at the right time, on a hunch,” he continued. “This leads me to believe that CNN may have received advance notice of the date and time of the arrest.”
More
Ilhan Omar Opposes Sanctions on Venezuela — But Wants Them on Israel
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) rejected the Trump administration’s new sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company on Monday, doubling down on her defense of Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime last week.
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the sanctions against Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) from the White House briefing room. Last week, the administration recognized the opposition, led by socialist Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate government of Venezuela, and other nations followed.
As Breitbart News reported, the U.S. was acting in accordance with a provision in the Venezuelan constitution that exists to prevent the deterioration of democracy in the case of an autocratic regime such as Maduro’s.
Nevertheless, Omar raised against a “US backed coup” that aimed, she said, to bring a “far right” opposition to power. She insisted that sanctions, not socialism, were the reason behind Venezuela’s deepening economic woes.
However, Omar supports sanctions against Israel as part of the “boycott, divestment, sanctions” movement — which many critics have called antisemitic, since it only targets Israel and ignores Palestinian terror.
More
[Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a Somali-American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district. The district is based in Minneapolis, home to about 80,000 Somalis. --Editor]
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the sanctions against Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) from the White House briefing room. Last week, the administration recognized the opposition, led by socialist Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate government of Venezuela, and other nations followed.
As Breitbart News reported, the U.S. was acting in accordance with a provision in the Venezuelan constitution that exists to prevent the deterioration of democracy in the case of an autocratic regime such as Maduro’s.
Nevertheless, Omar raised against a “US backed coup” that aimed, she said, to bring a “far right” opposition to power. She insisted that sanctions, not socialism, were the reason behind Venezuela’s deepening economic woes.
However, Omar supports sanctions against Israel as part of the “boycott, divestment, sanctions” movement — which many critics have called antisemitic, since it only targets Israel and ignores Palestinian terror.
More
[Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a Somali-American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district. The district is based in Minneapolis, home to about 80,000 Somalis. --Editor]
Acting AG Whitaker Says Mueller Probe "Close To Being Completed"
A visibly sweating acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said late on Monday that he was briefed on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and that it is "close to being completed", the first public indication by the government that the probe is drawing to a close
Whitaker said the Russia investigation “is, I think, close to being completed, and I hope that we can get the report from Director Mueller as soon as possible.” Whitaker, who has previously critical of Mueller’s inquiry, made the remarks to reporters at a news conference related to charges against Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies.
“I have been fully briefed on the investigation,” Whitaker said adding that "I look forward to Director Mueller delivering the final report." The acting AG also said that “I am comfortable that the decisions that were made are going to be reviewed.” Whitaker didn’t elaborate, but a Justice Department official said later he sought to convey that he’d follow department regulations regarding Mueller’s closing documents.
The regulations require Mueller to provide the attorney general with “a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel" according to Bloomberg, which clarified that Whitaker meant to say he would look at the decisions, but has no intention to try to revisit or change Mueller’s decisions.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said Whitaker’s statement that decisions made in the investigation would be reviewed is “chilling,” adding he doesn’t have confidence that Whitaker will respect the independence of Mueller’s probe.
“I hope to be pleasantly surprised that he is not attempting to interfere in any way with the Mueller investigation or slow or prevent release of his report, but one could draw those inferences,” Coons said.
Whitaker’s remarks shed some light on the status of the nearly two-year-old probe into whether Trump associates aided Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, which Trump has repeatedly called a "giant witch hunt".
More
Whitaker said the Russia investigation “is, I think, close to being completed, and I hope that we can get the report from Director Mueller as soon as possible.” Whitaker, who has previously critical of Mueller’s inquiry, made the remarks to reporters at a news conference related to charges against Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies.
“I have been fully briefed on the investigation,” Whitaker said adding that "I look forward to Director Mueller delivering the final report." The acting AG also said that “I am comfortable that the decisions that were made are going to be reviewed.” Whitaker didn’t elaborate, but a Justice Department official said later he sought to convey that he’d follow department regulations regarding Mueller’s closing documents.
The regulations require Mueller to provide the attorney general with “a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel" according to Bloomberg, which clarified that Whitaker meant to say he would look at the decisions, but has no intention to try to revisit or change Mueller’s decisions.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said Whitaker’s statement that decisions made in the investigation would be reviewed is “chilling,” adding he doesn’t have confidence that Whitaker will respect the independence of Mueller’s probe.
“I hope to be pleasantly surprised that he is not attempting to interfere in any way with the Mueller investigation or slow or prevent release of his report, but one could draw those inferences,” Coons said.
Whitaker’s remarks shed some light on the status of the nearly two-year-old probe into whether Trump associates aided Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, which Trump has repeatedly called a "giant witch hunt".
More
Covington Bishop Says He Was 'Bullied' Into Condemning Teens
Bishop Roger Joseph Foys of the Diocese of Covington apologized to Catholic families and the teens who were confronted by a Native American elder and then wrongly accused of racism, saying he was "bullied and pressured" into making a premature statement.
Slate:
“We are sorry that this situation has caused such disruption in the lives of so many. We apologize to anyone who has been offended in any way by either of our statements which were made with good will based on the information we had,” Foys wrote in the letter. “We should not have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely, and we take full responsibility for it.” Foys wrote that he wanted to “especially apologize” to Nicholas Sandmann, who was featured most prominently in the video. “I especially apologize to Nicholas Sandmann and his family as well as to all CovCath families who have felt abandoned during this ordeal,” Foys wrote. “Nicholas unfortunately has become the face of these allegations based on video clips. This is not fair. It is not just.”
Foys was not "bullied and pressured" by anyone into making a false, scurrilous statement. In fact, he was the one wanting to do the bullying and pressuring. Eager to show solidarity with the howling mob and demonstrate his superior morality to his flock (as well as flash his anti-Trump bona fides), the bishop, with great alacrity, joined the outrage brigades and tore into the kids he should have been defending:
"We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C.,” the diocese said in a statement released almost immediately after the incident.
It added, “We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church's teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person."
More
Slate:
“We are sorry that this situation has caused such disruption in the lives of so many. We apologize to anyone who has been offended in any way by either of our statements which were made with good will based on the information we had,” Foys wrote in the letter. “We should not have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pressured into making a statement prematurely, and we take full responsibility for it.” Foys wrote that he wanted to “especially apologize” to Nicholas Sandmann, who was featured most prominently in the video. “I especially apologize to Nicholas Sandmann and his family as well as to all CovCath families who have felt abandoned during this ordeal,” Foys wrote. “Nicholas unfortunately has become the face of these allegations based on video clips. This is not fair. It is not just.”
Foys was not "bullied and pressured" by anyone into making a false, scurrilous statement. In fact, he was the one wanting to do the bullying and pressuring. Eager to show solidarity with the howling mob and demonstrate his superior morality to his flock (as well as flash his anti-Trump bona fides), the bishop, with great alacrity, joined the outrage brigades and tore into the kids he should have been defending:
"We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C.,” the diocese said in a statement released almost immediately after the incident.
It added, “We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church's teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person."
More
Five Reasons to Celebrate Western Civilization, the Culture That Revolutionized Art, Abolished Slavery, and Founded Science, Making Life Better for Everyone
Some cultures are superior to others. Would you rather live in a civilization that takes care of widows or burns them to death? Would you rather live in a culture that believes women are equal to men, or in a society that believes females areintrinsically inferior and can be bought, sold, and have horrible procedures inflicted on them (female genital mutilation)?
Some cultures have a framework of just laws with the presumption of innocence for the accused and the basic right to a trial by a jury of peers. Other cultures like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and Iran have barbaric judicial systemsand often just make up the rules as they go along, in order to further the agenda of the regime.
Western civilization, that is the distinct culture that grew up in Europe and has evolved over the past 2,500 years or so, has gotten quite a bad rap lately. Supposedly "Western Civ" is the source of homophobia, racism, sexism, "income inequality," and the destruction of the planet. I contend, however, that Western Civilization has been, and still is today (even with all its faults) THE driving force for liberty, creativity, and prosperity.
More
Some cultures have a framework of just laws with the presumption of innocence for the accused and the basic right to a trial by a jury of peers. Other cultures like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and Iran have barbaric judicial systemsand often just make up the rules as they go along, in order to further the agenda of the regime.
Western civilization, that is the distinct culture that grew up in Europe and has evolved over the past 2,500 years or so, has gotten quite a bad rap lately. Supposedly "Western Civ" is the source of homophobia, racism, sexism, "income inequality," and the destruction of the planet. I contend, however, that Western Civilization has been, and still is today (even with all its faults) THE driving force for liberty, creativity, and prosperity.
More
Terrorist Who Targeted Americans Takes Over Mexican Cartel on Texas Border
A verified and convicted terrorist who attacked a U.S. Consulate with a grenade and automatic rifle fire has taken over the ruthless Los Zetas cartel, a group headquartered at the Texas border in the Nuevo Laredo-Laredo metropolitan border area.
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, sits immediately across the border from Laredo, Texas, and is the only urban location along the entire U.S.-Mexico Border that does not have any fencing or constructed security barrier of any kind.
The convicted terrorist, Hector Raul Luna Luna, is known as “El Tory” and was convicted in the 2008 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico. He was released from prison due to bribes paid by Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and has now taken over the dominant faction of Los Zetas, Cartel Del Noreste (CDN), to open up the lucrative and unsecured border corridor into Texas.
More here
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, sits immediately across the border from Laredo, Texas, and is the only urban location along the entire U.S.-Mexico Border that does not have any fencing or constructed security barrier of any kind.
The convicted terrorist, Hector Raul Luna Luna, is known as “El Tory” and was convicted in the 2008 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico. He was released from prison due to bribes paid by Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and has now taken over the dominant faction of Los Zetas, Cartel Del Noreste (CDN), to open up the lucrative and unsecured border corridor into Texas.
More here
Conservatives Unite Against H.R. 1, ‘Ultimate Fantasy of the Left’
Over 150 conservative leaders nationwide released a “Memo to the Movement” from the Conservative Action Project on Monday, declaring that they are opposed to the Democrats’ kick-off legislation H.R. 1, which would profoundly shift elections toward liberal candidates and open the door to rampant voter fraud, calling Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill “the ultimate fantasy of the left.”
“Conservatives are united in opposing H.R. 1, the attempt by House Democrats to fundamentally undermine the American electoral system,” the Memo begins.
It explains several key features of Pelosi’s inaugural legislation, outlining how it is designed to ensure that a liberal Democrat wins the White House in 2020 and the Left gains unified control of Congress and well as take over state governments.
The Democrats’ bill violates the First Amendment. It restricts political speech and election activities in several ways that the U.S. Supreme Court has made crystal clear violates the Constitution, such as groups’ pooling resources to take out ads on the issues those groups advocate.
Pelosi’s legislation is a massive federal power grab away from the states. The Constitution gives primary authority to the sovereign states to conduct elections. This bill empowers the federal government to micromanage elections by requiring states to get “pre-clearance” from Washington, D.C., before changing their election procedures.
H.R. 1 also mandates countless millions of taxpayer dollars be given to candidates for their campaigns, requiring citizens to fund candidates who those citizens actually oppose for office.
More here
“Conservatives are united in opposing H.R. 1, the attempt by House Democrats to fundamentally undermine the American electoral system,” the Memo begins.
It explains several key features of Pelosi’s inaugural legislation, outlining how it is designed to ensure that a liberal Democrat wins the White House in 2020 and the Left gains unified control of Congress and well as take over state governments.
The Democrats’ bill violates the First Amendment. It restricts political speech and election activities in several ways that the U.S. Supreme Court has made crystal clear violates the Constitution, such as groups’ pooling resources to take out ads on the issues those groups advocate.
Pelosi’s legislation is a massive federal power grab away from the states. The Constitution gives primary authority to the sovereign states to conduct elections. This bill empowers the federal government to micromanage elections by requiring states to get “pre-clearance” from Washington, D.C., before changing their election procedures.
H.R. 1 also mandates countless millions of taxpayer dollars be given to candidates for their campaigns, requiring citizens to fund candidates who those citizens actually oppose for office.
More here
Democrats have already passed waiver for new 72-hour reading legislation rule
Less than a month after officially retaking the majority, House Democrats already are passing waivers for their new requirement to give members at least 72 hours to read legislation.
Democrats had highlighted the new rule as a key part of the rules package they approved earlier this month, but they said the partial government shutdown has led to extenuating “emergency” circumstances.
“When it comes to emergencies, we need to move quickly,” said Rep. James McGovern, who chairs the House Rules Committee. “I mean, Christ, 800,000 federal workers aren’t getting paid. Millions of people are being impacted by this. I mean, if this is not an emergency, I don’t know what the hell is.”
More here
Democrats had highlighted the new rule as a key part of the rules package they approved earlier this month, but they said the partial government shutdown has led to extenuating “emergency” circumstances.
“When it comes to emergencies, we need to move quickly,” said Rep. James McGovern, who chairs the House Rules Committee. “I mean, Christ, 800,000 federal workers aren’t getting paid. Millions of people are being impacted by this. I mean, if this is not an emergency, I don’t know what the hell is.”
More here
A cure for cancer? Israeli scientists say they think they found one
“We believe we will offer in a year's time a complete cure for cancer."
A small team of Israeli scientists think they might have found the first complete cure for cancer.
“We believe we will offer in a year’s time a complete cure for cancer,” said Dan Aridor, of a new treatment being developed by his company, Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies Ltd. (AEBi), which was founded in 2000 in the ITEK incubator in the Weizmann Science Park. AEBi developed the SoAP platform, which provides functional leads to very difficult targets.
“Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” Aridor said. “Our solution will be both generic and personal.”
It sounds fantastical, especially considering that an estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide each year, according to reports by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Further, every sixth death in the world is due to cancer, making it the second leading cause of death (second only to cardiovascular disease).
Aridor, chairman of the board of AEBi and CEO Dr. Ilan Morad, say their treatment, which they call MuTaTo (multi-target toxin) is essentially on the scale of a cancer antibiotic – a disruption technology of the highest order.
More
A small team of Israeli scientists think they might have found the first complete cure for cancer.
“We believe we will offer in a year’s time a complete cure for cancer,” said Dan Aridor, of a new treatment being developed by his company, Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies Ltd. (AEBi), which was founded in 2000 in the ITEK incubator in the Weizmann Science Park. AEBi developed the SoAP platform, which provides functional leads to very difficult targets.
“Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” Aridor said. “Our solution will be both generic and personal.”
It sounds fantastical, especially considering that an estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide each year, according to reports by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Further, every sixth death in the world is due to cancer, making it the second leading cause of death (second only to cardiovascular disease).
Aridor, chairman of the board of AEBi and CEO Dr. Ilan Morad, say their treatment, which they call MuTaTo (multi-target toxin) is essentially on the scale of a cancer antibiotic – a disruption technology of the highest order.
More
Nolte: Blacklisters at Microsoft’s NewsGuard Label Proven Hoaxes ‘Credible’
NewsGuard, which is the establishment media’s latest effort to blacklist alternative media sites, is giving its sign of approval to proven hoaxes, even to stories that have been retracted.
Microsoft is so desperate to spread fake news and blacklist ideas it doesn’t like, NewsGuard is automatically included in one of its browsers.
You will find more examples below, but here is NewsGuard’s seal of approval (on the Google search page) for Rolling Stone’s 2014 hoax about a gang rape at the University of Virginia (UVA).
Read more here
Microsoft is so desperate to spread fake news and blacklist ideas it doesn’t like, NewsGuard is automatically included in one of its browsers.
You will find more examples below, but here is NewsGuard’s seal of approval (on the Google search page) for Rolling Stone’s 2014 hoax about a gang rape at the University of Virginia (UVA).
Read more here
Border Patrol struggles with flood of sick migrants
Border Patrol agents have spent nearly 20,000 hours since October driving asylum seekers to and from hospitals for medical evaluations, according to newly released Department of Homeland Security data.
Since Oct. 1, 2018, the Border Patrol, which works in rural areas between border crossings, has “seen an increase in the numbers of apprehended individuals requiring medical assistance.”
A total of 2,224 migrants, primarily from Guatemala and Honduras, have been hospitalized due to health issues that could not be treated on site in the last month alone, according to a CBP statement.
More
Since Oct. 1, 2018, the Border Patrol, which works in rural areas between border crossings, has “seen an increase in the numbers of apprehended individuals requiring medical assistance.”
A total of 2,224 migrants, primarily from Guatemala and Honduras, have been hospitalized due to health issues that could not be treated on site in the last month alone, according to a CBP statement.
More
GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND CELEBRATES JANUARY 2019 GRADUATING CLASS
Graduates Begin the New Year with New Guide Dogs After Three Weeks of Individualized Training
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY; – This weekend, Guiding Eyes for the Blind celebrated its first class of guide dog teams in 2019. Each graduate received customized training and was paired with an exceptionally trained guide dog, provided to them at no cost by the non-profit organization.
Once home, each team will enter an important stage in their work together, as they deepen their relationships, establish daily routines, and learn new routes and destinations. The relationship between each guide dog and handler is unique, and Guiding Eyes provides helpful guidelines for members of the community to welcome them home and allow them to work safely. This includes, importantly, not distracting and never feeding or petting a working guide dog.
Learn more about the graduates of the January 2019 class in the school’s Residential Training program at Guiding Eyes headquarters in Yorktown Heights below:
- Allyson & Irving (Groton, CT) - Ally is an independent and determined high school sophomore, looking forward to college in the future. She participates in high school cheerleading and Irving will attend practice with her! She enjoys long walks on the track and going to the mall with friends.
- Anthony “Skippy” & Howie (St. Augustine, FL) - Skippy is a college sophomore and is excited to introduce his new guide, Howie to his two dogs back home. Since 2010, he has been an avid Goalball player, (a team sport designed specifically for athletes with vision impairment), and he plans to travel to multiple adult league tournaments. Skippy is also looking forward to tackling new challenges with Howie, like amusement parks - maybe even Disney!
- Brian & Farley (Toronto, Canada) - Brian returned to Guiding Eyes to partner-up with his 3rd guide dog, Farley, a black Lab with a zest for life. He works at a bank and looks forward to introducing Farley to his 12-year-old son, who is extremely excited to welcome another dog into the family.
- Clayton & Eddie (Canandaigua, NY) - Clayton is a Varsity Assistant Wrestling Coach in his local school district. He is determined to not let his visual impairment get in the way of his active lifestyle, which includes workouts at the gym, volunteering at fitness classes, walking, running or hiking near the beautiful waterfalls in his area.
- Joshua & Jed (Alba, TX) - Joshua is a college student majoring in business management. He attended a rehabilitation center for the blind to learn the skills necessary to successfully attend college and looks forward to a safer experience on campus with Jed.
- Katie & Rizzo (Grand Haven, MI) - Katie is a Physical Therapist and Clinic Manager of an Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic in Michigan. She is a long-time member of the USA Adaptive Waterski team, where she competes in slalom, trick, and jump. The team travels both nationally and internationally and Katie trains not only in the summer, but in the off-season as well. Prior to water-skiing, Katie was a member of the USA Adaptive Alpine Skiing team. She has always loved sports and is looking forward to returning home with Rizzo and running together.
- Lori & Ivan (Salisbury, MD) - Lori, a home health aide, returned to Guiding Eyes for her second guide dog. She found her match in Ivan, a spunky male black Lab with a larger-than-life personality. Lori looks forward to once again enjoying the independence and confidence of working with a guide dog.
- Michael & Ian (Anaheim, CA) - Mike is retired from his work at a hospital and shares a home with wife Karen and her guide dog. They enjoy daily walks, dining at local restaurants and taking classes at the Braille Institute together. He enjoys the speed and ease of travel a guide dog provides and looks forward to “endless possibilities” with Ian.
Everything You Know About the Civil War is Wrong
The Civil War is perhaps the most misunderstood event in the history of the United States while ironically, appears to be the single historical event most Americans believe they fully comprehend.
It’s likely difficult for many of us — and nearly impossible for younger generations — to imagine a world without air conditioning, refrigeration, and amply-filled grocery stores. Which is nothing to say of a life without the Internet, smartphones, and Amazon.
Consider for a moment that just over a hundred years ago, many Americans didn’t live to see their fiftieth birthday — and the most common cause of death was dysentery.
Life in 1860 America, the year Abraham Lincoln was elected president, was nothing like it is today.
The Southern states were mostly rural, and agriculture was the primary industry while in the North, the industrial revolution was in its infancy. Few Americans had more than a primary school education, and medicine was one level above medieval.
And yet, too many of us mistakenly believe we can make value judgments about a time of which we know little.
To truly understand any historical event, one must study it within the proper context — what is commonly referred to as “contextualization.” But as generation after generation pass, we internalize notions about why people behaved the way they did in the past.
And often, we interpret stories of events through the lens of popular culture — many of which are not entirely accurate.
The American Civil War is chief among these.
Pfc. Nathan Kutz Named 2018 OCPD Officer of the Year
OCEAN CITY, MD – On Friday, January 25, 2019, the Neighborhood Watch Associations of Ocean City gathered together with Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) employees at the Grand Hotel for their annual Officer of the Year Ceremony. Nearly 200 guests gathered together to recognize OCPD personnel and volunteers for their accomplishments in 2018 and named Pfc. Nathan Kutz as the 2018 Officer of the Year.
Pfc. Nathan Kutz was chosen as the Officer of the Year by the seven Neighborhood Watch area coordinators. Also nominated were Cpl. Chip Green, Cpl. Jeffrey Heiser, Pfc. Corey Gemerek, Pfc. Michael Karsnitz, and Pfc. Edward Newcomb.
Pfc. Kutz joined the OCPD as a seasonal officer in 2009 and was hired full-time in 2012. He joined the Traffic Safety Unit that same year and became a certified crash reconstructionist. He is a breath test operator, trained in crash investigation, and is a member of the department’s social media outreach group. Since his law enforcement career began, Pfc. Kutz has made 350 arrests for impaired driving and is deeply committed to keeping Ocean City streets safe for residents and visitors. Upon accepting the award, Pfc. Kutz credited his award to his fellow officers. He also thanked his family, who were present, for their support and for instilling in him a strong work ethic.
Volunteers of the OCPD Auxiliary Unit were also recognized for their contribution of 2,483 volunteer hours in 2018. Since the Unit’s inception in 1999, Auxiliary Officers have volunteered a total of over 62,000 hours which translates to a cost saving of over $2.2 million to the taxpayers of Ocean City. Kathy Grimes received an additional award for volunteering a remarkable 1,216 hours of service. This year, the Auxiliary Officer of the Year was awarded to Charlie Judd, Dorothy Morse, and Tonja Sas. Each of them have been active volunteers in the program for 20 years, since the program was created.
As part of Friday’s ceremony, many officers were awarded departmental commendations for exemplary service. The following officers were recognized:
- Meritorious Service Commendation: Pfc. Michael Karsnitz
- Special Commendation: Lt. Dennis Eade, Sgt. Joseph Bushnell, Sgt. Charles Kelley, Pfc. Ryan Flanagan, Pfc. Jacob Fetterolf, Ofc. Connor Finch.
- Excellent Performance Commendation: Lt. Greg DeGiovanni, Sgt. Freddie Howard, Cpl. Jeffrey Johns, Cpl. Michael Kelly, Cpl. Kyle Murray, Pfc. Likeke Arlington, Pfc. Joseph Centofranchi, Pfc. Ryan Flanagan, Pfc. Kevin Flower, Pfc. Amy Gutowski, Pfc. Daniel Jacobs, Pfc. Nathan Kutz, Pfc. Sean McHugh, Pfc. Edward Newcomb, Pfc. Carl Perry, Pfc. David Whitmer (2), Pfc. Joseph Zurla, Ofc. Harry Miller, Ofc. Riley Scott, SO Christopher Palmer
- Unit Citation: K-9 Unit
- Certificate of Outstanding Service: Daniel Burt
- Certificate of Appreciation: Lou Lombardo
Employees were also recognized for their retirements and promotions at Friday’s event. Captain Kevin Kirstein, Captain Greg Guiton, Lt. Scott Kirkpatrick, and Sgt. Mark Paddack each retired this year after serving a collective total of nearly 125 years to the Town of Ocean City. The following officers were promoted in 2018: Captain Ray Austin, Captain Elton Harmon, Lt. Greg DeGiovanni, Lt. Dennis Eade, Lt. Frank Wrench, Sgt. Allen Hawk, Sgt. Freddie Howard, Sgt. Jim Runkles, Sgt. Rick Wawrzeniak, Cpl. Jeffrey Heiser, Cpl. Jeffrey Johns, Cpl. Kyle Murray, Cpl. Chris Wrench, Pfc. Herbert Jenkins, Pfc. Jessica Johnson, Custody Officer, Mary Chaney, and Custody Officer Lucinda Kuehn.
U.S. Will Start Returning Asylum Seekers to Mexico
The U.S. government will try to end most catch-and-release policies on Friday by sending asylum-seeking migrants back to Mexico pending their eventual court hearings in the United States, according to Reuters.
The new “Remain in Mexico” policy may sharply reduce the number of asylum-seeking migrants who are released into the United States — if the policy overcomes lawsuits filed before progressive judges.
In turn, the end of catch-and-release could prevent migrants from getting jobs needed to pay coyotes, so crippling the labor trafficking business, which is run by the criminal cartels in Mexico.
Currently, migrants and their children are legally allowed to walk up to the Ports of Entry on the border, ask for asylum, and then get released to legally find jobs until their asylum claims are heard in court, sometimes three years in the future.
Few of the asylum claims are subsequently approved by judges — but the catch-and-release process allows migrants to legally earn money, pay their debts to the coyotes, re-hire coyotes to smuggle their family members over the border, and then evade immigration enforcement once they lose their asylum claim.
More
The new “Remain in Mexico” policy may sharply reduce the number of asylum-seeking migrants who are released into the United States — if the policy overcomes lawsuits filed before progressive judges.
In turn, the end of catch-and-release could prevent migrants from getting jobs needed to pay coyotes, so crippling the labor trafficking business, which is run by the criminal cartels in Mexico.
Currently, migrants and their children are legally allowed to walk up to the Ports of Entry on the border, ask for asylum, and then get released to legally find jobs until their asylum claims are heard in court, sometimes three years in the future.
Few of the asylum claims are subsequently approved by judges — but the catch-and-release process allows migrants to legally earn money, pay their debts to the coyotes, re-hire coyotes to smuggle their family members over the border, and then evade immigration enforcement once they lose their asylum claim.
More