Popular Posts

How to “Teach” a Kid to Ride a Bike (Without Having to Teach Them at All)

It’s a rite of passage every child goes through: learning how to ride a bike. My son, Gus, learned a few years ago. My daughter, Scout, learned how to ride a two-wheeler six months ago.

I thought this was going to be a rite filled with scraped elbows, bruised knees, and a lot of tears. I thought I’d be frustrated trying to explain to my kids how to pedal, balance, and steer a bike. Because that’s how I remember learning how to ride a bike as a kid: me being hurt and my parents being frustrated.

But none of that happened with my kids.

Instead we sort of stumbled into a protocol that turned out to be highly effective and managed to make the process practically pain, anxiety, and parental-intervention free. A method where our kids learned how to ride a bike naturally and on their own.

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Jimmy Carter’s 1977 law gives Trump sweeping powers to block China trade

Legal scholars and trade policy experts say that President Trump is right to claim broad powers to prohibit companies from trading with foreign countries thanks to a 1977 law that has previously not garnered much attention outside the context of national security.

The law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, gives the president sweeping powers to restrict trade once a "national emergency" is declared.

"The president can impose a virtual embargo on a nation under IEEPA," said John Yoo, director of the public law and policy program at the University of California at Berkeley and a former official in George W. Bush's Office of Legal Counsel.

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Sleep-Disordered Breathing Tied to Accelerated Aging

SAN ANTONIO — Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and the disruption in nightly sleep it causes, speeds up the aging process, according to preliminary research.

SDB is a common disorder that results in oxidative stress and inflammation and is associated with several age-related health disorders. However, it hasn't been well studied with respect to epigenetic aging.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first empirical study that has linked sleep-disordered breathing with epigenetic age acceleration," Xiaoyu Li, ScD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.

The study was presented here at SLEEP 2019: 33rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

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Rep. Jackson Lee: ‘America Is Ready’ for Reparations Because of Trump’s ‘Attitude’

Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said Americans were ready for the “descendants of slavery” to receive reparations because of President Donald Trump’s “attitude.”

Lee said, “The commission would study reparation proposals. We would not dictate to the commission its design but, clearly, it would be designed for those descendants of slavery. Tragically, 250 years of slavery in the United States for those enslaved Africans did not receive workman’s comp, salary, 401(k), or anything, and literally built the wealth of the United States and Europe. That’s why it was called the trans-Atlantic slave trade, taking enslaved Africans from Africa, frankly, from many parts of Africa. This commission would have the authority appointed by the President, the Majority Leader, the Speaker, and scholars, to really dig deep, something that we have never done before and to design the response.”

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San Francisco restaurant owner calls Bernie Sanders 'rude and cranky'

The owner of a San Francisco restaurant accused 2020 presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders of being "rude and cranky" while he dined at the restaurant.

John Konstin, the owner of the 111-year-old John's Grill, revealed that Sanders and some of his staffers stopped in over the weekend while they were in town for the Democratic National Committee's summer meetings. Sanders was one of 13 presidential candidates in attendance for the three day gathering.

“It was all very nice, except for cranky Bernie,” Konstin told Politico, before adding, "he didn't want to shake hands, he didn't want a picture."

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Barack Obama Launches ‘Redistricting U’ Campaign for ‘Fair Maps’

Former President Barack Obama on Monday unveiled a new initiative to influence redistricting efforts across the United States.

The initiative, Redistricting U, will send activists to provide free training and tools to volunteers involved in redistricting efforts and guide groups on how to “be leaders in the movement for fair maps.”

“Training is at the heart of organizing. It’s why I’ve always made it a priority – from my 2008 campaign until now,” Obama wrote in a tweet announcing Redistricting U, which is part of the All On The Line campaign.

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NY Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand drops out of 2020 presidential race

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.

The 52-year-old Democrat announced her decision in a tweet Wednesday as her campaign, which once looked to ride strong #MeToo credentials, was plagued by low polling and fundraising struggles.

“I am so proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve,” she tweeted. “To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let’s go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate.”

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RUBIO RAISES ALARM ON CHINA’S “SURVEILLANCE EMPIRE”

International use of China’s surveillance tech is jeopardizing the privacy of Americans traveling abroad, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warns.

A recent trip to Kenya rekindled Rubio’s concerns of China’s growing “surveillance empire” operating under the guise of euphemisms like “smart” cities while using invasive tech such as facial recognition.

“Literally at every intersection, some picture snapped,” said Rubio to Washington Examiner. “Now they would argue that all that information is held by the Kenyans, ‘we’re just buying a product off the shelf from a company that happens to be from China.’ But the reality is that in order for that system to work and for them to design the software for it, they had to have access to government databases.”

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THE HIGH COST OF POLITICAL THEATRE

STATEMENT BY MONTGOMERY COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN, ALEXANDER A. BUSH

Rockville, MD -- This July, County Executive Mark Elrich proudly announced the most restrictive policy on non-cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the D.C. metro area. At the time, I said that this was a “political stunt all about opposing a President he hates, even at the risk of the safety of Montgomery County residents." Sadly, Mr. Elrich has taken every opportunity since to prove me right.

As you might have expected of a policy created to justify political theatre, it was ill-defined and left our county’s law enforcement with no clear rules. At the time, Montgomery County’s Director of Public Information, Barry Hudson, was unable to define what if any exceptions there were to this policy of strict non-cooperation, as reported by ABC7. When asked, Mr. Hudson replied that his office was “working on answers”.

Only two days later, county law enforcement officials arrested two illegal immigrants for five counts of 2nd degree rape on an 11-year-old child. One of the Defendants, Mauricio Barrera-Navidad, was granted a $100,000 (post 10 percent) bond. Thus, despite ICE having lodged a detainer for him, he would have been released from custody if he had been able to pay 10% of the bond.

When asked to comment on these arrests, Mr. Hudson (whose salary costs county taxpayers $175,000 per year) shockingly placed the blame on United States Customs and Border Protection, saying that “if the system failed, it would have failed on the federal level. This is not the responsibility of the local government.”

Sadly, this tragedy of errors was just beginning. On July 14th, Mr. Elrich lied to the public, stating that the “Promoting Community Trust Executive Order has not changed the County's policy on cooperating with ICE requests for notification of the release of individuals charged with serious crimes.” Mr. Elrich’s clumsy lie was revealed when the County Council issued its own statement on August 16th, admitting that there was an even more recent “new Executive Order for notification of the release of individuals charged with serious crimes”.

Clearly, this new modification to the executive order has not solved anything, since on August 13th, Rodrigo Castro-Montejo, another defendant charged with a 2nd degree rape, and in the country illegally, was released from county custody after paying a $1,000 surety bond. Jail officials made all of one phone call to the wrong number before releasing Mr. Castro-Montejo back into our community.

Is this a sign of Mr. Elrich’s new policy? To continue to make every effort to obstruct ICE while still leaving him the fig leaf, a pathetic pretense of cooperation? These are not hypothetical political debates. In the thirty days since the announcement of Mr. Elrich’s executive order, county law enforcement has commenced at least five rape prosecutions against defendants who are in this country illegally, with child victims in at least two cases.

In reference to the child victimized by Mr. Barrera-Navidad, the County Council stated, “we will ensure that the victim and her family receive the assistance and necessary support to overcome this tragic event in their lives”. Perhaps if they had not joined Mr. Elrich in proudly and publicly declaring Montgomery County a sanctuary for her attackers, this would never have been necessary.

www.mcgop.com

Maryland county first to ban helium balloon releases

QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY, Md. —Queen Anne's County has become the first county in Maryland to ban environmentally harmful balloon releases. The county commissioners passed Ordinance 19-13, unanimously, which prohibits the release of non-biodegradable helium balloons.

“Intentionally releasing balloons into the atmosphere is nothing short of littering”, said the bill’s author, Commissioner Christopher M. Corchiarino. “This ordinance will allow us to protect a cross-section of interests in the County while furthering the stewardship of our waterways and rural landscapes”.

The Queen Anne's Conservation Association (QACA) praised the commisioners for their initiative.

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Joe Biden's brother is being sued by medical execs

The younger brother of Joe Biden allegedly attempted to leverage his standing with potential business partners by fraudulently promising them the former Vice President would implement their health care models into his 2020 campaign, a new court filing in Tennessee reveals.

Over the past few years, several accusations of Joe Biden's relatives attempting to profit from his public standing have arisen, but the new filing provided the first explicit claims that James Biden offered up his brother's influence to benefit his own private business pursuits.

Filed by executives of two firms, Azzam Medical Services and Diverse Medical Management, who both provide rural healthcare solutions, the allegations came in sworn testimonies filed in federal court Friday against James Biden.

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CNN Lost Their Mind (Again): Guess How Long Their Climate Change Town Hall Is

Just when we thought CNN couldn't get any more pathetic, they prove us wrong...again. The network on Tuesday announced their climate change town hall. The debate, scheduled for Sept. 4th will be seven hours long. Yes, seven hours. The reason? The network wants to give each of the 10 candidates ample time to respond to questions during this "unprecedented prime-time event."

Each of the 10 candidates will be given 40 minutes to discuss their plans to address climate change. Hosts Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will act as moderators.

Here's the schedule of events:

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"I'm Not Going Nuts": Biden Swears He's Sane Amid Senior Moments And Gaffes Galore

While the anti-Trump media has pivoted back to the whole 'Trump is crazy' / 25th Amendment impeachment fantasy revived by GOP challengers Bill Weld and Joe Walsh, former Vice President Joe Biden's stumbling senior moments have gotten so bad that he's now swearing he's sane.

"I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts," Biden insisted on Friday, after he forgot where he was speaking from - praising Vermont when asked about his impression of Keene, NH.

"I love this place. Look, what’s not to like about Vermont in terms of the beauty of it? And what a neat town. This is like a scenic, beautiful town. The mayor's been a good guy. Everybody has been really friendly. I like Keene a lot," said the 76-year-old Biden.

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‘Americans Stand Defeated’: Taliban Says Peace Deal with U.S. Imminent

The Taliban maintained on Monday that a peace agreement with the United States to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan is coming soon.

“The U.S. agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and resolve the Afghan issue peacefully,” Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday.

Shaheen refused to elaborate on the timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Zabihullah Mujahid, another Taliban spokesman, told Voice of America (VOA) on Saturday that negotiators are fleshing out the details of a mechanism for pulling out U.S.-led foreign forces from Afghanistan.

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Surveillance Video Outside Epstein's Cell Deemed 'Unusable'

It appears that Jeffrey Epstein had really good timing when he, according to New York Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson, decided to hang himself in his Manhattan jail cell the morning of August 10th - crushing bones in his neck which can fracture during hangings, but are typically broken during homicide by strangulation.

Not only was his cellmate moved out the day before he died, overworked prison guards reportedly fell asleep - missing their assigned 30-minute checks on the highest profile inmate in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). Epstein had recently been taken off suicide watch stemming from mysterious injuries he received weeks earlier. The convicted pedophile said he had been attacked.

He was placed on suicide watch for about a week after that — meaning he was monitored 24-7. He was placed back in the jail’s special housing unit late in the month and, for a time, had a new roommate.

But that person was transferred the day before Epstein’s death, and a new roommate was not assigned — despite the fact that at least eight jail officials knew Epstein was not to be left alone in his cell. -Washington Post

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Ramadans Going Back To Jail After Guilty Pleas

WEST OCEAN CITY – After pleading guilty earlier this month for their roles in a vast cigarette smuggling and tax evasion conspiracy, two local men were sentenced to prison this week in New York Supreme Court.

Last October, federal officials raided the West Ocean City homes of Basel and Samir Ramadan for the second time in six years as part of a larger investigation into a vast cigarette smuggling and money-laundering investigation. The raid by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) officials, along with allied local law enforcement partners, was part of Operation Sidestep, a months-long investigation into an untaxed cigarette smuggling, money-laundering and tax evasion scheme carried out by the two local men.

On Aug. 8, both Basel and Samir Ramadan pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the fourth degree, which is classified as felony. Back in court on Monday, Basel Ramadan was sentenced to two to four years in prison as a predicate felon, while Samir Ramadan, also a predicate felon, was sentenced to one-and-a-half to three years in prison. The Ramadan brothers also forfeited $367,088 in illegal proceeds as a condition of their guilty pleas, according to the New York Attorney General’s Office.

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Seattle Officials Can’t Agree on How to Remove Human Crap from Sidewalks –

This is the modern day left in action. Pure insanity.

Seattle has a human feces problem on their streets and sidewalks. But the city council cannot agree on how to remove the crap.

Councilmember Larry Gossett says power-washing the sidewalks bring up images of using hoses against civil rights activists.

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Joe DiGenova: “IG Horowitz has Concluded ALL FOUR FISA Warrants to Spy on Trump Campaign and Administration Were Illegal”

Former US Attorney for the District of Columbia Joe DiGenova joined WMAL radio on Monday to discuss the latest developments in the Spygate Scandal.

DiGenova blasted CNN for hiring fired FBI acting Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe was fired in March 2018 after the Justice Department inspector general report found he had repeatedly lied about his involvement in a leak to The Wall Street Journal regarding an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

Joe Digenova told the WMAL hosts that the NSA had all of Hillary’s deleted emails, many of them classified. (at the 4:28 mark)


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What's Happening? 8-28-19

What is happening around the area?  Let others know about the good the bad and the ugly.......

Bill Dudley Shocker: Ex-NY Fed President Urges Fed's Powell To Prevent Trump Re-election

At the start of August, we explained how - by scapegoating the global economy for the Fed's July 31 rate cut - the central bank had now trapped itself, having certified before the world that any further escalations in Trump's trade war are effectively a justification for more rate cuts. Whether this was Powell's intention is unclear, although as we said at the time, "it certainly means that Trump is now de facto in charge of the Fed's monetary policy by way of US foreign policy, and it also means that as BofA wrote, "the Fed is unintentionally underwriting the trade war."

As we noted at the time, this meant that "the Fed may very well be intentionally underwriting Trump's trade war." In either case, as Bank of America's chief economist Michelle Meyer said, such a circular framework is a problem for many reasons, and as the bank admited, there is a risk of an adverse feedback loop where the trade war hinders economic growth, therefore prompting additional Fed easing, which in turn allows for greater trade war escalation. This is shown in the chart below.

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WATCH: Lindsey Graham Reveals How To Fix Immigration: Vote In Lawmakers ‘Who Don’t Hate Trump’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stated on Tuesday that Democrats refuse to work across the aisle on America's worsening critical issue of illegal immigration because they hate President Donald Trump.

"Why has such an important issue because so political?" 'Fox & Friends' host Steve Doocy asked the South Carolina senator.

"They hate Trump." Graham responded. "Send people to Washington who don't hate Trump."

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WHY ARE WE FUNDING PBS?…. Unhinged PBS Crank Who Called President Trump a “White Nationalist” at DC Presser Calls Him a “Liar” at G7 Press Conference

Why are working Americans funding abusive liberals at PBS?

Back in November 2018 President Trump held a press conference following the 2018 midterm elections.

During the presser PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor accused President Trump of being the leader of the White Nationalist party.

Of course, the hateful anti-Trump media completely ignored this outrageous statement.

Trump immediately called her out — and then he called her a racist!
Yamiche Aldindor: On the campaign trail you called yourself a nationalist. Some people saw it as emboldening white nationalists.

President Trump: I don’t know why you are saying that. Such a racist…

Yamiche Alcindor: There are some people that say now the Republican Party is seen as supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. What do you think of that.

President Trump: Why do I have the highest numbers with African Americans… You’re a racist.

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African Migrants Protest Denial of Passage Through Mexico to U.S.

Hundreds of African migrants are finding themselves trapped in Mexico’s southern border region after new immigration rules no longer allow them safe passage to the U.S. The rule changes now say they must naturalize in Mexico or exit through its southern border.

A Cameroonian migrant, Esteban Azu, 37, said he paid human smugglers $8,000 to get him into the U.S. He said his journey took him from his home country to Turkey, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and finally to Mexico, Animal Politico reported.

“I arrived in Tapachula a month ago. I left Cameroon and went directly to Ecuador. From there to Colombia. I climbed mountains, walked through the jungle, to find this shit,” Azu expressed. “This shit! They don’t feed me. They don’t give me anything. I am very angry with the government of Mexico. This is not normal. This is bullshit. We need a solution. We just want to get out of here.”

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ICE agents may be given more access to Montgomery Co. jail

An executive order relating to immigration enforcement that took effect in Montgomery County last month might be changed.

The order bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering secure parts of the county jail. As a result, people released to the agency’s custody have to go through a secure door and into a lobby area before an ICE agent can retrieve them.

County Executive Marc Elrich said Tuesday night that he will consider changing that restriction.

“We are going to look at that because there are questions that people have raised about not just the safety of ICE officials, but the safety of anybody else who might be out there (in the lobby),” said Elrich.

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Trump Strong at Summit

As President Trump left the United States last week to attend the G-7 economic summit, the American media and Democrat presidential candidates bashed the president as an embarrassment. One media outlet wrote that Trump was heading “into a summit of world leaders in an increasingly isolated position.”

But virtually everything about the news coverage is wrong. The United States has the world’s largest economy. As such, President Trump dominated the G-7 meeting.

For example, Trump and Prime Minister Abe of Japan held a surprise press conference announcing a major trade deal. Japan agreed to buy huge supplies of American agricultural products, a great deal for our farmers.

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Ben Carson Offers To Perform “Much Needed” Brain Surgery On Maxine Waters

Thе mаіn ѕіmіlіtudеѕ bеtwееn Rерublісаn Bеn Cаrѕоn аnd Dеmосrаt Mаxіnе Wаtеrѕ аrе thаt thе twо аrе unmіѕtаkаblе Afrісаn-Amеrісаn роlіtісаl ріоnееrѕ. Bеѕіdе thіѕ, thе twо соuldn’t bе аnу more еxtrаоrdіnаrу.Generally, Bеn Carson аttеmрtѕ hіѕ bеѕt tо disregard Wаtеrѕ аѕ wеll аѕ саn be expected, notwithstanding hеr ѕtеаdу аѕѕаultѕ аgаіnѕt thе Secretary оf Hоuѕіng аnd Urbаn Dеvеlорmеnt.

In Junе, Mad Mаxіnе уеlреd аnd undеrmіnеd thе сеrеbrum ѕресіаlіѕt thаt оn the оff сhаnсе that hе оught tо gо bеfоrе thе Hоuѕе Cоmmіttее on Fіnаnсіаl Sеrvісе, ѕhе’ll “dіѕmаntlе hіm.” Days аftеr hеr tіrаdе ѕhе аddіtіоnаllу еxрrеѕѕеd thаt ѕhе might wаnt tо “dіѕmаntlе hіѕ butt.”

Frаntіс Mаxіnе іѕ bу аll ассоuntѕ ѕіllу tо feel thаt ѕhе hаѕ thе mіnd аbіlіtу to gо uр аgаіnѕt a fаmоuѕ сеrеbrum ѕресіаlіѕt lіkе Doctor Bеn Carson.

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Fifth Illegal Immigrant Accused of Rape Arrested In Maryland County In Less Than A Month

It's tough to argue that Montgomery County, Maryland hasn't been impacted by a porous southern border. A fifth illegal immigrant was recently arrested by local authorities after allegedly crawling into a 16-year-old girl's bed and raping her at knifepoint.

ABC 7's Kevin Lewis, who has first reported all five alleged rapes, says that "Nelson Reyes-Medrano is accused of crawling into bed with a 16yo Germantown, Md. girl as she napped."

Reyes-Medrano is a father of 10 children, six of whom are under the age 18. He has worked as a baker in Prince George’s County since 2016.

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Review: ‘Thank You For My Service’

Mat Best is an American man's man, someone who loves "man s—t like beards and whiskey and guns and hot chicks in American flag bikinis." Beneath layers of playful, irreverent humor, Best’s memoir Thank You For My Service is a serious book about a former Army Ranger navigating his way back into civilian life, overcoming an addiction to war, and trying to support his fellow veterans.

Best's book covers everything—his decision to join the military out of high school, his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than a modest portion of his sex life. After serving multiple deployments in Iraq, he wrestled with the question of whether to stay in the military.

"Was I going to age too rapidly and burn myself out over here and miss all of my twenties if I stayed? Probably. Would it be more rewarding to stay? Maybe. Would I regret not giving the carefree twenties a shot? I didn’t know," Best writes.

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