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Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Launch Schedule For This Friday

Statement from Governor Hogan on Shooting in Northeast Baltimore


ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan issued the following statement on today’s shooting in Northeast Baltimore:

“This morning, two members of a joint federal-state-local task force—a Baltimore City police officer and a Baltimore County police officer—were struck by gunfire during a warrant apprehension operation.

“This task force included state troopers assigned to the Maryland State Apprehension Team, as well as Maryland Transportation Authority Police. I have directed Maryland State Police Superintendent Bill Pallozzi to offer the state’s full support and all available resources for the investigation. We ask Marylanders to join us in praying for the full and speedy recovery of the brave officers who were injured.

“Every day, state law enforcement officials are working in close coordination with federal and local agencies in Baltimore City and throughout the state. We are providing unprecedented resources to combat this violent crime crisis from all directions, with everything we’ve got. The time has come for Baltimore City to finally take back its streets and communities, once and for all.”
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After Sex Offender Re-Enrolls At Parkville High, A Push To Change State Law

After learning of the re-enrollment of a registered sex offender at Parkville High School, County Executive John Olszewski Jr. and state elected officials pledged action.

"It quickly became clear to all of us... that in order to make the changes necessary, we would need the support of state lawmakers," Olszewski said at a press conference. "Every child deserves to feel and be safe in their school and every parent deserves to know that we're doing everything we can to keep them safe."

State Sen. Kathy Klausmeier said she intends on introducing legislation aimed at barring sex offenders from schools across the state.

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The Drag Queen Story Hour and Books: Additional Booklist Suggestions

By now you’ve probably hear of Drag Queen Story Hour (sometimes also called Drag Queen Storytimes). The concept is pretty simple. Basically you take a drag queen, preferably one who likes kids and is a good reader, and have them conduct a storytime. According to the official Drag Queen Story Hour website, the concept was created by Created by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions in San Francisco, but you don’t need to be affiliated to conduct one in your own library. They’ve now become popular enough that they’ve been making the news lately with protests against them in places like Lafayette, LA, Mobile, AL, and other places.

So let’s say you have a library that would like to have a Drag Queen Story Hour of your own. After finding a good reader, you just need them to have some books to read. So where can you find a good Drag Queen Story Hour booklist? Turns out, this information is on the DQSH website:
“We generally use a mix of surefire readalouds and books that explore gender diversity and difference. Our friends at the Brooklyn Public Library helped us create these book lists for pre-schoolers and school-age kids. Make sure your drag queen readers have the books in advance so they have time to practice reading out loud.”
Good for them! I’m particularly pleased that the lists distinguish between preschoolers and older children. Squirmy three-year-olds have short attention spans, after all. Whatever librarians were charged with making this list, they must have had a blast putting it together.

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Dirty Cops: Democrats leap to defense of prosecutors who lied to DOJ about Roger Stone sentence

Apparently, we're supposed to be upset that a group of four prosecutors, who told the Department of Justice one thing about what they'd recommend as a sentence for former Trump adviser Roger Stone and then told a federal judge another, are out of that job.

According to National Review:
All four Justice Department prosecutors who sought seven to nine years of jail time for Roger Stone have withdrawn from the case after reportedly misleading DOJ officials over the sentencing recommendation.
And according to Fox News (hat tip: The Federalist), they left quite a mess for the DoJ to do over:
The Justice Department is preparing to change its sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone after top brass were "shocked" at the stiff prison term initially being sought, according to a senior DOJ official.

Federal prosecutors had recommended that Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentence Stone to between 87 and 108 months in prison for his conviction on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

"The Department was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation in the filing in the Stone case last night," the official told Fox News. "The sentencing recommendation was not what had been briefed to the Department."

Good riddance to people who can't tell the truth.

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Report: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna have been laid to rest in a private funeral

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant have been laid to rest during a private funeral, according to ET.

The private funeral service was held in Corona Del Mar, California on February 7. The NBA legend and his daughter died in a helicopter crash, alongside seven others two weeks ago.

Kobe is survived by his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and three daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.

A source told ET, "Vanessa and the family wanted a private service to mourn their loss. The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it's still hard for them to grasp they lost two beautiful souls."

Although a private funeral was held for Kobe and his daughter, a public memorial will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 24 for Kobe, Gianna and the seven others who lost their lives in the tragic helicopter crash. The memorial will start at 10 a.m.

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Bill de Blasio demands 'consequences' for police union chief who declared 'WAR' on the New York Mayor after a gunman injured two officers

Bill de Blasio has demanded 'consequences' for a New York police union head after an incendiary tweet 'declaring war' on the mayor.

Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) president Ed Mullins launched an attack on de Blasio after an officer was shot inside a patrol van Saturday night and another outside a Bronx police station the following morning.

'Mayor DeBlasio, the members of the NYPD are declaring war on you!' Mullins tweeted. 'We do not respect you, DO NOT visit us in hospitals. You sold the NYPD to the vile creatures, the 1% who hate cops but vote for you. NYPD cops have been assassinated because of you. This isn't over, Game on!'

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God using coronavirus to soften hearts in China

As 11 million residents in the Chinese city of Wuhan remain frantically under quarantine from coronavirus, Christians are now the symbol of peace, life and hope – in a place that used to treat them as a plague threatening Communism.

In a letter posted by the HeartCry Missionary Society, a local Christian identified as "Pastor Z" relayed a message of hope in a city that previously treated believers as something to be eradicated.

But with the onset of coronavirus, Christians are embraced as new-found beacons of safety and tranquility in a contaminated region otherwise drowning in panic, death and despair.

"Now it is the 10th day since the city has been separated by quarantine, and protective masks are the most valuable thing in Wuhan, [as] money is useless because you can't find a store that sells the masks," Pastor Z shared from Wuhan in a letter published Friday by HeartCry Missionary Society. "People are in a desperate situation, [so] in response, our brothers and sisters preach the gospel and give out tracts and free masks."

They are offering living water in a godless region contaminated with a deadly virus and the atheistic worldview of Communism that demands praise and allegiance to the government – not to God.

"They are sharing the word of hope and comfort from God," Pastor Z expressed. "They have become more and more favored in the city – even in the authorities' eyes."

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The Problem With Pete ...

Europe Can't Afford A New "Green Deal"

Today’s brand of the left-leaning politician is all about substituting what sounds good for what actually works. Modern politics, whether in the US or Europe, is about taking a chainsaw to everything that produced even a modicum of success to appease the deities espousing progressive orthodoxy. There is no better example of this than fossil fuels, an energy source that has lifted us out of destitution and darkness, and given us incredible wealth that the world had never witnessed. What is the Left interested in doing? Using confiscation, cronyism, centralization, and coercion to combat climate change. The European Union will achieve these objectives through the boondoggle-in the-making Green Deal (GD).

What is the Green Deal?

The European counterpart is a bit more realistic than the American version, aiming for net-zero emissions within thirty years rather than in a decade. But that is probably the best thing you can say about the proposal, which was approved by the European Parliament—though some policymakers had requested even greater ambitions to be inserted into the climate change scheme. Overall, the Green Deal is bad economics that will affect the already dreary conditions of Europe and exacerbate the slowdown.

The Green Deal begins with the European Commission examining every European Union law and regulation and then modifying it to align with the bloc’s new climate objectives. If you thought the EU’s regulations were already egregious, just you wait until March 2021, when the bureaucrats will submit a package containing all the statist goodies. At least Great Britain will not have to.

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Could New Hillary E-mails Lead to Criminal Charges?

After a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit produced yet more e-mails this week from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — indicating that she had even more classified information transmitted on her unsecure and non-government server — calls are being raised for Clinton to face criminal consequences. Clinton previously escaped any criminal sanctions in July 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey announced he would not seek any such sanctions.

But now that Comey is no longer in a position to save her from criminal liability, these newly discovered e-mails have led to speculation that she could face a new — and real — investigation.

Judicial Watch released 37 pages of new Clinton emails that had been found by the FBI after the FOIA request. Also found were text messages used by Clinton to conduct government business, which is also illegal.

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Apple engineer killed in Tesla crash had complained about his SUV's Autopilot system previously malfunctioning before it veered into a concrete barrier on a California freeway

An Apple engineer who died when his Tesla Model X hit a concrete barrier on a California freeway had complained before his death about the SUV's Autopilot system previously malfunctioning.

The complaints Walter Huang made to his family and friends were detailed in a trove of documents released on Tuesday by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the March 2018 crash that killed him.

Huang, a father-of-two, died in hospital following the fiery crash after his Tesla veered off U.S. 101 in Silicon Valley and into a concrete barrier.

Data from Huang's crash showed his SUV did not brake or try to steer around the barrier in the three seconds before the crash. The car also sped up from 62mph to 71 mph just before crashing.

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WATCH: Don Trump Jr. met with chants of '46' at New Hampshire rally

Among those gathered for President Trump's Manchester, New Hampshire, rally were some who implored the president's son to run for the Oval Office after his father finishes a potential second term in 2024.

"46, 46, 46," the crowd chanted as the president introduced his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to the thousands in attendance at his Monday "Keep America Great" rally.

While warming up the crowd, Trump Jr. said he wished he would have been born a Democrat because “you can do whatever you want.”

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"You name it, we have it": Trump 2020 store set to open in Pennsylvania town

Medal of Honor Recipient Leroy Petry Defends Trump’s Firing of Vindman

Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry defended President Trump’s firing of Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council (NSC) during a recent interview on Fox & Friends.

“I respect Donald Trump’s actions on escorting [Vindman] out of the White House because he, as a team player, he should have brought it up through the chain of command, and then blown the whistle if it didn’t get approved,” Petry said Sunday. He added:

And so exactly my insight is, I would’ve fired him too and said, “I can’t trust you on my team if you can’t bring me things that you don’t agree with.” And for Nancy Pelosi also calling him a hero, I think is a word that gets thrown around way too much. I respect his service, and I understand he’s a Purple Heart recipient, but being a Purple Heart recipient doesn’t make somebody a hero.
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US military approves 11 coronavirus quarantine camps next to major US airports which can treat 'up to 1,000 people' as the 13th case in the States is confirmed in California

The Pentagon is setting up 11 quarantine camps on military bases near major airports across the US in anticipation of an influx of American citizens returning from China in need of monitoring for the deadly coronavirus that is now being called COVID-19.

The 13th US coronavirus case was confirmed in California on Tuesday. The deadly strain, which is now being called COVID-19, has killed 1,107 people and sickened more than 42,000 worldwide since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in late December.

The Department of Defense approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services early this month for the possible use of military facilities to accommodate 1,000 people who may have to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas through the end of the month.

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Fifty-five percent of voters say impeachment push made Trump stronger, only 16% say he's weaker: Poll

New Rasmussen Reports polling shows that 55% of voters believe the impeachment push against President Trump made him stronger, and 62% of voters think Democrats should move on from trying to impeach the president.

The survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted between Feb. 6 through Feb. 9 and released Monday suggests that a strong majority of voters believe that Trump has benefited from impeachment; that sentiment was even expressed by a plurality of people who described themselves as liberals.

Only 16% of voters believe that Trump is weaker because of impeachment.

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France Fines Apple $27 Million for Slowing Down Old iPhones

Tech giant Apple has been fined €25 million ($27 million) by the French consumer watchdog for its lack of transparency in deliberately slowing down older iPhones.

The Age reports that the French consumer watchdog has fined tech giant Apple €25 million euro ($27 million) for its lack of transparency surrounding the firm’s decision to purposefully slow down older iPhone devices. Apple has admitted to doing so and apologized for failing to inform its customers about this practice.

It was first reported in 2017 that the firm was using software updates for older iPhones to limit the performance of the devices, adding to a conspiracy theory that the company was intentionally slowing older devices to encourage consumers to upgrade. Apple claims that the devices were slowed down primarily to protect them as the phones batteries age. Aging cell phone batteries have a higher risk of battery drain and unwanted device restarts under high levels of performance, according to Apple.

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Graham: ‘You’re Seeing the Demise of the Democratic Party’

In a Tuesday interview with Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) addressed the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Graham said President Donald Trump is “in a spot where he really can’t lose,” adding the uncertainty in the Democratic Party about whether to back a far-left candidate or a more moderate candidate is leading to the party’s “demise.”

“The president’s in a spot where he really can’t lose as this plays out,” Graham said. “Biden’s going to win South Carolina. You’re going to have three different winners in the first three states. On Super Tuesday, I think Bloomberg’s going to make a real dent. He’s going to make a real presence. You’re going to go to this convention with Biden basically collapsed. Somebody’s going to fill that lane, it’s not going to be Amy Klobuchar, it’s going to be Bloomberg.”

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Trump budget proposal reins in unconstitutional, bloated Department of Education

If you love a constitutionally constrained federal government, President Trump’s latest budget request for Betsy DeVos's Department of Education will warm your heart. But there’s more to be done.

Let’s start with the best part: The budget would cut $6.1 billion in education spending overall and consolidate $19.4 billion worth of K-12 programs into simple block grants to states. That cuts federal strings off of a big chunk of education money, and doing so makes sense.

This would be much more in line with the education power the Constitution gives the federal government — that is, absolutely none — and states are much closer and more accountable to the people the money is supposed to serve than bureaucrats at the Department of Education. Even better would be to let taxpayers keep their money, either by letting states opt out of federal education or by getting rid of the federal intrusion entirely. But this is a good first step.

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Coronavirus 2-12-2020





104 NEW DEATHS AND 2475 NEW CASES SINCE YESTERDAY

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'I'd like it to start over': Ginsburg challenges Equal Rights Amendment

One of the Supreme Court's most liberal justices questioned the validity of the Equal Rights Amendment, citing a ratification clause that could quash the decadeslong fight over the measure.

Speaking at Georgetown University Law Center on Monday evening, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she didn't think the ERA could pass through as-is because of language in the original amendment that stipulated three-fourths of all states must ratify the amendment by 1982.

"I would like to see a new beginning," Ginsburg told moderator Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. "I'd like it to start over."

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Harrison Ford calls Trump a 'son of a b****' on the Jimmy Kimmel show after he is shown mock 'presidential' reviews of his new film The Call of the Wild

Harrison Ford mocked Donald Trump on the Jimmy Kimmel show and called the president a 'son of a b****'.

The Star Wars and Indiana Jones star made the joke when he appeared on the live broadcast last night to promote his new film, The Call of the Wild.

During the interview the legendary actor was presented with a mock poster for The Call of the Wild which was made up of fake reviews from Donald Trump, instead of comments from critics.

The host started by asking Ford if he had 'seen the reviews' of his new movie.

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Trump campaign: Quarter of New Hampshire rally attendees were Democrats, and 17% didn't vote in 2016

Attendance at President Trump’s New Hampshire rally earlier this week included 17% of participants who did not vote in 2016, and slightly over 25% were Democratic voters, according to campaign manager Brad Parscale.

“Big Data from New Hampshire: 52,559 Tickets, 24,732 Voters Identified (41% From NH), 17% Didn’t Vote in 2016, 25.4% Democrats. Thank You New Hampshire. Data Gold!” Parscale said on Twitter Monday.

Big Data from New Hampshire:

52,559 Tickets

24,732 Voters Identified (41% From NH)

17% Didn’t Vote in 2016

25.4% Democrats

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Bloomberg heard in 2015 audio clip defending ‘stop and frisk,’ throwing minority kids against wall: report

A newly-surfaced recording from a 2015 speech by Michael Bloomberg, in which the former three-term mayor of New York City gives a full-throated defense of the controversial policing procedure known as "stop and frisk," is threatening to undermine the 2020 presidential candidate's subsequent apologies for backing the policy and hurt his status with minority voters.

In an audio clip of a 2015 speech, the billionaire gave to the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg acknowledged that "stop and frisk," targeted minority "kids" who cops must throw "up against the wall" to disarm. The Aspen Times reported at the time that Bloomberg representatives asked the Institute not to distribute footage of his appearance.

"Ninety-five percent of murders- murderers and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take a description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops," he said. "They are male, minorities, 16-25. That's true in New York, that's true in virtually every city (inaudible). And that's where the real crime is. You've got to get the guns out of the hands of people that are getting killed."

Bloomberg also said urban crime-fighting required cities to "spend the money" and "put a lot of cops in the streets," particularly in "minority neighborhoods," where he said the crime is. He also acknowledged the "unintended consequences" of the policy.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bloomberg-stop-and-frisk

New Hampshire exit polls show impeachment was a dud for Democrats

Nearly two-thirds of Republicans reported at New Hampshire primary exit polls that impeachment benefited President Trump's reelection odds, and only 5% said it hurt them. But an astonishing 74% of Democratic voters at the first-in-the-nation primary said that impeachment either made no difference or actually helped his chances.

Just 22% of some of the most enthusiastic Democrats in the country believe impeachment harmed Trump's political fortunes.

Impeachment exit polls bode poorly for Democratic prospects in the general election and represent a defeat for the establishment that bet on impeachment taking Trump. The message to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies is clear: impeachment backfired and spectacularly so.

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Universal WILL release controversial movie The Hunt about 'liberal elites' hunting 'deplorables' from red states six months after it was shelved and Donald Trump branded it 'racist'

Controversial movie The Hunt about 'liberal elites' hunting 'deplorables' from red states is to be released six months after a backlash forced NBC Universal to shelve it, in the wake of mass shootings and President Trump slamming the film's creators as 'racist'.

The film caused outrage ahead of its scheduled September release, with its violent plot showing a group of people from predominately Republican states being kidnapped and hunted for sport by privileged liberals.

It was slammed on social media, particularly in the aftermath of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that left 31 dead and sent shockwaves across the US.

Conservatives called it everything from 'political violence' to 'sick murder fantasies about right-wingers'.

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Democrats say they’ll investigate Roger Stone reduced sentence

Senate Democrats plan to examine the Justice Department’s decision to reduce the recommended prison sentence for Roger Stone, a former associate of President Trump who was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Stone should serve all of the seven- to nine-year prison sentence originally recommended by prosecutors.

Justice Department sources tell news outlets that Justice Department officials will scale back the sentence, which they said was excessive.

Schumer said he disagreed with the move.

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Obama 'planted moles' in White House to torpedo next president

It's abundantly clear now that the Obama administration tried to torpedo Donald Trump, first as a candidate and then as president-elect, using a Democratic Party-funded "dossier" of Russian propaganda to obtain warrants to spy on Trump's campaign.

But talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh says the Obama administration went even further, by planting "moles" throughout the federal bureaucracy to undermine Trump.

He noted Tuesday that Barack Obama grew the National Security Council staff from about 100 employees to well over 200.

Trump didn't immediately fire the extraneous workers when he took office.

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Sheriffs fight bill on immigration questioning

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) - Maryland legislators are once again debating legislation which would restrict how local law enforcement officers and corrections officials handle illegal immigrants.

The bill would prohibit local police from questioning detainees about their immigration status.

But several sheriffs from Maryland and elsewhere converged on Annapolis to voice their opposition to the measure.

During a news conference, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said to prohibit law enforcement agencies from inquiring about a detainee's immigration status puts the public at risk.

"These policies are dangerous restrictions on law enforcement and corrections, local public safety, and homeland security depend on the exchange of information. When we do that, we make the streets safer, we make your communities safer," said Sheriff Jenkins.

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis says, "We want to make Maryland a sanctuary state, a haven for drug dealers, drug distributors and drug traffickers? It’s not going to happen on our watch. Come hell or high water, we will stand our ground.”

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