The world has turned itself upside down. Only yesterday the liberals and the left (the “progressives,” as they want to be called) regarded the CIA as the locus of evil, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, forever poisoning gentle minds with a diet of conspiracy and tall tale.
In those gloomy days of the Cold War, where every day was seasoned with a sharp wind and a cold rain, it was the Democratic intellectuals who were forever chiding the rest of us that the Soviet Union was not so bad, the Russians just wanted to be understood and maybe deserved an occasional cuddle. It was the Republicans and other conservatives who were mindless rubes who imagined there was a mad Russian under everybody’s bed.
Now the CIA, in the liberal/left’s fevered dreams, is the last bulwark of the republic, the last remaining hope to turn the 2016 election result on its head and deprive Donald Trump of the victory he won. The Russians, it now turns out, are just as bad as the conservatives said they were.
President Obama, who mocked Mitt Romney four years ago for suggesting that Russia and Vladimir Putin was America’s No. 1 enemy, now says it was Mr. Romney who was smart and got it right four years ago. The president himself, in his telling, is the man dumber than a cypress stump.
The president, at last awake and paying attention to Russian cyber warfare, wants answers, and by noon on Jan. 20.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
'Info Warfare'
Retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told WMAL Radio on Monday that Brennan is trying to undermine the president-elect out of deference to his boss, President Barack Obama.
"This is purely political, and I believe that John Brennan is a political animal," Shaffer said. "Everything they are telling me is Brennan is doing this out of loyalty to President Obama. It's called information operations, information warfare, and that's what I believe is going on."
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Pelosi’s daughter leads effort to block Trump through Electoral College
The accusations of Russian interference in the November presidential election have provided a last-minute lifeline for the long-shot effort to head off Donald Trump at the Electoral College.
Ten electors, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi, demanded Monday an intelligence briefing on Russian interference by Monday, when the Electoral College makes the vote official.
Flipping the Electoral College seems to be the only hope left for Trump opponents. Recount efforts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have backfired.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee urged Trump opponents to participate in a protest scheduled for all 50 state capitols Monday aimed at persuading electors to cast their ballots for someone other than the Republican real estate mogul.
More here
Ten electors, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi, demanded Monday an intelligence briefing on Russian interference by Monday, when the Electoral College makes the vote official.
Flipping the Electoral College seems to be the only hope left for Trump opponents. Recount efforts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have backfired.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee urged Trump opponents to participate in a protest scheduled for all 50 state capitols Monday aimed at persuading electors to cast their ballots for someone other than the Republican real estate mogul.
More here
Piers Morgan: 'Sore Loser Fury' of Clinton, Dems 'Profoundly Un-American'
Former CNN personality Piers Morgan on Tuesday blasted Hillary Clinton and the Democrats for their "breathtakingly stupid and highly dangerous Hail Mary pass" to endorse the attempt to overturn the election via an Electoral College coup.
Morgan, now an editor for the Daily Mail, pulled no punches, calling the effort "disgustingly hypocritical," given all the saber-rattling from Clinton and Co. against President-elect Donald Trump when he warned of a rigged election and promised to challenge the results before the election.
But then he won, and now it's Clinton and the Democrats who are trying to weaken the country's institutions, Morgan writes for the Daily Mail.
"Their deluded, defiant, sore loser fury has known no bounds," Morgan wrote. "This is not just an unprecedented and dangerous attack on democracy, it’s profoundly un-American."
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Morgan, now an editor for the Daily Mail, pulled no punches, calling the effort "disgustingly hypocritical," given all the saber-rattling from Clinton and Co. against President-elect Donald Trump when he warned of a rigged election and promised to challenge the results before the election.
But then he won, and now it's Clinton and the Democrats who are trying to weaken the country's institutions, Morgan writes for the Daily Mail.
"Their deluded, defiant, sore loser fury has known no bounds," Morgan wrote. "This is not just an unprecedented and dangerous attack on democracy, it’s profoundly un-American."
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Podesta Joins Demand For US Intel Officials
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta and Christine Pelosi are joining a call to force intelligence officials to give members of the electoral college intelligence briefings on Russia’s potential ties with President-elect Donald Trump.
The two prominent Democrats added their support to a letter drafted by 10 members of the electoral college. They asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to share information about Russia and the 2016 election season.
“The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations,” they wrote. “We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.”
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The two prominent Democrats added their support to a letter drafted by 10 members of the electoral college. They asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to share information about Russia and the 2016 election season.
“The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations,” they wrote. “We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.”
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MSP: Salisbury Barrack DUI Arrests for 12/02/16 through 12/09/2016
Salisbury Barrack DUI Arrests for 12/02/16 through 12/09/2016
Christian C. Gwynn 22yoa Salisbury, MD
Patrice Inez Newbill 26yoa Hurlock, MD
Abigail Denise Hernandez 28yoa VA
Carlo Javier Gudiel Pacheco 28yoa Salisbury, MD
Mary Ann Elizabeth Patrick 31yoa Delmar, MD
Md. Member of Electoral College Demands Briefing on Russia
BALTIMORE (WJZ)– A Maryland member of the electoral college is among those demanding national intelligence briefings on Russian interference in the presidential election.
One of the roles of the electoral college is to make sure no foreign government has improper influence in the presidential election.
A group of electors wants to know whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates and Russian interference in the election. Howard County Elector Courtney Watson is among them.
“And it’s not really a partisan issue, it’s an American issue and we want to make sure that we represent the people when we go in to vote as electors to make sure we’re fully informed,” said Watson.
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One of the roles of the electoral college is to make sure no foreign government has improper influence in the presidential election.
A group of electors wants to know whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates and Russian interference in the election. Howard County Elector Courtney Watson is among them.
“And it’s not really a partisan issue, it’s an American issue and we want to make sure that we represent the people when we go in to vote as electors to make sure we’re fully informed,” said Watson.
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East Coast fishermen file appeal over cost of government-required 'at-sea monitors'
SEABROOK, N.H. – David Goethel built his life off the profits of cod, trolling the waters of New England for 30 years netting the region's once-abundant signature fish.
"My slice of the American Dream was paid for from fishing," Goethel said from behind the wheel of his 44-foot fishing trawler on a windy Friday afternoon in December. "Cape Cod house, two cars, four college educations – it all came out of the fish hole in this boat."
But a controversial federal mandate is threatening to put him out of business, he claims.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, requires groundfishermen -- those who catch cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species -- to carry on board "at-sea monitors." The observers, hired by three for-profit companies, are third-party workers whose task it is to observe fishermen's compliance with federal regulations and ensure annual quotas are not exceeded.
The dispute lies in the cost of the monitors and who should pay for them: Fishermen are billed on average $700 a day when a regulator is present.
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"My slice of the American Dream was paid for from fishing," Goethel said from behind the wheel of his 44-foot fishing trawler on a windy Friday afternoon in December. "Cape Cod house, two cars, four college educations – it all came out of the fish hole in this boat."
But a controversial federal mandate is threatening to put him out of business, he claims.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, requires groundfishermen -- those who catch cod, haddock and other common bottom-dwelling species -- to carry on board "at-sea monitors." The observers, hired by three for-profit companies, are third-party workers whose task it is to observe fishermen's compliance with federal regulations and ensure annual quotas are not exceeded.
The dispute lies in the cost of the monitors and who should pay for them: Fishermen are billed on average $700 a day when a regulator is present.
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Anti-Christian Group Upset at Air Force Football Coach Tweeting Bible Verses
An anti-Christian group has criticized a recent decision by the Air Force Academy not to punish an assistant football coach for posting Bible verses on Twitter, a report says.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) had demanded that the Air Force sanction tight ends coach Steed Lobotzke for sharing Bible verses on his Twitter account. The group’s representative, Mikey Weinstein, called the tweets “Christian evangelizing via twitter” which he claims “blatantly” defies Air Force regulations, according to The Gazette.
On multiple occasions Coach Lobotzke tweeted out verses from the Christian Bible. On his Twitter landing page Lobotzke describes himself as a “follower of Christ, family man and football coach,” and notes that “Tweets are my own views.”
More here
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) had demanded that the Air Force sanction tight ends coach Steed Lobotzke for sharing Bible verses on his Twitter account. The group’s representative, Mikey Weinstein, called the tweets “Christian evangelizing via twitter” which he claims “blatantly” defies Air Force regulations, according to The Gazette.
On multiple occasions Coach Lobotzke tweeted out verses from the Christian Bible. On his Twitter landing page Lobotzke describes himself as a “follower of Christ, family man and football coach,” and notes that “Tweets are my own views.”
More here
Trump trashes CIA probe determining Russia worked to get him elected
The Trump transition team rebuffed reports Friday evening of a CIA investigation that determined Russian government operatives worked to tilt the 2016 presidential election in President-elect Trump's favor, saying it's "now time to move on."
"These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," Trump's team said in a statement. "The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"
U.S. officials briefed on a secret investigation said individuals with ties to the Russian government were involved in disseminating hacked emails from Democratic officials to the likes of WikiLeaks during the campaign season, according to reports. The motive, they said, was not simply to damage trust in the U.S. electoral system, but was specifically tailored to help Trump defeat his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.
"It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia's goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected," a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators told the Washington Post. "That's the consensus view."
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"These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," Trump's team said in a statement. "The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"
U.S. officials briefed on a secret investigation said individuals with ties to the Russian government were involved in disseminating hacked emails from Democratic officials to the likes of WikiLeaks during the campaign season, according to reports. The motive, they said, was not simply to damage trust in the U.S. electoral system, but was specifically tailored to help Trump defeat his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.
"It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia's goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected," a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators told the Washington Post. "That's the consensus view."
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Police: Baltimore hits 300 homicides for the year
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police say the city has hit a grim benchmark, reaching 300 homicides so far this year.
The 300th homicide of 2016 was recorded Tuesday night. Police say two men were found with gunshot wounds in northwest Baltimore and both were taken to hospitals, where one of them later died.
Last year, the city hit the 300 mark on Nov. 14.
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The 300th homicide of 2016 was recorded Tuesday night. Police say two men were found with gunshot wounds in northwest Baltimore and both were taken to hospitals, where one of them later died.
Last year, the city hit the 300 mark on Nov. 14.
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Pension Ponzi Squared: New Jersey Wants To Sell Debt To Its Own Insolvent Funds
After struggling to raise debt from third parties to repair crumbling infrastructure, the state of New Jersey has come up with a "clever" approach to fundraising that entails selling debt to their own insolvent pension funds...something we've dubbed the "Pension Ponzi Squared." Of course, because when everybody else shuns your debt for being too risky who better to sell it to than yourself?
With $3.4 billion in annual benefits payments versus only $1.9 billion in contributions, funds like the New Jersey Public Employees' Retirement System already qualified as a plain vanilla ponzi scheme. But, using what little pension assets they have left (38% net funded) to buy debt in the entity that ultimately backstops their liabilities is a whole new level of madness. As we recall, the mortgage CDO^2 didn't work out so well back in 2008.
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With $3.4 billion in annual benefits payments versus only $1.9 billion in contributions, funds like the New Jersey Public Employees' Retirement System already qualified as a plain vanilla ponzi scheme. But, using what little pension assets they have left (38% net funded) to buy debt in the entity that ultimately backstops their liabilities is a whole new level of madness. As we recall, the mortgage CDO^2 didn't work out so well back in 2008.
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Florida Paid $26.2 Million For Dead People's Medicaid
A Florida agency paid an estimated $26.2 million in Medicaid benefits over a five-year period to dead people, a government watchdog reported Tuesday.
The Florida Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program continued paying people after they died because the agency didn’t update beneficiaries’ death dates or collaborate with other agencies that track deaths, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources Inspector General (IG) found.
“The state agency did not always stop making … payments after a beneficiary’s death, despite its efforts to identify and recover any overpayments,” the IG wrote.
The Florida agency consequently overpaid an estimated $26.2 million, nearly $15.4 million of which was paid with federal money, between July 2009 and November 2014.
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The Florida Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program continued paying people after they died because the agency didn’t update beneficiaries’ death dates or collaborate with other agencies that track deaths, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources Inspector General (IG) found.
“The state agency did not always stop making … payments after a beneficiary’s death, despite its efforts to identify and recover any overpayments,” the IG wrote.
The Florida agency consequently overpaid an estimated $26.2 million, nearly $15.4 million of which was paid with federal money, between July 2009 and November 2014.
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Reagan: Democrats Secretly Worked With Russia to Oppose My Dad
Did the Russians hack the 2016 election? The CIA, President Obama, and the media think so.
What did we learn from the hacked emails? Well, we learned that Hillary Clinton maintained "both a public and a private position" — one for the voters, one for Goldman Sachs. We learned that the DNC conspired against Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. We learned about the corrupt inner workings of the Clinton Foundation. And on and on.
In short, we learned the truth.
Sure, it’s offensive that a foreign power would try to manipulate an American election. But it’s not all that different from what President Obama did in 2015, sending $350,000 (U.S. taxpayer dollars!) to a group called OneVoice, supposedly to further peace efforts in Israel. The money was actually spent on a failed attempt to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Obama and OneVoice tried to smear Netanyahu with lies. By contrast, the hacked emails, though stolen, told the truth. Clearly, Democrats are not opposed to manipulating elections. They are only opposed to losing elections.
When my father, Ronald Reagan, was president, Democrat politicians secretly connived with the Soviets in failed attempts to manipulate elections and defeat Ronald Reagan. Former intelligence officer Herbert Romerstein dug through the Soviet archives after the fall of the USSR and uncovered secret documents written by KGB agent Victor Chebrikov.
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What did we learn from the hacked emails? Well, we learned that Hillary Clinton maintained "both a public and a private position" — one for the voters, one for Goldman Sachs. We learned that the DNC conspired against Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. We learned about the corrupt inner workings of the Clinton Foundation. And on and on.
In short, we learned the truth.
Sure, it’s offensive that a foreign power would try to manipulate an American election. But it’s not all that different from what President Obama did in 2015, sending $350,000 (U.S. taxpayer dollars!) to a group called OneVoice, supposedly to further peace efforts in Israel. The money was actually spent on a failed attempt to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Obama and OneVoice tried to smear Netanyahu with lies. By contrast, the hacked emails, though stolen, told the truth. Clearly, Democrats are not opposed to manipulating elections. They are only opposed to losing elections.
When my father, Ronald Reagan, was president, Democrat politicians secretly connived with the Soviets in failed attempts to manipulate elections and defeat Ronald Reagan. Former intelligence officer Herbert Romerstein dug through the Soviet archives after the fall of the USSR and uncovered secret documents written by KGB agent Victor Chebrikov.
More
Obama says racism in U.S. surfaces in ‘violent opposition’ to programs to help minorities
In an exit interview on race relations during his two terms, President Obama said racism is evident to him when Americans suddenly voice opposition to long-standing federal programs “as soon as African-Americans or Latinos are interested in availing themselves” of the benefits.
“I’m careful not to attribute any particular resistance or slight or opposition to race,” Mr. Obama said in the interview published Tuesday in The Atlantic.
After eight years in office, the nation’s first black president said he’s not sure how much of the opposition to him by Republicans can be attributed to racism, and how much of it was simply partisanship.
“I do remember watching Bill Clinton get impeached and Hillary Clinton being accused of killing Vince Foster,” he said. “And if you ask them, I’m sure they would say, ‘No, actually what you’re experiencing is not because you’re black, it’s because you’re a Democrat.’ ”
More here
“I’m careful not to attribute any particular resistance or slight or opposition to race,” Mr. Obama said in the interview published Tuesday in The Atlantic.
After eight years in office, the nation’s first black president said he’s not sure how much of the opposition to him by Republicans can be attributed to racism, and how much of it was simply partisanship.
“I do remember watching Bill Clinton get impeached and Hillary Clinton being accused of killing Vince Foster,” he said. “And if you ask them, I’m sure they would say, ‘No, actually what you’re experiencing is not because you’re black, it’s because you’re a Democrat.’ ”
More here
Florida man fakes Trump-inspired hate crime
Vincent Palmer, 27, of Volusia County, admitted to detectives that he wrote a racist note and taped it to his girlfriend’s mailbox before breaking her car window, dousing the back seat in gasoline, and lighting it on fire, Ormond Beach police said Sunday.
The note read, “I have wathed [sic] you for a long time and your n—r kids don’t belong,” The Ormond Beach Observer reported. The words “KKK” and “TRUMP” were also reportedly written on the note.
Ormond Beach police and firefighters responded to Staci Winn’s home on Biltmore Drive shortly Saturday morning after she discovered her 2015 Chevrolet Sonic was ablaze, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
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Governor Kasich VETOES Pro-Life 'Heartbeat Bill'
On Tuesday, so-called "Republican" Ohio Governor John Kasich vetoed pro-life legislation dubbed the "heartbeat bill," striking a massive blow to the pro-life movement, which he claims to support.
"With the Heartbeat Bill folded into House Bill 493, Kasich used his line-item veto to single out and remove the abortion language since it was accompanied by a $100,000 appropriation to create the Joint Legislative Committee on Adoption Promotion," reports The Columbus Dispatch.
Kasich did sign the other pro-life bill on his desk, which bans abortions after 20 weeks.
JUST IN: @JohnKasich vetoes Heartbeat Bill.
Kasich did sign the other pro-life bill on his desk, which bans abortions after 20 weeks.
Donald Trump promises to move US embassy to Jerusalem as Netanyahu praises ‘clear support’ for Israel
Moving the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will be a “big priority” for the incoming Trump administration, according to senior aide Kellyanne Conway.
The United Nations does not recognise the holy city as the capital of Israel, and many of its nations’ embassies remain in Tel Aviv. A formal acknowledgement of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital could spark diplomatic conflict, as it would appear that a country is taking sides in the ongoing dispute with Palestine over the rightful owner of the city.
Nevertheless, Mr Trump has made it clear that he wants to move the US embassy to Israel’s self-declared capital.
“That is a very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump,” Ms Conway told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “He made it pretty clear during the campaign … and as president-elect, I’ve heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.”
She continued: “It is something that our friend in Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate, and something that a lot of Jewish-Americans have expressed their preference for.
“It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the sound bites.”
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DecemberFest THIS Friday, December 16th!
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