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Saturday, March 09, 2019

TWO SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO KEEP MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM CASHING IN AS LOBBYISTS

  • Freshman Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Braun of Indiana are the cosponsors of the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act.
  • Scott and Braun want to put an end to lawmakers stepping into the so-called “revolving door of K Street” — using their connections to become well-heeled lobbyists once they are out of office.
  • Already, at least 15 members of the past Congress have made the move to lobbying firms.
Two Republican senators introduced legislation to ban members of Congress from lobbying Congress once they exit office, and although the lawmakers are “barking up the right tree,” their solution might not be realistic, a government transparency expert told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Braun of Indiana are the cosponsors of the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act.

“You generally do see more of a reform agenda from some of the newer members that come into the Senate or into the House. We’re hoping some of their policies actually gain traction and can be supported in a bipartisan way,” Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, told TheDCNF in a phone interview. “The public is tired of politics as usual.”


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Report: 54% of Aspiring Elementary Teachers Fail Licensure Exam on First Try


More than half of the nation’s prospective elementary school teachers fail their licensure exam on the first attempt, according to a report.

“[A]n alarming number of candidates fail their licensing tests, far surpassing the failure rate for other professions’ entry tests, bar exams, and boards,” says a new report released in February by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), which concerns itself primarily with “diversity goals.”

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Buchanan: Can Trump Stop The Invasion?

In its lede editorial Wednesday, The New York Times called upon Congress to amend the National Emergency Act to “erect a wall against any President, not just Mr. Trump, who insists on creating emergencies where none exist.”
Trump “took advantage” of a “loophole” in the NEA, said The Times, to declare “a crisis at the border, contrary to all evidence.”
The Times news desk, however, apparently failed to alert the editorial page on what the top story would be that day.
“Record Numbers Crossing to U.S., Deluging Agents” was the page-one headline. The Times quoted Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection:
“The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point. … This is … a border security and a humanitarian crisis.”
Reporter Caitlin Dickerson explained what is behind CPB’s alarm:
“The number of migrant families crossing the Southwest border has once again broken records, with unauthorized entries nearly double what they were a year ago.”
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ADAMS: Minnesota’s Finest Christian Hypocrites

The University of Northwest (UNW) in St. Paul claims to offer “the finest Christian education in Minnesota.” In keeping with their deep humility, the school can also boast that it offers the most blatant hypocrisy to be found among Christian universities in Minnesota. In fact, there are now good reasons to question whether UNW can be properly characterized as a university — much less a Christian university.

That indictment of UNW seems harsh. But it is well deserved considering their recent mistreatment of prominent pro-life speaker Star Parker.

Star, who truly is a star in the pro-life movement, was asked to come to UNW to give a speech defending the unborn. The group that invited them was Young Americans for Freedom (UNW YAF). The YAF kids worked for months to organize the event — only to receive a mendacious rebuke of their efforts on February 20th.

There were several disturbing elements of that rebuke I’ve highlighted below:

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FORMER DNC CHAIR SAYS PARTY MADE ‘MISTAKE’ BY BANNING FOX FROM TELEVISING DEMOCRATS’ DEBATES

Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Ed Rendell said the Democratic Party made a mistake by barring Fox News from televising 2020 debates.

“I think it was a mistake for the DNC to do what it did,” he said on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday night. “I know they were taken off a little bit by the New Yorker article, but as you said: If I was DNC chair, I would, and I think Tom Perez is doing a good job — but if I was DNC chair, Laura, I would say give me Brett Baier, Chris Wallace, and Juan Williams and you can have that Fox debate anywhere, anytime, any number of times. I’d be confident that it’d be fair.”

Fox News host Chris Wallace accused some Democrats of having “Fox derangement syndrome.”


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GMO salmon headed to US grocery stores

Genetically modified salmon will soon hit dinner plates.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it would be allowing the genetically modified, known as AquAdvantage salmon, to be imported to the U.S., lifting a ban that has been in place since 2016.

Manufacturer AquaBounty Technologies raises the fish using a growth hormone, and it reportedly grows almost twice as fast as traditional salmon despite not needing to eat as much. All the fish it grows are female and therefore cannot breed with each other.

The FDA concluded in 2015 that the genetically modified salmon was "safe to eat," and that the genetic engineering methods were safe for the fish, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.

Despite the approval, the fish weren't allowed to come to market for a few years because Congress asked the FDA to hold off until regulators set rules about how the food should be labeled. Last year, the Department of Agriculture stipulated that all bioengineered food has to be labeled as such, resolving the issue for salmon and allowing the FDA to approve it in the action announced Friday.

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SNOPES GETS THE FACTS WRONG ON OCASIO-CORTEZ CAMPAIGN FINANCE SCANDALS

The left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes butchered facts about a PAC controlled by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her top aide in a story published Thursday.

Ocasio-Cortez and Saikat Chakrabarti, her former campaign chair and current chief of staff, obtained majority control of Justice Democrats in December 2017. The PAC, which had raised more than $1.8 million before her June 2018 primary, has been widely credited with manufacturing her upset victory over incumbent Democrat Joe Crowley.

Snopes writer Dan MacGuill falsely claimed in his story that Chakrabarti, who served as executive director of Justice Democrats, “was not an official agent or officer” of the PAC. He also failed to acknowledge the fact that Chakrabarti and Ocasio-Cortez are members of the PAC’s three-member board of directors, according to archived versions of the Justice Democrats website and corporate filings obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Fed-up Republican releases transcript of Bruce Ohr’s private testimony to House task force

The transcript from a private interview with Bruce Ohr, the Justice Department official who acted as an unofficial back channel between the FBI and the author of the so-called Trump dossier, released in surprise fashion on Friday.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, took to the House floor and asked that the unredacted transcript from August 2018 be put on the record.

"Mr. Speaker, last Congress, the Judiciary Committee interviewed multiple DOJ and FBI officials about their actions regarding the 2016 elections," Collins said.

"People anticipate the Mueller report soon. Will he find any so-called 'collusion'? Or was the only 'collusion' among agency personnel who hated the president and started this investigation?" he added. "Our interview transcripts were pertinent to a congressional investigation, but the 115th Congress ended, the investigation was closed, and copies were shared with certain members of Congress."

Excerpts of Ohr's testimony before a joint task force of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees have already been leaked to the media. After the roughly eight-hour interview, Republican lawmakers said Ohr's testimony conflicted with some of the past statements they've heard from others as they investigate how the government decided to investigate President Trump's 2016 campaign.

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Greenpeace Founder: Global Warming Hoax Pushed by Corrupt Scientists ‘Hooked on Government Grants’

Greenpeace co-founder and former president of Greenpeace Canada Patrick Moore described the cynical and corrupt machinations fueling the narrative of anthropocentric global warming and “climate change” in a Wednesday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with hosts Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak.

Moore explained how fear and guilt are leveraged by proponents of climate change:
Fear has been used all through history to gain control of people’s minds and wallets and all else, and the climate catastrophe is strictly a fear campaign — well, fear and guilt — you’re afraid you’re killing your children because you’re driving them in your SUV and emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and you feel guilty for doing that. There’s no stronger motivation than those two.

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TRUMP HUD OFFICIAL PROVIDES ‘AUDIO PROOF’ SHOWING CNN IS ‘FAKE NEWS’

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official Lynne Patton accused CNN of lying on Thursday night and posted audio tape on Friday she says proves it.

CNN posted a tweet Thursday saying Patton “has the president’s blessing to follow in his footsteps as a reality TV star, even as she serves as a high-ranking federal housing official.”

The tweet included a link to a story detailing Patton’s potential appearance on a “still-developing show about black Republicans.”

Patton herself, from her personal Twitter account, responded directly to CNN’s tweet within an hour of its posting.


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Rep.Kustoff: Jewish Democrats in the House ‘Are All Upset About’ Failure to Condemn Omar

Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) told Breitbart News that Jewish Democrat representatives in Congress are “all upset” about their party’s refusal to condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) framing of congressional support for Israel as procured by Jewish interests.

Kustoff joined Thursday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily to discuss Friday’s passage of a House resolution condemning “hateful expressions of intolerance” including “anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry.”

“I’m one of two Jewish Republicans(in the House of Representatives,” said Kustoff. “There are 20-something members of Congress who are Jewish. Between 20 and 30. They’re all upset about this, and they should be. And they wanted something stronger. You’re seeing deep divisions among the Democrats in terms of how this should be handled.”

Kustoff criticized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) refusal to characterize Omar’s statements as anti-Semitic. He said, “For the Speaker of the House — I think it was yesterday in her press conference — to say that [Ilhan Omar’s] remarks are not anti-Semitic, that’s just wrong.”

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Seaside Christian Academy Announces Expansion to Include Instruction Pre-K3 through Grade 12

Seaside Christian Academy Announces Expansion to Include Instruction Pre-K3 through Grade 12

2019-2020 Enrollment Now Open

Seaside Christian Academy (SCA) is pleased to announce an expansion of their academic program to include high school in addition to its highly successful Pre-K3 through 8th grade classes. SCA has become known on the Eastern Shore for its high academic quality and Christ-centered, traditional approach to education where church, home and school work together.

Seaside’s small class sizes, dedicated staff and caring, Christian environment provide opportunities for students to grow and be challenged.

“We are excited to be implementing a long-term vision of partnering with Liberty University Online Academy to offer an exceptional blended learning experience,” says Julie DuChene, principal.

Ninth and tenth grade students will enjoy blended learning with a combination of classes taught in a traditional classroom and online courses in the school’s new tech lounge. In addition, eleventh and twelfth grade students will have the option of online dual enrollment courses from Liberty University. A variety of diploma options will be available including: an accelerated track that allows a student to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree from Liberty University simultaneously, an 18-credit hour certificate program in addition to high school diploma, a la carte dual enrollment courses and an advanced high school diploma.

“We are pleased at the strong interest in SCA’s high school program and encourage parents interested in exploring enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year to schedule a tour,” adds DuChene. Contact SCA for additional details at: 410-213-9595 or email info@seasidechristian.com.

Omar Trashes Obama: ‘Hope and Change’ Was a Mirage, He ‘Had Really Bad Policies’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) trashed former President Barack Obama in a new profile of the freshman lawmaker, saying the "hope and change" he offered was a mirage and he was one of many predecessors to President Donald Trump to have "really bad policies."

Omar was the subject of a Politico story on her and fellow Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips (D., Minn.), who represents a neighboring district. The two are framed as symbolizing the colliding forces in the new Democratic House majority, with Omar representing the far-left flank and Phillips the more center-left sensibilities that helped recapture suburban districts from Republicans in 2018.

Omar, a Somali-born refugee, was fed up with the Democratic establishment by the time she ran for office in 2016 for a seat in the Minnesota state house. She won and then easily captured a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, and she wasn't shy about telling Politico her objections to Obama-era policies, like detention centers for illegal immigrant children and the "droning of countries around the world:"

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Majority of House Democrats Vote to Let 16-Year-Olds Vote for President

A majority of House Democrats on Wednesday voted to lower the federal voting age from 18 to 16.

A number of high-profile Democrats voted in favor of the legislation, including California Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Maxine Waters, and Ted Lieu; Democrat presidential candidate and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib; and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Democrat Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced the legislation Tuesday evening as an amendment to House Democrats’ For the People Act, (HR-1), which would 'overhaul' federal election laws.

Pressley’s amendment fell short at 126-305, but House Democrats voted 125-108 in favor of Pressley’s amendment, with two members voting present and three members not voting.

House Republicans voted against the amendment 197-1. Texas Rep. Michael Burgess was the only Republican to vote aye.

Pressley cited teen activists pushing for gun control as a reason to give 16-year-olds the right to vote, which she compared to having a driver’s license.

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Block Play Builds Math Skills, Boosts Complex Thinking In Preschoolers, Study Finds

Preparing preschoolers for kindergarten can be a source of fear and excitement among young parents. Many find themselves wondering: “Is my child ready?” New research shows that one brain-boosting building block to school readiness is semi-structured block play.

Researchers at Purdue University say that preschool children who spend time in semi-structured block play experience improvement in two important skills for their jump to kindergarten: mathematics and executive functioning.

“As an early childhood expert, I feel like I’m constantly being asked by parents and teachers, ‘What can I do with my child to support their school readiness skills?’” says Sara Schmitt, an assistant professor in the university’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, in a media release. “What I find myself saying a lot, among other things, is block play. But there’s actually not a lot of empirical evidence to support this statement, particularly with regard to mathematics and executive functioning development. That’s why I wanted to do this study: I wanted to understand if these suggestions I was making to parents and teachers were actually valid.”

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Jenny Beth Martin: Democrats’ HR-1 Should Be Called ‘The Lois Lerner Tribute Act’

Democrats once again control the House, Nancy Pelosi is once again Speaker, and I, once again, feel as if I’m living in George Orwell’s 1984, where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.

How else to explain my feelings over the “openness” and “transparency” that will be enhanced by passage of HR-1, the Democrats’ brazenly named “For the People Act,” which seeks to take legitimate, protected legislative speech and turn it into “political” speech subject to onerous and burdensome regulation?

Campaigns and PACs already must disclose every dollar raised and every dollar spent trying to influence the outcome of political campaigns. This “political” speech is already highly regulated. HR-1 is not going to make them disclose more, because they already disclose.

So, HR-1 is not going after “money in politics,” because we already disclose money in politics.

Instead, this bill is designed to intimidate, harass, and silence people for exercising their First Amendment rights on issues before the Congress. Exercising our First Amendment rights on issues is not – and should not be – considered political activity. That is free speech as defined in the First Amendment. It is speaking, assembling, and petitioning government for redress of grievances. That “legislative” speech, if you will, is protected and enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

I know firsthand why it must be protected, because of the IRS targeting of “tea party” and “patriots” groups that began in 2010.

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Pennsylvania official arrested in Detroit in hotel incident


PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner has been arrested and detained in Detroit.

KDKA has learned that Wagner was arrested and detained following an altercation with police.

No charges have been filed yet.

Wagner was attending a night at the symphony with her husband, Khari Mosley, on Tuesday.

After the concert, Wagner was arrested at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel during an altercation with hotel security and police.

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Chelsa Wagner: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify about WikiLeaks

Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who was convicted for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, was thrown in jail Friday for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating the group.

Manning was taken into custody on contempt charges following a brief hearing in which she informed Virginia federal Judge Claude Hilton that she had no intention of testifying.

Saying she objected to the secrecy behind grand jury proceedings, Manning told the judge she “will accept whatever you bring upon me.” She also said she told everything she knows to her court-martial.

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Clyburn Defends Omar: Her Pain ‘More Personal’ Than Descendants of Holocaust Victims

House Democratic Whip James Clyburn defended Rep. Ilhan Omar from charges of anti-Semitism Wednesday, arguing that critics ought to consider her personal experience as a refugee from Somalia.

In February, the Minnesota freshman Democrat was forced to apologize by House Democratic leadership after she tweeted that Republican support for Israel was "all about the Benjamins" from AIPAC. Omar apologized "unequivocally," writing that "Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

But Omar was back at it weeks later, saying she wanted "to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country," and that she "should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee."

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CBP Releases Fiscal Year 2019 Southwest Border Migration Stats


Agency Experiences Record Number of Apprehensions/Inadmissible Family Units

WASHINGTON— Tuesday, March 5, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released statistics on Southwest Border apprehensions for fiscal year 2019 which demonstrate a new and growing challenge on the Southwest Border.

Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) are crossing our borders in record numbers. This fiscal year to date, CBP has seen a more than 300 percent increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2018. Today, family units and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) make up 60 percent of apprehension that have occurred along the southwest border and are predominantly from Central America, namely Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Additionally, there have been 70 large groups of 100 or more individuals totaling 12,069 apprehensions, compared to what Border Patrol encountered in FY18, which was 13 large groups, and in FY17, which was only two.

“We are currently facing a humanitarian and national security crisis along our southwest border. The vast increases in families and children coming across our border, in larger groups and in more remote areas, presents a unique challenge to our operations and facilities, and those of our partners, including the NGOS who work to assist these individuals and families throughout their immigration proceedings,” said CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan. “This is why I am working with our government partners and have identified additional funding for humanitarian resources in the field, including expanded medical protocols, and the addition of a more appropriate central processing center to handle the increased volumes of family units and unaccompanied minors.”

In response to the vast increases of Family Units and Unaccompanied Children encountered along the Southwest Border, CBP has implemented a directive to increase medical support for migrants while in CBP custody. The Interim Medical Directive works to address emerging health concerns with an emphasis on treatment for juvenile detainees.

CBP will also expand contracted medical support in major “high-risk” locations at and between ports of entry along the SWB where we have seen or anticipate large numbers of FMUA and UAC. This contracted medical support includes medical assessments by certified medical professionals (usually Registered Nurses and Family Nurse Practitioners) and translation services.

In addition, CBP is standing up a Centralized Processing Center (CPC) in El Paso, Texas, to increase the care of and provision for UAC and FMUA in the temporary custody of CBP while awaiting disposition by ICE and/or placement with HHS.

To view Southwest Border Migration statistics, please visit www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration.

Large Groups of Aliens Encountered in Big Bend Sector

MARFA, Texas – Family unit aliens are crossing the southwest borders in record numbers. During this fiscal year 2019 through February, the United States Border Patrol (USBP) has apprehended 268,044 individuals, that is a 97% increase as compared to the same timeframe last fiscal year. Family units and unaccompanied alien children make up 60 percent of all apprehensions along the southwest border and are predominantly from Central America. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seen an increase of more than 300 percent in the number of family units apprehended when compared to last year.
Big Bend Sector enforcement.
Big Bend Sector enforcement.


Over the past few weeks, Border Patrol Agents from the Big Bend Sector have encountered an increased number of large groups (i.e., 20 to 50) of illegal aliens in the Big Bend National Park that are predominately family units and unaccompanied alien children from Guatemala. These individuals are crossing in very remote and potentially dangerous locations, which presents a unique challenge to operations, facilities and humanitarian efforts. “The smuggling organizations are selecting more dangerous and remote locations which challenges and strains our limited resources and places these groups in greater danger. Big Bend Sector agents are well-trained, experienced and compassionate law enforcement professionals.

"The health, safety and security of these family unit aliens and unaccompanied alien children are a top priority,” said Chief Patrol Agent Henry Rolon.  "The USBP works closely with our local hospitals and medical professionals to provide timely medical support and assessments to those in need with an emphasis on treatment for juvenile detainees."

Registration open for Junior Eastern Shore Golf League

Registration open for Junior Eastern Shore Golf League

SALISBURY, Md. – The Junior Eastern Shore Golf League is back for 2019, and registration is open now.

The six-week program, run by Wicomico County Recreation, Parks & Tourism, begins April 29. Participants will meet Mondays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. Boys and girls can participate in one of four age divisions: 8-9, 10-11, 12-14 and 15-18. Advanced players may play up a division.

The program will be held at different golf courses: Nutters Crossing Golf Club, Green Hill Country Club, Great Hope Golf Course, Elks Golf Club and other courses if necessary. Participants ages 8-11 will receive instruction on Mondays.

Registration is open through April 26 and is $50 per person plus fees per round of golf due at the course. Participants must provide their own equipment.

Registration is available at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center box office (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.) and online at www.WicomicoRecandParks.org. Contact Brian Workman at 410-548-4900 x105 orbworkman@wicomicocounty.org.

Trump: Democrats are the ‘Anti-Israel Party’ and ‘Anti-Jewish Party’

President Donald Trump criticized Democrats for failing to condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for anti-Semitic comments on Friday, calling them the “anti-Israel party.”

“They’ve become an anti-Israel party, they have become an anti-Jewish party, and that’s too bad,” Trump said about the Democrat party.

The president commented on the controversy as he left the White House to tour tornado damage in Alabama and Georgia.

Trump called the “anti-hate” resolution passed by the House “a disgrace” after critics described it as an attempt to mask Omar’s anti-Semitic comments.

“I thought that vote was a disgrace, and so does everybody else, if you get an honest answer from politicians, they thought it was a disgrace,” he said.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) described the vote in a statement on Thursday as “a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism.”

She was one of 23 Republican members to vote against it.

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'Political Correctness' Traps the Democrat Party

Some Democrats have had enough of the repeated anti-Semitism coming from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and intend to primary her out of office, several sources familiar with an effort to recruit a candidate to run against her tell Breitbart News.

Several Democrats, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Omar’s repeated anti-Semitic episodes as “the elephant in the room” distracting from what Democrats are trying to do in their first few months of a new House majority heading into the all-important 2020 presidential election. As such, these Democrats say, they are seeking out a primary challenger in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district to remove her from office in the 2020 congressional elections.

Those involved in doing the searching for a candidate expressed their ongoing agony as this week in particular has dragged out to the point where Democrats finally passed a resolution out of the House late Thursday condemning hatred and bigotry. But they have been criticized by many Republicans, and even some Democrat members of Congress, for not going far enough and being too appeasing to this rising anti-Semitic sentiment inside the Democrat Party as represented by Omar’s views.

“Republicans will never win this district,” one Democrat source familiar with the effort said, pointing to the fact that the district Omar represents is rated by the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index as a D+26 district–meaning it is heavily gerrymandered to favor Democrats by 26 percent over Republicans.

“Many Democrats simply are simply too afraid to say anything because Islamophobia has become the knee jerk reaction to anyone who dares criticize her,” a second Democrat told Breitbart News.

“To be labeled a racist or Islamophobe for simply calling out what we all know to be abhorrent, is not just a slippery slope, it’s deeply troubling. And it’s forcing allies out of the party. To say that Democrat leadership doesn’t know what to do would be an understatement. They are in a state of total paralysis. Ilhan rode into Congress with Ocasio-Cortez, and is, unfortunately, becoming more and more popular along with her.

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Special Prosecutor John Huber Has a Message For Americans: Bill Barr and I Will Hold Offenders Accountable and Advance the Rule of Law

Americans will soon find out if Attorney General Bill Barr has the mettle to pursue Obama’s corrupt FBI and DOJ officials who weaponized the intel agencies to target Donald Trump.

John Huber, the special prosecutor tapped by former AG Jeff Sessions to investigate FISA abuses by Obama’s DOJ/FBI, met with newly-confirmed Attorney General Bill Barr this week.

On Friday, Mr. Huber, a US Attorney from Utah, sent a message to Americans — he is committed to holding offenders accountable.

“US Attorneys thoroughly enjoyed our time with AG Barr this week. He is a solid, proven leader with a clear vision for the @DOJ. We will move forward with his priorities, hold offenders accountable, and advance the rule of law,” Huber said on Friday in a tweet.

Here’s what we know so far with the information that is publicly available: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee say John Huber still has not interviewed key witnesses and they want answers.

In October, Congressman Meadows and Jim Jordan said they wanted to haul John Huber in before Congress to testify because they had not received any updates on Huber’s investigation.

We will soon find out if Huber’s appointment was one big head fake by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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Ilhan Omar singled out in GOP resolution condemning anti-Semitism

Republicans are targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for her anti-Semitic remarks in a new resolution that names her specifically, after the House voted on a broad anti-hate bill that didn't name her.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and three other Republicans proposed the measure to condemn Omar for saying "Israel has hypnotized the world," and that people must recognize the "evil doings of Israel."

The resolution noted that Omar accused Jewish people of buying influence in Congress, by tweeting, "It's all about the Benjamins baby."

The resolution said even Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have condemned Omar. But it said Democrats put forward a broad resolution that never named her.

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Wicomico Public Safety Complex Eyed

SALISBURY – Plans to build a new public safety complex are well underway, according to a report from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office this week.

On Tuesday, Capt. Todd Richardson with the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office provided the Wicomico County Council with an update on plans to build a new public safety complex on a nine-acre property at the corner of Westwood Drive and Naylor Mill Road in Salisbury.

In late 2017, project consultants with Crosby & Associates began a feasibility study for a new public safety complex that would house both the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s emergency services department.

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David Duke Calls Democrat Ilhan Omar ‘Most Important Member of the US Congress’

David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and an open racist and anti-Semite, is publicly defending Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in the wake of the freshman Democrat’s series of antisemitic statements that have rankled the Democrat Party nationally.

Duke tweeted his praise of Omar on Thursday, calling her the “most important member of the US Congress” now that she has stood up to Democrat Party leadership after making anti-Semitic statements against Israel.

Duke tweets a link to his website where he says he discusses why he believes Omar is the “most important member of the US Congress” now in an hour-long radio segment. But during the overtly anti-Semitic hour-long segment, he does not specifically mention Omar–he just repeatedly bashes “Zionists,” rips the United States for having “unleashed Jewish power,” attacks “Jewish influence in government” and “Jewish elite control over media.”

Particularly relating to Omar, however, on the website posting it says regarding Duke and his colleague: “In particular, they heaped praise on Ilhan Omar (D-New Somalia).."

Duke has been a lightning rod in American politics for years, and in recent years the media and left have gone after Republicans–particularly President Trump–for having been praised by him. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the media demanded repeatedly that Trump disavow Duke.

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[And this has yet to be denounced or rejected by the media or by any Democrat. --Editor]

Retail Apocalypse Continues: Dollar Tree Closing Up To 390 Stores

The retail apocalypse is now in full swing. As consumers drift toward the ease of online shopping, brick and mortar stores begin to close up. Dollar Tree is the latest in a wave of companies announcing that they will be closing several hundred stores in the following months.

Dollar Tree reported a $2.3 billion loss, which has propelled the company to announce store closures and renovations. Dollar Tree plans to close 390 Family Dollar stores this year while renovating 1,000 other locations.

“We are confident we are taking the appropriate steps to reposition our Family Dollar brand for increasing profitability as business initiatives gain traction in the back half of fiscal 2019,” CEO Gary Philbin said in announcing the results according to CNBC.
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Blow to Mueller as Paul Manafort gets under four years in prison

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on Thursday for concealing millions of dollars he earned overseas.

The surprisingly light sentence of 47 months is likely to see Manafort, who is 69 years old, released in about three years or less, as it includes nine months of time served. It fell well short of federal sentencing guidelines.

It represented an implicit rebuke to special counsel Robert Mueller, whose prosecutors had called for 19 to 24 years — a range that would probably have led to the long-time GOP consultant dying in jail. Manafort does, however, still face sentencing in a separate case.

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Many who experience trauma of war become increasingly religious

It's been said that there are no atheists in foxholes, but a new study led by Joseph Henrich has shown that the impact of war on religion extends well beyond the front lines.

The chair of the Department of Human and Evolutionary Biology, Henrich and a team of international collaborators gathered survey data from several locations around the globe and found that, following the trauma of seeing a friend or loved one killed or injured during conflict, many became more religious. The study is described in a Jan. 28 paper published in Nature Human Behavior.

"I became interested in this question through my prior work, which has been focused on how religious beliefs can cause people to cooperate more in a group," Henrich said. "The idea is that if you can expand the sphere of cooperation, then that group can more successfully compete against others, sometimes even through violent conflict.

"But this study suggests that this could lead to a vicious circle," Henrich continued. "If you receive a war shock and become very religious, and then begin to outcompete other groups through conflict, that could result in a runaway effect."

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County Library Holding ‘Choose Civility’ Campaign

SNOW HILL – Following the success of last year’s campaign, the Worcester County Library will kick off a months-long initiative focused on civility.

Beginning this month, the Worcester County Library will launch a “Choose Civility” campaign to promote kindness, respect and civil discourse in the community. First presented by Howard County Public Library in 2007, the Choose Civility movement has since spread nationwide.

Library Director Jennifer Ranck said the Worcester County Library introduced the civility campaign last year.

“We had a great response and the staff really liked it,” she said. “We were fortunate enough to receive another grant to continue this initiative.”

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Bill Clinton celebrates Mike Miller


When the secretary of the Senate told me in January that ex-senator P.J. Hogan was trying to get former President Bill Clinton to be the speaker for the annual dinner of Senates Past, we both agreed that was highly unlikely.

But lo and behold, the surprise guest keynote speaker for the annual reunion of former senators Thursday night was none other than the 42nd president of the United States.

“I would have walked here from New York” to honor Senate President Mike Miller, Clinton told the overflow crowd in a building named for the longest serving Senate president in Maryland and U.S. history.

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Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts following Chicago attack allegations

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was indicted Friday on 16 felony counts following his Chicago attack allegations.

Following the news, attorney Mark Geragos — who is representing Smollett — said in a statement obtained by Fox News that "the fact of an indictment was not unexpected."

"We knew that there is no way they would expose their evidence to a public airing and subject their witnesses to cross-examination," the statement continued. "What is unexpected, however, is the prosecutorial overkill in charging 16 separate counts against Jussie.


https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jussie-smollett-indicted-on-16-felony-counts-following-chicago-attack-allegations

Rio Grande Valley Sector Apprehends Nearly 7,000 Illegal Aliens in One Week


EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector continues to apprehend large numbers of illegal aliens, averaging nearly 1000 per day.

RGV Sector leads the nation in illegal alien apprehensions, the sector now accounts for nearly 50% of all arrest along the entire Southwest border.

Yesterday, RGV Sector agents arrested more than 1,300 subjects, which marks the second time in two weeks this number has been reached. A majority of these arrests are family units and unaccompanied children from Central and South America, which greatly impact the number of agents available to carry out the border security mission within the RGV Sector.

At the current rate, the Rio Grande Valley Sector is on pace to reach 240,000 apprehensions for this fiscal year.

Nancy Pelosi Just Showed She's A Helluva Weak Speaker Over Ilhan Omar's Anti-Semitism Fiasco

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has Democrats running for the Pepto-Bismol again. She once again peddled an anti-Semitic talking point, this time heaving insinuating that those who support Israel have dual loyalty (via Washington Examiner):

This isn’t the first time. Her tweet about AIPAC contributions and related donations are “all about the Benjamins,” a not so subtle swipe about Jewish money and political control. In 2012, she said that Israel was hypnotizing the world as well. That post led to a sit-down with local Minnesota Jewish leaders last year, but given her serial refusal to recognize that her views are bigoted, they’re reportedly not going to treat her with “kid gloves” anymore. The fallout from the dual loyalty remarks has embroiled the House Democratic leadership in another nasty bout of infighting. The pressure to put forward a resolution was met with some intense criticism from fellow Democrats, which erupted into an all-out brawl behind closed doors yesterday. Some Democrats are rightfully saying that they should vote on the resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Others found it redundant and wondered why Omar was being held to a different standard. This is the Democratic Party; everything is on a graduated scale. And obviously, anti-Semitism isn’t a serious problem compared to Trump being in the White House. The Left has long been infested with those who hate Israel and Jewish people, so this isn’t shocking.

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MDOT MVA BRANCH CLOSURES - SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019

MDOT MVA is committed to providing premier customer service to all Maryland residents and we are continually working to make enhancements to improve the quality of service we provide. In that spirit, we would like to share with you that all MDOT MVA Branch Offices and Vehicle Emissions Stations will be CLOSED on Saturday, March 23, 2019 as we make system enhancements to better serve you. The MDOT MVA Online Store and kiosks will also be unavailable from 9 p.m. on Friday, March 22, 2019 until 12 noon on Saturday, March 23, 2019.

MDOT MVA will provide information on its website and social media channels to confirm when online transaction services are available.

We will be happy to serve you on Monday, March 25, 2019 when the MDOT MVA Branch Offices and Vehicle Emissions Stations reopen for business. Thank you.

Special Prosecutor John Huber Has a Message For Americans: Bill Barr and I Will Hold Offenders Accountable and Advance the Rule of Law

Americans will soon find out if Attorney General Bill Barr has the mettle to pursue Obama’s corrupt FBI and DOJ officials who weaponized the intel agencies to target Donald Trump.

John Huber, the special prosecutor tapped by former AG Jeff Sessions to investigate FISA abuses by Obama’s DOJ/FBI, met with newly-confirmed Attorney General Bill Barr this week.

On Friday, Mr. Huber, a US Attorney from Utah, sent a message to Americans — he is committed to holding offenders accountable.

“US Attorneys thoroughly enjoyed our time with AG Barr this week. He is a solid, proven leader with a clear vision for the @DOJ. We will move forward with his priorities, hold offenders accountable, and advance the rule of law,” Huber said on Friday in a tweet.

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When Insults Had Class

These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, Sir, " said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy "
-Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
- Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
-Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
-William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
-Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
-Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
-Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one."
-George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
-Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."
-Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
- Paul Keating

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
-Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
-Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
-Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
-Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination."
-Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."

-Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I'm afraid this wasn't it."
-Groucho Marx

AMA Joins Planned Parenthood in Lawsuit Challenging 'Protect Life' Rule

The American Medical Association (AMA) forged its alliance further with the abortion industry Tuesday when it joined Planned Parenthood in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new rule that draws a clear line between abortion and family planning.

“Because of the administration’s overreach and interference in health care decision-making, physicians will be prohibited from having open, frank conversations with their patients about all their healthcare options,” said AMA president Barbara L. McAneny, M.D., using the language of the abortion industry in equating abortion with “health care.”

However, Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), said she found it “curious that the AMA seems to only be concerned about the patient-physician relationship and ‘unbiased’ advice with regard to recommending abortion.”

“What about Medicare and Medicaid, which punish physicians for prescribing allegedly ‘unnecessary’ or ‘inappropriate’ services, and constrain their work with impenetrable, ever-changing rules?”

Louisiana Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham, a practicing physician for more than 20 years, said in a statement sent to Breitbart News, “The AMA does not speak for all doctors – and certainly not me – because we value saving lives, not killing babies.”

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BREAKING: Jussie Smollett Hit With Additional 16-Count Indictment From Grand Jury

The trouble is not yet over for "Empire" star Jussie Smollett, despite being out on bond on a single count of filing a false police report with the Chicago Police Department.

Friday afternoon, prosecutors announced that a Cook County grand jury finally wrapped up its investigation into Smollett's alleged "hate crime" hoax, and returned a 16-count indictment against the actor in connection with the January 29th incident, in which Smollett claimed he was approached and beaten by two Trump supporters.

CBS Chicago reports that the "jury returned 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct against the actor for allegedly staging a hate crime attack." The grand jury also reportedly accused Smollett of falsifying a crime.

Local news source, CWB Chicago, also says that the "grand jury's true bill states that Smollett lied about the attack to two separate police officers -- the beat cop who took his initial report and a detective who conducted a follow-up interview the same day."

These charges are in addition to the "felony disorderly conduct -- false report" Smollett was hit with last month.

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Holder says next Dem president should consider packing courts

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the next Democratic president should considering packing the Supreme Court by adding additional seats.

Holder made the comment during a discussion at Yale Law National Security Group, a spokesperson for Holder confirmed to The Hill.

“In response to a question, Attorney General Holder said that given the unfairness, unprecedented obstruction, and disregard of historical precedent by [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans, when Democrats retake the majority they should consider expanding the Supreme Court to restore adherence to previously accepted norms for judicial nominations,” said Patrick Rodenbush, spokesperson for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder heads.

Holder, who served under former President Obama, had been considering a 2020 presidential run, but this week officially announced he would not.

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