[Townhall] Fox News anchor Bret Baier (a colleague with whom I'm friendly) conducted a tour de force interview with fired FBI Director James Comey on Special Report last night, grilling Comey at length about a series of decisions and statements he made in connection to the Clinton email and Russia collusion investigations. Full video is available here and here. There was an enormous amount of substance tackled during the discussion, but a few exchanges jump out at me. (1) One back-and-forth was so striking that I tweeted about it during the program:
"What do you mean?" asks an incredulous Baier when Comey says he can't say for sure that the DNC and Clinton campaign funded the salacious dossier. Comey clarifies that he's only heard media reports to that effect, but can't be certain they're true. How is that possible? First of all, the provenance of that file, and who paid for it, has been an established fact for months. Comey was in an unique position to know basically everything about the dossier, upon which he at least partially relied (his answer on this point struck me as slippery and conflicts with other information) to secure surveillance on a former Trump campaign associate. He claims he knew it was furnished by people opposed to Donald Trump, but never knew their specific identities. Really? Either that's false or he was strangely and perhaps deliberately under-informed about key details behind a crucial oppo-research file that he exploited to achieve important investigative ends. As for his assertion that Steele's anti-Trump work was originally paid for by Republicans, this is a Democratic talking point that has long been debunked, as Baier notes. Conservative figures did employ Fusion GPS for a time to gather research on Trump, but they did not fund Steele or his dossier. As Byron York says, "given its importance in Trump-Russia probe and his own relationship with the president, James Comey's ignorance of some basic facts about the dossier is stunning."
#1
Upon reflection, I suspect it would be naive to assume Comey didn't have Bret's questions in hand well prior to the interview. Bret's questions were well rehearsed. I suspect Comey's answers were as well, or am I putting the man in....a bad light ?
Good news from my AO is that the Oklahoma state house passed a Constitutional Carry law, something I never though I would see. However, it still has to go through the senate and then to Governor Mary Fallin to be signed.
Oklahoma could become the 14th state for permitless carry, something that in itself defeats Heller and the notion that a permit must be obtained to carry a firearm.
Oklahoma would join that august group which includes Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho (residents only), Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota (residents only; concealed carry only), Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming (residents only).
And the press ain't helping: they never do, by demonstrating what a great idea it is to seize guns. My reply is wait until the state drags your happy ass into court and takes something from you based on a vote about that you might do.
Loads.
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
Pistol ammunition prices were mostly steady. Rifle ammunition prices were mostly steady.
Prices for used pistols were higher. Prices for used rifles were mostly higher.
New Lows:
None
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Silver Bear, FMJ, Steel Casing, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: East Carlina Trading, Own brand, FMJ, Brass Casing, Reloads, .20 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, Reloads .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: East Carolina Trading, FP, Brass Casing, Reloads, .18 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (9 weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Extreme Reloading, Own Brand, RN, Brass Casing, Reloads .14 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Wideners, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, Reloads .14 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (3Q, 2017)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Gun Buyer, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 500 rounds: Wholesale Hunter, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .22 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (8 Weeks))
.38 Special, 158 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammomen, Magtech, RNL, Brass Casing, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 500 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Prvi Patizan, RNL, Brass Casing, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2017)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Able's, Wolf WPA, FMJ, Steel Casing, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .20 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .32 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .32 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
7.62x39mm AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Wolf WPA, FMJ, Steel Casing, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: True Shot Gun Club, Wolf WPA, Steel Casing, FMJ, .19 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
.30-06 Springfield 145 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Outdoor Limited, Wolf WPA, Steel Casing, FMJ, .54 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: United Nations Ammo, Wolf WPA, Steel Casing, FMJ, .53 per round (From Last week: Unchanged (4Q, 2017))
.300 Winchester Magnum 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Prvi Partizan, Brass Casing, SP, .81 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Target Sports USA, Prvi Partizan, Brass Casing, SP, .85 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks))
.338 Lapua Magnum 250 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Prvi Partizan, FMJ, Brass Casing, 2.50 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 200 rounds: Cabelas, Prvi Partizan, FMJ, Brass Casing, 2.80 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (1Q, 2018)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammo King, Aguila, RNL, Brass Casing, .04 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammomen, Remington, RNL, Brass Casing, .04 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
[Dhaka Tribune] For some time now, Bangladesh has been pressing Pakistain to apologize for the genocide of the Bangali population in 1971. The occupation army showed no compunction in butchering an estimated three million of their (mostly unarmed) fellow citizens over a nine-month period to quell a liberation struggle in its then eastern wing.
In reply, Pakistain has urged Bangladesh to forget the unfortunate incidents of the past and move on to a new, better relationship. Well short of an apology, its utterly inadequate response glosses over what remains the most shameful blot in Pakistain’s less-than-stellar history.
[Townhall] Even as a steadfast critic of the UK's socialistic healthcare system, I'll happily admit to being a full-blown Anglophile. I adore our beloved cousins and close allies across the pond. I enjoy visiting the United Kingdom, from London to Birmingham to Edinburgh. I believe the "special relationship" between our two countries is a cornerstone of global security. I'm an avid consumer of British television shows, from the Bake Off to Broadchurch. And above all, I love the warm, clever, welcoming British people. Even their food has improved. So it genuinely pains me to be pondering this question over the last few days: Is Britain still a free country that values Western democratic values? Chief among those core principles are the protection of innocent human life, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and free citizens' ability to go about their daily lives without undue or heavy-handed interference from government. While the Brits remain -- and should remain -- our close friends, and while our national interests still align in many ways, I cannot help but look on with sadness and occasional revulsion as the British State increasingly seems to regard and treat its citizens as subjects.
The people of the UK are still able to elect their leaders and impose dramatic changes, of course, so it would be a gross overstatement to liken their government (as some critics have) to a totalitarian regime. But a string of recent stories and incidents have raised serious fears in my mind about whether Great Britain is becoming something other than -- something less than -- a truly free country. I'll lay out a number of examples, and allow readers draw their own conclusions regarding that provocative proposition, starting with: (1) The appalling and inhumane treatment of Alfie Evans and his family.
Many Americans may recall the Charlie Gard case from 2017, wherein the parents of an ailing young boy were ordered by the government not to travel to the US to explore groundbreaking treatment for their son's extremely serious condition. After a protracted legal battle, the state prevailed. Young Charlie Gard was not permitted to leave Britain, care was ceased, and he died. A similar, grotesque saga featuring another terminally ill baby is playing out today:
#1
Alfie has died, once again proving how gloriously the NHS in England can kill small children. Since he was able to breathe without machines, they used the tried and true liverpool pathway and denied food and water.
I guess it's too much to hope for that the judges involved get hacked to death by jihadi's for denying the parents the ability to seek alternative care.
I have a kid and these things hit pretty hard. Plus, being descended from Appalachian mountain folk tends to make me...well, few people hold a grudge the way we do.
#3
They are 'subjects'. Americans are citizens. There's a reason some gentlemen, who just a short time before were British subjects, wrote something referred to as the Bill of Rights.
#7
Just a terrible decision for humanity but logical for socialism.
Years ago a friend had a son with a life ending heart defect. They were giving the option of letting their son die with no intervention or try and get a few weeks of life. They knew their son would die but by intervening maybe the next kid would get 3 months. Let the parents decide.
#8
I would say this was one of Sarah Palin's death panels at work, but it's really more like a firing squad. And hat's off to the head of the Church of England, you chickenshit heathen.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/28/2018 13:42 Comments ||
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#9
Scumbag move by a third world shithole. Ironic that we saved them from the Nazis only to have them become Nazis.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
04/28/2018 15:28 Comments ||
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#10
No, they are not a free country. Haven't been in decades now. The UK has pretty much always been a police state, abet a polite and often ironic one. They are not, and have never been, a political model that should be emulated. (Note: I too am an Anglophile. Anglican educated, and member of the Anglican Communion. Love the people and their culture, despise their government.)
#11
They knew their son would die but by intervening maybe the next kid would get 3 months.
It depends on whether one’s goal is to advance scientific knowledge in order to more effectively treat patients in the future, or to reduce the already overwhelming burden on the entirety of the medical health care system.
#12
1) their food was fine. To the extent they imported exotic flavors, they didn't need to import exotic populations and exotic diseases, too.
2) Of course they're not free. They can't get medical care without their masters' approval, they're not permitted to defend themselves, and they're not allowed to speak a single negative word about Islam.
3) They could be free again. Even with the monarchy -- there was a time when Britons were EXPECTED to be able to defend themselves, could get any medical care they could find, and could even criticize other religions. They just have to throw out the government that puts pedophiles in charge of watching over the well-being of abused children...
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/28/2018 18:29 Comments ||
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#13
We rely on UK media for real news. The only good thing about an otherwise socialist, soon to be sharia island, to offset a socialist US media of a soon to be a socialist plantation nation.
[Freebeacon] Almost four-and-a-half million SNAP recipients would go to work under reforms currently making their way through Congress, estimates based on data from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) show.
Proposed work requirements would cover about 12 million people according to FGA's data. There are approximately seven-and-a-half million SNAP recipients already working, meaning at least an additional four-and-a-half million who currently do not work would find themselves responsible for working, finding work, or taking advantage of federally funded education and training programs.
FGA's own estimates, offered to the Free Beacon, in fact peg the number higher, adding 7.8 million people to the workforce with new work requirements. This discrepancy is due to FGA's finding that not all able-bodied individuals enrolled in SNAP and working would be subject to the new work requirements. FGA's estimate deviates from the one given to the Free Beacon by experts on the House agriculture committee, who pinned the final total at between 5.5 and six million people.
These work requirements are part of a major overhaul of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program‐often referred to as "food stamps"‐included in the most recent House agricultural bill.
Under current law, only a restricted group of SNAP recipients, about 8.8 percent, are expected to actively work or look for work. Under the proposed revision, any individual who is a) between the ages of 18 and 59, b) neither mentally nor physically disabled, and c) is not responsible for a child age six or under, would be obligated to spend 20 hours a week working, seeking work, or training.
#2
Could be some very oppressed English speaking farmers over in Africa that we could lend a hand to. Very little mention made of them in the MSM of course.
[WSJ] President Trump vociferously protests his innocence as Robert Mueller finishes the first year of his Russia investigation. Still, the endless Tweet bleats of "PHONY" and "WITCH HUNT" are doing little to help his cause.
The question is why this high-energy president seems to have fallen for the media claim that his only proactive course is to fire Mr. Mueller. It isn’t. There are two very bold actions the Trump White House could take to reset the Russia dynamic. Both would aid Mr. Trump’s presidency and serve the executive branch and the public in the longer term.
The first is an abrupt overhaul of the president’s legal team and strategy. Mr. Trump has talented lawyers, but not ones skilled at confronting the threat at hand. They continue to fret over his personal liability, when the real threat is to the Constitution‐to this presidency and every future one. Mr. Mueller is by all accounts now focused on obstruction of justice. Mr. Trump needs constitutional powerhouses who can swiftly take that issue off the table.
Continued on Page 49
#1
He needs a team that immediately goes to federal court to obtain a declaratory judgment that presidents cannot obstruct justice while exercising core powers.
Good luck with that. SO many recent court judgments try to deny obvious core powers to this president on stupid pretexts. They are part of the problem.
[HuffPoo] Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation Wednesday that would require every U.S. post office to provide basic banking services, an ambitious step aimed at improving the lives of Americans with limited financial resources. The gov't can go a long way to "improving my life" by simply staying out of it !
The bill brings to Congress for the first time a policy idea that has already won the support of liberal economists and anti-poverty activists: Turning the nation’s sprawling network of U.S. Postal Service facilities into places where working-class and low-income Americans who lack adequate access to commercial banking can obtain low-cost, short-term loans. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have both spoken out in favor of postal banking, but Gillibrand is the first to introduce legislation mandating it.
The central goal of the bill is to replace risky financial products like payday loans, which can trap borrowers in prolonged cycles of debt, with regulated alternatives.
"This is a solution to take on payday lenders, to take on the problems that the unbanked have all across the country. It’s a solution whose time has come," Gillibrand said in an interview with HuffPost.
To hear Gillibrand and other postal banking proponents tell it, the Postal Service and underbanked Americans are the perfect complements.
The postal system’s 30,000 locations touch every community. A majority ― 59 percent ― are in so-called banking deserts, or zip codes that have either no bank branches or just one. Government banking? Now why didn't I think of that? What could possibly go wrong ?
Launching a postal banking system would require startup funding that could either be obtained through a loan from the treasury or a congressional appropriation. Gillibrand’s staff plans to seek an estimate of the cost from the Congressional Budget Office. "Requires start-up funding"..... Absolutely shocking !
A postal banking system could be a major boon to the financially strained Postal Service. If even 10 percent of the money Americans currently spend on interest and fees for risky financial products went toward postal banking loans that cost 90 percent less, the Postal Service would gain almost $9 billion in annual revenue, according to a 2014 study conducted by the Postal Service Inspector General.
"It is really an elegant solution," said Gillibrand, who emphasized that benefits to the postal system, though significant, were a secondary consideration. "You have a system that already works. And you have the ability to let the unbanked have banking in a way that’s affordable." "Elegant solution".... that would be email and on-line bill payments vs cards and letters. You familiar with electronic mail Kriston? Tell me, how many letters, birthday cards or Christmas greeting cards did you get last year ?
#1
Failing Postal Service made even larger? The 'company store' solution. Gov't milk, bread and bologna? Someone please tell me, WTF is wrong with these people in Washington ?
Yea, we used to sell postage stamps, but now we sell lotto cards, beer, and weed. Have you been waited on ?
They've got it arse backwards per usual. Put the Post Office back in the corner of an existing store like it was in the 1930's through the 1950's. Walmart and Target would probably provide rent-free space just to facilitate the buyer traffic.
As the USPS entitlement employees retire and die off, replace them with Walmart employees. They handle your prescriptions and drugs, why can't they handle the mail ?
Well, if you look on it as a corporation, yes. If you look at it as a Constitutional mandate (Art.1, Sec 8), its working as intended. Banking was never its mandate.
You notice she's sticking USPS with it. Banking was/is a Treasury function. See Alexander Hamilton and the First Bank of the United States. Hamilton wasn't a Marxists. If we're going to bail banks out, better it would be the government's bank, not money institutions which are part time money laundering schemes for 'insurance' purchases.
#6
Turning the nation’s sprawling network of U.S. Postal Service facilities into places where working-class and low-income Americans who lack adequate access to commercial banking can obtain low-cost, short-term loans.
So if you couldn't qualify for scams like Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or Sallie Mae never fear. Now the government is gonna turn your local postal workers into loan sharks.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/28/2018 12:56 Comments ||
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#7
Kirsten is from the government, and she's here to help us.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/28/2018 13:02 Comments ||
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#8
Get more into debt, the globalist will love it.
#10
So my Social Insecurity checks go to the Post Office, get deposited in the Post Office Bank then get garnered for fees, taxes and fines by the IRS?
#11
so-called banking deserts, or zip codes that have either no bank branches or just one
If the business opportunity made economic sense, there'd be more. Either the population is spread too thin, or doesn't feel underserved (in which case there'd likely be a co-op community bank or a credit union). Kirsten wants EBT/Banking/Voter Registration/Passport Service all in one spot
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2018 15:51 Comments ||
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#12
...The point is to have people putting more of their money into the government's hands. Because the government will borrow it for good purposes, and they PROMISE it'll be paid back.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/28/2018 16:04 Comments ||
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#13
Like Democrat's 401K IOU proposal to "invest" your money for you with a guaranteed payout. Ponzi Social Security II
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2018 16:27 Comments ||
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#14
First clean up the government corruption and then we can talk. We don't want to create another opportunity for corruption via the PO.
[Constitution] It’s hard to feel sorry for liberals when they reap the results of the policies they force on the rest of us.
A middle-aged woman, who campaigned against the deportation of migrants from her native Sweden, was raped by the very refugees she advocates for.
She met two Afghani teens on the street, outside a bar‐no slut-shaming, please‐voluntarily accompanied them to their taxpayer-funded pad. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Behind the European obsession with importing tall, dark, Middle-Eastern young men are hordes of horny, menopausal, Social Justice Warriors (SJW).
"Bohemian witches" or "tie-dye hags" is how one risqué, Swedish, YouTube commentator calls this degenerate distaff.
Never Trumpers were so clever two springs ago. Their plan was to sabotage Donald Trump's hard-won nomination. They would drink Chardonnay on Election Night, and re-take a shamed Republican Partythe next day.
Now they are struggling to have their Fake Conservative views published. And they blubber on and on about it.
Kevin D. Williamson whined in the Weekly Standard earlier about a magazine not publishing a column he had written -- for free.
Hilarious.
Dude, your work is less than worthless to them.
The latest is the story of layoffs at RedState because its owner isn't making money,
In the wake of Trump's Reagan-level success as president, columns promoting the Mueller witch hunt are not attracting legions of conservative readers. Son of a gun.
Erick Erickson from his spot in Never Trump exile, whined that the owner is picking and choosing who it wants to keep.
"My understanding from the writers is that there were two contracts, one more expensive than the other. Most of those on the expensive contracts were tossed, though some very good ones will stay. Of those under the cheaper contracts, it seems the dividing line was loyalty to the President. In fact, among those under the expensive contracts, I'm aware of some writers having near equal traffic generation, and those insufficiently loyal to the President were fired," Erickson wrote.
That's a nice liberal way of spinning non-conservative as "insufficiently loyal to the president."
Trump is the most conservative president since Reagan. If you are not on the Trump Train, then you are not conservative.
It is as simple as that.
I don't expect blind loyalty to the president, but I do expect support. He earned it.
Trump has appointed judges to the right of Bush choices, he has cut corporate taxes, he has cut personal taxes, he has rolled back onerous regulations, and he has de-nuked North Korea. Those are just the biggest of the big things that he has done as president.
I can get this sort of garbage from the Washington Post. She led with this: "It was supposed to be a fundraising speech. It spiraled into a seething pit of crazy. Probably the craziest of all the things President Trump boasted of in a 30-minute speech in Missouri on Wednesday was that he makes up facts. That’s right: He admitted that he makes up things and then presses those made-up facts as real."
In fact, in the next paragraph, Wright admitted she lifted this from the Post, "The Washington Post covered Trump’s tale of insisting that there was a trade deficit with Canada, while speaking to Justin Trudeau."
There is nothing wrong with using news stories to explain events. That is the mainstay of blogging.
And there is nothing wrong with knocking the president.
The problem is being fake about it and making false claims to being conservative.
Wright is not a conservative. She is a Jennifer Rubin wannabe.
I imagine there are others at the site who want an Ana Navarro gig on CNN as well. Now they can pursue those dreams, tiny as they are.
The owner of RedState is cutting personnel, which means bye-bye to its Counterfeit Conservatives.
Why isn't this a Trump Effect entry? Because RedState is repenting by driving the phonies from its site. The purification (some would say fumigation) protects RedState from the tragedy that befalls so many of those who foolishly feuded with The Donald.
Erickson is offering them space at his Fake Conservative site.
#4
About the main article... I gotta say, I can see what he's trying to say, but it can be used to describe the same technique the (ahem, Mr. Morini to the white courtesy phone, please) chickenforkers plan to use against us in the future.
The same corporations who demand net neutrality from everyone else are going to suddenly become all propertarian and shit. Or already have.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.