[PJMEDIA] After years of legal wrangling, a federal judge has given the FBI 60 days to cough up records of their communications with former British spy Remington Christopher Steele after he was terminated as a confidential human source.
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch first sought FBI documents on Steele in May of 2017 through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The court initially sided with the FBI but reopened the case in 2018 when evidence emerged that Steele was an FBI informant. Judicial Watch again asked the FBI to search for their Steele records, but the FBI continued to stonewall, declining to confirm or deny that they even existed.
Now, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper has put an end to the cat-and-mouse game.
"Those records might either bolster or weaken Steele’s credibility as a source," Judge Cooper said in his ruling. "That information, in turn, could provide a basis on which to evaluate the FBI’s performance of its law-enforcement duties, including its judgment in selecting and relying on confidential sources, especially in connection with such a politically sensitive subject."
Good. Anyway, they’ll more than make it up in private donations.
All $ which won't be going to Dem Candidates/PACs
[NATIONALREVIEW] Planned Parenthood ...has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act. It is sometimes described as the gynecololgical wing of the Democratic party. will refuse all Title X funding rather than comply with the Trump administration’s restrictions governing the discussion of child sacrifice abortion at clinics that participate in the program, the group announced Monday.
Planned Parenthood decided to abandon Title X, which accounts for roughly 15 percent of its overall federal funding each year, in response to a Trump administration rule barring clinics that participate in the program from referring women to child sacrifice abortion providers.
"When you have an unethical rule that will limit what providers can tell our patients, it becomes really important that we not agree to be in the program. But to be clear we’re doing that because we’re being forced out," the group said in a Monday statement. "Trump’s administration is trying to force us to keep information from our patients. The gag rule is unethical, dangerous, and we will not subject our patients to it."
Prior to its withdrawal, Planned Parenthood was receiving $60 million of the $286 million allocated annually through Title X. The organization will continue to receive roughly $500 million in annual Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government.
A federal appeals court ruled in July that the Trump administration’s rule change could take effect while a lawsuit, brought by Planned Parenthood and other groups in February, runs its course. The Department of Health and Human Services then gave Planned Parenthood until August 19 to submit a plan demonstrating that it would make "good faith efforts" to comply with the new rule. Planned Parenthood requested a stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week that would have delayed the rule-implementation deadline its legal challenge was resolved, but the court rejected that request.
[TheGuardian] Italian PM resigns with attack on 'opportunist' Salvini
Giuseppe Conte tells Italian Senate that far-right leader has triggered political crisis to serve his own interests.
Giuseppe Conte has resigned as Italy's prime minister after blasting Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, as an "opportunist" for triggering a government crisis that could have "serious consequences" for Italy.
It's probably all about the immigrants, the islamophilia, the closing of gates to the hordes of murderous vermin.
Conte said he would formally resign his mandate to the president, Sergio Mattarella, after the close of the debate in the Senate on Tuesday.
The outgoing prime minister said that Salvini, deputy prime minister and interior minister, had betrayed Italian citizens after pulling the plug on the party's tempestuous alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) earlier this month.
Salvini is eager to exploit the League's growing popularity by bringing about snap elections.
"He is only looking after his own interests and those of his party," said Conte. "Calling on voters every year is irresponsible," Conte said, adding that the prospect of Salvini as Italy's next prime minister was "worrying".
By resigning, Conte has avoided a no-confidence vote sought by the League.
The power to dissolve parliament and call new elections rests with Mattarella, who could also seek the formation of a new parliamentary majority or install a technical government. The timing of Salvini's maneuver is sensitive as Italy must present its draft budget for 2020 by the end of September.
Conte said Salvini's choices in recent weeks revealed "poor institutional sensitivity" and "a serious lack of constitutional culture". He also criticised the minister's use of religious symbols in his constant campaigning across Italy, describing it is as "offensive to the faithful" especially to other faiths.
Salvini kissed a rosary the use of the reprehensible religious symbols
and retaliated in his response to Conte in the Senate, saying "I'll ask the Madonna for protection for as long as I live".
"I'm the only humble witness," he added. "My country matters more to me than the comfy seats [of power]".
He said that Italy's most pressing problem is its low birth rate, adding that his potential government would be one that supports a €50bn budget for 2020 that focused "on lowering taxes, the right to life...growth, investment."
As prime minister, he would "focus on Italians, not on Merkel or Macron ... I am proud, free and nationalist. Italy will be about children, who have a mum and a dad." Italy looks to be in for a spin. Fingers crossed.
#1
The old joke: In Heaven, the Italians are the lovers. In Hell they are the mechanics.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 1:00 Comments ||
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#2
He said that Italy's most pressing problem is its low birth rate
Bingo. This guy has his head on straight. He and Orban and most of the localist/anti-globalist pols around the world recognize that the essence of civilization and of the strength and vitality of any nation-state is the family.
When people are refusing to have children, your body politic is diseased.
#4
He's just bitter that he lost. It never dawns on these people that some time, they lose.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
08/21/2019 4:39 Comments ||
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#5
Besoeker, it's an issue in absolute terms for any culture that can't replace its population (i.e. fertility rate below 1.7) and that has a life expectancy beyond a normal retirement age (i.e. less than 70). Both apply to Italy and most nations of Europe (also Japan).
#6
I certainly agree Lex. Important to recognize also (and I'm sure you do), it's a pharmacological based extinction which began back in the 1960's. One of our very own making.
[Huffpoo] Former Republican National Committee chair Michael "Employed by MSNBC"
Steele has warned voters what to expect from President Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2020 election.
And in light of Trump’s controversial claim that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are disloyal or uninformed, Steele predicted the president’s tactics and rhetoric will be "in stark contrast to what we saw in 2016."
"As abhorrent and disrespecting as it is, we need to just settle in because this is just the warmup of what will be a series of narratives created by the president around particular interest groups," Steele said on Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s "Hardball with Chris Matthews." "Interest groups"... are you referring to the tribal, identity politics folks ?
"When you sit down and you say this about the Jewish community, then what about African Americans, what about Hispanics, how they vote?" he added.
"This, I think, is something in stark contrast to what we saw in 2016. I think it’s going to be more personal, and a little bit more in-depth," Steele explained. "It’s going to cut a little closer to the bone for a lot of Americans when they have their religion shoved in their face and a litmus test of how they vote based on that religion."
#2
And in light of Trump’s controversial claim that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are disloyal or uninformed, Steele predicted the president’s tactics and rhetoric will be "in stark contrast to what we saw in 2016."
Any real difference than people born here who really aren't Americans?
#7
You mean things like "All veterans are mentally disturbed", or how about "All Trump voters are bible clinging, gun owning red necks", Or the easy standby of all Trump supporters are "Deplorables", and last but not least, "All Trump supports need to be put in concentration camps". You mean comments like these???? GFY
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/21/2019 16:22 Comments ||
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#14
Nancy is no true Catholic. I'm surprised her bishop didn't excommunicate her years ago.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2019 21:12 Comments ||
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#15
All bets are off. We live in a climate of fear.
The polls do not accurately capture what people think or feel, and will not predict what they will do next November.
In the current hysterical and vindictive climate few if any who live and works in a deep or even moderately blue environment will dare to voice any thought that could in any way be construed as possibly pro-Trump. That's risking retaliation (by the employer), ostracism (by colleagues), and denunciation (by a 1,000 little manic online jacobins).
What will happen is that the millions who have been silenced will speak loud and clear in the privacy of the voting booth next November.
[KUTV via Gateway Pundit] U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday that he believes climate change is happening and human activity is a significant contributor.
During a speech at the conservative Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City, the senator acknowledged that the position is rare among his fellow Republicans, but one that younger people seem to respond to more strongly than older conservatives.
"In some respects, (by speaking with newer conservatives), I’ll be able to make inroads with some of the young people coming along," he said...
...The U.S. should instead provide incentivizes for entrepreneurs to develop cleaner energy sources while also helping people who work in industries that could be left behind, such as coal mining, he added.
"I’m not willing to sit by if there are major sectors that are losers ... and watch people and communities suffer because of that change," he said.
Romney discussed the benefits of a carbon tax, a fee based on each ton of carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuels that some major oil companies have adopted.
#1
Mormons recently embraced the global warming message and many ray they are not going to have children to stop global warming. I heard a Christian preacher say the Mormons are a cult and in time you will see why. How prophetic.
#3
"Because I once ran for prexident and lost I have a right (in my own mind) to make policy." We need an exile or euthanasia policy for losing candidates. It would focus everyone's attention.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 8:04 Comments ||
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#8
When churches declare that their flock needs a second religion you know the game is up. I actually have additional respect for Jehova's Witnesses now until they also buy in...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 8:45 Comments ||
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#9
I left the Lutheran Church because they are up to 5 or six religions now: LGTQWXYZ, Climate Change, BLM, Latin American Refugees, Syrian Refugees...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 8:48 Comments ||
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#10
The Lutherans brought us the Minnesota Somalis, the lovers of assimilation.
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
08/21/2019 9:32 Comments ||
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#11
Mitt has always believed this. It's one of the many, many reasons why he was such a terrible choice to run for President, at least for Republicans.
#15
Islam, Catholicism, Mormons, Climate Change, Socialism... there are differences in the details, but none of them encourage people to think for themselves or live independently of Cult Leadership.
#19
Greenland is too nice for that. Send em to gitmo, on the way let the Lieutenant on the C-130 tell em "You know, you'll never get to leave there. The medic can fix you up or you can take your chances with that parachute pack over there..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 14:26 Comments ||
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#20
Do we need to test passenger seats on new spacecraft? I can't think of anybody more expendable.
#21
But where?
IIRC, the Byzantines had a quaint custom for inconvenient political opponents: a new lifestyle as a Solitary Monk on a small island. Just imagine, you have a restful life tending a small vegetable patch, several goats or a chicken or two, far away from civilization where you can study Holy Books™.
#22
Magpie, the Byzantines would accompany exile with some disqualifying disfigurement. Castration was a popular one, as it also eliminated the odds of heirs popping up later, but the usual was removing the nose. Mangled people were clearly not favored by God, and thus unsuitable to be the Emperor of Rome.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/21/2019 23:35 Comments ||
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Key bits. Details about various states and communities at the link for those interested.
[AlAhram] Democrats still shaken by the 2010 tea party wave that netted Republicans six governors' offices, flipped 21 statehouse chambers and drove nearly 700 Democratic state politicians from office are mounting a comeback, pouring millions of dollars into state level races.
The cash deluge shows how the consequences of next year's elections run far deeper than President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... 's political fate. The party that controls state legislatures will take a leading role in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process that redraws congressional maps. Newly empowered Republicans used that process to their favor following the tea party victories, and Democrats want to use the same playbook.
"There is, especially for this cycle, a very strong focus on redistricting,'' Terry said.
The stakes are particularly high following a recent Supreme Court ruling that decided federal courts have no business policing political boundary disputes in many cases. The ruling doesn't apply to districts gerrymandered along racial lines but otherwise gives states wide latitude to draw maps with little concern for an eventual judicial rebuke.
The cash deluge shows how the consequences of next year's elections run far deeper than President Donald Trump's political fate. The party that controls state legislatures will take a leading role in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process that redraws congressional maps. Newly empowered Republicans used that process to their favor following the tea party victories, and Democrats want to use the same playbook.
"There is, especially for this cycle, a very strong focus on redistricting,'' Terry said.
The stakes are particularly high following a recent Supreme Court ruling that decided federal courts have no business policing political boundary disputes in many cases. The ruling doesn't apply to districts gerrymandered along racial lines but otherwise gives states wide latitude to draw maps with little concern for an eventual judicial rebuke.
"Everybody knows everything is at stake,'' said Stephanie Schriock, president of the group EMILY's List, which recruits and trains women to run for office and plans to spend $20 million on legislative races. "We just have to go in and win chambers.''
Organizations like EMILY's List, the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee have seen a sharp increase in donations, nearing parity with Republicans who almost always outraise and outspend them, according to an analysis of IRS ...the Internal Revenue Service; that office of the United States government that collects taxes and persecutes the regime's political enemies... data by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
And Democratic donors who gave little to nothing to down-ballot races in the past are cutting large checks to groups focused on state races, the AP's analysis shows. Among them are billionaire George Soros ...either Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Auric Goldfinger come true... (at least $5.4 million), hedge fund billionaire Donald Sussman (at least $4.8 million) and billionaire investor and entrepreneur Fred Eychaner (at least $4.2 million).
The numbers don't take into account the activities of nonprofit "dark money'' groups that both Republicans and Democrats operate. They won't have to disclose their finances until next year at the earliest.
[NYPOST] House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler has attracted yet another primary challenger ‐ this one politically aligned with 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang ...2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Unlike most other Dem 2020 candidates, he has actually done things besides politix in his adult life. He worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive from 2000 to 2009. After he founded Venture for America, the Obama administration selected him in 2012 as a Champion of Change and in 2015 as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. His signature campaign policy is what he calls the Freedom Dividend, a form of Universal Basic Income for every American over 18. Yang believes UBI is a necessary response to the rapid development of automation that is leading to workforce challenges. The other two central elements of Yang's platform are Medicare for All and Human-Centered Capitalism.... Jonathan Herzog, a 25-year-old former Yang staffer, announced his intentions to primary Nadler, entering an increasingly crowded Democratic race for the 10th Congressional District seat.
"This was fully and solely my decision, but essentially the journey was I moved to Iowa to build [Yang’s] campaign operation and the campaign took off and the Yang Gang became a national movement. And the question just came up over and over again, well how do we get this agenda ... and the Freedom Dividend through Congress?" Herzog explained to The Post in an interview Tuesday.
Yang’s big idea is to give Americans over 18 $1,000 a month, a concept called Universal Basic Income, that he’s re-branded for his campaign, calling it a "Freedom Dividend." His aim is to offset job losses from higher levels of automation.
[DAILYCALLER] President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he did not “buy” Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s tears during her press conference denouncing Israel’s treatment of her request to enter the country.
“Sorry, I don’t buy Rep. Tlaib’s tears,” Trump said about the Monday afternoon press conference. “I have watched her violence, craziness and, most importantly, WORDS for far too long. Now tears?”
He continued, “She hates Israel and all Jewish people. She is an anti-Semite.”
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10324 views]
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#1
Love this from Romania; facebook
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"Make Romania Great Again".
That was the message emblazoned across a cap that US President Donald Trump gave his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis.
The slogan is a tweak of the ones used by Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign.
The gift was handed to Iohannis as he visited the White House on Tuesday.
Pictures released by Iohannis on Facebook showed him trying the cap on, as those at the meeting shared a laugh.
Trump and Iohannis discuss issues such as regional security, energy, law enforcement, and the visa-waiver programme.
A statement from the White House said both countries were opposed to Nord Stream 2, a new export gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe across the Baltic Sea.
"The United States and Romania recognise that energy security is national security," it said. "We underscore our opposition to Nord Stream 2 and other projects that make our Allies and partners dependent on energy from Russia.
"Natural gas resources in Romania have the potential to increase the prosperity of our nations and to enhance Europe’s energy security.
"The United States and Romania will consider how best to improve the energy investment climate in Romania in ways that benefit both countries.
"We further urge our industries to work closely together to support Romania’s civil nuclear energy goals."
It comes ahead of presidential elections in Romania on November 10, where Iohannis is running for a second term.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10324 views]
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#1
Kalama-lama-ding-dong...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 0:29 Comments ||
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#2
Knew it. I'll bet her rating among afr-americans is next to zero.
Such an obvious phony...
This mendacious whore is so full of it, if you gave her an enema, she could fit inside a suitcase.
#8
I think the democrat whorde is slightly apprehensive of Gabbard. To them, she is as unknown a quantity as Trump. For now, they think she's a bit player. But that could change. Gabbard has more substance than all the dem whorde combined, despite her minuses.
[NBCNEWS] Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Monday released a comprehensive animal welfare plan that includes a series of ambitious policy proposals, including making animal abuse a federal crime and cracking down on trophy hunting. I'm not sure any of this is within the purview of the federal govt, or why he thinks it is.
"Our plan to advance animal welfare is not only the right thing to do, but will improve people’s lives through responsible pet ownership and a more sustainable agricultural system," the former Housing secretary said in a statement unveiling unveiled what he called "The PAW Plan." "This is my pet Elk"
Other top proposals in the plan include working to end euthanizing of cats and dogs and expanding protected U.S. lands to 30 percent by 2030, with a goal of 50 percent by 2050. He proposed creating a $40 million grant program to expand spaying, neutering and vaccinations for low-income pet owners, strengthening the Endangered Species Act, banning use of federal land for fossil fuel exploration and ending the import of big-game trophies. Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... Jr., the president's eldest son, is an infamous big-game hunter.
"Protecting these majestic animals must first start with repealing the Trump administration’s NRA loopholes that allow trophy hunting and enforcing strict penalties on the domestic ivory trade," the plan reads.
Castro said in his plan that his hometown, San Antonio, went from a place that killed the most pets per capita in the United States to no-kill status in less than a decade. Castro criticizes President Donald Trump and his administration in his plan, saying their response to climate change and ongoing declines in biodiversity has been to dramatically weaken the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
#3
Banning trophy hunting turns big animals from income generators back into meaty nuisances. It would be the worst thing to do for their continued survival.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/21/2019 7:45 Comments ||
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#4
Imagine deer with CWD roaming suburban streets if deer hunting was banned. Imagine it jumping to family pets and from there to...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2019 8:34 Comments ||
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#5
Julian Castro has now qualified for the Sept democrat debates.
The animal welfare idea is idiotic, particularly the 'big game trophy' part, although not as idiotic as guaranteed taxpayer funded abortions for transsexuals.
btw, Steyer and Gabbard are pretty close to making the Sept debates
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/21/2019 13:42 Comments ||
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[WCIA] A series of pictures posted online after a Friday night political fundraising event for state Senator Martin Sandoval (D-reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... ) show an event attendee pointing what appears to be a fake assault weapon at another person wearing a Mexican costume and a mask of President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... Donors paid a minimum of $250 to attend Sandoval’s golf outing at the Klein Creek Golf Club in west suburban Winfield. A woman who attended the event posted the photos to her Facebook page on Saturday and tagged Sandoval in them. Sandoval is pictured separately posing with the man who held the fake weapon, but it remains unclear if the Senator knew about the incident when it occurred.
The mock liquidation pose drew quick, bipartisan condemnation from Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Democratic Party, and from the Illinois Republican Party alike.
"As our nation grapples with the epidemic of gun violence, purposely pointing a fake gun at anyone is insensitive and wrong," Pritzker said Saturday night. "I condemn actions like the ones displayed in the pictures because they lack the civility our politics demands."
"The tragedies in El Paso and Gilroy have demonstrated how hate-filled political rhetoric can fuel violence," Maura Possley, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Illinois, said. "These images are unacceptable and dangerous. The place to make our voices heard against Trump is at the ballot box."
Sandoval, a powerful state politician who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and was a driving force behind the recent gas tax increase to fund the ’Rebuild Illinois’ capital plan, issued an apology in an emailed statement.
"The incident that took place is unacceptable," he said. "I don’t condone violence toward the President or anyone else. I apologize that something like this happened at my event."
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider called on Sandoval to fire the person in the photo if they were a staffer or volunteer.
"The apology from Sen. Sandoval for the detestable pictures from his event depicting an liquidation of President Trump is too little, too late," Schneider said via a front man. "Dangerous imagery like this will be condemned and seen as inappropriate by people of sound mind; however, a mentally unstable individual who wants to harm President Trump might find them as an inspiration. It’s inexcusable for an elected official to allow the promotion of violence in any way. If the individual pictured is a staffer or volunteer, they should be terminated immediately."
Kellyanne Conway, a top aide to President Trump, said on Twitter Sunday night that other Democrats should be asked if they support or disavow the images.
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.