Watch: GOP Senator Torches Obama's Weakness On Russia

Matt Vespa at Townhall   . . . "By contrast, President Obama famously pressed the reset button a few weeks into his tenure, six months after Russia invaded Georgia. He mocked Mitt Romney for calling Russia our number one geopolitical foe. He asked Dmitry Medvedev in a hot mic moment to wait until after the election to discuss missile defenses because he would have more flexibility. Despite bipartisan support in the Congress, President Obama refused to send lethal weapons to Ukraine. He stood idly by as Russia returned to the Middle East for the first time in 40 years, and he stood idly by, as we’ve heard today, in the 2016 election." . . .

Trump vs. the media

President Trump is changing the norms that empower his media antagonists   Thomas Lifson defends Trumps tweets, but I cannot work up the same enthusiasm. I still support President Trump much more than I admire him (The use of triple personal pronouns in the foregoing is Obama-esque). TD

Pictured: CNN journalists.

. . . "President Trump understands that the current informal-but-very-real rules of the game have allowed Mika and Joe (and the rest of the media-political world as well) free rein to savage him and his family, while he is supposed to be a gentleman and just take it while they get support for attacking him." . . .

Why Trump’s Vengeful Tweeting Matters  . . . "It’s a sad symbol of our times that one feels compelled to actually make an argument why the president is wrong here. The pitiful reality is that there are people who feel like the man who sits in the seat once occupied by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan should use his bully pulpit for schoolyard insults and vicious personal attacks. But this is what we’re reduced to. So, here goes." . . .Read more.

So who is 'presidential'?  "For the last several years, if you disagreed with President Obama or the Democrat agenda on immigration, gay marriage, gender bathroom rights, climate change, higher taxes, more regulations, you could be called xenophobic, sexist, racist, homophobic, and stupid.
"Or to put it in brief form, as Hillary Clinton did, "irredeemable" and "deplorable."
"If you dared disagreed with anything in the climate change agenda, you were called "a denier," and the public was told that you shouldn't be listened to.
"Members of the Tea Party were compared to domestic terrorists." . . .

Who cares what Trump tweets to some media pinhead?  

"What matters to voters is that he is getting things done."

On Morning Joe, Deutsch Calls Pres. Trump “Physically Disgusting,” a “Pig”   "I’m taking the low ground here. "

The MSNBC show is a window on a tiresome and deluded chattering class.
Morning Joe hosts with Valerie Jarrett (Obama's alter-ego)

. . . "The nonsense never ends. The American people know perfectly well that Trump isn’t a saint. They don’t need the media to hold endless powwows on this subject. What’s more, they know that even with his flaws he is a hell of a lot more serious than the smug “sophisticates” always sniping at him."

From Law Nuze: Mika Shouldn’t Just Be Annoyed, She Should Sue The Heck Out of Trump  . . . "Yep, that’s what I said. Mika Brzezinski should consider suing Trump for defamation. After all, sometimes a well-timed civil lawsuit can have some pretty profound consequences. Just ask Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky.   Would I typically advocate litigating over two moronic hate tweets? Absolutely not. I have serious disdain for nuisance lawsuits and the unethical lawyers who make their parasitic living off them. But a successful defamation lawsuit to call out President Trump for his obnoxious twitterbuse of media figures would serve an important purpose, and I’m not the only one who thinks so." . . .

Part 3 of the Project Veritas attack on CNN

Althouse

And this is especially interesting right now, when everyone purports to be shocked that Donald Trump tweeted that Mika Brzezinski was "bleeding badly from a face-lift": Carr says that Kellyanne Conway "looks like she got hit with a shovel."

"This time the victim of secret filming is Jimmy Carr, who is said to be the Associate Producer for CNN’s "New Day." James O'Keefe tells us Carr is based in Brooklyn, and urges Paul Farhi — the WaPo writer who made much of the failure to say that the victim in Part 1 was based in Atlanta — to take note that he's naming the place." . . .

A word missing from CNN's frontpage: Russia

Ann Althouse   "The narrative has changed."

"I do see — look closely — "Van Jones: O'Keefe video is a hoax." The video is the one where we hear Van Jones say "That Russia thing is just a big nothing-burger." But the teaser on the front page doesn't give us a clue that the video had to do with Russia, and even when you click through, there's no mention of the substance of what we hear Jones say in the video, just the assertion: "CNN's Van Jones says the ambush video of him done by notorious provocateur James O'Keefe is a hoax." 

"And how is the video a hoax? I think Jones is misusing the word, because he does not deny that he is the man in the video or that there's some context that would change the meaning of his statement. He indicates that he could have said other things, but not that he did actually on that occasion say more and O'Keefe had it edited out. 

"ADDED: I'm just noticing that among the things CNN is trying to tease us with this morning is: "Prostitutes: Senate health care bill will devastate us." Prostitutes!

"ALSO: The Washington Post also has a front page that doesn't mention Russia but does — amazing! — have sex workers. Click to enlarge: 

Charles Krauthammer asks: "Why do they even play the game?"

"In sports, the pleasure of winning is less than the pain of losing."

Orange County Register

"In mathematics, when you’re convinced of some eternal truth but can’t quite prove it, you offer it as a hypothesis (with a portentous capital H) and invite the world, future generations if need be, to prove you right or wrong. Often, a cash prize is attached.

"In that spirit, but without the cash, I offer the Krauthammer Conjecture: In sports, the pleasure of winning is less than the pain of losing. By any Benthamite pleasure/pain calculation, the sum is less than zero. A net negative of suffering. Which makes you wonder why anybody plays at all.

"Winning is great. You get to hoot and holler, hoist the trophy, shower in champagne, ride the open parade car and boycott the White House victory ceremony (choose your cause).

"But, as most who have engaged in competitive sports know, there’s nothing to match the amplitude of emotion brought by losing. When the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the 2015 NBA Finals to Golden State, LeBron James sat motionless in the locker room, staring straight ahead, still wearing his game jersey, for 45 minutes after the final buzzer.

"Here was a guy immensely wealthy, widely admired, at the peak of his powers — yet stricken, inconsolable. So it was for Ralph Branca, who gave up Bobby Thomson’s shot heard ’round the world in 1951. So too for Royals shortstop Freddie Patek, a (literal) picture of dejection sitting alone in the dugout with his head down after his team lost the 1977 pennant to the New York Yankees." . . .

White Terrorist Privilege

"Let the record show that students are all on board with this new racism. Even candidates for leadership of the Student Government Association at my school have actively campaigned on promises of eradicating white privilege from the campus. For these kids (who are mostly white) such self-flagellation is more like a religious ritual than a well thought out position on “social justice.' ”

Mike Adams

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington employed a former domestic terrorist for several decades and no one seemed to care. Dr. James Reeves was a member of the Weather Underground domestic terror group back in the 1960s. By the end of the decade, Reeves was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, promotion of anarchy, assault with intent to commit murder, and receiving stolen goods. He was indicted on charges of stealing a rifle and firing it into the Cambridge Police headquarters near the campus of Harvard University. When a witness recanted, the charges relating to the attack on the police station were dropped. But there were other convictions awaiting the future educator who had declared war on his own country. 

"Perhaps most notably, future Professor Reeves was actually convicted of committing an assault at a public high school. The conviction resulted in a jail sentence of three months. He was eventually convicted on other charges and went to prison for two years. After his release from prison, he became a father and decided it was best to leave the domestic terrorist life behind. He decided to pursue a career in higher education. Where else could a domestic terrorist get a job? 

"There was already a crack in the foundation of higher education in the 1970s - the decade during which universities started to hire former terrorists like Jimmy Reeves and Bill Ayers. The fact that a criminal conviction for engaging in acts of violence in a public high school did not keep Reeves from becoming a professor speaks volumes. 

"To their credit, Reeves and his fellow Weathermen did leave their violent ways behind when they became professors. But they brought more important weapons into their new chosen battlefield. They brought explosive ideas that would take more time to detonate than the pipe bombs they had constructed in the past. Among the most dangerous of the ideas the Weathermen advanced was "white skin privilege." It was first made popular when the terror group announced its war against the United States of "Amerikkka.' " . . .

"Skulls full of mush". which rhymes with "Rush"

Maxine Waters, looking puny next to a giant

Any column defending Dr. Ben Carson from the attacks on him by Maxine Waters is obviously racist, so perhaps I should condemn myself in advance. TD

Maxine Waters Attacks Ben Carson at Town Hall, Wants to ‘Take Him Apart’

Does she mean like her constituents did Reginald Denny during the Rodney King riots?  
. . . "Waters also told the crowd that the next time Carson went before the House Financial Services Committee, she would "take him apart." Waters is the top Democrat on that committee." . . .

Maxine Waters, looking puny next to a giant  

Yet Carson came from an even poorer background than Waters and unlike her, didn't spend his time making mega-millions since. It was that very poverty that drew him to the medical profession and all the good things he could do to alleviate human suffering.

"If there's one person Rep. Maxine Waters shouldn't bring up so as to avoid unfavorable comparisons, it's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, who is also one of the nation's most distinguished neurosurgeons. Well,she has.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) went after Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson at a town hall on Saturday.

At the town hall in Gardena, Calif., Waters said that Carson should go back to his former profession of being a surgeon, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Waters also told the crowd that the next time Carson went before the House Financial Services Committee, she would "take him apart." Waters is the top Democrat on that committee.

"Waters is a crazy demagogue whose specialty is whipping up crowds and has a history of scandals, investigations, and corruption.

"Carson is not only one of the nation's most distinguished neurosurgeons, he's also excelling in his public service post, with billions in accounting errors rooted outon his watch within just the first few months of office. He's likeable, popular, and given the agency he heads, more than a little capable of working well across the ideological divide.

"She doesn't want to bring up someone like that to remind voters or the public of her own absence of any achievement." . . .

UPDATED: Anti-history Protesters are Destroying Tourism in Gettysburg, Museum Claims

Legal Insurrection

“What family wants to come here with threats of “anarchists burning flags”.”

 

"The anti-history crowd responsible for the eradication of Civil War statues and monuments around the country is destroying tourism in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

"Much of the original Gettysburg battlefield is preserved and maintained by the National Park Service. The Gettysburg History Museum, a separate entity, is also a well-frequented attraction. Or it was.

"And it’s the Museum that’s publicly lamenting the damage they claim is caused by extreme revisionists.

"On their public Facebook page, the Gettysburg History Museum said protesters are killing tourism:

"For their refusal to surrender fact to immature and insecure emotion, the museum, along with the battlefield will be subjected to militant anti-history protests planned by Antifa groups on the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. These Antifa groups plan to burn Confederate battle flags and desecrate graves.

Philly reports:

Officials in Gettysburg are bracing for protests this weekend coinciding with the 154th anniversary of the Civil War battle.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans and a group called Real 3% Risen have received special use permits for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in a special section north of Meade’s Headquarters.

“We make accommodations for people who want to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Katie Lawhon, a spokeswoman for Gettysburg National Military Park.

Officials also are aware of plans for other rallies that have been announced on social media but have not obtained permits, and there are unconfirmed reports that anarchists plan to burn Confederate flags during the anniversary of the battle.

Lawhon said the park is working with the U.S. Park Police, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local law enforcement to keep order during the weekend.

“Our goal is to ensure that public safety and visitor safety is number one and that park resources are preserved,” she said.

Besides the two permitted protests, Civil War reenactors from the Maryland Sons of Confederate Veterans also received a permit for a “site specific” march starting at 10 a.m. from the North Carolina Memorial to the Veterans Memorial, where they will hold a ceremony, Lawhon said. Another popular private reenactment festival is also scheduled about two miles from the park, she said." . . .

Some historical research updates: 

• The Battlefield
• President Obama's Historic Gettysburg Slight
• Obama diss: President snubs historic Gettysburg 150th anniversary ceremony
• The Myth of Little Round Top Part 1
• Gettysburg National Military Park: Then & Now, Part 2
• More Gettysburg links on witness trees
• Video links about the Battle of Gettysburg
• The Rebel Yell.  Hear it here. Never was so much American valor wasted on such a tragic cause that sowed its poisonous seeds that grew into the late 20th century. One desires to glory in the courage and sacrifice shown by these men, but not in those who gave America the Jim Crow laws, the laws consigning Americans to the backs of buses.Consider this my rebellion against 21st century PC culture. The Tunnel Dweller 

And below:

AntiFA to Burn Flag and Desecrate Graves in Gettysburg. Refuted as fake news by AntiFA

UPDATE: Gettysburg anniversary seeing few flare-ups, despite rumors of violence

 . . . "Antifa has strongly pushed back on those unsubstantiated claims and said they had no plans to be at Gettysburg but instead are focusing their efforts on a massive anti-Trump rally in Philadelphia.     "In an added twist, the Central PA Antifa claims the rumors of Gettysburg protests generated from a fake Facebook page called “Harrisburg Antifa” – which they told “The Evening Sun” is run by “alt-right trolls attempting to discredit Antifa, create confusion and attempt to stir violence.”“ 'No Antifa group has requested or been issued a permit,” Lawhon said. "Regardless, park security isn’t taking any chances following a heated face-off last year." . . .

It certainly isn't as if AntiFA is too classy to do that. TD

Protests planned at Gettysburg battlefield this weekend

"There are no plans to change any of the 1,300 monuments on the park grounds, she said."

Harrisburg100

 . . "A local group of self-proclaimed anti-fascism activists called “ANTIFA” are planning on holding a rally at Gettysburg National Battlefield on July 1st in protest of President Trump and asks it’s members to “Bring and Burn Confederate Flags”.  . .

. . ."The reasoning behind why this group picked the date and location for their rally is for the importance Gettysburg played in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg started on July 1, 1863, when Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia met General George Meade’s Union Army of the Potomac. During the three-day battle, about 165,000 soldiers clashed in and around the small town of Gettysburg. When the Battle of Gettysburg was over on July 3, 1863, 51,000 soldiers were casualties (killed, wounded, captured or missing) in what remains the largest battle ever fought in North America. There are approximately 1,328 monuments, markers and memorials that stand in both the cemetery and battlefield to commemorate the Union and Confederate troops who fought there.

"In removing any monument or marker of history, to what purpose does that serve? History in every corner of the world while oftentimes ugly and heinous, still serves a purpose. It is a remembrance to learning from our past and not condemning ourselves to repeat it. To some, it is a heritage that we tell future generations of who they are, where they come from and our American history is not a stumbling block but a stepping stone to a better future." . . .

How many of these people were educated by the California school system?

One reaction to this news:

I wanted to share this link about a protest that is coming up on Gettysburg during the re-enactment, July 1st. This scum group wants to burn American & Confederate flags & urinate on Soldiers GRAVES!!! I am going with my Army veteran husband with our flags to demonstrate against them. Thru patriot friends on FB I have a lot of people coming. Please contact me if u would like to be a part of this. These are lefty Trump haters. We need to take a stand! 

CNN: a low point in journalism (UPDATED)

Thomas Lifson:  Mocking CNN at its low point  (Video at the link) "When I ponder the fate of my soul, I am given pause in celebrating the misfortunes of my antagonists, aka indulging in schadenfreude. But then, something comes along that is just irresistible, and I have to share it with our readers.  On Last night’s installment of Tucker Carlson Tonight, Mark Steyn and Tucker traded quips at the expense of CNN. Steyn’s characteristic riffs and flights of fancy are in full evidence.

"I only ask that readers make an informed decision before indulging in this video. I am not proud of enjoying this so much."  

Hannity takes on CNN and targets corruption in the investigations of President Trump  "Discussing her new book The Smear and the MSM's uniformly negative reporting on President Trump, Attkisson said: "One of the quotes I got from the smear operators [disinformation specialists] who I interviewed was 'Everything that you see [in the media] you should suspect has been put there for a reason – every image and every narrative. Someone wants you to see it and has spent a lot of money to bring you that.'"

And who can ever forget this hard-hitting interview of Obama by Dan Lothian? CNN to Obama: Are GOP candidates “uninformed, out of touch, or irresponsible?”   "Wow, you’d think Lothian would have been more subtle about his bias, especially since he is strictly functioning as a news reporter. I would have expected a question framed with “do you agree with…?” or simply “what are your thoughts about this?”. But he exposed himself as many others have, and now we know."  Video.  And Mr. Lothian still works at CNN.

The Obama years may go down as the worst display of journalism in U.S. history. Beginning with their sickening display of sycophancy toward whom I consider the worst president in history, domestically and internationally. TD

UPDATE:

Seattle Minimum Wage Hike Backfires Hurting Low Income Workers

Legal Insurrection  “increase led to steep declines in employment for low-wage workers”

"The progressive city of Seattle pushed its minimum wage up to $15 dollars an hour but a new study from economists at the University of Washington suggests the measure is hurting the very people it was intended to help.

"This is an issue the left often refuses to understand. If you force a higher wage than the market demands, employers are forced to adjust in ways that are less favorable.

"Ben Casselman and Kathryn Casteel report at FiveThirtyEight:

Seattle’s Minimum Wage Hike May Have Gone Too Far

As cities across the country pushed their minimum wages to untested heights in recent years, some economists began to ask: How high is too high?

Seattle, with its highest-in-the-country minimum wage, may have hit that limit.

In January 2016, Seattle’s minimum wage jumped from $11 an hour to $13 for large employers, the second big increase in less than a year. New research released Monday by a team of economists at the University of Washington suggests the wage hike may have come at a significant cost: The increase led to steep declines in employment for low-wage workers, and a drop in hours for those who kept their jobs. Crucially, the negative impact of lost jobs and hours more than offset the benefits of higher wages — on average, low-wage workers earned $125 per month less because of the higher wage, a small but significant decline.

“The goal of this policy was to deliver higher incomes to people who were struggling to make ends meet in the city,” said Jacob Vigdor, a University of Washington economist who was one of the study’s authors. “You’ve got to watch out because at some point you run the risk of harming the people you set out to help.” . . .

From Joe Newby:

"The $15 minimum wage has motivated McDonald’s toward an automated kiosk strategy, laying off up to 2500 minimum-wage workers. This has sent stocks soaring. This is what you get with liberalism."

Even Trump Can't Make Goldman Sachs Popular

Ann Coulter   "Having pulled off the monumental achievement of getting elected with zero help from Wall Street, President Trump is at risk of throwing it all away. He seems to be turning his White House over not only to liberal Democrats, but to the very type of liberal Democrats he railed against on the campaign trail. 

"It's like voluntarily getting an AIDS transfusion. 

"Until Trump, voters had two choices: A Republican beholden to Wall Street or a Democrat beholden to Wall Street. 

"But Wall Street despised Trump, and he despised them. This allowed him the luxury of denouncing both Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton for their ties to Goldman Sachs, especially Hillary's six-figure "speeches" to that investment bank. 

"Ninety percent of Wall Street's money went to Hillary's campaign. Wherever the other 10 percent went, it didn't go to Trump. 

"What does that mean? 

"[Fox News' Sean Hannity frantically waving his hand]: I know! I know! Since he owes them nothing and they're universally reviled, he needs to turn the keys of the kingdom over to Wall Street bankers! 

"No, actually. It means that he should stay the hell away from them. 

"The Democrats, who are evil but not stupid, know what a gift it was for Trump to have had no Wall Street support. And they are already plotting to win Trump's voters back. 

"A hand grenade has recently been tossed into Trump's camp in the form of Stanley Greenberg's mostly-overlooked report for Democracy Corps. Greenberg, the Yale professor-turned-Democratic pollster, has conducted extensive, in-depth interviews with the beating heart of Trump's working-class support: the voters of Macomb County, Michigan, which went for Obama twice, but then flipped to Trump. 

"They were impossible to move. They love Trump, have no regrets about their vote, disbelieve the media and detest career politicians like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. They just "pray he keeps his promises and succeeds.' " . . .

Cubs Fans! One of your stars flipped the bird in his Oval Office meeting!

UK Daily Mail

A Chicago Cubs outfielder flipped the bird while posing with President Donald Trump during an Oval Office meet-and-greet with the World Series champions on Wednesday.

Albert Almora, Jr, the Cubs center fielder, extended his middle finger while standing just a few feet from Trump as the president sat down at the Resolute Desk.

Almora has his hands in his pocket, but the left middle finger is clearly extended.

The photograph was snapped by the Chicago Sun Times and later posted on Twitter. 

Before arriving at the White House, Almora told the Sun Times he was looking forward to meeting Trump.

'I just look at it as it’s not every day you get to meet the President of the United States,' he said. 

'And in a year I get to meet two.'

Trump welcomed the manager and several players from the Cubs to the White House.

The president met with manager Joe Maddon and some Cubs on Wednesday, and he calls the Cubs a 'great team'.

"Since taking office, a number of professional athletes have expressed displeasure over the prospect of visiting the polarizing Trump in the White House, but Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo above said it was 'an honor'   Read more.

Alleged NSA Leaker Reality Winner Appears in Federal Court, Trial Date Set

NBC News  "The young intelligence industry contractor accused of leaking a top-secret report to journalists made her second appearance in federal court on Tuesday, as a judge set her trial date for the fall.

"Reality Winner, 25, entered court Tuesday shackled at her ankles and wrists wearing an orange jumpsuit as two U.S. Marshals escorted her in. The handcuffs were removed and she sat quietly at the defense table for the rest of her status conference in federal court Tuesday afternoon.

"Judge Brian Epps set a proposed trial date of October 23 for Winner, who is charged with leaking classified information to the media while she was a government contractor working with the National Security Agency.

"She has pleaded not guilty to the charge of "willful retention and transmission of national defense information."

" 'It's a quite simple case, one count, one defendant,” Epps said during the Tuesday hearing, adding, “I don't want classified action to delay the case.' ” . . .

O’Keefe Drops Part 2 CNN Undercover Bombshell=> Van Jones: Russia is a “Big Nothing Burger”

The Gateway Pundit  James O’Keefe strikes again!

Project Veritas just dropped part two of their bombshell undercover videos of CNN dubbed ‘American Pravda’.

Part two is undercover video of one of CNN’s most prominent left-leaning political commentators admitting that the Russia story is a ‘Nothing Burger’.

"As TGP previously reported, James O’Keefe released part one of his ‘American Pravda’ series with CNN. O’Keefe says his goal is to expose the real motivation behind the decision making process in our dominant media corporation. The Russia story has dominated CNN. Since the inauguration, CNN has mentioned Russia on air nearly 16,000 times.

"In part one of the series released late Monday night, CNN Producer John Bonifield admitted the Trump-Russia story is B.S. but they continue to push the false narrative for ‘ratings’.

"James O’Keefe teased his Twitter followers Tuesday evening about the Wednesday release of part 2, “Tomorrow is my 33rd birthday. We will be blowing the candles out around noon, unwrapping ‘American Pravda: CNN, Part II’ "

. . . 

We all know that there is no Trump-Russia story. The media knows it and so do all the Democrat leaders. Shame on the mainstream media for pushing a false narrative for ‘ratings’ and to undermine the President of the United States. CNN should have their White House press credential stripped immediately.

VIDEO of Van Jones via Project Veritas:

UPDATED: Man destroys new Ten Commandments statue at Arkansas Capitol (Video)

UPDATE:  Man livestreams himself 'destroying Arkansas' new six-foot Ten Commandments monument' less than 24 hours after it was erected"   
Chutzpah manifested: "Prior to ramming the monument, Reed shared another video on his Facebook page where he said his intent to start a GoFundMe to buy a new car afterwards."  

. . . "During his interview with authorities at the time, he said 'voices in his head' and 'Satan' told him to urinate on the monument, and to 'smash it.'  

"He also had admitted that he was a Satanist.

"Reed was released from an Oklahoma hospital in January 2015 'under an agreement with Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater for continued treatment and family support. He is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder,' the Arkansas Times reported. ". . . 

This man is ISIS material through and through.

Pictures and video added by TD

Yahoo  "A man yelled "Freedom!" as he crashed his vehicle into Arkansas' new Ten Commandments monument early Wednesday, nearly three years after he was arrested in the destruction of Oklahoma's monument at its state Capitol, authorities said.

"The privately funded Arkansas monument had been in place outside the state Capitol in Little Rock for less than 24 hours before it was knocked from its plinth and smashed to pieces.

"Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren, Arkansas, was booked in the Pulaski County jail shortly after 7:30 a.m. on preliminary charges of defacing objects of public interest, criminal trespass and first-degree criminal mischief. An arrest report lists his occupation as "unemployed/disabled."

"Authorities did not know whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf, and a video arraignment was set for Thursday morning, a Pulaski County sheriff's spokesman said.

"Arkansas Secretary of State's Office spokesman Chris Powell said officials believe a Facebook Live video posted on a Michael Reed's Facebook account that depicted the destruction is authentic." . . .

To vet or not to vet

James Clapper suggests the U.S. set up a diplomatic mission in North Korea. The problem is, he wants to let Kim Jong-un do the same

"Not in Our Best Interests"

Weekly Standard   "James Clapper has this right: An "alternative approach" to North Korea is needed. The former director of national intelligence made the claim in Seoul this week at a seminar hosted by the Joongang Ilbo (a major South Korean newspaper) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The historical record speaks for itself: Bill Clinton's administration struck a supposed non-proliferation deal with the Kim regime in 1994, which the nominally socialist state quickly proceeded to cheat on. George W. Bush then pursued a quasi-schizophrenic good-cop, bad-cop routine, one day (excellently) declaring he "hated" Kim Jong-il, then later, disgracefully, removing the terror-sponsoring state from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror. Barack Obama, for his part—the man Clapper served for six and a half years—practiced what was euphemistically referred to as "strategic patience," also known as "sitting around and hoping the Kims shape up." They didn't, and here we are. North Korea is now nuclear-armed and remains the human rights horror show it's always been." . . .

California’s ‘Soft Secession’ Grows More Aggressive

California has it’s own particular kind of crazy, but his one takes
 the cake! Students from public universites will be stopped from 
raveling to “anti-LGBT” . . .

David French at National Review

Imagine if the governor of Texas called his state a ‘separate nation.’

. . . "The political answer — to the extent one truly exists — to this alarming trend is a healthy federalism. In other words, states should protect the fundamental constitutional rights of all their citizens at the same time they enact economic, environmental, and social policies consistent with the state’s ideology and values. In short, let Massachusetts be Massachusetts and Tennessee be Tennessee, but only within the bounds of the federal Constitution. 

"And that brings us to the state of California, which not only is increasing its resistance to the Trump administration but also is increasingly belligerent against other states and increasingly hostile to fundamental constitutional rights. In other words, it’s turning healthy federalism into a “soft secession” (to borrow Jason Willick’s excellent phrase). California is violating fundamental constitutional rights at the same time that it tries to use its economic power to coerce other states to adopt its social policies. To Golden State progressives, California should be California, and Tennessee should be California, too. 

"Take, for example, California’s ever-expanding “travel bans.” Last week California “restricted publicly funded travel” to Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Dakota. California now restricts travel to eight states, including my home state of Tennessee. Their sins? Enacting robust religious-liberty protections that California deems insufficiently progressive. For example, Tennessee passed a law that protected counselors from counseling or serving a client “as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist.” Under the law, counselors are required to arrange a referral to another counselor, one who has no conflict. In other words, it’s a win-win. Clients get counseling, and counselors are protected from compelled speech. That’s worth a travel ban? 

"It is when California progressives believe that every citizen has to bend the knee to the sexual revolution. " . . .

Study: TV News Is Obsessed With Trump-Russia Probe

MRC   "How much has the media’s obsession with the ongoing Russia investigation smothered the rest of the Trump policy agenda? A Media Research Center study of every broadcast network evening newscast in the five weeks since the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller on May 17 found a whopping 353 minutes of airtime devoted to the Russia probe, or 55 percent of all coverage of the Trump presidency during those weeks.

"The networks’ relentless coverage of Russia meant little airtime was spent on important policy topics, as the investigation garnered 20 times more attention than the new health care bill, 100 times more attention than the administration’s push to improve the nation’s infrastructure, and a stunning 450 times more coverage than the push for comprehensive tax reform."

. . . "Given the disconnect, it should be no surprise that half of all voters see the media as biased against Trump, compared to only four percent who think the media are pro-Trump, according to a recent Rasmussen poll, with two-thirds of Republican respondents (68%) saying media coverage of the President is “poor.' ”

Trump backers hold sit-in at Starbucks after staff mocks woman in Trump T-shirt

"Hart, who did not participate in the Saturday event, told FOX 46 Charlotte she walked out when other people noticed and other baristas laughed. She said she believed she was being bullied for wearing the shirt. “I just found it really sad that I can’t wear a T-shirt with our president without being made fun of,”  . . .

The Charlotte Observer

"A group of Republicans turned the tables on a Charlotte Starbucks Saturday, after its staff was accused of mocking a customer for wearing a Donald Trump tee-shirt.

"Starting at 2 p.m., more than 50 T-shirt wearing Trump backers staged a peaceful gathering at the Dilworth coffee house, filling chairs, tables and even the parking lot at one point.

"The group told TV station Fox 46 the sit-in was a little tense at the beginning, when a throng of people filed through the door. But the mood lightened as more and more people ordered coffee using the names of different members of the Trump cabinet, including Mike Pence and Jeff Sessions.

“ 'I gave them the name Trump and...they were very gracious about it,” Shellie Anderson told Charlotte TV station Fox 46. “We just wanted to reverse the little negativity...It’s really good to come together and take something negative and just come in here and be respectful.”

"The group presented no demands. Instead, its members sought to take a stand against any business disrespecting customers based on their politics, said James Tatro, a MeckGOP board member who participated in the event.

"While it has been described as a sit-in, Tatro says the crowd was made up of paying customers and not just “people who were filling chairs.”

“ 'We wanted the staff to see that Trump supporters are just as human as anyone else,” . . .