Dems Lose ‘Embarrassing’ Gun Control Amendment Vote After Multiple Defections

Free Beacon  "In a rare move, a Republican amendment to gun legislation brought to House floor by Democratic leadership was adopted after multiple defections from moderate Democrats.
"The House voted Wednesday on H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. "The bill would expand background checks to include all gun sales, rather than just sales by licensed gun dealers as under current law.
"Republicans in the minority countered with an amendment to require that federal officials notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement whenever a lawful or unlawful immigrant tried to illegally purchase a firearm. That measure, opposed by most Democrats, was voted down when the bill was still in the House Judiciary Committee.
"When Democratic leadership brought H.R. 8 to the full floor for a vote, Republicans made a motion to recommit the bill with the ICE amendment, usually a last-ditch symbolic action taken by the minority party with little chance of success. But in a surprising development, the motion passed 220-209, with 26 Democrats joining the Republicans.
"Assessments from most reporters were harsh, calling the vote a "huge floor embarrassment for Democrats" and an "awkward defeat for Democratic leaders.' " . . .

Pelosi tells moderate Dems to stop voting with GOP

NYPD: MS-13 Planning To Target Off-Duty Cops At Their Homes

CBS NY

      

. . . "The NYPD is warning police officers about a possible threat from the MS-13 gang, particularly when they are off-duty.

"CBS2’s Dick Brennan reports that in a bulletin the NYPD put out this alert: “Members of MS-13 are looking to ‘hit’ NYPD police officers, specifically in the Brentwood/Central Islip area as well as possibly Patchogue.”

"The bulletin says that the gang members would carry out the attacks on off-duty officers “in order to gain street credibility.' ” . . .

This Is The Exclusive Video For CPAC

Trump calls a timeout at Hanoi summit, sends Kim back to Pyongyang to persuade his generals

It should be noted that the USSR soon was relegated to the ash heap of history.  But at the time, the U.S. media, which loudly proclaimed Reagan an "amiable dunce," was full of condemnation of President Reagan for this breakdown in talks.

Did China nix this process?

Thomas Lifson  "Media jackals predictably are braying that President Trump failed at the Hanoi summit.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  President Trump wisely sent North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong-un, back to Pyongyang from Hanoi, where he can tell the generals and security police commanders, on whose support he depends, that they are not going to get sanctions relief without giving up their nuclear arsenal.

"There is every sign that this outcome in Hanoi is a predictable stage in the process of obtaining consensus among the North Korean ruling class that they must give up on the strategy of confrontation and isolation, with their survival guaranteed solely by nukes, and instead open up to the outside world and the prosperity market economies can generate."

. . . "Many people wrongly assume that because North Korea is an absolute dictatorship, Kim can do anything he wishes, and his putative subordinates will go along with it.  This is not my understanding of the real power structure in that benighted country.  The young dictator depends on the loyalty of the commanders of troops and police who have the weapons that could overthrow him and install someone more to their liking.  This threat is why he had his half-brother assassinated at Kuala Lumpur Airport, since having the blood of the Kim dynasty seems to be an essential attribute of a leader there.  But if the military and security force commanders see an existential threat to their survival in power, they could still overthrow Kim and install another leader, finding grounds to claim legitimacy."

. . . 

"The second comparison is an utter contrast: the way the Obama administration caved in to Iranian demands and produced the JCPOA agreement, sending billions of dollars to the chief sponsors of terrorism in the world and obtaining an agreement that allowed full nuclearization of Iran in ten years — an agreement that now is all but defunct."

That Was Unexpected...Democratic Congressman Defends Trump After Vietnam Summit  "Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) tweeted Thursday that he’s disappointed with people who are taking pride in the president’s inability to reach a denuclearization deal with North Korea during the Vietnam summit.

“ 'The hashtag #TrumpFail is trending and I find it inappropriate,” Lieu wrote. “People should not be hoping the President fails or taking pleasure in his failure on the global stage.' ” . . .

But then there is this Democrat, among most others: [Oregon] Dem Sen. Jeff Merkley Suggests That President Trump Is Worse Than Kim Jong Un

Trump made the right call to walk out of Hanoi, says … Susan Rice . . . "Rice’s comments about North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles are well taken, even if both could easily be applied to the Iran deal signed by the president she served. It’s still good to learn the hard way as long as one learns." . . .

Kim almost certainly knew how badly Trump could use a big foreign-policy success and how tempting it would be to go the Iran-deal route to get it. By walking away, Trump demonstrated to Kim that he’ll need to get serious to bring an end to sanctions: . . .

Trump cuts short North Korea summit after dispute over sanctions: 'Sometimes you have to walk'
This is how real leaders negotiate. Democrats: giving in since the War Between The States.
Why Democrats Would Lose the Second Civil War, Too

Michael Cohen Made Four Big Allegations. How Skeptical Should We Be?

Tony Branco

National Review   "It’s over. Michael Cohen’s public testimony has ended, and amidst the hours of assertions, speculation, and contention, four allegations stand out from the others. First, Cohen testified that Roger Stone told Donald Trump about the WikiLeaks document dump in advance of the Democratic Convention. Second, Cohen testified that he suspected Trump knew in advance about Donald Trump Jr.’s infamous meeting with a Russian lawyer. Third, Cohen asserted that Trump directed Cohen to make porn-star-hush-money payments and later reimbursed him while Trump was president. And fourth, Cohen claimed that Trump gave him implied directions to lie to Congress and that Trump’s personal lawyer edited his false testimony.  

"The first two claims grabbed headlines — taken together, they mark the first concrete, under-oath assertions that Trump was involved in any way with the various bumbling efforts of Trump-campaign officials and Trump allies to communicate with Russians or Russian assets. No, the claims are nothing like the collusion fever dreams of the hard-core conspiracy Left — and they don’t add up to anything criminal — but they would be improper and embarrassing nonetheless. Yet those first two claims are among Cohen’s least credible.

"Let’s look at them in turn. The clearest expression of Cohen’s claims regarding Trump and Stone comes in his opening statement. Here’s Cohen:. . . 
. . . 
To conclude:

No single witness will decide this case, and the real losers in yesterday’s testimony were the Americans who thought that Cohen’s testimony would somehow represent the beginning of the end of one of the most divisive national controversies of modern times. The controversies will rage on, and we now turn our attention to the next big event — the long-awaited Mueller report, rumored to be released soon. I expect it to be far more instructive and dispositive (for good and ill) than anything we heard Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

California’s Rendezvous with Reality

Victor Davis Hanson  "Californians brag that their state is the world’s fifth-largest economy. They talk as reverentially of Silicon Valley companies Apple, Facebook, and Google as the ancient Greeks did of their Olympian gods.
"Hollywood and universities such as Caltech, Stanford, and Berkeley are cited as permanent proof of the intellectual, aesthetic, and technological dominance of West Coast culture.
"Californians also see their progressive, one-party state as a neo-socialist model for a nation moving hard to the left.
"But how long will they retain such confidence?
"California’s 40 million residents depend on less than 1 percent of the state’s taxpayers to pay nearly half of the state income tax, which for California’s highest tier of earners tops out at the nation’s highest rate of 13.3 percent.
"In other words, California cannot afford to lose even a few thousand of its wealthiest individual taxpayers. But a new federal tax law now caps deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000 — a radical change that promises to cost many high-earning taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

. . . California’s progressive government seems clueless how to deal with these issues, given that solutions such as low-cost housing and strict enforcement of health codes are seen as either too expensive or politically incorrect."

Seven Ugly Lessons About the Media From Jussie Smollett's Debacle

They were wrong. Will they apologize? Why on earth would they? No reporter will ask them to clarify their initial remarks.Their industry peers won’t expect an apology of any sort. There’s no incentive for them to say they’re sorry … so they won’t. Christian Toto

 
Christian Toto   . . . "Still, most media outlets focused on the alleged attack over those critical questions. The narrative proved irresistible for our biased press. A gay black man assaulted by Trump supporters?

"Stop the cyber presses!

"Kyle Smith serves up a strong recap of their malfeasance at the New York Post.

"The story seemed scientifically engineered for The Resistance TM. And, sadly, today’s reporters too often belong to that group.

"Smollett insisted this weekend he didn’t stage the attack in question, even while lawyering up. It’s a perfect time to look back and see what we’ve learned from this news cycle.

"The short version? It isn’t pretty. The longer one? It’s a seven-step process." . . .

Read the full article here.

"Christian Toto is a film critic and podcaster and runs the website HollywoodInToto.com." Cartoons added, TD

Ellen Page last month emotionally blamed the Trump administration for what was at the time being investigated as a hate crime against Jussie Smollett.  On the Stephen Colbert show, naturally.

CNN: whatever happened to the profession of journalism?

Rich Terrell

Even CNN Had To Call Michael Cohen Out For Lying During Hearing 
"CNN: Cohen isn't telling the truth when he said under questioning by Jim Jordan that he didn't want a job in the White House."

Has Kamala Harris made one blunder too many?  Another "Even CNN..." post.
"Lovey-dovey CNN has finally called Harris out on her lies about her record on deporting "unaccompanied minors" who are here illegally." . . . 
. . . "Now CNN, which along with the New York Times has been her fiercest booster, has called her out.  It's possible that these outlets are trying to recover their own reputation for impartial news by delivering this hit on Kamala, after that adoring tweet from a CNN correspondent showing reporters picking out Harris's clothing in a boutique.  But that doesn't make the critical call-out any less valid." . . .

Obsession: CNN, MSNBC Spend 428 Minutes on Cohen, 12 on NoKo Summit
. . . "Now, to be fair, host Erin Burnett did cut to speak with White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who was in Vietnam following the President. But, for one minute and 30 seconds, they were discussing how the Cohen testimony was distracting from the trip." . . .

Those liking CNN have to see in them a political ally and not a reliable source of information.

NO DEAL! Vietnam summit ends abruptly as Kim REFUSES Trump’s denuclearization demands...

... leaders fail to agree on lifting North Korean sanctions and abandon lunch and cancel signing ceremony
Any previous president has demonstrated they would have given in to the Norks. Maybe even sent them a pallet of cash. TD

Daily Mail

• Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un abruptly ended their summit in Hanoi early without signing a deal 
• He said the issue was Kim's insistence that all sanctions get lifted in return for only giving up some nukes
• Trump continued to tout his 'warm' relationship with Kim, but added 'you have to be willing to walk away'
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that progress had been made 'but we didn't get all the way' 
• Planned lunch never happened 
• Kim's state news agency KCNA said on Thursday: 'Sincere and in-depth views were exchanged to bring about a comprehensive and groundbreaking outcome'
• The talks came just hours after Michael Cohen's bombshell testimony to Congress which damned his ex-boss as a racist and a liar 

Kim must be assuming that with the Democrat-led hearings in Washington have made Trump powerless. They see the same news in North Korea. TD

. . . "Trump was back to trying his hand at diplomacy after the president's ex-fixer Michael Cohen dominated headlines with his day of bombshell testimony against his former boss.    

"Cohen's appearances have shadowed the president's appearances, and Trump even tweeted to attack his longtime fixer as a 'liar' shortly before he delivered bombshell testimony in the Capitol claiming Trump participated in a criminal conspiracy involving the hush payment to Stormy Daniels." . . .

Democrats don't care about the security of our country

House Democrats spent Wednesday parading desperate disbarred attorney Michael Cohen to attack President Trump while President Trump was in Hanoi, trying to de-nuclearize North Korea and formally end the Korean War.

. . .  "The Democrats oppose securing our border.  They staged their Cohen circus to weaken President Trump at this critical time.  They are using the desperate Cohen and will throw him away when done." . . .

Are there any American voters who can see that Democrats hate President Trump more than they fear the little Korean despot? Perhaps Kim would rather wait for another John Kerry/ Barack Obama team. TD