Did activists like Medea Benjamin ever meet a ruthless dictator they didn't like? For that matter, did Obama?

Mike Harris at American Thinker

And they are doing all this . . . why? Socialism at any price apparently. TD

Code Pink refusing to leave Venezuela’s DC embassy as State Dept. slams ‘trespassers’  . . . "The United States and others countries believe Maduro's most recent election was fraudulent and have said he's not the legitimate president of Venezuela. But Benjamin has repeatedly said activists are there to prevent a “hostile takeover” of the embassy. Benjamin said the group has the permission of the Maduro government to stay in the embassy." . . .

No diplomats, no Venezuelans as activists occupy DC embassy . . . “ 'We are placeholders,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of one of the groups, Code Pink, told The Associated Press. They see Maduro, whose government is recognized by the United Nations, as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
“ 'We are doing what another country will hopefully do, which is hold the space.” When two countries don’t have relations, it’s common for a third, neutral nation to handle diplomatic functions in place of an embassy or consulate.
"The Trump administration has said the activists are trespassing Venezuelan sovereign territory and need to leave. Gustavo Vecchio, Guaidó’s appointee as ambassador to Washington, has said he’s signed all necessary documents and it is now up to U.S. authorities to clear the building." . . .

Back in 2014: Medea Benjamin: Deported From Egypt, Admired by Obama
. . . "And the “Woman’s Day” event she was touting is actually a holdover from a Stalinist event put on in the Soviet Union in 1934, so it allowed Benjamin and her fellow wannabe communist revolutionaries and acolytes a communist-inspired venue." . . .

Senate Dems Delete Poll After Brett Kavanaugh Beats Ruth Bader Ginsburg

PJ Media

"As you know if you've ever watched a TV show about lawyers, you should never ask a question if you don't already know the answer. You shouldn't be arrogant enough to assume you already know it, just because you really want to believe it's true. Don't get cocky. Don't hurt your own case.
"In other words, don't be the Senate Democrats. They're out of power right now, and until they start winning some elections again, all they can do is complain about being thwarted again and again. Whine, whine, whine:

.@realDonaldTrump and the Republican-led Senate have aggressively pushed to reshape the judiciary with conservatives. Decades of hard-fought progress could be erased. We must take back the Senate.— Senate Democrats (@dscc) May 5, 2019

 "As part of this effort to take back the Senate from those rotten voters who don't know what's good for them, the Dems decided it would be a good idea to hold a Twitter poll. They invited chaos. And unfortunately for them, chaos has a sense of humor.

. . . The poll didn't go the way they planned, they asked a question without knowing the answer, so they just deleted it. That's the Democrat way. If you can't accept what's happening, then... don't. When reality doesn't do what you want, just ignore reality.

"And of course, #RepublicansPounced:"  [as the liberal press likes to state]

Democrats, refusing to accept voting results (again)https://t.co/p2VFw3OVp1

. . . 

POTUS pardons ex-Army lieutenant convicted of killing suspected Al Qaeda terrorist in 2009

iOTW Report  "FOX: President Trump has pardoned a former Army lieutenant who was convicted in 2009 of killing an Iraqi prisoner suspected of being an Al Qaeda terrorist, the White House announced Monday evening.

"White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders cited “broad support” for Michael Behenna, of Edmond, Okla., “from the military, Oklahoma elected officials, and the public” — including 37 generals and admirals, along with a former Pentagon inspector general — as the reason for Trump’s clemency grant. Sanders also said Behenna had been a “model prisoner” while serving his sentence.

“ 'In light of these facts, Mr. Behenna is entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency,” Sanders concluded.

"A military court originally sentenced Behenna to 25 years for unpremeditated murder in a combat zone. However, the Army’s highest appellate court noted concern about how the trial court had handled Behenna’s claim of self-defense, Sanders said. The Army Clemency and Parole Board reduced his sentence to 15 years and paroled him in 2014, as soon as he was eligible.

"Behenna acknowledged during his 2008 trial that instead of taking prisoner Ali Mansur home as he was ordered, he took the man to a railroad culvert, stripped him, and then questioned him at gunpoint about a roadside bombing that had killed two members of Behenna’s platoon.   more

If the Clinton's were an investment for you, it's too late to sell

Rich Terrell

‘An Evening With The Clintons’ Tour Ends, Ticket Prices Plummet To $2.00  . . . "The tour dates were scheduled in Clinton-friendly cities yet the struggle to put warm bodies in seats was real. Still, audience reaction has been mixed. Just last month in New York City, a tour stop brought Haitian protesters and a man in a front-row seat yelling out, “Bill, this is boring!” Ouch! That night at the Beacon Theatre, the moderator was Clinton loyalist and political consultant Paul Begala.

"Friday night’s date at Seattle’s WaMu Theater brought out the true blue Clinton supporters. The stop in Seattle, a liberal haven in the great Northwest, included actor Bradley Whitford as the moderator. Does that name sound familiar? Whitford played the role of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in The West Wing. Whitford plays the role of a political activist in real life. This week he will co-host a fundraiser in Los Angeles for Mayor Pete’s presidential campaign. Ticket prices in Seattle were deeply discounted." . . .

Hillary's solid supporters never tire of hearing her say this. . . . "What she's been telling candidates who went to her: "You can run the best campaign, you can even become the nominee, and you can have the election stolen from you.' "

. . . "More than two years after her loss to Donald Trump, she is still unable to accept the fact that she isn’t the leader of the free world. The Democrats have moved on and are now in the process of determining who will run for president in 2020. The Clinton era is over. Finally."

‘Still too much’: Clintons’ speaking tour prices slashed, available for less than $14

. . . "Tickets can be purchased for less than $14. Saturday evening’s show in Los Angeles saw prices drop as low as $6, while tickets for Friday’s event in Seattle could be picked up for $20. It’s a far cry from when Hillary used to reportedly command $275,000 to make speeches to Wall Street firms." . . .

She must miss the good old days when she was treated like royalty (2014)

" . . ."a presidential suite" for her and "up to three (3) adjoining or contiguous single rooms" for her staff."The Democratic presidential front-runner's "standard travel expenses" also included a chartered airplane, which should be "Gulfstream 450 or larger jet," according to the paper's information request concerning her UNLV appearance this October."Clinton's speaking agency further expected "all ground transportation" to be covered, as well as "all phone charges/cell phones and meals during their stay." "Clinton, a former secretary of state, senator, and first lady, is well-known for her speaking engagements, which are said to command fees north of $200,000. Her staff has previously touted that she donates the money to the Clinton Foundation and that she also gives free speeches." . . .

Don Surber: "The gay mayor is boring"

First, there was the skateboarding, um, oh...I forget. The main reason Democrats love a candidate is that they adore him? 

Mayor Pete's adoration hook is that he has promoted a non-existing hoax dispute against Vice President Pence, leaving the VP wondering where did THAT come from? TD

Don Surber  "South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is gay and running for president. His surname is pronounced Boot-edge-edge and he is gay and running for president. He has a husband because he is gay and running for president.

"Did I mention he is gay and running for president?

"Because he is gay. And he is running for president.

"I tried to find where he stands on the issues. I went to his campaign web site.

"There is no issues area. He posted no positions on anything. He is all about his bio. He is a military veteran. He is mayor of a mid-sized city. And oh, did I mention he is gay and running for president?" . . .
"What does he want to debate President Donald John Trump on?

Immigration?
The wall?
Tax policy?
Foreign policy?
Tariffs?
Nukes in North Korea?
Health care?

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

"He told Deutsch, "And if somebody wants to raise the question of which one of us has a more traditional attitude on marriage, we can have that fight."

"Why have that fight? Because he is gay and running for president."

Why Progressive Anti-Semitism — and Why Now?

Victor Davis Hanson

Jew-hatred has a natural home on the multicultural Left, and ‘woke’ culture demands that leftists hate anything Trump supports — especially Israel.

"The New York Times International Edition recently published an anti-Semitic cartoon of a dachshund with the face of Benjamin Netanyahu. The composite animal was leading a hunched Donald Trump who had on dark sunglasses, as if blind, and a yarmulke.

"Almost immediately, everyone pointed out that the theme of doglike Jews pulling along their clueless befuddled blinded “Aryan” masters was a favorite in Hitler’s Germany. The theme, style, and imagery of the cartoon might have trumped what was often published in Der Stürmer, the Nazi megaphone of propagandist Julius Streicher. The latter was hanged after the Nuremberg Trials for two decades of fomenting the Jew hatred that helped lead to the Holocaust.

"Stranger still, at first the New York Times merely explained how the sick cartoon got published in its international edition, but without an apology for its publication. Its subsequent second-try mea culpa was rendered a pathetic joke when, a few days later, the paper published yet another incoherent anti-Semitic cartoon of a Benjamin Netanyahu, this time as some sort of blind Moses with selfie stick in one hand and a stone tablet with the Star of David in the other, as he descends from Mount Sinai.

"It has been noted that the Times has had a long history of anti-Semitism, dating to before World War II, and, after that, of serial anti-Israel venom. Certainly, if the cartoon had similarly portrayed any other ethnic or religious group (except heterosexual white Christians), the Times would immediately have fired anyone remotely involved in running such trash. Was it any surprise that the Times recently referenced Jesus as a Palestinian rather than Jewish?" . . .

CNN cutting staff by as many as 300 jobs

Most likely, few if any prominent on-camera personalities will be taking buyouts or will get pink slips. It will be more anonymous staffers suffering the damage. While CNN has actively driven away its viewers, the network still has continuing revenue from cable and satellite providers that helps cushion the decline in advertising revenue that will inevitably follow its ratings crash.

Thomas Lifson  "Maybe President Trump ought to use the adjective “failing” in front of CNN instead of the New York Times. In point of fact, Trump hatred has been good for the Gray Lady, with digital subscriptions up substantially (over $700 million in revenue last year) as the paper became the premier source of anti-Trump fulminations.  

"But with CNN, the story is very different. The network that pioneered cable news long ago lost its dominant position to Fox News, and since Donald Trump became president has bet its future on the Russia Hoax – and lost. Bigtime. FromThe Hill:

CNN's prime-time ratings dropped a whopping 26 percent in April compared to last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

MSNBC's ratings were down 14 percent in April 2019 compared to April 2018, while Fox News's ratings overall were flat.

The sharp decrease for CNN marked its lowest-rated month in total viewers since October 2015.

"Most humiliatingly, CNN now is a distant third place in the ratings among cable news providers:

In prime time, Fox News finished first with an average of 2.4 million viewers. In April 2018, the network also averaged 2.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

MSNBC was second with an average of 1.66 million viewers, down from 1.93 million in April 2018.

CNN was third with 767,000 average primetime viewers, down from 1.04 million in April 2018.

"A plan unveiled yesterday shows that CNN is cutting costs and downsizing its staff. Paula Blyard reports at PJ Media:" . . .

 An example of hard-hitting reportage seen at CNN as done by Dan Lothian's penetrating question of Barack Obama as he speaks nonsense to power:

CNN to Obama: Are GOP candidates “uninformed, out of touch, or irresponsible”

Then Mr. Obama gives us his signature, That's not who we are speech.