Russia’s Foreign Ministry Slams US Media: ‘Colossal Bias …Lack of Independent Thinking’

CNS News   'Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday lashed out at the U.S. media for their coverage of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Washington this week. Instead of focusing on bilateral relations, American media outlets wanted to talk about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election and the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

" Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said U.S. journalists asking questions of Lavrov after an Oval Office meeting with President Trump seemed “unaware of how silly it was to ask the foreign minister of a another country about the reasons for certain personnel changes in their own country.”

“ 'Most of the questions concerned Russia’s alleged intervention in the U.S. election and the dismissal of the FBI director,” Zakharova said.

“ 'This indicates the colossal bias of the mass media, the lack of independent thinking and control by certain political groups,” she said.

'Lavrov’s unheralded meeting with Trump Wednesday made waves because it was closed to the White House press corps while a photographer with the Russian state-owned news agency TASS was allowed in.

'It was only after the Russian Embassy in Washington tweeted the TASS photos of Trump and Lavrov that most journalists and others became aware it had taken place at all.'  . . .

Sessions’ office releases memo to all 94 US attorneys calling for reversal of Holder-era policy (Video)

Fox News and Video  "Attorney General Jeff Sessions' office sent out a letter late Thursday to the nation's federal prosecutors instructing them to pursue the most serious charges possible against most criminal suspects.

"The move will send more people to prison and for much longer terms by triggering mandatory minimum sentences.
"Officials at the Department of Justice said the new guidelines are a direct rebuttal of policies implemented under President Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder.
"The memo is already being referred to as “the Sessions Memo.” The 94 U.S. attorneys were instructed in the memo to “charge and pursue the most serious and readily provable offense.”
"These cases often carry the longest sentences.The memo also brings back into effect mandatory minimum sentences, which are expected to increase prosecutions and the prison population." . . .

Democrats Grind Senate’s Work to a Halt Over Comey’s Firing  "Democrats have gone from demanding former FBI Director James’ Comey’s resignation or dismissal to being puffed up with such outrage that the president has fired Comey they have decided to grind Senate work to a halt by cancelling or postponing meetings  . . . for a whole day.  This is their way of protesting the “lack of an independent investigation” into Russia’s alleged election meddling." . . .

How about they do it again tomorrow? And maybe next week?

Trump Cans Comey Like A Boss   . . . "But his “Free Pass for Hillary” press conference in July was perhaps the most transparently horrific decision by a Justice Department official since Janet Reno decided that she had to burn down the Branch Davidian compound to save its kids. Here’s the thing about Comey – he was arrogant. He was so arrogant that he took for himself the power to ignore the law because he determined, by himself, that if Hillary was treated like every other non­elite citizen the outcome would somehow be wrong. Voters might vote incorrectly if Hillary was held accountable and Comey, in his surpassing benevolent wisdom, could not allow that. 

"His press conference did incalculable damage to the American People’s faith in the rule of law. But he’s special, and his most­favored­felon treatment of fellow elite alum Hillary and her cadre of crooks was just professional courtesy. " . . .

Mark Steyn  "I'll say this for the suddenly departed FBI honcho James Comey: He's caused enough cases of whiplash to collapse Obamacare before the end of the week. The left in particular likes its cardboard heroes and cartoon villains drawn in bright Sharpie colors, and Comey insists on jumping back and forth between one role and the other like a movie stuntman leaping the roofs from northbound to southbound train. 

"Comey's not going to charge Hillary? What a stand­up guy! The very model of a dedicated public servant! 

"Comey's re­opened the Hillary investigation? What a partisan hack! He's just thrown the election to Trump! This is literally a police state!

"Comey's investigating Trump's ties to Russia? Thank God! This career civil servant is all that stands between us and that fascist dictator! 

"Comey's fingering Huma Abedin for forwarding emails to Carlos Danger? God, this Trump stooge won't let up, will he? 

"Trump's fired Comey? How dare he? This is a crisis for the integrity of our institutions... 

"Not surprisingly it's hard for these poor folk to keep up ­ to the point where Stephen Colbert had to rebuke his audience for cheering his announcement that Comey had been fired. That would have been the appropriate reaction had Obama done it circa November 1st last year. But now it's a constitutional outrage. " . . .

‘We won’t really know how to interpret the Comey firing until we know whom Trump nominates to replace him’

Volokh Conspiracy  "I want to echo Ilya’s recommendation of Politico’s instant symposium on the James Comey firing;I particularly liked these remarks from liberal Berkeley law professor Dan Farber, no fan of President Trump’s; I pass them along with Prof. Farber’s permission:

It’s premature but understandable that some people are calling James Comey’s firing a constitutional crisis. Comey violated clear Justice Department norms by his conduct while investigating Hillary Clinton’s emails. He compounded the offense by making false statements to Congress about Huma Abedin’s allegedly massive forwarding of sensitive emails to her husband, Anthony Weiner. If another president had fired another FBI director for such conduct in a high­ profile case, few questions would be raised.

But this is not just any president or any high ­profile case. The real concern here is that Trump has abused the power of his office to protect his political associates from criminal investigation. It’s not paranoia to think that Comey’s conduct concerning the Clinton investigation is merely a pretext for firing him, given that Trump applauded much of that conduct at the time. But we also have no proof that the justifications were pretextual.

We won’t really know how to interpret the Comey firing until we know whom Trump nominates to replace him. If Trump nominates an independent, respected figure to replace Comey, well and good. If he nominates someone who is compromised by associations with Trump or who lacks credibility as an objective investigator, then it will be fair to start making comparisons to Richard Nixon. That would be the point to start worrying in earnest about a constitutional crisis. . . 

 Eugene Volokh teaches free speech law, religious freedom law, church-state relations law, a First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, and tort law, at UCLA School of Law, where he has also often taught copyright law, criminal law, and a seminar on firearms regulation policy.

All in this same file drawer: Acting FBI Director: Yeah, The Decision Not to Indict Hillary Clinton Caused Controversy Within The Bureau

. . . "The announcement of a non-indictment came just days after former Attorney General Loretta Lynch was caught secretly meeting with former President Bill Clinton on her private plane in Phoenix. When caught, Lynch claimed the meeting was about grandchildren and golf. 

"Media reports at the time indicated the decision not to indict Clinton, combined with the secret meeting, was highly disconcerting to many FBI agents. 

"Today during testimony in of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe confirmed there was in fact controversy. " . . .

TV Executives Admit in Taped Interviews That Hollywood Pushes a Liberal Agenda

From 2011: Hollywood Reporter  . . . 'Kauffman also acknowledges she “put together a staff of mostly liberal people,” which is another major point of Shapiro’s book: that conservatives aren’t welcome in Hollywood. 

"Maybe that’s because they’re “idiots” and have “medieval minds.” At least that’s what Soap and Golden Girls creator Susan Harris thinks of TV’s conservative critics. 

"However, the ranks of dumb right-wingers has dwindled, according to Harris, whose video has her saying: “At least, you know, we put Obama in office, and so people, I think, are getting – have gotten – a little bit smarter.” 

"Some of the videos have executives making rather obvious revelations, like when Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds talk about pacifist messages in M*A*S*H or when MacGyver producer Vin Di Bona says anti-gun messages were a recurring theme in that show. 

"But an additional video has Di Bona, who also created America’s Funniest Home Videos, becoming remarkably blunt about his approval of a lack of political diversity in Hollywood. When Shapiro asks what he thinks of conservative critics who say everyone in Hollywood is liberal, Di Bona responds: “I think it’s probably accurate, and I’m happy about it' ” . . .

11 Hollywood Conservatives Who Have Faced Discrimination Here are two:

Angie Harmon. The actress told Fox News that when she criticized Barack Obama, she had to deal with numerous rejections for work due to her conservative beliefs. Many on the Left smeared Harmon as a racist.

Dwight Schultz (formerly of the "A Team"). Per Shapiro, producer Bruce Paltrow overheard actor Dwight Schultz voicing praise for Ronald Reagan, prompting Paltrow to call Schultz "a Reagan a**hole." Months later, Paltrow noticed Schultz auditioning for St. Elsewhere, a TV series that Paltrow was producing, and asked what he was doing at the audition. When Schultz told them he was auditioning for one of the roles, Paltrow declared, "There's not going to be a Reagan a**hole on this show!"

Cartoon from Draw for Truth/ Hollywood

North Korea: An eco-friendly Hermit Country from Above (Photos)

Find North Korea in this photo:

LiveScience   Dark and Light  "If any image can tell the story of North and South Korea in one frame, it's this shot taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station in January 2014. The nighttime view shows South Korea lit up with electric lights. Seoul is so bright as to be nearly washed out. With a 2017 gross domestic product estimated at $1.4 trillion by the International Monetary Fund, South Korea is among the dozen most prosperous countries in the world. North Korea's GDP is estimated at around $25 billion. According to one 2016 estimate, the per-capita GDP of North Korea was $1,013 in 2015, lagging behind even undeveloped countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh."

There it is!

Hat tip to James G. Needham

"Kim is all the light we need! We love him and all he has done for us!"

The Birth of Hollywood Virtue-Signaling

Nowadays, the movie ads are required to feature a beautiful, dominant woman in the foreground. She who must never be bested by a male in any way, physically, intellectually, nor athletically.

National Review

. . . "In the Heat of the Night is not what you’d call a subtle movie. There isn’t a lot to chew over here. Assuming you already know racism is wrong, there’s no compelling reason to watch it in the first place. It’s so obviously an inferior work of art to the best films of 1967 that its recognition by the Motion Picture Academy seems an undeniable example of proto-virtue-signaling. In its eagerness to advertise its moral rectitude, the Academy overlooked the monumental films and rewarded a minor one. From then on, the quality of a film had to be weighed against whatever Hollywood’s political urges of the moment were." . . .

Living through the civil rights struggles in the 50-60s and being from a Jim Crow culture, I loved this scene and still do. (The white Hollywood Southern accent notwithstanding.)TD

The corruption of Democrat politicians and the fecklessness of Republicans

The Republicans shrink in cowardice before political opposition just as Obama did with America's enemies.

americanthinker.

Comey’s Firing and the Delicate Sensibilities of Senator Schumer  . . . "Mr. Comey reportedly has a net worth in excess of 11 million dollars – $10,894,000 more than I had when I was fired. I sure wish Chuck Schumer and the other breathless defenders of James Comey, who are complaining about the timing, the means, the lack of notice, etc., had cared about the way I was treated. But no.

"This is what Schumer said to me, in front of his entire staff, including his Chief of staff, Anthony Wiener: “We knew you weren’t anti-Semitic, but hey, your people did not defend you.”

"Unfortunately, the Right usually bows to the bullying; but not Donald J. Trump. Many Republicans accuse him of not being conservative, but he sure is courageous. Anyone who fights back against the bullies is going to offend the Left. The Schumers and their ilk have been bullying the Right for so long, they both think it’s natural." . . .Christina Jeffrey  More on this person below:

Firing of Comey like the Saturday Night Massacre? Hardly!

The Vindication of Christina Jeffrey

Dec, 1995: Much more in depth on Ms. Jeffrey here. 
The two parties have deep roots in this sort of thing.

FLASHBACK: The New York Times Approved of Bill Clinton Firing FBI Director in 1993

Awaiting Clinton's "But that time it was different" comment.

William Sessions -- no relation to current Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- served as director of the FBI from Nov. 2, 1987, until July 19, 1993, when he was fired by then President Bill Clinton.

Cristina Laila  "The Democrats lost their minds after President Trump fired FBI Director, James Comey. Certainly this is a partisan knee-jerk reaction because The New York Times and prominent Democrats had no problem when then-President Bill Clinton fired FBI Director, William Sessions in 1993. 

"In fact, The New York Times opened their article by saying, ‘Defiant FBI Chief Removed From Job By The President’. Slick Willie also fired 93 U.S. Attorneys in one day in 1993, but that’s okay because he’s a Democrat and Democrats can do whatever they want without fear of reprisal.

. . . "So it’s okay for Bill Clinton to fire his FBI Director at the advice of his Attorney General, but when Trump does the exact same thing, it’s a Constitutional crisis. The investigation into the Trump-Russia hoax can continue whether Comey is the FBI Director or not. If it weren’t for double standards, the Democrats would have no standards at all." . . .

DNC Chair Tom Perez Joins Protesters Defending James Comey at the White House

. . . "He called for members of Congress to oppose confirmation of a new FBI director without first appointing a special prosecutor.

“ 'We must continue this effort that the facts come out, I am not afraid of the facts, I can handle the truth, the American people need to have the truth of what happened!” he shouted." . . .

Shock Vid: Pretty Reporter Attacked on Air Covering Refugees… Anchor Watching Says “Oh, God”

Conservative Tribune  "Coexist and welcome everybody with open arms, regardless of their background. That liberal sentiment may look fine on bumper stickers, but what happens when a group of people has absolutely no interest in “coexisting” with you? 

"A young television reporter in Italy just found the answer, but both her safety and worldview were put at risk in the process.

Francesca Parisella is a corespondent for Matrix Channel 5, based in Rome. According to BizPac Review, she and her cameraman were covering a story about African refugees camped out at a Rome train station.

"Instead of being welcomed and granted enlightening interviews, however, Parisella and her camera operator were forced to flee in terror.

“ 'Their hope is especially to reach Milan … and then to move to Northern Europe,” the reporter began to explain to the camera while live on the air, according to a translation provided with the YouTube video. “It’s important to know that this reception –“

"Parisella never finished that sentence. Her tone shifted to fear and an assault began to unfold." . . . 

free republic.

President Kamala Harris? She’s making the first moves.

But those who got close enough could see screens set up showing musicians and speakers including activist and director Michael Moore, women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, told the crowd that Trump and his cabinet nominees are “dangerous for us and all of our families.”

McClatchy   "Now's the time prospective presidential candidates start taking the subtle but crucial behind-the-scenes steps that get them noticed by the political intelligentsia, and Sen. Kamala Harris is quietly following the script. 

"She’s making speeches to key national constituencies. She’s due for an appearance at a Washington think-tank panel full of chattering-class presidential favorites that the national media will be reporting and analyzing, probably for days. She’s been fundraising for colleagues and making sure that she is forming relationships with key national reporters.
. . .
"The presidential buzz around Harris, though, is more a product of national Democrats than Californians. Though she won election last year with 61.6 percent of the vote*, a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 30 percent of Californians – including 20 percent of Democrats – don’t know enough about Harris to say one way or the other what kind of job she is doing the Senate.

"Interviews with nearly two dozen ardent Harris supporters in California showed most think it is too soon for her to run for president. Gary Peichoto, a Harris enthusiast who lives outside of Modesto, laughed when asked whether she should run in 2020.

“ "It’s too early,” Peichoto said. “I’d rather go with Elizabeth Warren.” . . .
*61.6% of Californians, that is.

LA Times: 8 things to know about Senate candidate Kamala Harris' career gold stars and demerits  For starters, the woman who stands by Black Lives Matter has "refused to seek the death penalty against a cop killer".

Daily Wire lists more Harris positions. A sampling:

But those who got close enough could see screens set up showing musicians and speakers including activist and director Michael Moore, women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, told the crowd that Trump and his cabinet nominees are “dangerous for us and all of our families.”

• Obama once lavished praised on Harris's looks. 
• "Harris is weak on crime. Besides refusing to give the death sentence to a cop-killer,  "Harris has also stood with the cop-hating Black Lives Matter movement and has advocated for states to keep "track of the data on officer-involved shootings and increasing training to reduce police bias," per the Huffington Post."
• "Harris refused to defend Proposition 8 in court."
• "Harris is very pro-abortion. According to New York Mag:
• "Harris has compared those who don't believe in man-made climate change to Flat-Earthers and Loch Ness Monster believers. 
• "We must take on science-deniers who insist that the Earth is flat, the Loch Ness monster is real & climate change doesn’t exist. pic.twitter.com/nQCqfDZvIt"
•  "Harris is also weak on immigration. Harris uses the politically correct "undocumented immigrant" term and is an avid supporter of amnesty and the DREAM act as well as Obama's executive amnesty. In essence, she supports turning the country into California, giving the Democrats a permanent demographic majority for generations." . . .

Townhall: Kamala Harris: Lawless Law Enforcement Officer  . . . "As a lawless law enforcement officer, Attorney General Kamala Harris is not fit for higher office, and has no business serving in the US Senate." . . .
Thanks to Maxine Waters blazing the trail, the achievement bar has been sufficiently lowered. TD

On the firing of James Comey

Andrew C. McCarthy: The Bipartisan Case against James Comey  . . . "The memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to explain Comey’s dismissal Tuesday is well crafted and will make it very difficult for Democrats to attack President Trump’s decision. Rosenstein bases the decision not merely on Comey’s much discussed missteps in the Clinton e-mails investigation — viz., usurping the authority of the attorney general to close the case without prosecution; failing to avail himself of the normal procedures for raising concerns about Attorney General Lynch’s conflict of interest. He goes on specifically to rebuke Comey’s “gratuitous” release of “derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal prosecution.” That “subject,” of course, would be Mrs. Clinton. " . . .   Full article here.

Krauthammer: ‘Highly Implausible’ To Claim Comey Was Fired for How He Handled Clinton Investigation

"On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein’s claim that FBI Director James Comey should be fired due to his mishandling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails is “highly implausible.”

"Krauthammer said, “[A]ccording to the letter by the deputy attorney general, this is about something that occurred on July the 5th. This,  it’s — so we start out with something that is highly implausible. If that was so offensive to the Trump administration, what you would have done is, in the transition, you would have spoken with Comey, and said, we are going to let you go. That’s when a president could very easily make a decision to have a change. That’s not unprecedented. But to fire him summarily with no warning, in the middle of May, because of something that happened in July, is almost inexplicable.”

"He continued, “Do we really believe that Donald Trump, after all these months, decided suddenly he had to fire this guy because he damaged Hillary back in July? Another implausible conjecture.' ”   Ian Hanchett

In Firing Comey, Trump Shows He's Afraid of No One  . . . "World leaders, ever since the days of President Reagan's air traffic controller's debacle have long noted how a U.S. president behaves on domestic mattters as their cue to how to act with the U.S. leadership. Part of holding power is knowing how to use power. Trump knows how to use power and his firing of Comey shows that he is not afraid of powerful people." . . .   Including this guy at the right?  Caricature by Deviant Art


James Comey Didn’t Sink Hillary . . . And even if we concede that Comey’s letter to Congress helped sink Clinton, Clinton deserved that letter and Comey had no choice but to send it."

Volokh Conspiracy: ". . . that’s not why he’s being fired"  . . . "And then he is fired — for the very thing (his mishandling of the Clinton investigation) that had made him so valuable to Trump. It seems awfully neat and tidy. I guess we’ll know more about whether this is actually about Russia when we see who Trump nominates as Comey’s replacement. Stay tuned."