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,” . . .

"Obama’s Criminal Enterprise Collapsing"

Daniel John Sobieski  "As former FBI Director James Comey’s best friend, Robert Mueller, stocks hisSeinfeld investigation-about-nothing with every Democratic lawyer and Hillary and/or Obama donor he can find, we are treated to the delicious irony of collusion with Russia being confirmed -- and the colluder-in-chief being Ex-president Barack Hussein Obama.

Even Obama’s Democrat supporters are now acknowledging he knew about Russia’s hacking of the DNC and Podesta emails. They are acknowledging that he did nothing but are not acknowledging the reason why – that he thought Hillary Clinton was going to succeed him and he wanted to do nothing to offend the Russians to whom he had once famously promised more “flexibility.”AsFox News Politics reported:

President Trump criticized his predecessor for allegedly doing “nothing” about reports that Russia interfered in last year’s presidential campaign, in a recent interview.“I just heard today for the first time that (former President) Obama knew about Russia a long time before the election, and he did nothing about it,” Trump said in the interview set to air Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “The CIA gave him information on Russia a long time before the election. … If he had the information, why didn't he do something about it? . . .

Isn't this collusion with Russia?

And this?  Obama abandons missile defence shield in Europe 

No negotiating, no quid pro quo from Russia, just a free gift from a president ashamed of his country.

Trump EPA to rescind Obama 'Waters of America' power grab

Rick Moran  "The Trump administration EPA announced that they will rescind one of the biggest power grabs by a federal agency in US history.

"In 2015, the Obama EPA finalized a rule that would have brought almost all "navigable" waters in the US under federal government control. The "Waters of the US" rule targeted creeks, streams, and inland rivers even if they were on private property.

"The rule would have given the EPA jurisdiction not only over the water, but over much of the surrounding land as well. 

"But one of the first acts of the Trump administration was to order a review of the rule with the intent of repealing it.

. . . 

"The WOTUS rule was spectacular overreach. It would have massively interferred with agriculture, not to mention overturning the entire concept of private property. The gains in drinking water cleanliness would have been minuscule at the cost of a blizzard of paperwork for businesses and farmers.

"The Obama EPA sought to use the Clean Water Act for purposes it was not remotely intended to address. It was a power grab by the EPA that would have weakened private property rights while exercising stifling regulatory control. While it won't receive a lot of publicity, rescinding this rule represents one of the biggest roll backs of federal power in history. 

"The dream of greens is that eventually, the EPA will exercise control over every inch of land, every drop of water in the US - a nightmare scenario that was well on its way to becoming reality until the Trump EPA stepped in." 

Liberal sites word the action thus:

Think Progress: RIP, Obama’s Clean Water Rule

Trump plans to ditch Obama’s protection for small wetlands and waterways

New Low: CNN Uses Sesame Street's Elmo to Attack Trump's Travel Ban

Daily Wire

"Proving once again that there is no place you will find a happier leftist than in that influential sweet spot between parent and child, proving once again that during a month of extraordinary lows, CNN will always find a new barrel bottom, in the wake of President Trump's 9-0 Supreme Court triumph, the leftwing cable news network decided to use popular Sesame Street puppet Elmo as a propaganda tool against President Trump's temporary travel ban.

Popular “Sesame Street” character Elmo sympathized with refugee kids in an interview Monday with CNN, remarking that they are just like kids in America.Elmo was part of a panel including CNN reporter Clarissa Ward, Sherrie Westin from Sesame Workshop, and David Miliband from the International Rescue Committee.“Did you find that the Syrian little girls and little boys were a lot like your friends here in America?” Ward asked Elmo.“Yeah, they really were,” said the “Sesame Street” character. “It was very interesting because they like to play and learn just like Elmo and all of his friends at Sesame Street.” . . .

Saving the planet, one gathering at a time

Friends of Ryedale Gas Exploration Glastonbury, enjoyed by tens of thousands of eco warriors, environmentalists and some anti fracking campaigners, all saving the planet.

Video: True friends of the earth  "We made this video to show the people of Ryedale what life is like when protesters start showing their true colours. There is NO peace, just abuse of our police force and the targeting of local people and businesses who dare to stand up in favour of shale gas. People can be forgiven for thinking that they are just a bunch of thugs who think bullying will win the day, they are. These are the types of people and behaviour that the leaders of frack free Ryedale and frack free North Yorkshire are encouraging to come into our beautiful area. The protests inevitably end up being far from peaceful and far from respectful of our police. It is to be noted that when anyone tries to remove these 'locked on' protesters they suddenly start screaming and crying that they want the police to save them. Would you bust a gut to help them?"

Obama Attracts Liberal Criticism After String of Luxury Vacations

"These trips are the lifestyles of the rich and famous," Caddell said.
While Obama had already been accused of being out of touch with the American people during his presidency, HBO comedian John Oliver told Seth Meyers on "Late Night" that Obama should "kick back a little less."
. . .  Obama has not only taken luxury in vacations, but has also charged hefty fees for speeches to prominent Wall Street firms.

Weasel Zippers

"Does he ever stop vacationing? But on the positive side, perhaps the longer he is out of the country, the less involved he is in messing in our government. Notice how in the picture, everyone else knows how to wear their helmet, except Obama.

"Via Free Beacon:

Former President Barack Obama is causing frustration among Democrats by going on a plethora of luxury vacations following his exit from the White House.
Obama has taken his family on a series of tours of millionaire and billionaire luxury retreats in the last few months, according to Democrats and activists who spoke to Fox News.
Fox News listed some of the more memorable vacations the Obama family has enjoyed in 2017:
Visiting actor Marlon Brando’s private island
Four Seasons in Bali, where rooms cost $2,000 per night minimum
A Palm Springs Estate
Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island
Mid Pacific Country Club in Oahu, Hawaii

Keep reading…

Theater That Put On Trump Assassination Play Gets New $100,000 Grant From National Endowment For The Arts

Weasel Zippers   Via Washington Free Beacon:

Did the FBI retaliate against Michael Flynn by launching Russia probe?

Circa  "The FBI launched a criminal probe against former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn two years after the retired Army general roiled the bureau’s leadership by intervening on behalf of a decorated counterterrorism agent who accused now-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and other top officials of sexual discrimination, according to documents and interviews.

"Flynn’s intervention on behalf of Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz was highly unusual, and included a letter in 2014 on his official Pentagon stationary, a public interview in 2015 supporting Gritz’s case and an offer to testify on her behalf. His offer put him as a hostile witness in a case against McCabe, who was soaring through the bureau’s leadership ranks.

"The FBI sought to block Flynn’s support for the agent, asking a federal administrative law judge in May 2014 to keep Flynn and others from becoming a witness in her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case, memos obtained by Circa show. Two years later, the FBI opened its inquiry of Flynn."

by John Solomon and Sara Carter

by John Solomon and Sara Carter

Tennessee’s Scathing Response To California Travel Ban: Keep Your ‘Unfounded Moral Judgment’ To Yourself

"Tennessee's law allows state-licensed therapists to deny treatment to members of the LGBT community based on the counselor's personal beliefs. Alabama's newly enacted law allows adoption agencies to follow faith-based policies, including the option to not place children with gay couples."

Weasel Zippers

"California, the land of nuts. Update to this previous story.

"Via AL Com:

. . . Whereas, the United States Constitution provides for a strong federal government for the common defense, but the Tenth Amendment grants the several states sovereignty in addressing issues solely within their jurisdiction, and all states should respect this most basic precept of American government; andWhereas, if states such as California persist in banning travel to Tennessee as a punitive action for this body conducting its constitutionally mandated duties as its members see fit, our state leaders should consider strong reciprocal action in banning state sponsored travel to those misguided states; now, therefore,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED TENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we urge and encourage the Governor, the Speaker of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to ban state -sponsored and state funded travel within their respective jurisdictions to any state of the Union that has banned state – sponsored travel to Tennessee in a selective way, so that the other states feel the pain and not Tennessee

Here's a neat little kicker at the end, with emphasis gleefully added:

"BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we urge the other forty-eight states to refrain from imposing their unfounded moral judgment on their sister states as California has done in order to prevent escalating foolishness."