Have You Heard? All Republican Presidents Are Stupid

Steve Feinstein  "The media are famously accused of being liberally biased. Whether it’s the traditional network TV nightly newscasts on ABC-CBS-NBC, the few surviving major newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post, popular TV “infotainment” shows like Good Morning America, Today and The View, tax-funded NPR and PBS, cable shows like Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, late night venues like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, and cable outlets like CNN and MSNBC, the media tilt left.  (Yes, Fox News tilts right. They’re outnumbered, oh, 15 or 20-1.) Even social media powerhouses like Facebook and Instagram have been shown to be liberal-leaning, as has the supposedly neutral “fact checking” site Snopes.

"The bias these media outlets display in favor of liberal/Democratic causes and politicians is long-standing and well-documented. Among others, the media watchdog group Media Research Center provides an on-going and accurate accounting of all the specific incidents, times and percentages of liberal reporting in the news and popular culture.

"That the “mainstream media” is liberally-biased in matters of daily news reporting and the wildly uneven manner in which they handle parallel Republican-Democrat personal/political circumstances is not in question. When Republicans commit what the liberal media deem a nation-threatening transgression, it’s treated as a “Stop the Presses!” moment. Conversely, a mirror-imaged action by Democrats is dismissed as a temporary minor misstep, when it’s even reported at all. Even the liberal media seem to acknowledge that this is the case, complete with a “That’s just how it is -- get over it” attitude." . . .

 . . ."Let’s look at the media-generated popular, general impressions of each president, by party, in ascending chronological order, then compare them and see if there are any common themes.

Here's our own theme:

Two presidents and their Marine attendants

Russ Vaughn   "On Saturday. as the commander-in-chief was boarding Marine One, rotor turbulence blew off the headgear of an attending Marine.  President Trump stooped, grabbed the hat, and replaced it on the stunned young Marine's head, patting the embarrassed, young serviceman on the arm.  The hat immediately blew off again, and Trump went after it a second time, while the Marine correctly maintained his post, standing rigidly at attention.  Trump this time handed off the hat to the Air Force colonel attending him and boarded the helicopter.

"Contrast that with this:"

"Nuff said..."

So you miss the foreign policy of Barack Obama, eh?

BBC Mocks Admin's James Taylor Outreach to France: 'No Better Definition of Soft Power'

Popular Cookie Company Employee Paid For Cop’s Order, Customer Called It Discrimination. UPDATED

Ease up on this company; look at the classy things they have done.

UPDATE: Katy cookie store reverses decision to suspend employee after he paid for police officer's order  . . . "Biju George, VKC Refreshments, owner and operator of the Great American Cookies at Katy Mills Mall, released this statement:

"On behalf of Great American Cookies Katy Mills, we owe the employee an apology. It was never an issue that he purchased a brownie for a police officer, but rather the events that unfolded with another customer in line at the time. However, after further review, we realize that the employee was in fact in the right and we continue to reach out to him and his mom to issue an apology. The corrective action and suspension was reversed immediately and we hope to connect with him today." -

Weasel Zippers

"The perpetually offended strike again.

"Via BPR:

An employee of a Texas cookie shop was suspended after he purchased an order for a police officer.

The young man was working at the Great American Cookies in Katy Mills Mall Sunday when an off-duty police officer placed an order with him, the Houston Chronicle reported.

When the employee caught a glimpse of the officer’s badge he offered to pay for the order.

The police officer thanked him and left the store. The kind gesture was done.

But that was not it for the couple in line behind the officer who demanded the employee pay for their order too, according to the Chronicle.

When the employee said he only did it for the officer because of his badge, the man called him a racist and attempted to fight him, according to the account described by the employee’s mother, Tami Kurtz Randolph, on Facebook.

“Then this customer started verbally attacking him, calling my son a racist and threatened to beat him up. His wife threatened to go back there and slap him,” Randolph wrote. “The middle aged man sat down his little daughter and tried to come behind the counter to attack him. Thankfully his coworker defused the situation. The man said ‘I will get you fired.’”

The customer left but the situation was not over for the employee.

“Tuesday he walks in with all his stuff. He was told the upper managers want him fired. Thankfully his manager refused and said you are an excellent worker and and everyone agreed that you did nothing wrong (The day before this situation he was offered a $2 an hour raise and management) He then started his normal scheduled shift,” Randolph said. “He worked 2-3 hours , when he was called into the back room where she had written him up. It says “he bought a cookie for a police officer and a customer wanted to physically fight him” it does state “if this happens again he will be terminated.” Then she stated after today’s shift you will be on a 1 week suspension.”

The management of the store has since issued an apology and affirmed it’s commitment to law enforcement in a statement to the Chronicle.

Keep reading…

4 Response Strategies for Trump After North Korea’s New Missile Test

Daily Signal  President Donald Trump may have no good options in responding to North Korea’s successful missile launch July 4, experts say, but a military strike is likely the worst while more intense sanctions and pressure on China probably are the most feasible.

"Still, some authorities on North Korea have unconventional views for dealing with Kim Jong Un’s communist regime, such as interdicting North Korean vessels at sea or a full-scale blockade, similar to what the U.S. carried out against Cuba during the missile crisis in 1962.

Another idea: Trump should cut a direct deal with the North Korean government, acting on what he calls his gift of making deals.

"North Korea’s government says its intercontinental ballistic missile could carry a large nuclear warhead and reach as far as Alaska or the Pacific Northwest.

"North Korean state media claimed the Hwasong-14 missile flew 580 miles, reaching an altitude of 1,741 miles in 39 minutes of flight. Some analysts reportedly said the flight details suggest the missile had a range of more than 4,970 miles, which would put parts of the continental U.S. in reach.

"Here are four potential U.S. responses:"

My New Victim Centered Tuition Proposal

Mike Adams

"Dear UNC President Spellings: For years, my opposition to UNC diversity initiatives has been a source of controversy across our seventeen-campus system. Many have assumed that my opposition has been a function of personal prejudice or insensitivity to the needs of various “disenfranchised” groups. In reality, it is a function of my belief that people should be judged according to individual character traits, not group stereotypes. However, despite years of opposition to UNC’s victim centered diversity movement, it appears that my side has lost. Accordingly, I write to you today with an offer to join the war against white privilege and ultimately make your long term vision a reality on each campus in the UNC system. 

"As you know, we have traditionally promoted diversity by providing a sliding scale for students in terms of admission requirements. The theory was that we could neutralize white privilege by making whites score higher on standardized test scores in order to be admitted to one of the UNC schools. Ultimately, we have failed in the goal of making our campuses less white because we have failed to account for overriding economic considerations. My plan will fix that once and for all. It involves two very simple steps. " . . .

. . . Full article here.

"It should also go without saying that there will be no need for oversight in implementing this new system. We will simply defer to student perception and trust that they are precisely who they claim to be. Those who say they are women are women. Those who say they are black are black, and so on. Once we have rejected the notion of truth, we’ll no longer live in fear of “falsity.”

"I hope that you will take my plan as seriously as I’ve always taken your commitment to institutional diversity.
"Sincerely,
"Mike S. Adams
"Professor and Community Disorganizer"

The Clinton Foundation Shuts Down Clinton Global Initiative

Observer  "The Clinton Foundation’s long list of wealthy donors and foreign government contributors during the 2016 elections provoked critics to allege conflicts of interests. Clinton partisans defended the organization’s charitable work, and dismissed claims that it served as a means for the Clintons to sell off access, market themselves on the paid speech circuit, and elevate their brand as Hillary Clinton campaigned for the presidency.

"But as soon as Clinton lost the election, many of the criticisms directed toward the Clinton Foundation were reaffirmed. Foreign governments began pulling out of annual donations, signaling the organization’s clout was predicated on donor access to the Clintons, rather than its philanthropic work. In November, the Australian government confirmed it “has not renewed any of its partnerships with the scandal-plagued Clinton Foundation, effectively ending 10 years of taxpayer-funded contributions worth more than $88 million.” The government of Norway also drastically reduced their annual donations, which reached $20 million a year in 2015.

"On January 12, the Clinton Foundation received more bad news: a WARN notice was filed with the New York Department of Labor. The main office of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City would be closing, laying off 22 employees. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) “offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs." . . .

That statue behind President Trump at his Warsaw speech

"U.S. President Donald Trump made his emotional address to the Poles speaking at the foot of the metal-and-stone Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, a heroic but failed 1944 uprising by Poland’s clandestine Home Army against the occupying Nazi Germans.

"The monument stands near the still-existing entry into the city’s sewer system that the insurgents and civilians used to flee the area as it was being overtaken by the Nazis. At least 150,000 Poles — both fighters and civilians — died in the fierce street fighting in the uprising.

It was unveiled on Aug. 1, 1989, on the 45th anniversary of the start of the uprising. It shows some fighters entering the sewer opening, while others are fleeing a wall that is collapsing after an explosion. It is a site of great emotions and pride for Poles.

"In 1994, during the 50th anniversary observances, German President Roman Herzog apologized at the site for Germany’s World War II crimes.

"As Trump’s tight schedule during the brief visit Thursday to Warsaw did not include another key memorial of a dramatic struggle, the Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes, Ivanka Trump was there and laid flowers in homage to the fighters.

"Unveiled on April 19, 1948, on the fifth anniversary of the start of the uprising, the massive granite-and-metal memorial honors hundreds of Jewish fighters who on April 19, 1943, began their struggle as the Nazis were liquidating the ghetto and transporting thousands of its remaining residents to the Treblinka death camp. The monument’s metal figures show the determination of the fighters.". . . 

The 1944 Warsaw uprising  The Russian Army held up east of Warsaw, doing nothing to help the Poles in their fight with the Nazis. Stalin's goal was to let Hitler slaughter the Poles who were violently anti-communist, leaving a more compliant Poland for the Communists to rule. Stalin actually did less than nothing, refusing to allow British and American planes flying over with supplies and bombing runs to land on Russian airfields.

The 1943 uprising was another one, pitting the Jews in the ghetto against their Nazi executioners.

1944: The betrayal of Poland  . . . "The third betrayal occurred in the summer of ’44. The Polish Home Army in German-occupied Warsaw, heeding appeals from Radio Moscow, rose up against the Nazis. As the Home Army was loyal to the free Polish government in London, which was demanding an investigation of Stalin’s murder of Polish officers at Katyn, Stalin halted his own Red Army outside Warsaw to give the Nazis a free hand in crushing the Polish uprising.

"British and Americans sought to aid the Poles with air drops of food and munitions. But Stalin refused to let the allies use air fields behind his lines to refuel for the return flight to England. Churchill drafted a strong letter to Stalin, asking that the allies be allowed to use the air fields assigned them, but to appease Stalin, FDR cravenly refused to sign the letter. The Home Army was butchered." . . .

Pictured: Polish resistance fighters.

An Updated Idiot’s Guide to the Trump/Russia Controversy

There are legitimate questions here, but they’re not the ones the media are obsessed with.

 

National Review  "Like many who follow politics full-time, I am exhausted with the Trump/Russia narrative, in no small part because it forces me to defend the president from mostly baseless charges rather than challenge his progress on repealing Obamacare, balancing the budget, and filling his own staff positions. 

"Months of theatrics from cable-news hosts and hysterical print journalists alike have crafted a false dichotomy in the minds of the public: Either Russia never even attempted to interfere with the election, or Trump colluded directly with the Kremlin to “hack” the results. The reality of the Trump-Russia question lies in between these two ridiculous strawmen. 

"David French scrupulously detailed the existing evidence and falsehoods back in March in “A Beginner’s Guide to the Trump/Russia Controversy.” Today I will try to get to those who are still falling for false narratives, and to cut through the bogus arguments perpetuated through the 24-hour news cycle. Here are the key facts you should know." . . .  Read more

Trump and de Blasio in Europe: A study in contrasts

De Blasio went to support these people

De Blasio called 'A horrible little man-child'

Avrohom Gordimer  "President Trump and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio were both overseas this week, within a few miles of each other. In fact, the President and the mayor were in Hamburg, Germany for the same exact event. Yet the contrast could not be starker.

"After a very successful trip to Poland, President Trump is tending to state business of the highest order at the G-20 summit in Hamburg. Despite the countless violent, rogue and lawless protesters, the President is moving our country’s agenda forward at the summit, as he temporarily leaves behind an America that is in far better shape than it was half a year ago. New employment and economic data were just released, confirming the great progress. ISIS is on its knees; things are good.

"In contrast, Mayor De Blasio is in Hamburg to join the protesters. The mayor, whose background includes support for the Sandinista regime and who announced last month that he would happily march in New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade despite the parade’s plans to honor a just-released terrorist -- his leftist tendencies should hence come as no surprise -- leaves behind a city which this week lost a police officer to a violent murder, which last week saw another violent murderer gun down people in a hospital, and which has a plunging quality of life problem, increasing homelessness and subway crime, a corrupt child welfare system and a crumbling infrastructure. The media loves De Blasio, yet his accomplishments are few and the problems that arose under his leadership are quite many." . . . 

Avrohom Gordimer is a senior rabbinic fellow at the Coalition for Jewish Values, a public policy institute reflecting traditional Jewish thought.  He serves on the editorial board of Jewish Action magazine, is a staff writer for the Cross-Currents website, and is a frequent contributor to Israel National News and a host of other publications. . .

First Trump Inauguration Protester Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison

Weasel Zippers

Roll Call  . . . "Powell, who faced 14 charges, pleaded guilty to charges of felony rioting and felony assault on a police officer.

"He told prosecutors he broke windows and threw “a brick, large rock, or piece of concrete at uniformed law enforcement,” WTOP reported. The U.S. attorney’s office for D.C. said in a statement that Powell “admitted being part of a group of rioters who moved approximately 16 blocks over a period of more than 30 minutes.”

“ 'The group formed a ‘black bloc’ in which individual defendants wore black or dark colored clothing, gloves, scarves, sunglasses, ski masks, gas masks, goggles, helmets, hoodies, and other face-concealing and face-protecting items to conceal their identities in an effort to prevent law enforcement from being able to identify the individual perpetrators of violence or property damage. Some of the members of the black bloc were armed with hammers, crowbars, wooden sticks, and other weapons.”

"Powell was sentenced to 36 months in prison, with all but four months suspended. Protesters face up to 75 or 80 years in prison for the charges, with some facing up to eight felony counts, including inciting or urging to riot, engaging in rioting, conspiracy to riot, and destruction of property.

"Activists and other fellow arrestees gathered at D.C. Superior Court Friday to show their support for Powell and expressed their anger at the result." . . .

‘Collusion’ as Farce: The Hunt for Hillary’s Hackers

Do you know what federal prosecutors do when a thief brings the FBI incriminating documents that he has swiped from his victim’s home?  They use the documents to convict the victim.

Andrew C. McCarthy

. . . "If you find such government behavior unseemly, the New York Times will really give you the heebie-jeebies. The Paper of Record, as we shall see, would not only use stolen information; it would encourage the theft—arguably, a felony violation of federal law.

"Once you grasp this, you get a sense of what drivel is the Hunt for Hillary’s Hackers, the latest Russia molehill that the Trump-deranged have fantasized into Mount Elbrus. Served up by the Wall Street Journal, it is the tale of a now-deceased Republican activist’s quest for the 33,000 emails former Secretary of State Clinton hoarded on a private server and attempted to destroy, in violation of various federal laws.

"The heavy breathing belies a principle that should come as no surprise to journalists, as it is their bread and butter. As long as one is not complicit in a theft and has no fiduciary obligation to the victim, he is permitted to exploit stolen information that he chances upon.

"Under the Fourth Amendment, for example, you are protected from the prosecutor’s use against you of evidence the government’s own agents have unlawfully seized from you; you have no protection, though, from a prosecutor’s using against you evidence stolen from you by some non-government actor—as long as the government was not a participant in the theft." . . .