Obama wasn't king, and his laws aren't set in stone

William Perry Pendley

To his credit, President Trump directed Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to begin the process of undoing former President Back Obama's abuses regarding the declaration of national monuments to appease environmentalists.

Former President Barack Obama once acknowledged, "I actually believe my own bullshit," which must include statements that, with him, "the rise of the oceans [will] slow and our planet [will] heal," that stimulus projects were "shovel-ready," and that he is smarter than anyone working for him. To those add his observation that his policies, such as his decrees of national monuments off limits to the public, are set in stone.

"Obviously, from their comments among the 1.2 million filed last month on plans by President Trump to void Obama's and former President Bill Clinton's illegal decrees, environmentalists believe that baloney. They are wrong.

"Obama's abuses of the Antiquities Act of 1906 are well known, including designation of an ocean monument off New England to kill fishing[,] an unauthorized park parading as a monument in rural Maine to kill logging and milling[,] and the 1.3 million acre Bear Ears in Utah to placate environmentalists. Largely forgotten everywhere but in the West was Clinton's designation of the 1.8 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

"On behalf of the people of Southern Utah, my organization sued Clinton. For years, a courageous federal judge resisted Clinton's lawyers' efforts to dismiss the case; however, when former President George W. Bush's lawyers defended the decree, the judge figuratively threw up his hands. Our lawsuit was over and with it any hopes of limiting future presidents. ' " . . .

Resisting the Tranny State

One wonders how many would join the military just for the sex change, much as the bounty men did in the civil war for money. TD

TakiMag  . . . "But the thing is, these days trannies are not content to just go be trannies; they insist that we become accomplices to their fantasy. We have to pretend to see what they see. We have to use pronouns that we know are

misapplied. We have to allow dudes with dirlywangers to shower, change, and go to the bathroom alongside our daughters. We have to foot the bill for sex change surgeries. To even suggest that sex change operations are elective and not a “medical necessity” is to challenge the tranny illusion. This is at the heart of the controversy surrounding President Trump’s announcement that trans folk will no longer be allowed to serve in the military. Trannies, their leftist allies, and “moderate Republicans” think soldiers are as entitled to state-funded sex change operations as they are to first aid on the battlefront.

"In Sweden, the trans lobby has been able to bully the medical establishment into changing the official term for sex change (or sex reassignment) surgery. The new authorized term is “könskorrigering”—“gender correction.” A perfectly healthy organ (a penis) is now seen as a congenital defect to be surgically lopped off . . .

“Sorry, but you can’t make your mental health dependent on everyone else seeing you as you see yourself.”

By David Cole. 

Confirmed: Senate Too Gridlocked to Move Forward With Obamacare Reform

earloftaint

Legal Insurrection

“There’s just too much animosity and we’re too divided on healthcare”

"We’ve been actively chronicling the Senate Republican’s embarrassing attempt (or feigned, depending on your thoughts here), to repeal Obamacare.

"Whether it’s one big, long con, or a deeply fractured caucus, Sen. Hatch is under the impression that the division in the Republican ranks runs far too deep to find a path forward in the long-promised effort to rid us of Obamacare.

"In an interview with Reuters, Sen. Hatch said, “there’s just too much animosity and we’re too divided on healthcare.”

Trump over the weekend urged Republican senators to stick with trying to pass an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act, former President Obama’s signature domestic initiative known as Obamacare.

Trump made replacing Obamacare a key part of his presidential campaign and Republicans have promised for years to repeal or replace the law. The House of Representatives has passed an overhaul but the Senate has been unable to do so despite having worked on it for months. Three Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against repealing even part of the law at the end of last week.

"Hatch’s statements contradict directives from Trump, who urged the Senate to continue working to find consensus Sunday." . . .

Race Hysteria Erupts over a Commonsense Casting Decision on Broadway

Buzzfeed

National Review

"Everyone associated with The Great Comet will soon be out of work if the show doesn’t find a way to boost ticket sales."

. . . 'When Groban left the show on the expiration of his contract on July 2, the boyish baritone was temporarily replaced by an unknown, Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan, whom Patinkin would have replaced. Onaodowan is black. Patinkin isn’t. So an utterly routine fact of Broadway life — star replaces non-star — was dressed up in racial outrage. Social media seethed. The Daily News headline read “‘Great Comet’ actor Okieriete Onaodowan shoved aside for Mandy Patinkin, causing outcry.” One actor, Rafael Casal, tweeted, “Telling lead actors of color to #makeroom? Really? @greatcometbway #makeroom is the new code for ‘still not your turn.’” Actress Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony in 2015 for The Color Purple, also took exception, tweeting, “This has been handled badly. Ticket sales shouldn’t override a person doing his job” and “Oak worked extremely hard for this. Which makes this occurrence distasteful and uncouth.”

"Patinkin withdrew from the show, groveling. The producers who hired him also scraped and begged forgiveness, as did the composer. All did much agonizing about how they should have better understood the “optics.” Then Onaodowan himself quit, announcing that August 13 would bring his last performance. " . . .

With repeal off the table, media suddenly 'discover' that Obamacare is in deep trouble

The three stooges against repealing Obamacare though they ran on it.

Monica Showalter  "Just moments after Sen. John McCain torpedoed Obamacare repeal, the mainstream news media started publishing stories about how Obamacare is in desperate need of repairs.

"For example, there is this New York Times piece, cited here:

On Saturday, The New York Times ran a big story that began this way: "Republicans have failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Now, can it be repaired?"

"The timing of these stories is a mystery only to those who don't understand how the press works these days.  Journalists surround and shame any reporter who reports a story that could in any way be seen as helping Republicans.  And stories about massive premium hikes, lack of insurers in dozens of counties, imploding exchanges, larded up unwanted mandates, etc., had they been written while repeal was a live prospect, would have been seen as aiding and abetting the enemy. 

"So reporters sat on them, and instead focused on all the supposed benefits of the law.  Now that negative Obamacare stories won't make a difference, the press decides that it's OK to inform the public about how it's all falling apart.

"This is media bias at its worst – and why the public despises the mainstream media."

comicallyincorrect

Exclusive Footage: The Last Meeting Between Spicer, Priebus, and the Mooch

Patterico

Let General Kelly be the chief of staff

Silvio Canto, Jr.  "President Trump was tweeting yesterday morning about the good economic news and a few other things.  He has every right to take credit for them.

"However, his problems are at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, not the U.S.-Mexico border or the stock market.

"This is why I'm hoping Mr. Kelly's appointment is the beginning of a new day in the Trump presidency. 

"I agree with Newt Gingrich that Trump-Kelly could be a game-changer: 

President Trump has made a big decision in bringing Kelly to the White House to be chief of staff.

It will be fascinating to watch these two powerful, experienced leaders forge a unique working relationship.

I predict the White House will become more orderly and disciplined – with clear lines of authority, serious planning and strong teamwork.

The person who may benefit most from this change is President Trump. He has worked with many smart, successful people in his remarkable career, but he has never worked this closely with someone as used to command, organization and dignified insistence on teamwork as Secretary Kelly.

If these two powerful leaders truly become a team, the Trump presidency will become one of the most effective in our history. 

Time for the GOP to teach the Democrats a scandal lesson

Thomas Lifson  . . . "(See Clarice Feldman's brilliant Sunday column explaining how some of the current cast of characters traded roles and managed to convict V.P. Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, of a phony crime, the last time a special counsel was ginned up over a nonexistent crime: the "unmasking" of Valerie Plame.)" . . .

 . . . The old injunction that we should be careful what we wish for needs to be brought home to the Democrats and the Deep Staters seeking to oust President Trump from the office to which voters elected him.  Having generated hysteria over alleged Russian "interference" in our election, they have opened a door for the GOP.  Those charges are a propaganda ploy dreamed up by John Podesta and the Hillary inner circle, as documented in the book Shattered, yet they have been used by the Democrats and their media friends to distract and hobble our president." . . .

. . . "Victor Davis Hanson addresses the questions I just raised in an article published at American Greatness, titled "Republicans and the Lost Art of Deterrence."  As with all of Hanson's writing, it is full of the kind of insight that comes from the close study of human nature over the ages, as expressed in the wars fought as civilization pursues its course." . . .

Go Full-Bore on Real ScandalsThe salvation of both the Trump Administration and the Republican congressional fate in the 2018 elections is to reestablish political deterrence – accomplished by going on a full-fledged offensive against real, not merely perceived or alleged, political scandals. Only that way will the accusers feel the predicament of the accused, especially as there is real merit to Democratic liability in a way that charges of Trump collusion have largely proved a political fraud. Only when deterrence is achieved, will the Democrats be forced to concentrate on agendas, issues, laws, and messages, not on ambushing the president. 

"It's the read of the day."

Snopes Caught Lying For Their Friends At CNN

Sean Adl-Tabatabai   "Snopes has been caught lying for their media friends at CNN, debunking claims that embarrass and expose the U.S. news network to the public. 

"The Facebook fact-checking organization recently “debunked” claims that CNN had staged a scene during one of their news broadcasts that involved Muslim protestors protesting the recent London Bridge terror attack.

"Medium.com reports: Video in question originally from Mark Antro:

. . .
 
. . . "CNN’s statement is also full of it.

This story is nonsense. The group of demonstrators that was at the police cordon was being allowed through by officers so they could show their signs to the gathered media. The CNN crew along with other media present simply filmed them doing so.

"No, they were not being let in to just “show” their signs to the media. The actual video shows them setting up the scene, showing the protesters where to stand and how they should look. They staged the entire thing.

"I underlined the parts that directly apply to the context of what CNN did. This information [excerpt] below is from the NPAA Code of Ethics:"

. . . Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one's own biases in the work." . . .

Press Pours Resources Into Investigating Nine-Year-Old's Letter to Trump

Tom Blumer  . . . "Just a few examples of over-the-top skepticism included the following:

• Mediaite's Jonathan Levine: "Ok. Serious question. Is Pickle real?" Levine tried to backtrack away from his "serious question" later by joking in a separate tweet, "Look ... I won't rest until I've seen a birth certificate" You're not fooling anyone, Jon — not even your own staff.
• Washington Post reporter Christopher Ingraham: "Pickle's actually a 45-year-old trucker from Iowa."
• Matt Berman at Buzzfeed used the fact that Pickle had asked how much money the President has as an excuse to claim that "Pickle demands ... (Trump's) tax returns."
• A journalist at the UK Mirror claimed that “There is no record in the index of US newspaper birth announcements for a Dylan Harbin between 2007 and 2009.”

"It soon became obvious that a number of tweeters, including many in the press, weren't joking as they questioned Pickle's existence. Ultimately, the Washington Post put reporter Monica Hess on the case: . . ."

Un-Christian Education

"So what is the solution for young Christians who wish to make a difference in college? I say it is to go to a secular school – as long as they are sufficiently grounded in their faith before going. It sure beats going to a school that is Christian in name only and battling narcissistic hypocrites who show no willingness to acknowledge their transgressions." Mike Adams

Mike Adams

"As the end of summer draws near, it occurs to me that I have spent most of it working on four college cases dealing either with freedom of speech or with freedom of association. One case involves unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in the dissemination of student fees at a public university in California. Another involves unconstitutional interference with the belief requirements of a religious organization at a public university in Colorado. But the other two cases deal with administrators at private schools that claim to be Christian while simultaneously destroying the careers and lives of people who hold dissenting but entirely reasonable views. Intellectual honestly dictates that I use my platform to deal with these “Christian” dictators rather than focusing exclusively on secular tyrants." . . .

Guess Who’s Defending North Korea Now…

 "In it, the subject of foreign policy came up and Stein gave us a peek at what our position toward Kim Jong-un would have been had she been elected. It turns out that the diminutive dictator has been getting a bad rap in the American press and Stein is tired of seeing North Korea “demonized.” (Mediaite)"

Hot Air

“The demonization of North Korea is part of the run-up to regime change. she said.” “It’s part of demonizing a government that we then want to exercise regime change on.”
Host Alex Witt pushed back against Stein’s accusation saying, “It’s the North Koreans that have added the provocation in launching missiles and testing….”
“But remember where that came from,” Stein interrupted, doubling down. “Long before they began their missile tests the U.S. was conducting nuclear bombing runs against North Korea. We actually had nuclear weapons until the end of the cold war We actually had nuclear weapons stationed in South Korean.”

 . . . "Thankfully Stein never got anywhere near the point of even landing a single electoral vote in the presidential race, but it says something about the state of the far left that the Green Party was even willing to field her. Stein is a loon. There’s just no other way to describe it. And the more time she spends on the national stage, the less stable she appears.

"Hey… on second thought, maybe the Democrats should consider running her in 2020. Something to ponder anyway."

Rick Moran: Jill Stein complains about 'demonization' of North Korea

. . . "It is the fallback position of anti-Americans that everything in the world we respond to is our fault to begin with and that if only we gathered in a circle with our enemies and sang protest songs, everything would be right in the world.

"It takes a special kind of idiot to absolve a brutal dictatorship of responsibility for a crisis when that regime starves its own people in order to construct a weapon of mass destruction and speak so casually of attacking the United States."