News Anchor accuses Al Franken of non-consensual kissing, groping in 2006

Legal Insurrection

"Do Democrat Senators get one free grope, or will Senate move to expel Franken as is talked about with Roy Moore?"

This is making the rounds today

"Leeann Tweeden, now a local radio news anchor in Los Angeles, has authored an article accusing Senator Al Franken of non-consensual sexual contact in 2006, during a USO tour in the Middle East. This contrasts with the accusations against candidate Roy Moore, which involve alleged conduct several decades ago.

"Since there have been calls to “expel” Moore should he win, will there be calls to expel Franken for conduct which took place not long before his election to the Senate in 2008.

"The article is at the Talk Radio 790 KABC website. Here’s an excerpt, Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It:

In December of 2006, I embarked on my ninth USO Tour to entertain our troops, my eighth to the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks…. The headliner was comedian and now-senator, Al Franken….

On the day of the show Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, ‘Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.’

He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.

He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.

I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.

I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth.

I felt disgusted and violated.

Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips.

No one saw what happened backstage. I didn’t tell the Sergeant Major of the Army, who was the sponsor of the tour. I didn’t tell our USO rep what happened.

At the time I didn’t want to cause trouble. We were in the middle of a war zone, it was the first show of our Holiday tour, I was a professional, and I could take care of myself. I told a few of the others on the tour what Franken had done and they knew how I felt about it.

I tried to let it go, but I was angry." . . .

 Full Article

Sixty nails in climate alarmism's coffin

Jerry Shenk  "There are plenty of well-credentialed, objective, if little-publicized, climate skeptics, but few who are able to present their material in layman’s terms to an audience of curious, unschooled, but receptive climate truth-seekers.

A new resource provides a point-by-point review and response to each of the climate industry’s claims, citing the “normalcy” of much of their “alarming” data.  

"In an entertaining, easy-to-read, elegantly-written, meticulously-researched, well-documented and illustrated 143-page book (including citations) entitled “Inconvenient Facts: The science that Al Gore doesn’t want you to know,” geologist Gregory Wrightstone presents a clear picture of the climate alarmism that attracts cynical big-government advocates and grips much of the scientific community, complicit media and the gullible among us.

"Wrightstone employs government sources, peer-reviewed publications and other scholarly works to reassure readers that our Earth has become healthier and more prosperous because of rising carbon dioxide and temperature levels, rather than in spite of them.

"The book details sixty inconvenient facts. Considering the climate alarmists’ persistent clamor about “scientific consensus.” Arguably, Inconvenient Fact #31 should have appeared first: “Science is not consensus and consensus is not science.”  

"Wrightstone’s droll observation about the financial incentives driving many career-invested scientists to mislead or overstate the “catastrophic” potential of climate change, often without historical or even scientific context, is spot on: “Fund it and they will find it.' ” . . . Full article

Is the U. S. Congress a 'safe space' for sexual predators?

American Thinker  "Many universities today provide “safe spaces” for people who feel threatened because of their sexual orientation, race or even political affiliation. These safe spaces within the confines of the educational facility and are supposed to be free of harassment or anything thought to be offensive to the protected group.

"By law, every work place in America is supposed to be a “safe space” for women to be free from sexual harassment and abuse from other employees.

"Shockingly, we have now learned that the United States Congress may not be a “safe space” for women to work. And to top that off, when women are sexually harassed or abused while working in the U.S. Congress, the congressional rules for reporting and resolving any sexual harassment or abuse charges are designed specifically to protect the identity of the perpetrator while sweeping the incident under the carpet and out of the public eye.

"While a female working in the United States Congress is not restrained from going to outside authorities and exposing the alleged sexual predator to the public, interestingly, to date, no women working in the U.S. Congress has ever done so.

"With respect to any women who have been a target or victim of a sexual predator, maybe the women working in the U.S. Congress who have been sexually harassed or abused decided not to go public and expose the guilty sitting Congressman or Senator because they were offered a big cash settlement to bury the incident.

"The Washington Post reported that “between 1997 and 2014, $15.2 million was paid out to 235 claimants.' ”  . . .

No Democrats, you don't get your virginity back  . . . "Besides, it wasn't just Clinton.

"It was Ted Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

"Democrats -- and frankly, most Republicans -- were cool with keeping Kennedy in the Senate after he got drunk, ditched his car in the water, and left a woman to die.

"And 22 years later, Democrats wanted to deny Thomas a seat on the Supreme Court because a woman said he put a hair on a can of Coca-Cola." . . .

Yes, Virginia, Immigration Is Turning The Country Blue

Ann Coulter  "Hey, Republicans! Did you enjoy Election Night last week? Get ready for a lot more nights like that as immigration turns every last corner of the country blue. 

"When Ed Gillespie lost in Virginia, liberals crowed about how they're winning the war of ideas. The country has thoroughly, emphatically rejected Trumpism!

"Republicans, being idiots, played along, arguing only about whether Gillespie's problem was that he didn't embrace Trump enough or embraced him too much.

"Gillespie's campaign was fine. No cleverer arguments, community outreach or perfectly timed mailings would have changed the result. Contrary to The New York Times' celebratory article in last Sunday's magazine, "How the 'Resistance' Helped Democrats Dominate Virginia," it wasn't Democratic operative Kathryn Sorenson's savvy use of Facebook, Google and Eventbrites that carried the day. "The Resistance" didn't win.

"What happened was: Democrats brought in new voters. In 1970, only one out of every 100 Virginians was foreign-born. By 2012, one in nine Virginians was foreign-born.

"The foreign-born vote overwhelmingly, by about 80 percent, for Democrats. They always have and they always will -- especially now that our immigration policies aggressively discriminate in favor of the poorest, least-educated, most unskilled people on Earth. They arrive in need of a LOT of government services.

"According to the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of Hispanic immigrants and 55 percent of Asian immigrants support bigger government, compared to just over 40 percent of the general public. Even third-generation Hispanics support bigger government by 58 percent.

"Polls show that immigrants are far more likely to support Obamacare and affirmative action than the general public, and are far less likely to support gun rights and capitalism." . . .

Dan Rather On Clinton Rape Allegations: Even If They Turn Out To Be True, It Was A Long Time Ago

Townhall



"We’re not excusing what Roy Moore is accused of—it’s ghastly. The man is accused of being inappropriate with multiple women; with another, a Trump voter, claiming he sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old. The Republican Party had abandoned Moore; the optics of this is just too terrible to maintain support. It gets worse; Guy wrote today about how this man was banned from a Gadsden mall because he was trolling for high school dates and badgering teenage girls in the process. All of the accusers were teenagers at the time. Yet, one thing the Media Research Center observed was the coverage. Societies mature and change, and yes, maybe it’s a good thing that when a woman comes forward with her story about sexual assault, they’re not attacked. That was not the case when Bill Clinton had sexual assault allegations hurled in his direction. And the media mostly fell silent in reporting the allegations.  Tim Graham of Newsbusters even found an old 1999 clip from Don Imus’ then-radio show, in which Dan Rather, pre-Killian Documents, said that even if the Juanita Broaddrick allegations are true, it was a long time ago, and that we should move on:" . . .

If the left can't find racism, they'll make it up

Ben Shapiro wrote of this in 2014:

 . . . "Two years ago, she told David Letterman about the same incident:

I thought I was undercover. I have to tell you something about this trip though. No one knew that was me because a woman actually walked up to me, right? I was in the detergent aisle, and she said — I kid you not — she said, ‘Excuse me, I just have to ask you something,’ and I thought, ‘Oh, cover’s blown.’ She said, ‘Can you reach on that shelf and hand me the detergent?’  I kid you not…And the only thing she said — I reached up, ’cause she was short, and I reached up, pulled it down — she said, ‘Well, you didn’t have to make it look so easy.’ That was my interaction. I felt so good. ... She had no idea who I was. I thought, as soon as she walked up — I was with my assistant, and I said, ‘This is it, it’s over. We’re going to have to leave.’ She just needed the detergent.

"Being asked to take things off shelves as a taller woman is the new Jim Crow. 

"Charming and funny two years ago. Racism now." Life is better for a victim.

Target Customer Asks Michelle Obama For Help; First Lady Believes Request Was Racially Motivated   "A Target customer asked Michelle Obama to help her grab an item during a trip to the mega retailer back in 2011. In an interview with People Magazine, the First Lady talks about her own experiences as a black woman and why she believes the customer’s simple request may have been influenced by racial stereotypes.

"In her highly publicized Target trip, Michelle Obama said that not a single customer approached her other than one woman who asked her to grab an item off the shelf for her. The First Lady believes that despite being the wife of the Commander-in-Chief, people will always see her first as a helping hand due to the color of her skin.

"In the same interview, Michelle Obama also talks about similar incidents with her husband and how he was once mistaken for a valet when he wore a tux for a black-tie event." . . .

"The interview has quickly drawn comments from people on both sides of the aisle. Supporters believe the First Lady is merely echoing a truth that white Americans will never and often refuse to understand. Critics, however, is bashing her for making the issue about race. Numerous commenters have pointed out that Michelle Obama stands at 5’11” and anyone at that height would get asked by a shorter person to grab an item off a high shelf for them. Many have also pointed to their own experiences of being asked to grab something from a shelf despite not being black.

"Whether you believe a Target customer asking Michelle Obama for help reaching an item is racist or not, it is certainly one of those stories that create a heavily opinionated debate on a highly sensitive topic.

House Democrats Introduce Five Articles of Impeachment Against Trump

"Pelosi said on Nov. 5 that impeachment is "not some place I think we should go," and she denied the idea that Democrats would immediately impeach Trump if they win a House majority in the 2018 midterm elections."

Free Beacon

"House Democrats introduced five articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying they took the action because of their "great concern" for the country.

"Reps. Steve Cohen (D., Tenn.), Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.), Al Green (D., Texas), and Adriano Espaillat (D., N.Y.) spoke at a press conference outlining their support for a move that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has publicly opposed.

" '[We've] taken this action because of great concern for the country and our Constitution, our national security, and our democracy. We believe that President Trump has violated the Constitution, and we've introduced five articles of impeachment," said Cohen, who went on to outline them.

"The first article states that Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey in May, and the others allege various violations of the Emoluments Clause, undermining the judiciary, and undermining freedom of the press.

"Cohen said Trump has shown a "pattern of behavior" that belittles institutions important to American democracy." . . .

With Maxine Waters in the shadows? No no.
Video: Maxine Waters Leads ‘Impeach 45’ Chant At Glamour’s Women Of The Year Awards

President Brown of the People's Republic of California speaks boldly

California Gov. Jerry Brown took the anti-Trump resistance to the Vatican over the weekend, declaring that the world is in need of a so-called “brainwashing” on climate change.

. . . "In an appearance Saturday at an event organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Mr. Brown assured leaders that the “Trump factor” on climate change is minimal compared to the efforts taking place worldwide, but that it’s not the only problem fueling delusions on the climate threat, The Sacramento Beereported.

“ 'The Trump factor is very small, very small indeed,” the Democratic governor, who has been a vocal opponent of the president’s actions on climate change, said to applause. “That’s nothing to cheer about, because if it was only Trump that was a problem, we’d have it solved. But that’s not our only problem.

“ 'The problem … is us,” he continued, The Bee reported. “It’s our whole way of life. It’s our comfort … It’s the greed. It’s the indulgence. It’s the pattern. And it’s the inertia.

“ 'At the highest circles, people still don’t get it,” he said. “It’s not just a light rinse” that’s needed. “We need a total, I might say ‘brainwashing.’ " . . .

Moonbeam Jerry Brown calls for brainwashing, getting ever cultier "For Jerry Brown, it was never about science.  Or, for that matter, spirituality.

"On confronting global warming, it's all about coercive government power:" . . .

NYT Column: I Believe, And Am 'Haunted' By, Juanita Broaddrick's Rape Accusation Against Bill Clinton

"But Clinton was not left to the swift and pitiless justice that today’s accused men have experienced. Rather, he was rescued by a surprising force: machine feminism." 

" . . .contemporary feminism as a weaponized auxiliary of the Democratic Party."

Guy Benson

"We touched on this issue yesterday, highlighting a tweet from alleged Clinton rape victim Juanita Broaddrick in response to the Left's "believe women" mantra vis-a-vis Roy Moore -- as well as a tweet from an MSNBC host exhorting liberals to finally engage in a "real reckoning" over multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and assault against America's 42nd president.  Taking up that charge, a liberal writer penned a New York Times piece entitled, "I believe Juanita."  She writes that she finds some claims against Clinton dubious (glossing over the highly relevant fact that Clinton paid Paula Jones a $850,000 settlement in 1999, which would be worth more than $1.2 million in 2017 dollars), and that she abhors right-wing "bad faith" on these issues (seeking consistency isn't bad faith or 'whataboutism').  Nevertheless, she confesses that Ms. Broaddrick's consistent rape charge against Clinton has always 'haunted' her:

Of the Clinton accusers, the one who haunts me is Broaddrick. The story she tells about Clinton recalls those we’ve heard about Weinstein. She claimed they had plans to meet in a hotel coffee shop, but at the last minute he asked to come up to her hotel room instead, where he raped her. Five witnesses said she confided in them about the assault right after it happened. It’s true that she denied the rape in an affidavit to Paula Jones’s lawyers, before changing her story when talking to federal investigators. But her explanation, that she didn’t want to go public but couldn’t lie to the F.B.I., makes sense. Put simply, I believe her...One of the sick ironies of the 2016 campaign was that it was Hillary who had to pay the political price for Bill’s misdeeds, as they were trotted out to deflect attention from Trump’s well-documented transgressions. And now they’re being trotted out again. It’s fair to conclude that because of Broaddrick’s allegations, Bill Clinton no longer has a place in decent society.

"Even I had forgotten the detail about five witnesses contemporaneously corroborating her story.  Another aspect of the Clinton scandals that is receiving renewed attention is the lengths to which so-called feminists rallied to the president's cause, smearing alleged victims in order to protect a liberal president (content warning):" . . .  All emphases in the original. TD

Drip, drip: Bill Clinton's reckoning nears

'Mooring' Bill Clinton

The Democrats are devious, even using the actual crime as a defense that their shallow supporters will accept eagerly. As when they were exposed for renting out the historic Lincoln bedroom, Bill claimed it was necessary because of the pressure to raise monies for the political campaign and they were victims of the system; now they would be the leaders of finance reform. On subsquent occasions they would refer to themselves as campaign finance reformers! TD

The Shame of America’s Public High Schools

John Hinderaker at Power Line  "I wrote here, here, here (a video of a speech by me), here and here about the sad decline of the Edina, Minnesota public schools into hard-core leftism. Edina’s school district was once among the nation’s most respected, but its administrators have been content to see the district slide down to second or third tier status, because their sole priority is “racial equity,” which is code for a long list of left-wing hobby horses.

"What happens when a public school district falls into the hands of race-obsessed leftists? For one thing, students think it’s cool to disrespect America’s veterans. Last Friday, Veterans’ Day, Edina High School held a ceremony to honor Edina’s vets. The high school kids assembled, and most of them behaved properly. But many did not. Some giggled and talked loudly, among themselves or on their cell phones, through the ceremony. Worse, a group of students made a deliberate show of disrespecting veterans–even during the playing of “Taps”–by lounging prominently on the floor in front of the crowd rather than standing. This was an anti-American political statement, as some of them later confirmed on Facebook and other social media.

"Here is the video:"

. . . "So now, as the dust settles, are the Edina schools cracking down on the fascist students who issued threats behind a mask, or the students who disavowed allegiance to America and referred to fellow students as “females on their periods,” “some bitches” and “that ho over there”?

"Just kidding. Superintendent Schultz says that he appreciates the anti-American demonstrators because they protested “peacefully,” if contemptuously. Tonight, there are multiple reports that Edina High School is cracking down on conservative students because they dared to criticize the anti-American, anti-veteran display that took place on Friday. Suspensions have been reported, although these have not yet been confirmed. On the other hand, we have seen no reports of any actions being taken against the anti-American demonstrators or the fascists who posted the threatening video." . . .

Cal Thomas warns about mixing politics, religion

Greg Corombos

'There's a lot of effort in this country to get evangelicals off their focus on Jesus of Nazareth'

"Are politically active Christians a critical force in changing public policy toward a more biblical perspective, or are they getting drawn into ugly political infighting that distracts them from sharing the gospel and ultimately damages their witness to unbelievers? America’s most widely syndicated columnist fears it’s the latter.

"In his latest column, longtime conservative activist and writer Cal Thomas says many Christian conservatives get so immersed in politics, they become convinced they are indispensable to God’s plans.

“ 'There is an unstated conceit among some evangelicals that God is only at work when a Republican is elected, even a Republican who does not share their view of Jesus, or practice what He taught. It is the ultimate compromise, which leads to the corruption and dilution of a message more powerful than what government and politics offer,” writes Thomas.

"In an separate interview, Thomas says the endless flurry of controversies and scandals keeps believers away from their primary mission.

“ 'The first thing we learn about Satan in scripture is not that he’s evil – that comes later – but that he’s subtle or crafty. And I think there’s a lot of effort in this country to get evangelicals especially off their focus on Jesus of Nazareth and onto the kingdom of this world,” said Thomas.

"While the debate plays out over the allegations against Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, some Christians in Alabama have used scripture to defend Moore even if he did engage in sexual contact with a 14-year-old, with the state’s auditor comparing the alleged relationship to Mary and Joseph and other likening the offense to stealing a lawn mower.

"Because of the political, cultural and moral issues at stake, Thomas says many believers they have no choice but to vote for Moore no matter the facts from 38 years ago. Thomas disagrees." . . .

ABC Highlights Dad Who Used Gun to Save Daughter from Kidnappers

Newsbusters  "On Tuesday's Good Morning America on ABC, there was a rare example of the dominant media actually taking the time to inform viewers of someone using a gun for self-defense as news reader Amy Robach filed a report about a man who saved himself and his daughter from home invaders after they attempted to kidnap his daughter as she arrived home."

. . . "He told ABC News that when he stepped outside he spotted two people attempting to break into his garage.

"That's when I yelled at them and fired three shots with my glock, and they took off running," he said. "It was at that point that I went back in my house and called 911."

"Brackney said that when authorities arrived at the scene and uncovered the weapons, he began to realize the magnitude of the situation.

" 'At that point is when I got scared, because I knew then that what was going to happen wasn't going to end up pretty had they ended up in my home," he said.

"Brackney said that he was shocked to eventually find out that he knew two of the teens allegedly involved." . . .