The Strzok/Page texts and investigator objectivity

Legal Insurrection  "Can partisans be neutral?"

. . . "And yet the public’s trust in the integrity of such investigators rests on the idea that they can, and will, put aside such feelings entirely because most investigators are going to have political opinions and biases.

"If the Strzok/Page emails had just been about their feelings towards Clinton and Trump, it would be difficult to say for sure whether those feelings influenced that pair’s actions and decisions during the course of their respective investigations. But the texts also contain statements that indicate the possibility that one or both of them may have done something (or at least planned and discussed doing something) to act on their biases to prevent Trump’s election.

"For example, there’s plenty of speculation (see this, for example) on the meaning of the following text message sent from Strzok to Page: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk.”

(Emphasis added by TD)

"What was the “path”? What was the “risk” they couldn’t take? Was Strzok just saying that Page had said Trump’s election was impossible and that he disagreed and thought it possible? Or was he saying there was something they were going to try to do to prevent the possibility of his election? We may never know." . . .

How many of Robert Mueller's lawyers gave money to Democrats?

American Thinker  "Since June, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating whether the Russian government and the Trump campaign colluded in an effort to swing the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor.  To help with the task, Mueller assembled a team of seventeen accomplished lawyers, although in September, two of the seventeen were terminated.

"The credibility of the Mueller team depends on the degree to which the public perceives it as being above politics.  No reasonable person would think Mueller and his team members lack a political position of some sort, but American society is justified in expecting that each of them will at least maintain the appearance of objectivity and that as a team, they will have a rough balance between left- and right-leaning political views.  Mueller's enterprise is "independent" only to the degree that it betrays no sign of favoring one political side over the other.

"What follows is a list of the all the team members in alphabetical order with any public information regarding their political orientation.  The likelihood that such a heavily pro-Clinton and anti-Trump team orientation happened by chance is infinitesimally small." . . .

. . . 

"Robert Mueller -- the man of great integrity.  Really?

As director of the FBI from 2001 until September of 2013, Mueller knew that Tenex (the American subsidiary of the Russian state-owned nuclear umbrella agency, Rosatom) was engaged in illegal activities with the objective of gaining Russian control over American uranium resources.  He knew this because . . . 

"At least as early as February of 2009, Robert Mueller also knew about a Russian spy ring that was trying to get close to the Clinton State Department for the purpose of influencing its decisions but also to be well positioned in the likely event that Hillary became president.  Mueller knew all this.  He knew that the Russians were trying to manipulate the Obama administration into approving the sale of Uranium One to Rosatom (and he knew that the Russians were angling to gain influence over Hillary as a potential president)." . . .

Ben Garrison cartoons

Recently at the Sutherland Springs, Texas Baptist Church

Sutherland Springs Texas Baptist church 

Regarding an erroneous post that the church is closed, They are NOT:   

"This was just brought [t]o my attention. Idk how to “fix google” but, WE ARE NOT CLOSED! Share this with the world. . . The shooter DID NOT CLOSE THE CHURCH !"

Here is their Facebook page

as of the latest date: Services on Sunday 

9:15 A.M. Fellowship Breakfast

9:45 A.M. Sunday School

10:45 A.M. Greet Visitors & Visitation

11:00 A.M. Morning Worship Service

6:00 P.M. Sunday Evening Worship **

** Please Note: Sunday services will resume as scheduled on November 19, 2017, with the exception of 6 p.m. worship**

Location:  First Baptist Church, 216 4th Street, Sutherland Springs, Texas 78161

"Be cautious of the existing GoFundMe campaigns. The GoFundMe campaigns below are campaigns we know that are sending funds to the victims and families. Other campaigns that are not listed here may not be legitimate."

First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs

The Annabelle Pomeroy Family Fundraiser

The Holcombe Family

Support The Holcombe Family

Holcombe Family

The Holcombe/Hill Family Support

The Hill Family

'I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.'   John 16:33

The fallacy of American recycling

Bloviating Zeppelin   "From NPR.org:

Recycling Chaos In U.S. As China Bans ‘Foreign Waste’

by Cassandra Profita:  Like many Portland residents, Satish and Arlene Palshikar are serious recyclers. Their house is coated with recycled bluish-white paint. They recycle their rainwater, compost their food waste and carefully separate the paper and plastic they toss out. But recently, after loading up their Prius and driving to a sorting facility, they got a shock.

"Stop. You know me. You know I can’t resist. How typical is it that Leftists recycling in Oregon Leftist Central, Portlandia, have recycled paint on their house, recycled rainwater, possess a compost pile and thirty different recycling bins. They’re damned near a parody of themselves.

"But when they all piled into their Toyota Prius — clearly one of the most damaging cars on the planet when it comes to toxic materials, danger posed to emergency respondersand overall ground rape — I knew they were more (of course) naive little GOWPs.

"A Prius damaging to the environment? From NCPA.org:

PRIUS OUTDOES HUMMER IN ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

The Toyota Prius, the flagship car for the environmentally conscious, is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America, and takes more combined energy to produce than a Hummer, says the Recorder.

Consider:

• The nickel contained in the Prius’ battery is mined and smelted at a plant in Ontario that has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers.
• Dubbed the Superstack, the factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
• Acid rain around the area was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside, according to Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin.
• After leaving the plant, the nickel travels to Europe, China, Japan and United States, a hardly environmentally sound round the world trip for a single battery.

• 

"But that isn’t even the worst part, says the Record. According to a study by CNW Marketing, the total combined energy to produce a Prius (consisting of electrical, fuel, transportation, materials and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime), is greater than what it takes to produce a Hummer:

• The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles — the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles.That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use almost 50 percent less combined energy doing it.

From Wired.com:

Go Green — Buy a Used Car. It’s Better Than a Hybrid

Chuck Squatriglia:  DITCHING YOUR GAS guzzler is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you really want to do something about global warming, get a used car. You’ll be putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

As Matt Power notes in this month’s issue of WIRED, hybrids get great gas mileage but it takes 113 million BTUs of energy to make a Toyota Prius. Because there are about 113,000 BTUs of energy in a gallon of gasoline, the Prius has consumed the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline before it reaches the showroom. Think of it as a carbon debt — one you won’t pay off until the Prius has turned over 46,000 miles or so.

There’s an easy way to avoid that debt — buy a used car. The debt has already been paid.

Much more; keep reading . . .

Toons added by TD

Virtue signalling from Slate: "Hallmark Christmas Movies Are White Nationalist Trump Propaganda, Of Course!"

Rush Limbaugh update at the bottom.
RedState

Red State writer Brad Slager opines: . . . "These movies are completely froth-filled, harmless holiday treacle with overly-familiar plotting and shot-glass deep characters always arriving to comfortable resolutions.

Oh, wait a tic – No! These are hate-filled racist lessons of weaponized pro-Trump aggression against all that is decent in this nation!!! At least that is the lesson delivered in Slate by writer Zachary Jason. He endeavored to watch 21 of these titles (seriously, props dude) and based on his essay he came away feeling as if he had witnessed nearly two dozen variations of “The Birth Of A Nation.”

“They all depict a fantasy world in which America has been Made Great Again,” writes Jason. “They brim with white heterosexuals who exclusively, emphatically, and endlessly bellow “Merry Christmas” to every lumberjack and labradoodle they pass.” They “bellow” this, mind you. It’s rather precious they way he resorts to hyperbole to express contempt for exaggerated representation.

. . . "Obliviousness reigns throughout the Slate piece, as it describes those demographics omitted in these productions are “everyone on Trump’s naughty list—Muslims (uh, do they celebrate Christmas???) gay people (I thought we should treat them as everyone else??), and feminists (who despise Hallmark-type traditionalism and would NEVER watch).

cartoon added

"Then, to lurch to hilariously hysterical levels of sensationalism, the men in these films are described as “strong-jawed heroes with white-nationalist haircuts.” I’m sure Mr. Jason thought he was delivering a hilarious rebuke here, except funnier than that is the charge arrives from the quill of a nearly translucent weak-jawed scribe. The writer himself resembles the wispy sort we recently witnessed brandishing tiki torches in Caucasian solidarity.

"While Hollywood has been desperate to load political commentary into everything from film narratives to sitcom plot lines to late-night talk shows and even our sports diversions, audiences are seeking out a respite. Yes, Hallmark Christmas movies are formulaic, cliche-ridden, and trope-filled affairs. What social scolds like Zachary Jason miss is that this is by design. The general public seeks out the familiar and comfortable during the holidays, to bring a welcome break from the constant little-drum-beat of how awful Trump is for us all."

Yet Hallmark is so popular they have expanded their programming across two channels: the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. TD

See all of Salon's posts so you will know their leftist positions know no balance before you read what they say about the Hallmark Channel

A super white Christmas: The Hallmark Channel gives us TV’s most homogeneous view of the holiday  

"Hallmark’s white Christmas tales have hooked holiday viewers while leaving minority actors out in the cold"

Fear not, feminists, help is on the way:
Disney plans feminist Santa Claus movie - with this FEMALE star tipped for the lead role

"Feminist Fail: Mrs. Claus Defined Only By Husband’s Accomplishments"  
. . . "We are complicit in this failure of feminism, by standing idly by and letting Mrs. Claus disappear in the large shadow of her portly, charismatic partner. It’s time to stand up for her and all forgotten housewives throughout history! So instead of leaving Santa cookies and milk this year, maybe put out copies of A Vindication of The Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, with some key passages highlighted."

Update from Rush Limbaugh: Virtue-signalling Slate Assaults the Hallmark Channel    "RUSH: How many of you watch the Hallmark Channel? This time of year, Hallmark has the classic Christmas movies of all time. They are wholesome. They are family oriented. They’re just the best Christmas movies and holiday movies that Hollywood’s produced. Well, Slate.com has published a scathing review of the network, claiming that it is showing round the clock Christmas movies that spread “Caucasian cheer.”

"Headline: “Hallmark Christmas Movies Under Fire for Spreading ‘Caucasian Cheer’ — ‘They brim with white heterosexuals who exclusively, emphatically, and endlessly bellow “Merry Christmas” to every lumberjack and labradoodle they pass. They’re centered on beauty-pageant heroines and strong-jawed heroes…’ the Slate writer declared. There were complaints about the lack of gay people and feminists and Muslims in Hallmark Channel’s movies.” Muslims don’t do Christmas! What…? What…? Anyway, I knew it was gonna happen. I knew this channel was gonna eventually come under assault for what it is, and it has now happened."

MSNBC Anchor Loses Net Neutrality Debate With Former FCC Commissioner [VIDEO

Daily Caller Video at this link.  "MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi got absolutely destroyed during an interview Thursday with former FCC commissioner Robert McDowell about net neutrality.

"Velshi got increasingly frustrated throughout the interview, even getting angry at his guest at one point for citing the laws that govern internet regulation.

"McDowell kicked off the interview by explaining that net neutrality, which applies Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 to broadband internet networks, wasn’t created until February of 2015.
. . . 
"Velshi, watching his narrative slipping away right in front of his eyes, came up with a scenario where Facebook could subsidize faster internet speeds in exchange for preferential treatment, reducing competition in the overall marketplace.

“ 'Section I and Section II of Sherman Act and Section III of Clayton Act…you just triggered all three of those sections,” McDowell smoothly responded. “That would be an anti-trust violation…that was against the law before February 2015 and it will be against the laws of today.”

"Velshi chastised McDowell for “dropping a lot of legal names,” asserting that the scenario he described “does happen.' ”

Will Net-Neutrality Zealots Apologize When The Internet Fails To Crash And Burn?  . . . "Tellingly, the first goal under net neutrality was to impose costly — and since repealed — privacy rules that had nothing to do with net neutrality. The second was to target an unlimited-video data plan provided by T-Mobile.
"Shorn of all the histrionics, the FCC's net-neutrality regime was little more than a blatant power grab by the Obama administration, and one that was completely unnecessary. There had been no evidence of consumer harm under the rules in place before 2015, and most of the claims about what ISPs will do — like those listed by Clyburn — are little more than ghost stories.
"Indeed, the only blocking and other forms of discrimination practiced on the internet these days has been from net-neutrality advocates like Twitter, Google and Facebook.
"In any case, the idea that the internet can only survive and thrive with the heavy hand of government guiding it has no historical support whatsoever."

FCC Restores Market Freedom To the Internet  . . . "The economics of supply and demand should be permitted to play out under free market conditions. Internet service providers, just like the large content providers, are not monopoly utilities that require utility-style regulation. That said, there will need to be antitrust enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission to prevent anti-competitive abuses, such as an Internet service providers favoring their own affiliated content providers in terms of quality of service, ease of customer access, or discriminatory pricing. The FCC’s repeal of the overly burdensome “net neutrality” rules in no way undermines the ability of the FCC or the Federal Trade Commission to step in and address any abuses that may arise." . . .

Pros and cons of net neutrality discussed:

Net neutrality is dead. Good riddance.   . . . "Meanwhile, Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has received death threats against his children. A man in Syracuse is facing federal charges after leaving a voicemail at the office of Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.). "Listen Mr. Katko, if you support net neutrality, I will support you. But if you don't support net neutrality, I will find you and your family and I will kill you all. Do you understand? I will literally find all of you and your progeny and just wipe you from the face of the Earth.' " . . . 

Philadelphia Gets Approval To Remove Bulletproof Glass From Local Businesses

Daily Caller

Here is a photo of bulletproof glass.

"Philadelphia’s City Council voted to remove bulletproof glass windows from certain local businesses Thursday, upsetting shop owners who fear for their safety.

"The council passed the measure by a vote of 14-3 to remove protective glass that separates customers from the cash register. Lawmakers believe these stores may be serving as drug fronts and are attracting undesirable elements into the community, according to Fox News.

"The legislation stops short of full removal, however, and states the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections must “promulgate regulations to provide for the use or removal of any physical barrier” in stores that offer food and alcohol by Jan. 1, 2021, Fox News Reports.

"The City Council chamber was full of store clerks and owners who were against the measure. Mostly Asian-American residents spoke out and asked the council to reconsider, according to Fox29.

“ 'I was the victim of a robbery when I was ten years old,” said one store 

owner. “And I don’t want that to happen again.”

"Another store owner spoke through an interpreter and said if the council goes through with the new rule, “more people will die.”

"The bill would have unintended consequences and force business owners to buy firearms to defend themselves, making the problem even worse, City councilman David Oh said, FoxNews reported.

“ 'If we take down the safety glass, they’re not changing their business model,” Oh said. “They’re not moving. What they will do is purchase firearms. I think that is a worse situation than what we have today.' ”

How the Media Already Have Twisted the Meaning of the Alabama Election

William Sullivan  . . . "Do you notice the sleight-of-hand in the language and messaging here?  On the one hand, “claims” of “sexual misconduct” were not the reason Moore lost suburbanites, and therefore the election.  It was because Trump’s “hard-edged policies” were rebuked.  On the other, “allegations” that Moore had “pursued teenage girls sexually or romantically” is what Roy Moore’s defenders are claiming was the real reason he lost.  But that’s simply not true, the Times now insists.

"To prove just how disingenuous this is, let’s try a thought experiment.  Had Roy Moore won the election, would the media narrative be about how Alabamans had the audacity to vote for a candidate who supports Trump’s “hard-edged” policies?  Or would it be about how deeply-red, backward Alabamans had the questionable moral proclivities which allowed them to elect an accused child predator? 

"You know the answer, and if the media were more honest than opportunistic, they would, too.  The media narrative prior to the election was not an effort to suggest that Alabama voters were wrong to agree with Trump’s desire to cut taxes, curtail illegal immigration, or repeal and/or replace Obamacare.  The loudest cries from the media ramparts were that Roy Moore winning the seat in Alabama would be a travesty because he was a suspected child predator.

"Yet interestingly, nowhere in the Times “takeaways” article is there a reference to the single, many decades-old, but extremely timely allegation of child molestation made by then-14-year-old Leigh Corfman.  Nor was there a reference to the single (and similarly old and timely) allegation of sexual assault made by Beverly Young Nelson, whose credibility has been verifiably called into question with her conflicting claims about the yearbook that Moore allegedly signed and inscribed in 1977. " . . .  Full article.

Feminists Rejoice: Transgender Man Loses Weight-Lifting Competition

"But Hubbard wasn’t hailed as a hero, for giving the competition the good schoolgirl try. Instead people cheered against Hubbard."

Kevin Jackson at The Blacksphere  "Feminist Rejoice: Transgender Man Loses Weight-Lifting Competition

"The transgender issue waits to blow up in the faces of women.

"As we’ve written, some men can’t wait to show women that we can be better at being women.

"Look at Bruce “Call me Caitlyn” Jenner. (S)he receives “Woman of the Year,” right out of the box. How bad that even outside of athletics, men make better women than feminists. As we wrote of feminism not long ago,

Feminism was supposed to empower women. Instead, feminism showcases what happens to women when men become women. Confused?It should come as no surprise that transgendered men do well at women’s sports. These former men were mediocre men, athletically-speaking. However, as women, they become “dominators!”  . . .

So if a man identifies as a woman, he is still a man.

American F-22 Raptor stealth fighters fire flares at Russian warplanes to drive them out of Syrian airspace controlled by the U.S-led coalition

UK Daily Mail 

"A pair of US warplanes intercepted two Russia jets over a part of Syria they were not supposed to be operating in, according to the Pentagon. 

"At one point during Wednesday's incident, the American F-22 Raptor stealth fighters deployed chaff and flares to convince the Russian Su-25s to leave the area, and one US pilot had to 'aggressively maneuver' to avoid a midair collision. 

"The Russian fighters had flown into airspace controlled by the US-led coalition that is fighting the Islamic State group in Syria, crossing onto the east side of the Euphrates River near Albu Kamal." . . .

When Obama was Commander-in-Chief of what he referred to as "my military", our adversaries freely did this sort of thing:

Russian SU-24 aircraft flew within 30 feet of a U.S. Navy ship USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. (April 12, 2016)

And Iranian boats could get away with this:  

Rodman Turns On Kim Jong Un – The Rocket Man Will NOT Be Pleased

Clash Daily  "Dennis Rodman spoke about his friendship with Kim Jong Un with Stephen Colbert. Little Rocket Man might not let him back into North Korea after this…

. . . "Rodman has said that he could be useful to ease tensions between the United States and North Korea.

"Colbert had Rodman on The Late Show recently and introduced him as ‘five time NBA champion and possibly all that is standing between us and thermonuclear war with North Korea.‘ . . .

"Colbert asked Rodman, ‘What do you actually talk about with uh — and I don’t mean this insultingly — a madman, murderous dictator?‘

But Rodman did his best to defend his friendship with Kim.

‘I don’t really judge people, you know, by their color. I don’t judge where they come from. I just judge people where, you know, we’re all human beings. You know, throughout the day, we’re all human beings. It’s funny though that I don’t see how people can sit there and say that this person is a ‘madman.’ He probably is, but I didn’t see that. But he probably is,’ Rodman added . . .

. . .  "Well, how about this headline from the Guardian:

"Kim Jong-un should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, say jurists

"From the article:

The jurists’ report is based on testimony from defectors and experts on the camps, believed to hold between 80,000 and 130,000 inmates. It cites evidence of systematic murder, including infanticide, and torture, persecution of Christians, rape, forced abortions, starvation and overwork leading to “countless deaths”.  Source: The Guardian.

Perhaps Dennis should wear this shirt instead:

Hillary Clinton And Huma Abedin Carted Off Muslim Files And Other Documents

The Political HEAT  "State allowed them to classify work-related items as ‘personal’

Faced with allegations of mishandling classified information, the State Department allowed Hillary Clinton and top aide Huma Abedin to take files of telephone calls, schedules and other work-related information under the claim they were “personal” and “unclassified, non-record” materials, according to newly released documents.

"The records newly obtained by the Washington watchdog Judicial Watch show that Abedin was allowed to take five boxes of “physical files” out of the State Department that include records described as “Muslim Engagement Documents.”

"And Clinton was allowed to take personal correspondence and gift binders, which could be relevant to allegations that donations were made to the family’s Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative in exchange for favorable policy decisions.

"Emails obtained by Judicial Watch showed Abedin doing favors for a Russia-connected group on behalf of the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

"Abedin, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, worked for an organization founded by her family that promotes the kingdom’s strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. She was a member of the executive board of the Muslim Student Association, which was identified as a Muslim Brotherhood front group in a 1991 document introduced into evidence during the terror-financing trial of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation

"Previous Judicial Watch investigations revealed numerous examples of Clinton’s schedule being broadcast via email through her unsecure, non-government server." . . . 

"The new information obtained by Judicial Watch includes a list of official and personal calls, and schedules that carry a special notation that the documents were released to Clinton on the condition that they not be made public. . . . The form was signed by Clarence N. Finney Jr., then-director of the Office of Correspondence and Records.Judicial Watch said it has a pending request to depose Finney in separate litigation concerning Clinton emails and the Benghazi terrorist attack.

Gonzo Overkill