From Lloyd Marcus, "The Unhyphenated American": "Sadly, Another Black History Month"

"A glaring example of Leftists not really giving a rat’s derriere about blacks is the Congressional Black Caucus’ response to Trump announcing in his SOTU that black unemployment is at a record low."

Noisy Room

"I am a 69 year-old proud American who happens to be black. The American Left (Democrats, Hollywood and fake news media) exploit Black History Month as an opportunity to further their lie that America is eternally racist and a hellhole for blacks. BHM should feature the truth that America is the greatest land of opportunity on the planet for all who choose to go for it; regardless of race, color, creed or gender. Blacks are only 12% of the U.S. population. Therefore, black millionaires and billionaires like Oprah, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Kaepernick and countless others confirm my point; white America made these blacks extremely wealthy.

"And yet, sadly, most millennial blacks believe the Left’s lie that their opportunities for success are limited. They believe white cops murder black men on sight. They believe white America is obsessed with conceiving dirty tricks to keep blacks down.

"It is interesting that the American Left which includes the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus despises and seeks to destroy successful blacks who bear witness to the greatness of America. I am talking about blacks like world renowned retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, businessman extraordinaire Herman Cain and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Without lowered standards or special concessions due to their skin-color, these blacks achieved success the old fashion way. They earned it.

"Imagine driving down a dusty country road on a spring day in the 1950s. You see a dirty little black boy in a field picking cotton. Only in America could that black boy grow up to become one of the most powerful men in the world, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. You will never see the American Left using Justice Thomas’ remarkable American story during BHM to inspire black youths. Leftists only feature blacks whom they claim achieved success in spite of America’s rabid racism or sexism.

"The American Left strives to convince all Americans that they are victims of either Christians, conservatives, Republicans, the rich or straight white men. " . . .

Explosion over the Washington Swamp

"In other words, the Obama administration used a dossier concocted by Russian agents to legitimize its surveillance of their political opposition."

terrellaftermath

Gary Gindler  . . . "As a result, we know that the chain of events associated with the case of Trump's "criminal collusion with Putin" looks like this:

• Trump's political opponents during the primaries hired the firm Fusion GPS, which specializes in opposition research, to dig up some dirt on Trump
• After Trump won the primaries, Fusion GPS lost the customer, but just for a short while
• The new customers of the dirt on Trump become the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC
• The new customers requested dirt on Trump from Fusion GPS, not only in the American domain but also in the international arena
• To add international dimension, Fusion GPS hired a subcontractor – former resident of British intelligence in Moscow Christopher Steele, known for his open anti-Trump beliefs
• Christopher Steele hired some former agents of the Russian intelligence services (against whom he once fought during the Cold War)
• The agents of Russian intelligence services concoct a dirty file on Trump (linguistic analysis confirmed that this dossier was written in "Russian English" with minimal editing by native English speakers)
• It is still unclear as to what extent these Russian agents were the "former" agents of the Russian intelligence services (that is, to what extent this dossier is fiction, and to what extent is it the deliberate work of the KGB/FSB disinformation effort)
• Trump's dossier, compiled by the Russians, gets to the FBI through the Assistant Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, who received it from his wife. At that time, she was working for Fusion GPS and was a part of the anti-Trump research team
• The FBI used this dossier as one of the key arguments in the secret intelligence court FISC to obtain a warrant to wiretap the Trump campaign

"In other words, the Obama administration used a dossier concocted by Russian agents to legitimize its surveillance of their political opposition.

"According to the memo, FBI leaders knew precisely where the dossier came from, but in the application to the FISC, they presented the dossier as a proven fact, and not as opposition research. It was not just a mere bureaucratic mistake -- the FBI used the dossier in such a way not once, but at least four times." . . .

Deadline Hollywood

"As emotional as NBC’s This Is Us was last night, it couldn’t lay a historical glove on the relentless drama of Super Bowl LII as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the skeptics and the New England Patriots to win their first Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"Scoring a 41-33 victory over odds on favorite Tom Brady and crew, the City of Brotherly Love’s NFL franchise’s win on Sunday also halted the 2017 champion Patriots from claiming a sixth Super Bowl to match the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most wins ever.

"However, for a league and broadcasters that have been pummeled with double digit ratings drops this season, the number that really matters right now is the 47.4/70 in metered market results that yesterday’s Super Bowl delivered – and that’s a mixed result.

"Dipping by a slight 3% from the earliest numbers oflast year’s Patriots’ 34-28 comeback over the Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles winning big game is the looking to be the sixth highest rated Super Bowl ever. With more streaming options than ever available to viewers this year, last night’s game is up 9% in metered market results from when the Patriots and the Eagles last clashed in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005."' . . .

Via Drudge

The FBI: massacred by mid-and-upper management

Bloviating Zeppelin

"Few trust the FBI any more.

"With good reason considering recent revelations.

"It used to be the premiere federal law enforcement agency. I worked for the FBI. They are a proud organization used to adhering to the triad of Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity.

"They are no longer so. Mid-to-upper level management — particularly James Brien Comey — ensured most of the trust the organization garnered in decades past has “left the building.”

"The 7th floor couldn’t be more corrupt. Oh wait, yes it could. James Comey could walk back there for a visit." . . .

"It is now revealed: the FBI paid for the dossier. Cash. Your hard-earned American Taxpayer dollars. For oppo research. You know the rest. From the WashingtonTimes.com:

FBI hired dossier author Steele to investigate Trump, fired him for lying about media leaks

by Rowan Scarborough

The FBI officially authorized payments to Christopher Steele, who wrote the infamous Trump–Russia dossier, but then fired the former British spy for lying to agents about his covert leaks to the news media.

"That’s a rather heady first paragraph." . . .

Full article here.

White Americans, welcome to the club of being asked, ‘Where are you really from?’

WaPo

"In 2020, perhaps for the first time, white Americans will be asked a question that has been lobbed innocently and invidiously at minorities for years:  “So where are you really from?”

"And it will be the government doing the asking.

"Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed its proposed questionnaire for the 2020 Census in advance of a March 31 deadline for its delivery to Congress for review. The updated format did not accommodate many suggestions made since 2010. It doesn’t ask about citizenship status (despite a request to do so by the Trump Justice Department) and won’t include a separate Middle Eastern and North African category in its question about race." . . .

Naturally the Post loves this SJW approach. The left, WaPa included, has melded the concern of many over illegal immigration with the accusation conservatives hate(?) all immigrants. This goes hand-in-hand with the left's disdain for America and her history.

Democrats and the memo; American Thinker swarms

Earl of Taint. "Rep Nunes (House Intel Comm) rocked a  lead-off 

double. Next up is Sen Grassley (Senate Judiciary Cmm), then Rep

 Bob Goodlatte (House Judiciary) with clean up by DOJ Inspector 

General Michael Horowitz and the results of his 1 year investigation."

Via American Thinker:

Patricia McCarthy: The Democrats' Defense of the Indefensible        
. . . "If they do not know it, have not read it, it does not exist. What is Uranium One?  Who knows? What is the "dossier"? Never heard of it the Trump-haters say. They choose the bliss of ignorance. As for the memo, "is that all there is," they say. Nothing to see here. Move along. They pretend to be giddy but while flailing about like fish out of water, anyone can see that they are panicked."
. . . 
"The memo lays out what actually occurred: our premier law enforcement institutions were weaponized by the Obama administration and the masters of those institutions came to believe themselves above the law. This cabal of our betters meant to override the voters should they elect the wrong person. Then we did elect the wrong person, the one we all like better than the one who lost. They wanted Hillary despite her forty-year record of venality. The rest of us wanted anyone but her." . . .

 Monica Showalter:  What Nunes achieved - and what's next   . . . Because the memo he wrote, summing up the results of his congressional investigation, pretty well pries the lid off Big Government and Deep State, revealing for all of us how these tyrannical, opposite-of-justice, operations work.

"The angry tweets of  President Trump didn't do it. The efforts of  Republicans in past administrations didn't do this. The change point was Nunes." . . .

. . . "And here, Devin Nunes, a congressmember derided by the left for the crime of, heavens, being a "dairy farmer" achieved this by digging and digging, working to break the logjam and expose the problem through all the testimonies taken and research conducted as the catcalls went on.

"(Bad things, by the way, happen to people who belittle farmers.)" . . .

Jack Hellner: Other stuff the Nunes memo exposes, besides FISA abuse

. . . "Since they didn't get Hillary elected, they have set out to destroy or at least get rid of Trump no matter what they had to do. They cleared Hillary and her staff of multiple crimes and illegally spied on Trump people as they illegally spied on hundreds or even thousands of others.

"The most disgusting thing that we have seen the last eighteen months is how the complicit media just repeats what they are told without verification, quoting anonymous sources." . . .

Thomas Lifson: Dems go despicable as the Russia Collusion plot to impeach Trump explodes in their faces
. . . "Donny Deutsch is an advertising executive of some repute, and formerly enjoyed his own television show on MSNBC, but now is confined to serving as a commentator on that network. His response to the release of the Nunes memo was to call for a revolution. Not a metaphorical revolution, but a take-to-the-streets revolution.  Watch it for yourself. I believe that this is called “sedition.”

"Note that Deutsch lately has taken to using dehumanizing language to describe Republicans, calling them “cockroaches” – creatures that ought to be exterminated. It echoes the slogan of the Symbionese Liberation Army: “Death to the fascist insect.' ” . . .

Under Obama and the Democrats, America took on the trappings of a third-world country and the left is falling quite easily into that role. TD

Veterans, Bars & Even a Bowling Alley Boycotting Super Bowl

Todd Starnes 

"A growing number of Americans have decided they have better things to do with their time on Super Bowl Sunday than support a professional football league that doesn’t have the decency to honor the national anthem.
"American Legion and VFW posts, restaurants and bars, and even a bowling alley have decided they will not broadcast the Super Bowl game in their establishments — out of respect for veterans and law enforcement.
"A giant electronic sign outside the Oneota Veterans Club in New York reads, “In honor of our country, our flag, our veterans.”
"The Knights of Columbus chapter in Longview, Texas decided to end a decades-old tradition of broadcasting the game — over their “disgust” with the national anthem protests.“

" 'The veterans are especially aggravated by the course of events. This especially hits us as an insult when people are disrespectful of our flag and national anthem,” chapter member Vance Lowery told television station KLTV.
"VFW posts across the country have also joined the national Super Bowl Sunday boycott.
“ 'They’re disrespecting our flag and our national anthem so we no longer watch NFL,” VFW Post 8951 member Bob Shank told the York Daily Record. 
“We have a bunch of veterans here who fought for that flag, fought for that national anthem.”
"Ray Steadmon, the owner of Michigan’s Coloma Lanes, decided to replace his annual Super Bowl party with a “Stars and Stripes” bowling tournament.
“ 'I have been a huge NFL football fan all of my life,” Steadmon told MLive.com. “This year when I watch these guys sitting in protest during our national anthem, disrespecting my country, disrespecting my flag, in my opinion, it made me so angry.”
"And a number of lawmakers are also disgusted with the NFL.
“ 'If you’re not going to honor our veterans, I have no place for you in my life. I don’t,” said Andy Back, the mayor of Longview, Texas.
“I haven’t watched a game since the first person knelt at the national anthem, haven’t turned my TV on to watch a game since then. Not a professional game,” he told television station KLTV. 
"Georgia State Sen. David Shafer was especially disgusted when the NFL rejected a Super Bowl ad from American Veterans. The ad urged people to “please stand” for the national Anthem. The NFL said they did not accept ads that made political statements.
“ 'When America’s veterans try to exercise their free speech, the NFL has no problem telling them to sit down and shut up,” Shafer, who is running for Georgia lieutenant governor, said."

North Korean Defector Honored By Trump Describes Difference Between Democracy And Communism

Daily Caller "North Korea defector Ji Seong-ho, who was honored by President Donald Trump at the State of the Union Tuesday, has a message for anyone considering a communist form of government, he told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview."

“I cannot find the exact words to describe it. Simply put, it is a horrible thing. Communism is a hell. On the other hand, democracy is heaven. Democratic countries are places where there is freedom of expression and where you can live on the strength of your merits,” Ji declared.

"Ji also delivered a message to the North Korean people saying “Outside North Korea, there is a freedom. If you choose to pursue this freedom, you might have the honor of visiting Washington, D.C. and meet the president. This is a freedom. I hope the day comes soon when many people can escape from North Korea.”

"The North Korea defector also opened the interview with a message for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. “I would like to tell him this — in the land I lived in, you could choose life or death. I chose life. I chose to live in a land of freedom. I won. I achieved victory.”

SNOWFLAKE CULTURE Ruined School’s Father-Daughter Celebration With This New Policy. And then . . .

“ 'All this gender crap needs to just stop,” said mom Akaia Cameron, who added that her third-grader had a “great time” with dad last year."

Fed Up  "The PC culture that’s being forced on Americans has sucked the fun out of way more things than we can list here. It turns out that new gender guidelines for a school on Staten Island sucked the fun out of a traditional father-daughter dance…"

NY Post

New York Post reports:

"A Staten Island, New York school cancelled the traditional father-daughter dance this coming Friday because of the Department of Education’s new gender guidelines."The DOE ordered schools to “eliminate” any “gender-based” practices like the dance in a March 2017 policy update unless they serve a “clear” educational purpose."The PS 65 shindig, set for Feb. 9, was abruptly postponed until next month after the school’s PTA realized the dance would run afoul of the rules.“Until we understand what we are legally permitted to do, we need to table this event,” PTA president Toni Bennett wrote to a private school-parents group on Facebook."Some parents were hopping mad at what they saw as political correctness intruding on a quaint tradition, now in its third year.“ 'They’re trying to take away everything that everybody grew up on and has come to know and I don’t think it’s fair or right,” said Matthew West, a 32-year-old father of two daughters at the school, Lily and Willow. “They should leave it the way it was — father-daughter, mother-son.”"Of PC culture, he said, “I hate it . . . People are just becoming too scared to talk.”“ 'It’s not fair at all,” said Jose Garcia, 37, who’s gone to the past two dances with his 9-year-old daughter, Jolene. “I have nothing against no one but I don’t think that it should affect the school, or the kids for that matter.”"A disappointed Jolene said, “They had a dance party. We got to wear dresses and hang out with our friends.”“ 'All this gender crap needs to just stop,” said mom Akaia Cameron, who added that her third-grader had a “great time” with dad last year." . . .

VA Disregards Request To Drop Lincoln Quote To Make Agency Gender-Neutral  Obama would have bowed to it, just as he bowed to the rest of the world.

. . . "Kayla Williams, director of the VA Center for Women Veterans, responded to pleas from IAVA to change the motto. She said VA leaders have gradually and unofficially been using an altered version of the quote: “To care for those who shall have borne the battle and their families and survivors.' ” . . .

Violence Erupts as Conservative Speaks at Colorado State University

Legal Insurrection

"Charlie Kirk of the conservative organization Turning Point USA spoke at Colorado State University this weekend. While Kirk’s speech apparently went on without a problem, extremists of all stripes clashed outside the building in protests that had to be dispersed by police.

"Antifa was there to protest Kirk, and before the night was over, a group of supposed Nazis showed up and clashed with them. Nick Coltrain reports at The Coloradoan:

Protests turn violent at CSU after Charlie Kirk speech

Protests around a conservative speaker at CSU on Friday night started peaceful, even if it got rowdy at times, but quickly turned violent when a group wielding riot shields, large flashlights and face masks emblazoned with skulls stormed a dwindling crowd while chanting a Nazi slogan.

Campus police, who were wearing helmets with riot masks throughout the event, shut down the clash and drove the groups off. Members of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office later showed up wearing tactical gear.

Protesters were drawn to campus because of a speech by conservative activist Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, which says on its website it is devoted to the promotion of the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government.

Protests prior to and during the speech were orderly. The violence broke out while the event was concluding inside the Lory Student Center.

Emeshe Amade, a CSU student, said at first she thought the group chanting the slogans were police breaking up the argument because of how equipped they were. Members of campus socialist groups and self-described anti-fascists were arguing with others at the protest about politics when about a dozen members of the third group stormed.

. . .  

The Obama Coverup for Hillary Clinton Was Worse Than Collusion

PoliZette

"Who in his administration conspired to withhold damaging facts about the failed Democrat candidate's mishandling of classified info?"

"Records available through the FBI Vault prove beyond any doubt that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her inner circle of trusted aides, including Human Abedin and Cheryl Mills, were subjects of a formal investigation into the mishandling of classified information, beginning July 10, 2015.

Yes, you read the above correctly: A formal FBI investigation commenced well before any 2016 Democratic presidential debates and primaries.

"Yet how many times did Clinton and her political and media allies claim that, whatever may have been happening, the review of her private servers and unsecured devices during her years as America’s chief diplomat was nothing more than a “normal security review,” not an “investigation”? Or, as then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch instructed then-FBI Director James Comey to describe it, just a “matter”?

"A 17-part treasure trove of documents concerning Clinton is linked here and includes much that we should all consider, starting with Part 1, a 35-page summary of the contents." . . .

A year after Obama, Dems still looking for replacement

The Other Reality Of The Tax Bill: Another Trillion In Debt

Hot Air

"Allow me to confess that I’ve been right out there with the best of them (or is it the worst?) when it comes to high-fiving and back-slapping over the positive results of the tax cuts enacted before Christmas. Businesses are hiring, handing out bonuses and onshoring capital. Workers are seeing more money in their paychecks and will see significant benefits when they file their taxes next year. Yes, there is plenty to celebrate, but there’s also a second, far less pleasant reality to contemplate.

"As the WaPo reports this weekend, the federal government is now on track to borrow a massive amount of money this year and add many more bricks to the national debt pile hanging over our heads. In fact, federal borrowing is expected to nearly double our 2017 totals." . . .