Springing Forward

Clarice Feldman  What seemed as though it was going to be a dull news week – punctuated by sometimes fanciful articles from "sources" about what Special Counsel Mueller was up to – ended with a plethora of important news late Friday.  To spare you having to wade through the mounds of drivel to get to it, I'm highlighting what I think is the important stuff, so you can enjoy this spring weekend.

Here is just the brief overview of this post's topics:
The Budget . . . Fiscal conservatives were furious, but the president had little choice but to sign the bill into law.  "He who laughs last laughs best" is the saying, and in this case, there may be no joy in Demville.  James Freeman at the Wall Street Journal explains:" . . .

Illegal Immigration  . . . "Friday the president ordered an end to the "catch and release" Obama policy, where border-jumpers were captured and released with a rarely kept promise to return for an immigration hearing to determine whether they had a legal basis to remain here.

"The attorney general explained the new policy – border-jumpers are going to be held and criminally prosecuted." . . .

The Congressional-FBI/DOJ Standoff Is Broken  "Sundance at Conservative Treehouse broke the welcome news early Saturday morning." . . .

Bill and Hillary Clinton's Corrupt International Charity Network Faces Countless Legal Challenges  . . . "If I were to speculate, I'd suggest that it is not unlikely (now that the Clintons are fairly politically neutered) that whistleblowers inside the foundation, the donors' offices, and the government – particularly the IRS – may come forward, at long last, to expose the frauds which Rosenstein, Mueller, and Comey seem to have lacked the integrity and guts to do."

Behold the Lowlights of First Victim Michelle Obama's Trump-Bashing Tour

Jeannie DeAngelis   "Judging from their vocal criticism of President Trump, it's clear that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Obama shares G.W. Bush's viewpoint that it's terrible for the country and the presidency to undermine a current president.

Barack does it by praising anything and anyone who opposes the president's policies and, by doing so, manages to disparage the man who took his place.  Michelle, on the other hand, is much less diplomatic.  Instead of using discretion, Mrs. Obama vomits out anti-Trump venom wherever she goes.

"Michelle's Trump-Bashing Tour started right after the 2016 election, when Mrs. Hope and Change told Oprah Winfrey that because Trump was elected, "now we're feeling what not having hope feels like."

"In May of 2017, Mrs. Obama spoke out against Trump when he dared loosen the stringent dietary restrictions connected to her unpopular school lunch program.  Months later, at an Inbound marketing conference in Boston, Michelle rebuked a segment of the sisterhood when she declared, "Any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton voted against their [sic] own voice."

"The following month, at a Pennsylvania Conference for Women, Mrs. Obama used a hand motion to imply that Trump lowered the bar concerning women and minorities.  Then, forgetting that she did the same thing to Laura Bush in 2009, Michelle mocked First Lady Melania Trump for handing her a boxed gift on the steps of the White House on Inauguration Day 2017.

"Simply put, Michelle Obama switched focus from dancing with The Tonight Show's host, Jimmy Fallon, to stirring up hatred towards Trump.  Instead oforganic gardening, the former president's outspoken wife now advocates for minorities and women by belittling a male president." . . .

Once Michelle thought this lady asking for help was cute...  later the incident became racist to her:

Truth Revolt discusses this incident:  

I tell this story – I mean, even as the first lady – during that wonderfully publicized trip I took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who came up to me in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off a shelf. Because she didn't see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life. So it isn't anything new.

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

"But even Michelle Obama doesn’t think this. Two years ago, she told David Letterman about the same incident:

. . . 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.” As the audience laughed, she went on, “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." . . .

"Charming and funny two years ago. Racism now." 

She could be such a classy lady but for the desire to be recognized as First Victim.

Sunday Schadenfreude: Jimmy Kimmel steps on a rake called 'gay'

Monica Showalter  "Professional clowns know what they are doing when they engage in slapstick stunts, such as stepping on a rake. Leftwing clown Jimmy Kimmel is different. The ABC Late Night host stepped on a rake of his own doing without any of the theatrical attention to planning and detail of professional comics. Now he has a key element of his ever-shrinking core audience angry at him.

"The dolt went and insulted gays by making creepy, graphic, gross tweets about a broadcasting rival, Fox News' Sean Hannity. with verbal images of Hannity supposedly engaging in gay sexual relations with President Trump, with graphic decriptions about sexual positioning, anal kissing, and other things, none of which is suitable for family viewing.

"Since the tweets are public, here is one:

Don't worry - just keep tweeting - you'll get back on top! (or does Trump prefer you on bottom?) Either way, keep your chin up big fella..XOhttps://t.co/R4QJCoGYCL— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) April 6, 2018 "

. . .

Don't forget Colbert did the same thing and had got criticism, but since he was mocking Trump, all turned out just fine.

Skeptics feel empowered to 'keep pushing' under Trump

Environment & Energy Publishing; The essential news for energy & environment professionals

"Climate skeptics are gaining ground.

"There's always been a vocal subset of conservatives who cast doubt on climate science, but what were once fringe views among broader Republicans — like warming's a hoax — are enjoying a growing acceptance in the GOP, worrying academics, scientists and sociologists.

" 'They have taken over the [U.S.] EPA," Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University who has studied climate denier groups extensively, said in an email. "A very sad state of affairs."

"The groups sowing climate doubt are more emboldened than ever before, sociologists and historians said. Their effectiveness in the era of President Trump is a reflection of a deepening polarization in U.S. politics and a normalization of climate skepticism on the right, they said.

"Democrats and Republicans have never been further apart on climate change, according to public opinion polling released last week by Gallup.

"The results illuminate the anti-science sentiment within the GOP. The poll found that 82 percent of Democrats believe global warming has already begun compared with 34 percent of Republicans (Climatewire, March 28).

"That rift has contributed to major differences between the Republican administrations of Trump and former President George W. Bush, said Riley Dunlap, an environmental sociologist at Oklahoma State University. Bush's government internalized climate skeptics, but the groups scoring victories were largely silent when policies went their way. Now, however, those same organizations like the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute boldly proclaim success — and then push even further.

" 'It's like they sense victory. They are proclaiming victories, and they keep pushing," Dunlap said. "This extreme radicalization of the Republican Party means they don't have to hide it. They don't have to dress it up like Bush 43 did. They can be in-your-face deniers.' " . . .

Rep. Black Returns Her NFL Season Tickets, With a Defiant Letter

Cortney O'Brien in Townhall

"Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) and her husband Dave were "first in line" for season tickets when the National Football League’s Oilers moved from Houston to Nashville, she shared last week in an op-ed. That all changed when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem to protest the way minorities in America have been treated by law enforcement. Despite getting booed in subsequent games, he didn't apologize. He kept kneeling, and poured salt in the wound by wearing anti-police socks to practices.

"Several players followed suit and the Tennessee Titans were not exempt from the controversy. At a game versus the Seattle Seahawks in September 2017, both teams decided to stay in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem. They claim it was to "show unity," but that's not how some fans perceived it. As for those who were on the field like singer Meghan Linsey, she and her guitarist took a knee during her rendition of the anthem." . . .

Nick Kristof On Gun Control

Just One Minute . . . My reaction:

"Broadly, if the goal is to reduce gun suicides the talk about a ban on

Kristoff

semiautomatic rifles and large capacity magazines is irrelevant - we don't have a national epidemic of people shooting themselves fifteen times and bleeding out. I should note that Mr. Kristof himself threw in the towel on an assault weapons ban a while back, but (unlike in boxing) a towel can always be picked up again, and semiautomatic rifle bans (broader than a mere assault weapons ban) are certainly being discussed in progressive circles.

"Or if we swing the focus back to gun homicides, when the firearm is known (about 3/4 of the time), handguns are used about 90% of the time. Semiautomatic rifles aren't what the gangbangers on the mean streets of Chicago and St Louis are shooting at each other. Folks seriously concerned about homicides and suicides should be arguing about a handgun ban, and good luck with the pesky Heller decision, the politics and eventual enforcement there.

"IMHO, what remains true is that many people have examined their lives and concluded that they are:

(a) not involved with criminal activity, especially drug-related;
(b) not in an abusive domestic relationship,
(c) not suicidal, and
(d) not living in a crime-ridden neighborhood

"For those fortunate many, the most visible remaining risk of gun violence is a random shooting at a mall, theater, or (for kids and young adults) school." . . .

Tom Maguire, Blogger at Just One Minute. "I'm a former Wall Streeter with many kids, most of them younger than my blogging counterparts."

 Nicholas Donabet Kristof: A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and has written an op-ed column for The New York Times since November 2001. Kristoff is a self-described progressive. . . .

Is talk of the "Big Blue Wave" just a head game being played on us?

2018: Democrat Big Blue Wave or Big Blue Bust?

“Some of the most damaging blows to Democratic hopes this year are friendly fire”

"If you listen to the liberal media, a “Blue Wave” is coming in the 2018 midterms. Progressives across the country are just waiting to turn out by the millions and help the Democrats retake control of the House and Senate.

"But what if that’s just a narrative? What if the media just keeps saying this as a form of wish casting? No one seems to believe the Democrats could screw this up. Well, almost no one.

"Roger Kimball writes at Spectator USA:

Why the Democrats won’t win big in November

Is a big blue Democratic wave poised to sweep the Republicans out of Congress in the 2018 mid-term election? . . .

Editorial: Not much good news for DNC

. . . "The situation is so bad that DNC Chair Tom Perez went on C-SPAN last month to spin morale out of the Intensive Care Unit: “We raised more money in January, for instance, of 2018 than any January in our history,” he declared. “So if the question is, ‘Do we have enough money to implement our game plan?’ Absolutely.”

"The Washington Post quickly gave that claim Two Pinocchios and the DNC itself reeled Perez back in. The funny math is a result of the DNC tallying its own contributions with the contributions to “joint fundraising committees.” It is meant to inflate the numbers for public consumption, but it certainly does not bode well for the health of the DNC." . . .

"Chappaquiddick has the last word." Mary Jo suffocated, she didn't drown

A Final Perspective; Hollywood (and History) Catches Up to Ted Kennedy

"A telephone, not an automobile, exposed the worst parts of Ted Kennedy’s character at Chappaquiddick, a tragic episode explored on the silver screen in a new movie.

"One of the film’s producers commented on the picture three years ago, “You’ll see what he had to go through.” But most accounts (I have yet to watch) depict the final product as a more balanced account that shows what Mary Jo Kopechne “had to go through,” too.

"Kennedy’s coverup eclipsed the crime when it comes to assessing character. No amount of special effects or dramatic license can escape that truth.

"Sure, throwing a party for six, older, married male guests and six, twentysomething, unmarried women marks one as a cad. And yes, driving after downing an ocean of rum and cokes, and doing so despite the lack of a license and the presence of a chauffer, indicts the senator’s judgment. But his actions, and lack thereof, after the midnightish crash represent the worst of the senator at his worst moment.

"Ted Kennedy went to bed rather than to first responders after driving Mary Jo Kopechne to her death. Before he called the cops, he called his cronies. He called his German mistress. He called his lawyer. He even called the hotel manager to narc on party goers in another room disturbing his sleep. At ten the next morning, Ted Kennedy finally went to the police.

“ 'She didn’t drown,” the diver who retrieved Kopechne’s body noted. “She died of suffocation in her own air void. " . . .

In the comments to this article, Thomas Sharpe wrote: 

A friend of mine once stopped Ted's son Patrick from entering a Providence College sporting event without a ticket. "Don't you know who I am!?" exclaimed Patrick. Nut doesn't fall far from the tree. Thing is Patrick couldn't hold it together mentally like Ted, which in the long run is a better thing for him.

 Producer Mark Ciardi: This Film Isn’t for ‘the Right or the Left, It’s for the Truth’

. . . "Ciardi described the film’s setting, which begins a day before the Chappaquiddick incident and ends six days after. “It’s amazing how compelling that narrative is when you just look at the facts,” he said, casting the film as neither politically left or right. “[The writers] used the inquest. It wasn’t off of a book. We went with the facts that we knew, and didn’t make a movie for the left or the right. It’s for the truth, and what’s great about that is how audiences on both the left and the right — and reviewers, especially — are praising the movie.”

"Mansour concurred, saying, “It’s not an ideological film but an honest film.” ' 

 Thomas Lifson: Don’t miss Chappaquiddick!  "The movie Chappaquiddick exceeded my very high expectations. Not only is it a truthful exploration of the events that led up the death of May Jo Kopechne  and the criminal cover-up of Ted Kennedy’s culpability therein, it goes deep into the character of the man, and how he got to the depraved state of indifference to the life of a young woman who had devoted herself to “the cause” of the Kennedy family.

. . . "The process of the cover-up is laid out in fascinating detail, revealing the ruthlessness of the Kennedy family coterie of high powered advisors, especially Ted Sorenson and Robert McNamara. I could not help but reflect on the resonance with the deep state issues of today  of the way that laws and procedures and professional responsibilities of the government officials dealing with the car wreck and the corpse meant nothing to them in the face of “the cause” of protecting the Kennedys. The local, state, and federal officials we see are a kind of Kennedy Deep State that had absolute control over the handling of the matter."

. . . "Do yourself a favor and see this movie as soon as you can."

‘From the NY Times: Chappaquiddick’ Distorts a Tragedy

Many scenes cross from dramatic interpretation to outright character assassination. In this version, the Kennedy character leaves Kopechne to die as she gasps for air, and then, with the aid of his brothers’ old advisers, cooks up a scheme to salvage his presidential ambitions. 

I saw no trace of refutation of the details of this movie; only pique that this image of Kennedy was presented. TD 

Ignorance: The Greatest Threat to Black Americans

My relative was also stunned to hear that black unemployment is at a historic low under Trump. She did not know black unemployment was through the roof under Obama. 

Lloyd Marcus  "Turning 65, my relative is about to retire from her job as a Baltimore City transit bus-driver. She said she is extremely tired of having to deal with black people with entitlement mindsets. Self-preservation has taught her not to argue with thugs boarding her bus, refusing to pay the fare.

"Upon asking a gentleman to pay his bus fare, he exploded in anger, ranting about how a black man can't catch a break in this f****** country. He excoriated my relative for being a black woman unwilling to give a black man a break.

"My relative wisely kept silent as not to escalate the situation. She angrily retorted in her brain, "A black man needs to work! Why do you think someone owes you something? I do not like to work. But work is what I must do to enjoy the life I live -- my home, car and etc. It is called being a responsible adult, doing what one has to do."

"A black female passenger joined the black man's attack on my bus-driver relative, "Excuse me, 'Miss Privileged', not everyone is fortunate like you to be able to afford bus fare." My frustrated relative silently kept driving.

"As the weird Republican of our family, I took the occasion to educate my relative. I explained that her passengers' entitlement mindsets are the result of decades of Democrats' convincing blacks that they are victims in eternally racist America; deceptions and lies. Blacks believe voting for Democrats will keep evil racist white America at bay.

"Democrats refuse to hold blacks accountable for anything -- black on black crime, epidemic school dropouts, out of wedlock births, and generational poverty.

"Insidiously, Democrats have totally relieved blacks of all responsibility for their lives. Democrats have tripled down on teaching black youths that everything wrong is the fault of "white privilege,"  systematic, cultural, and economic white racism in America." . . .

Edward M. Kennedy: Address to the People of Massachusetts on Chappaquiddick

See also: Juan Williams's comparison to Chappaquiddick could not have been dumber  "Williams's tasteless, stupid remark shows again that leftist commentators will say anything about Republican presidents."

American Rhetoric

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

"My fellow citizens:

"I have requested this opportunity to talk to the people of Massachusetts about the tragedy which happened last Friday evening. This morning I entered a plea of guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Prior to my appearance in court it would have been [im]proper for me to comment on these matters. But tonight I am free to tell you what happened and to say what it means to me.

On the weekend of July 18th, I was on Martha's Vineyard Islandparticipating with my nephew, Joe Kennedy -- as for thirty years my family has participated -- in the annual Edgartown Sailing Regatta. Only reasons of health prevented my wife from accompanying me.

"On Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha's Vineyard, I attended, on Friday evening, July 18th, a cook-out I had encouraged and helped sponsor for a devoted group of Kennedy campaign secretaries. When I left the party, around 11:15pm, I was accompanied by one of these girls, Miss Mary Jo Kopechne. Mary Jo was one of the most devoted members of the staff of Senator Robert Kennedy. She worked for him for four years and was broken up over his death. For this reason, and because she was such a gentle, kind, and idealistic person, all of us tried to help her feel that she still had a home with the Kennedy family." . . .

Full speech here...

Hat tip to Legal Insurrection which stated; "ABC obviously published this footage because the film “Chappaquiddick” is opening this weekend.

"I will write a review of the film which will be published Sunday, right here at Legal Insurrection."

NY Times Op-Ed: Chappaquiddick Film Is ‘Character Assassination’ of Ted Kennedy

You can’t assail something that he no longer has. He left any character he had in the car to slowly suffocate and die along with Mary Jo when he didn’t report the accident until after it was discovered the next morning, over nine hours later. Weasel Zippers

Free Beacon  "In a New York Times op-ed published Friday, a liberal journalist and film critic complained the new film Chappaquiddick was a "character assassination" of its central character, Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy.

" 'How ‘Chappaquiddick’ Distorts a Tragedy" wrote Neal Gabler, who is working on a biography of Kennedy.

"Gabler complained the film, released in theaters Friday, has been "heavily promoted by conservative media outlets, and reviewers across the political spectrum have praised what they deem its damning but factual approach. Damning it is; factual it is not."

"There actually was no "cover-up" of Kennedy's car accident that led to the death of an aide, he claims, adding that "no one but the most lunatic conspiracy theorists see this as anything but a tragic accident in which nothing much was covered up."

"Chappaquiddick tells the story of a car accident that occurred on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts in 1969. The accident was caused by Kennedy's negligence and resulted in the death of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle. The screenwriters have said their efforts in making the film aren’t partisan and they aimed to tell the facts of the story. 

"Gabler doesn't actually point to any factual errors in the film (save for the fact that Joe Kennedy, confined to a wheelchair by a stroke, likely wouldn't be able to grunt one-word dialogue like he does in the film). Instead, his criticism is limited more to the depiction of Kennedy as a character." . . .

Ted Kennedy, the Borker of the Senate

To Bork someone:  "Sen.Ted Kennedy took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of Bork declaring:

Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is—and is often the only—protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy ...

Well, Judge Bork did indeed have some troubling positions that needed to be discussed. 

Ted Kennedy: Lion or Jackal?  "On April 6, Chappaquiddick, a movie detailing the events involving Senator Ted Kennedy on Martha's Vineyard in July 1969, will be released.  That incident demonstrated the depths to which the Kennedys were willing to go to salvage the political career of the last of the Kennedy sons.  In subsequent years, the actions of Ted Kennedy that night were forgiven by the Democrats, as were subsequent actions as noted below.

"The movie is based on a book, Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Coverup, by Leo J. Damore, who committed suicide in 1995. 

"Well, that is the official version, at least.  The Kennedy family exerted pressure toblock the making and release of the current movie.  Similar pressure was reportedly put on Mr. Damore, which may have added to the issues that resulted in his death.

"In the history of politics in this nation, few families have equaled the Kennedys in both political power and despicability for their personal actions." . . .

Gonzo Overkill

‘Chappaquiddick’ is a long-overdue dismantling of the Kennedy myth

. . . "Ted Kennedy passed by nearby lighted homes and the local fire department as he walked back to his inn, away from the pond he’d later claim was deep and at high tide. He slept that night as Mary Jo took her last breaths.

"The next morning, Ted refused to appear at the scene when summoned, demanding that the chief of police come down to the station. There, the chief finds Kennedy behind the cop’s own desk, reading a carefully worded statement. He doesn’t mention Mary Jo by her full name because he doesn’t know how to spell “Kopechne.' ” . . .

Juan Williams's comparison to Chappaquiddick could not have been dumber . . . "Williams said he didn't know the "story" of Chappaquiddick.  You would expect that someone whose job is a paid political commentator would know the story.  Kennedy would have been the Democratic nominee for president but for Chappaquiddick.  Kennedy was lauded by the Dems and the media as the Lion of the Senate.

"It is important, therefore, to know . . .  how Kennedy acted.  It isn't that complicated.  Kennedy drove off the bridge into the pond, swam away, and left Mary Jo Kopechne in the submerged car to die.  Kennedy waited close to ten hours to report to the police.  Had he reported it immediately when he swam away to safety, Ms. Kopechne would have probably survived.  It does not take a detective to figure out that the ten-hour delay was for Kennedy to sober up and concoct a story.  The details have been known to anyone interested, at least since Leo Damore's factual, exhaustive book Senatorial Privilege, The Chappaquiddick Coverup, published in 1988.

"If not knowing about Chappaquiddick isn't bad enough for a paid political commentator, Williams then outdid himself.   He said that while the left wanted to block the Chappaquiddick movie, the "right" wanted to block the movie about President Reagan's last years while he was afflicted with Alzheimer's.  This is beyond stupidity and civility.  How could anyone compare a movie about President Reagan's Alzheimer's with Ted Kennedy leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die in a car submerged in a pond that he put her in?" . . .  

Williams's tasteless, stupid remark shows again that leftist commentators will say anything about Republican presidents.