Mike Pompeo tells John Kerry to 'get off the stage'

Monica Showalter  "Does it get worse than when a current secretary of state has to tell a former secretary of state to just "get off the stage"?  That's what we've come to, now that secretary of state Mike Pompeo has spoken out against John Kerry's unprecedented meddling to undercut U.S. foreign policy toward Iran.

"It really is a grotesque spectacle.  Kerry is the thing that wouldn't leave, and now the secretary of state has had to say something.

"Speaking to Fox News's Laura Ingraham, Pompeo said:

Secretary Kerry can't seem to get off the stage, and you have to[.] ... When I am the former secretary I will get off.  Every previous former secretary has done that too.

"He pointed out that not only was Kerry a nuisance (like Jimmy Carter); he was actually a problem:

I am trying to execute American's foreign policy, and they are not only unhelpful but acting in ways that are harmful to achieving what's best for the American people, and that's my criticism.  Stop it and let it go.  You had your day.  We think you fundamentally got it wrong with Iran, and we're trying to make it right.

"It's unprecedented, and it's unprecedented because Kerry's acts are unprecedented.  Telling the Iranians to just wait it out and wait for Democrats to get back into power instead of play ball with President Trump is a revolting scenario for any government to face.  It emboldens the mullahs, and encourages them to engage in aggressive acts as well as play for time until Democrats can get their act together.  It's so bad that it seems to call for legal action on sedition charges (which Pompeo demurred on, but certainly didn't oppose), given that Kerry is thinking of running for president, and his acts to undercut U.S. policy are motivated by his political ambition.  Plotting on a plan together with the Iranians is creepy in itself, but it also sets the stage for bribery scenarios, which is how the mullahs do business.  When both sides have common interests and have made common cause, money flows.  The FBI ought to be all over Kerry's keister for that one.

Ride on outta here, fella!

"How revolting that Pompeo has got to fight the Obama administration as well as check the odious mullahs in the course of doing his job.  He's not supposed to be political, and State Departments are not supposed to be politicized, but Kerry has gone (along with most of the Obamatons) and politicized the whole shebang, leaving Pompeo to fight a two-front war instead of just be secretary of state.

"No wonder he's disgusted with this nuisance.  Not only has Team Obama left its operatives in the Deep State to undermine the Trump administration, but it's also collaborating with America's enemies to encourage them to put their money on their big comeback, which will affect their courses of action in the today.  Any questions as to why these people do not deserve post-administration security clearances?

"Now Kerry's been told to get off the stage like a bad act, like a skunk at the garden party, by none other than his successor.  He's gotten the gong.  Because right now, his act stinks."

Kerry never met a US enemy he didn't like.

While we're discussing Obama's secretaries of state:  Crooked Hillary just won't slither away  . . . "Hillary, who "forgets" anything that contradicts truth and reality, must have forgotten that she fired the White House travel office so she could give the business to her pals. The White House memo that implicates her includes the following:

Mr. Watkins wrote that "we both know that there would be hell to pay if we failed to take swift and decisive action in conformity with the First Lady's wishes."

. . . Starr said he drafted an indictment with a prosecution memo to indict Hillary for perjury because she answered, "I don't know, or I don't remember" over one hundred times during her deposition.

OpEd: The Obama ILLUSION

Socio-Political- Journal

"Being Irrelevant hasn't dampened Obama's Arrogance. The same Illusions have Invaded Progressives, and sickened many Democrats. The Illusion of success, when nearly every meaningful data-point spells Failure.

"Somehow the architect of the worst recovery since the Great Depression Mr. Obama alludes to the fallacy that the now booming economy is his. Obama may be better at stand-up comedy than leadership. It was the Bush Administration that bailed out the Banks and Auto-Industry.

"It was Obama whose shovel ready jobs moved no earth and employed no workers. The only job creation was in the Public Sector, and most with an IQ over 60, know that more government diminishes National Wealth. Public Sector employment creates no economic advantage for those who foot the bill.

"It was by design to over-regulate the Private Sector, and promote Socialist narratives. Not the narratives that gave us Social Security, and Medicare, but a Free For All Socialist Agenda that added a whopping 10 Trillion Dollars to the already inflated Deficit.

"As Obama touts his delusions such as Deficit Reduction one must seriously wonder whether anything this man says is truthful. Even with a Majority in both Houses it took bribery and the ludicrous statement by the then House Leader to extol their members to sign a Bill NO-ONE had read! We all know the results of Un-Affordable Care Act.

"Obama ruled by fiat with numerous Executive Orders some of which were ruled Unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He allowed his Bureaucrats to ride Roughshod over segments of the American electorate that disagreed with his elitist minutiae while rubber stamping every personal dysfunction of out of norm behaviors.

"Obama was little more than a figurehead for Globalists who have for decades tried to destroy the American Dream. Obama a Black Man whose family never suffered Slavery, Obama a Black Man who never owned,  or ran a Business, Obama always in the Public Pocket was somehow going to Save the World. Laughable when contemplated...
By Theodore Miraldi

The Party of Kaepernick

Why wouldn't Pat Tillman have been a better choice than Kaepernick?

National Review

Nike has set a political trap for Democrats ahead of November’s midterm elections, and the party’s candidates are walking right into it.

"The Democrats’ winning midterm campaign message would seem simple enough: Trump is bad and must be opposed. Yet at the moment the party risks being associated with a somewhat less attractive message: The American flag is bad and must be opposed.

"Last week, left-wing Democrat Ayanna Pressley ousted long-term incumbent Michael Capuano from the John F. Kennedy/Tip O’Neill House seat in the Democratic primary while praising the NFL anti-flag protests, which her opponent called “wrong.” Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke says — in Texas! — that there is “nothing more American” than kneeling for the national anthem. The judicious center-left New York Times columnist David Leonhardt notes in his daily newsletter that “the anthem is a trap for Democrats.”

"That Nike rolled out Colin Kaepernick as its new spokesman not only knocked a couple of billion dollars off the value of the company, it also amounts to an in-kind campaign contribution to the Republican party. The Left and its base of activists, pundits, and (increasingly) woke capitalists simply can’t let this issue go, much less acknowledge that its flag-dissing is conceptually flawed. Demonizing a huge population based on stereotypes derived from the actions of a few of its members is exactly the kind of anti-American impulse that liberals once stood so valiantly against.

"The Kaepernick-led anthem protests were wrong-headed to begin with. Try to follow this logic: The misbehavior of a few police officers means the police in general should be reviled. And if we revile the police the entire American project is to be rebuked by protesting the anthem. Martin Luther King Jr., by contrast, said his stirring vision was “deeply rooted in the American dream.” He called upon us to live up to American ideals. That isn’t Kaepernick’s message.

"Now the protests have gone meta: They’re not about policing, they’re about Kaepernick." . . .
Keep reading...

'Can You Imagine?!': Watters, MacCallum on Trump Getting Blasted for Hugging a Child on NC Visit

Fox News  "In Wednesdays with Watters on "The Story," Jesse Watters reacted to President Trump getting ripped by critics for hugging a young boy during a trip to hurricane-ravaged Craven County, N.C.

"Trump was handing out meals to displaced residents in New Bern when a boy asked for a hug."

Martha MacCallum

✔@marthamaccallum

The responses to this are so depressing. Even hugging a kid is something to criticize.

"The president smiled and hugged the boy, setting off a storm of backlash from critics that MacCallum deemed "depressing."

"Among the many critics, one asked whether the boy "got a check" from the Trump Organization, or why Trump would hug a child when "he doesn't even hug his own kids.' " . . .

What's this about Blasey-Ford's scrubbing of her high school yearbooks from those days?

Cult of the 1st Amendment

"Faculty Approved Racism, Binge Drinking and Promiscuity"

. . . "On Monday Sept. 17^th, Christine Blasey Ford’s high school yearbooks suddenly disappeared from the web. I read them days before, knew they would be scrubbed, and saved them. Why did I know they would be scrubbed? Because if roles were reversed, and Christine Blasey Ford had been nominated for the Supreme Court by President Trump, the headline by the resistance would be this: 

"CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD AND THE DRUNKEN WHITE PRIVILEGED RACIST PLAYGIRLS OF HOLTON-ARMS.

"And it would be an accurate headline. That’s why the yearbooks have been scrubbed. They are a testament to the incredible power these girls had over their teachers, parents and the boys of Georgetown Prep, Landon and other schools in the area. In the pages below, you will see multiple photos and references to binge drinking and the accompanying joy of not being able to remember any of it.

"These yearbooks are, therefore, relevant to the national investigation now being conducted in the media, in homes, and in the halls of Congress. And they should not have been scrubbed. If Brett Kavanaugh’s yearbooks are fair game, so are these.

"And you will wonder while reading them, why the hell did the faculty approve of these yearbooks? Why did the parents take out paid ads in these yearbooks? Animal House had nothing on the infamous “Holton party scene”.

. . . 

"The resistance media has been singularly focused on Brett Kavanaugh’s high school yearbooks, which imply that he got drunk and threw up. There’s no need to imply anything from the Holton-Arms yearbooks. It’s all there in focus, and the written word too. All of the sordid details as approved for publication by a “look the other way” faculty. And now it’s available for historical/evidentiary review." . . .

Scribe 84 is the yearbook for her senior year. Her name was Christine Blasey in high school, often referred to as “Chrissy”.  In the image below, Blasey is pictured at a Halloween party in her junior year. The caption on the right says:

“Lastly one cannot fail to mention the climax of the junior social scene, the party. Striving to extend our educational experience beyond the confines of the classroom, we played such intellectually stimulating games as Quarters, Mexican Dice and everyone’s favorite, Pass-Out, which usually resulted from the aforementioned two.”

"The Halloween party pictured above would have taken place within sixteen weeks of the alleged assault, which Blasey claims happened in the Summer of ’82, after her sophomore year."

. . . 

Below: "Numerous passages in the yearbooks discuss the drunken keg parties held while parents were away from home:"

More here.  Hat tip to Moretti Underground

The American liberal culture against Judge Kavanaugh; where can he go to get his reputation back?

Rich Terrell

The U.S. Senate will hold hearings Monday to allow the accuser of fifty-three-year-old Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a chance to testify that he groped her in high school. And that’s not all. CNN reports that Brett Kavanaugh kicked a pregnant woman in the belly fifty-three years ago.  Comedian Argus Hamilton

Here come the townspeople with their torches and pitchforks! Celebrities rally behind Kavanaugh accuser in video: 'We believe you'

One wants this woman to be wrong because she is in the same camp as Hollywood, liberal media, Antifa, and Maxine Waters with her horde of scowling Democrats. Because of those people, I'm willing to sink or swim with Trump and Kavanaugh. TD

Blasey Ford Must Be Acknowledged and Then Dismissed . . . "This is another political aspect of her accusation; she sees her alleged assault through the prism of Kavanaugh's politics and potential Supreme Court nomination. 

"In the letter to Feinstein, she calls the get-together a "gathering," and it has been described elsewhere as a "party."  This is easy to understand since either one sounds a lot better than saying she went to a house to hang out with four boys to drink and smoke pot." . . .

Ford vs. Kavanaugh: There's Nothing to Investigate  . . . "Whether it's now or after an FBI investigation, it all boils down to the witnesses identified by Christine Blasey Ford.  Kavanaugh has never been accused of such behavior before in his life and says it didn't happen.  Judge says it didn't happen.  And Christine Blasey Ford didn't even mention it to anyone for decades.  When she did mention it, her claim was contradicted by the notes her therapist took.  Which is more likely: he didn't understand what she was saying, or she desperately needs to change her story to attack Kavanaugh?" . . .

It is sufficient for Democrats that the allegation is out there and will appear in dramas, TV talk show conversations, and comedy routines continually. Conversely, with Whoopi Goldberg, Roman Polanski's statuary rape of a 13-year-old girl was not "rape-rape". TD

New Letter From Ford’s Attorney: Her Testifying Now Would Be ‘Contrary To Committee Discovering The Truth’  "Fine. Vote. Have done with the nonsense."

Go back in time and see for yourself the sort of things Hollywood can say, true or false,  about Republicans and remain in high favor with their peers:

Brett Kavanaugh's accuser gets all the attention, while Keith Ellison's gets none

See any celebrities yet? Nope. This affair doesn't rank as a current Hollywood fad. TD

Washington Examiner  "If you know the name Christine Blasey Ford but not Karen Monahan, you must ask yourself, "Why?"

Weasel Zippers photo

"In the past few weeks, the nation has been transfixed on nearly every detail surrounding the confirmation process of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The week after the contentious hearings, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated that she possessed a letter charging the nominee with sexual misconduct while a teenager in the early 1980s. Since then, and especially now that we know the accuser's name, it's been a literal he said/she said.

"While the mainstream media is focused on what comes next in the ongoing D.C. drama, Democrats remain suspiciously quiet concerning allegations about Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. The claims of abuse against the current congressman, deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, and candidate for Minnesota Attorney General are serious and most importantly, documented. If we just compare the two situations, the strength of the claims against Ellison overtake the assertions directed at Kavanaugh. In fact, if Kavanaugh were facing claims similar to those of Ellison, his time on the national stage would be in immediate and serious jeopardy.

"Ellison's accuser took to social media on Monday morning with claims against her own party, the Democrats. But with the makeup of the Supreme Court currently hanging in the balance, who has time to listen to a woman 1,000 miles away from the Washington Beltway? Her story isn't politically convenient.

"According to Monahan, the #MeToo allies within the Democratic Party don't seem to care about her documented story. " . . .

Haven Monahan to testify in Kavanaugh hearings (That's "Haven"...NOT "Have")

But accuse the elitist white male Duke lacrosse team, Haven Monahan or a Republican nominee to the Supreme Court, and you can upgrade to a much better university and spend the rest of your life being showered with awards, fellowships, honorary degrees, media appearances and so on. Look up "Anita Hill." 

Ann Coulter  "If this is what the left pulls against a sweet nerd like Brett Kavanaugh, I can't wait for the hearings to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg!

Monahan

" Observers of the passing scene were not surprised that the same lunatics screaming that Kavanaugh is going to impose "The Handmaid's Tale" on America also announced that he had committed attempted rape and murder in high school. 

"His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, remembered this in a therapy session 30-plus years after the alleged incident — coincidentally, at the exact moment Kavanaugh was all over the news as Mitt Romney's likely Supreme Court nominee.

" She doesn't remember the time or place of the assault, told no one for 30 years and has no evidence or corroboration. Maybe the party was at Haven Monahan's house. (He was the instigator of the fraternity gang rape reported in Rolling Stone, which never happened and — luckily for Monahan! — who doesn't exist. Otherwise, he was in BIG trouble.) 

"But the psychology professor at Palo Alto University — who recently signed a letter denouncing President Trump's border policies (thank you, Attorney General Sessions!) — says a teenaged Kavanaugh threw her on a bed at a party and began groping her, trying to take off her clothes. 

"Here's the kicker: "I thought he might inadvertently kill me." 

" 'We went pretty quickly from drunken teenaged groping to manslaughter. 

"This is always my favorite part of any feminist claim: The leap from "he used a bad word" to "HE ADMITTED COMMITTING SEXUAL ASSAULT!" (That's what the media lyingly said about Trump's remarks on the "Access Hollywood" tape, as detailed in Chapter Two of my new book, "Resistance Is Futile! How the Trump-Hating Left Lost Its Collective Mind.")

Brit Hume’s Daughter Breaks Silence About Letter From Women in Support of Kavanaugh

Now, where will Judge Kavanaugh go to get his reputation back?

America the Awesome  "Virginia Hume, daughter of Fox News commentator and former anchor Brit Hume, wrote an article for The Weekly Standard on Friday explaining the motivation and circumstances of the letter she signed along with 64 other women in support of Brett Kavanaugh.

"After an anonymous woman accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to force himself onto her at a party in the 1980s when both were in high school, 65 women — including Virginia Hume — who knew Kavanaugh during those years released a letter supporting the character of the Supreme Court nominee.

“Brett attended Georgetown Prep, an all-boys high school in Rockville, Maryland,” the letter reads. “He was an outstanding student and athlete with a wide circle of friends. Almost all of us attended all-girls high schools in the area. We knew Brett well through social events, sports, church and various other activities. Many of us have remained close friends with him and his family over the years. Through the more than 35 years we have known him, Brett has stood out for his friendship, character and integrity. In particular, he has always treated women with decency and respect. That was true when he was in high school, and it has remained true to this day.”

"Hume’s Weekly Standard article disputes the theory that the letter had somehow been prepared in advance by those who knew the anonymous allegation against the Supreme Court nominee was about to be made public.

“ 'This, from my daughter, on how the letter for Kavanaugh came about,” tweeted Fox News’ Brit Hume. “So much for the idea it had been prepared ahead of time because those who signed it knew the allegation was coming.”

About That Letter From Women in Support of Brett KavanaughI signed it. Hume's article began. Here's how it went down.

“I signed it,” Virginia Hume began. “Here’s how it went down.”

'On Friday, a group of women who knew Brett in high school sent a letter in support of him to Senators Grassley and Feinstein. I am one of those 65 women. Having seen some of the reaction to the letter, I’d like to clear up a few things:

"The letter was conceived and drafted by friends of Brett’s, and it was drafted after allegations came out on Thursday. I learned about the letter from a friend and fellow signatory. Others learned about it the same way. Those surprised at the speed with which it came together should see it as yet another testament to Brett’s excellent reputation.

"Hume went on to explain that, though both she and Kavanaugh went to single-sex schools, they were “permitted upon occasion” to interact with those of the opposite sex."

Kavanaugh accuser forced out of her home over threats, lawyers say

We Trump supporters must condemn these harassments of Dr. Ford unequivocally, without a Maxine Waters "we do not condone this" response. These attacks on Dr. Ford are what one expects from the left and we must be better than them.
The attacks could well be coming from the left to shame Kavanaugh supporters, but we must be quick to condemn them publicly and loudly, no matter the source. TD

The Hill  "The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has been forced out of her home due to death threats, her lawyers said Tuesday.

"Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter that the Palo Alto University professor has been effectively forced into hiding after receiving violent messages targeting her and her family.

" 'In the 36 hours since her name became public, Dr. Ford has received a stunning amount of support from her community and from fellow citizens across our country. At the same time, however, her worst fears have materialized," her lawyers wrote in the letter.

" 'She has been the target of vicious harassment and even death threats. As a result of these kind of threats, her family was forced to relocate out of their home. Her email has been hacked, and she has been impersonated online," the letter continued." . . .

Grassley: No reason to delay Kavanaugh hearing

The Hill  "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pressing forward with a hearing scheduled for Monday after a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct called for the FBI to investigate her claims before she testifies. 

"Grassley on Tuesday evening said there was "no reason" to delay the hearing. Republicans have invited both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, his accuser, to testify publicly. 

“ 'Dr. Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr. Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay," Grassley said. 

"He added that Ford's claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school are "serious allegations and Dr. Ford deserves to be heard. ... The invitation for Monday still stands."

"Grassley's statement comes hours after Ford's lawyer released a letter calling for an FBI investigation into her allegation. Ford says that while at a party Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed, groped her, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth when she tried to protest. " . . .

Julia Louis-Dreyfus joins alumnae of Kavanaugh accuser's high school supporting her

Judge Kavanaugh’s Denial

National Review  "Judge Kavanaugh is not defending himself by saying (as some supporters of his nomination are) that he was just a kid back then, or that people can sometimes have differing memories of long-ago encounters, especially when they were drinking. He has instead made a categorical denial, going so far as to say, according to Senator Hatch, that he did not go to any party meeting Professor Ford’s description.

"The emergence of any evidence that contradicts that denial would end his nomination and probably his current judgeship. Assuming Hatch is right about what Kavanaugh is saying, all it would take is another person’s saying, I remember being at a party with Kavanaugh that sounds like the one Ford is talking about, and it’s over.

"And it should be over at that point. As Lyman Stone points out, Kavanaugh’s defense destroys whatever force the he-was-just-a-kid argument ever had: He’s an adult now, and evidence disproving his blanket denial would mean that he is lying — and thus smearing Ford — now.

"Even Kavanaugh’s most contemptuous critics have to concede that he is a smart lawyer. Even Paul Krugman, here being his worst self, would have to concede that. The judge has to know the implications of what he’s saying. A possible explanation for that tack: He is very confident that no evidence to undermine his categorical denial will come out."

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review, a columnist for Bloomberg View, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.