Stacey Abrams says Georgia 'fetal heartbeat' bill 'bad for business'

The Washington Times

"Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Sunday that a bill banning abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected would be “bad for business” in the state.

"The controversial bill, which would ban abortions as early as six weeks, is expected to be signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. A campaign launched by actress Alyssa Milano and signed by more than 100 celebrities threatens to boycott the state if Mr. Kemp does not veto the bill.

"Ms. Abrams, who narrowly lost to Mr. Kemp in 2018 and is floating a possible 2020 presidential run, said on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” that the bill threatens the state’s booming film business.

" 'think Georgia has to realize that while we’re enjoying an extraordinary boom in the film industry, there is nothing that says it has to stay here,” she said. “We have to be a state that is not only friendly to businesses, we have to be friendly to the women who work in businesses.

“ 'You should not have to worry about your ability to controlling your bodily autonomy because the governor has pushed such an abominable and evil bill that is so restrictive,” she added. “It’s not only bad for morality and our humanity, it’s bad for business.' ”

Ocasio-Cortez slams critics for mocking her voice

NY Post  

"Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shot back at critics on Friday who accused her of adopting a southern drawl while speaking to a majority-black audience at Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention.

“ 'Folks talking about my voice can step right off,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
“Any kid who grew up in a distinct linguistic culture & had to learn to navigate class enviros at school/work knows what’s up,” she added. “My Spanish is the same way.”
"Conservatives on Twitter and several right-leaning media outlets claimed Ocasio-Cortez forced the accent during her speech at the conference at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
“ 'This is what organizing looks like,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her remarks. “This is what building power looks like. This is what changing the country looks like. It’s when we choose to show up and occupy the room and talk about the things that matter most, talking about our future.”
"Among her critics was conservative pundit John Cardillo, who works for Newsmax television.
“ 'In case you’re wondering, this is what blackface sounds like,” he wrote in a tweet.

"Ocasio-Cortez described the attacks as “hurtful” in another tweet.

“ 'As much as the right wants to distort & deflect, I am from the Bronx. I act & talk like it, especially when I’m fired up and especially when I’m home,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the tweet.

“ 'It is so hurtful to see how every aspect of my life is weaponized against me, yet somehow asserted as false at the same time,” she added."

‘Beto’ and Other Names in Politics and Life

National Review

William Safire took up the question of names, and their pronunciations, in his language column, back in 1983. “Your house may not be your castle,” he wrote, “but your moniker is your property to pronounce the way you like and to correct others about.”  . . .

. . . "Let’s go back to Texas. Last year, Beto O’Rourke ran for the U.S. Senate, losing to the incumbent, Ted Cruz. The senator’s full name is “Rafael Edward Cruz.” (His father came from Cuba as a refugee.) The future “Ted” grew up as “Felito.” But in junior high, he wanted out of that name. He tells the story in his autobiography, published in 2015.

"The problem with “Felito,” Cruz says, “was that it seemed to rhyme with every major corn chip on the market — Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos — a fact that other young children were quite happy to point out.” He continues, “I was tired of being teased. One day I had a conversation with my mother about it and she said, ‘You know, you could change your name. There are a number of other possibilities.’”

"This hit the young man like a thunderbolt. “It was a shocking concept,” Cruz says. “It had never occurred to me that I had any input on my name.” He decided on “Ted,” derived from his middle name, Edward.

"Self-reinvention is as American as apple pie. Think of Jay Gatsby, a.k.a. the Great Gatsby, who started out in North Dakota as “Jimmy Gatz.” “Gatz,” huh? Possibly Jewish? This has been a theory, or suggestion, among literary critics.

"There was a time when many American Jews felt they had to Anglicize, or de-Judaize, their names. I think of a pair of tenors, who were brothers-in-law, as it happened: Rubin Ticker became Richard Tucker; Pinky Perelmuth became Jan Peerce. Italians got in on the act as well: Dino Crocetti became Dean Martin." . . .

Pathetic Democrats have become the party of apologies

NY Post

. . . "Some of these apologies (like Warren’s and Sanders’) were necessary and some weren’t. But, politically speaking, they’re self-defeating. If you’re apologizing, you’re losing, and America doesn’t like losers. As Kathleen Parker put it in The Washington Post, directing her remark at O’Rourke, “Once you start apologizing, especially for things over which you had no control, you are more likely to be perceived as weak — and not real smart.”

"The contrast with the man all of these Democrats seek to replace as top dog is excruciatingly evident. President Trump has done a lot of things most would agree merits an apology, but then again you do project a certain aura of strength when you never back down from any dispute, no matter how trivial.

"At some point in most campaigns, voters get a jarring reminder that the world is a dangerous place and that toughness and confidence are more reassuring in a difficult moment than cringing, blanching and begging. The Democrats sometimes act as though they’re ashamed of their country. They can’t afford to seem as though they’re also ashamed of themselves."

Next they will travel the world, apologizing for the United States. I know that's a long shot but it could happen. TD

Omar and Farrakhan; the pillars of tolerance

Omar Refuses To Condemn Gays Being Stoned To Death Under Sharia Law, Violence Against Israel From Hamas    . . . "Omar has been embroiled in an anti-Semitism scandal since the first day she arrived in Washington, D.C.

"Omar has been condemned multiple times by her Democratic colleagues for pushing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories used by Nazi Germany and using anti-Semitic tropes. Omar has compared Israel to the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism in media interviews where she also suggested that Israel should not be allowed to exist as a Jewish state. Omar has suggested that her Jewish colleagues devised a plan to silence her by accusing her of being anti-Semitic and suggesting that Omar was expecting one of her Jewish colleagues to have dual loyalties to Israel. Omar also claimed that pro-Israel groups were paying off U.S. politicians to have dual loyalties to Israel.

"Omar's anti-Semitism is so extreme that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, while not using her name, clearly directed scorn at Omar during speeches at AIPAC this week." . . .

Netanyahu, Democrat Leaders Blast Ilhan Omar At AIPAC. Omar Explodes.  . . . "I stand with Israel, proudly and unapologetically," [House Majority Leader Steny]  Hoyer said."So when someone accuses American supporters of dual loyalty, I say: accuse me." Hoyer then blasted the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign that Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) both support and on which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) refuses to take a clear stance. "When the curtain is pulled back, everyone can see what the [BDS] movement truly is: a front for delegitimizing the Jewish people’s right to selfdetermination," Hoyer said. Hoyer took aim at the three anti-Semitic freshman Democrats, saying:"By the way, there are 62 freshman Democrats. Do you hear me? There are 62, not three." 

Sorry about the robo-voice in this video but you should find the light it sheds on Omar of interest. TD

WATCH: CBS Cameras Cut Away the Moment Texas Tech Starts Praying

Breitbart  "CBS cameras cut away from the Texas Tech locker room the moment their head coach entered the room and began leading the team in prayer.

The network seemed to have no problem letting their cameras linger, while the announcers filled time and waited for the coach to arrive. However, moments after the coach Chris Beard arrived, the team began to pray and the cameras cut away to a shot of the announcers.

. . . 

"CBS has yet to offer an explanation as to why they chose to cut away during Texas Tech’s team prayer.

"This is not the first time a network has decided to cut away during a moment of prayer, or religious speech at a sporting event. In October of  2015, ESPN cut away from Clemson coach Dabo Swinney after he thanked “the good Lord” during a post game interview."

Mueller Express Fails to Deliver, Democrats Head for the Abyss

Clarice Feldman  . . . "To be sure the Congressional Democrats are floating a series of moves with more public relations impact than likely success.

"The planned subpoena of an unredacted Mueller report is unlikely to yield results.

A House panel voted yesterday to authorize subpoenas to obtain Robert Mueller’s full report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The vote was strictly along party lines. 

Democrats aren’t going to issue the subpoena yet. First, they will negotiate with the Justice Department.

But Democrats are holding a losing hand. This subpoena, like all the others House Democrats are thinking about issuing, cannot, in all likelihood, be effectively enforced.

The normal enforcement mechanism for a subpoena is to cite for contempt the party that refuses to comply. But it’s up to the Justice Department to prosecute that case. The DOJ isn’t going to prosecute its head. 

. . . 

Obama shatters previous record, mentions himself 467 times in one speech in Berlin

Thomas Lifson  "The post-presidential era of his life seems to be a bit of a challenge to the ego of Barack Hussein Obama. Never shy about referring to himself while president, now that that man in the White House is reversing his policies and spectacularly succeeding it’s got to be hard on his self-esteem. And let’s not forget the psychological pressure that may be building in the wake of the collapse of the Russia Hoax and the possible investigation of its origins.

"So, what’s a comparatively young (age 57) man with decades of life ahead to do to compensate? Self-reflection and personal growth are out of the question, of course (this is Barack Obama, after all, the man who claimed to better at everything than his aides charged with speech-writing, economic policy and much more), so it appears that defensive ego boosting is his chosen course.

"As it happens, the venue for his speech was Berlin, where in 2008 he addressed the largest crowd of his career. I don’t know the size of his audience yesterday in Berlin, but it had to be a tiny fraction of the 100,000+  he faced back when things were going his way.

"Our friends at Grabien have produced a video compilation – almost five minutes of rampant egotism if you can stand it – and offer a count of the personal pronouns employed:

Here’s the breakdown of his personal pronoun use (based on a rush transcript of the event):

“I” — 312

“Me” — 33

“My” — 43

“I’d” — 9

“I’m” — 61

“Myself” — 9

The former president’s comments began on his favorite topic: himself.

“It’s been over ten years since I spoke to a slightly larger crowd in front of the Victory Column when I was running for president,” Obama said to a notably quiet crowd. “I had a little less gray hair then. And since then I’ve been back to Germany I think at least ten times. I’ve been to Europe countless times. But I’m as excited to be here with you as I have been ever when I’ve come to Europe.” . . .

 Montage: Watch Obama Refer to Himself a Record 392 Times in Berlin Townhall

So why's Obama slinking around Germany and 'privately' meeting with Angela Merkel?  . . . "DC Whispers, for one, thinks that the two Trump-hating politicians might have a less savory agenda, writing:

The king of open borders USA met privately with the queen of mass migration Europe this week in what some are justifiably calling an example of shadow government in action. Please read closely the cause and effect details outlined below:

The Most Disturbing Thing about Joe Biden

National Review  "But missed in these lists is a deeply troubling — I guess the right word is “lie.” It is one that Biden contrived — or at least perpetuated — over a deeply painful event: the death of his first wife and daughter. The lie hides in plain sight, amongst all the other oddball anecdotes (like his vowing to use his rosary beads as a choking device), maybe because it is so amazingly brazen, and because of its complete lack of being — here, I guess the right word might be “unnecessary.”

"The sad story is 29-year-old senator-elect Biden received the horrible call in December, 1972, that there was an accident in which his wife Neilia and baby daughter Naomi were killed, and his young sons Beau and Hunter severely hurt. Mrs. Biden seems to have driven into a busy intersection, into the path of an oncoming truck. Its driver was Curtis Dunn. Investigators found him blameless. Of no surprise, according to his family, his involvement in the deaths of Mrs. Biden and her daughter weighed on Dunn until his own death in 1999.
. . .  "Per a 2010 Biden profile in The Atlantic:

For many years, he described the driver of the truck that struck and killed his first wife and their daughter in December 1972 as drunk, which he apparently was not. The tale could hardly be more tragic; why add in a baseless charge? The family of the truck driver has labored to correct the record, but Biden made the reference to drunkenness as recently as 2007, needlessly resurrecting a false and painful accusation.

Are Democrats Pushing Sharia Law?

Lloyd Marcus  "A fan thought I exaggerated when I wrote that Sharia law will spread like wildfire across America if Democrats win the White House. She feared my over-the-top statement about the spread of Islam will damage my credibility.

"My statement is not an exaggeration. For crying out loud, the federal government illegally funded a national curriculum titled “Access Islam.” This indoctrination program outrageously teaches students how to become Muslim -- how to pray as a Muslim, how to perform Islamic “daily worship,” and how to perform the “core duties” of being a Muslim.

"A California school banned all Christian-based books from its library, including books by Christian authors. Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Hermsmeyer says they do not allow “sectarian materials” on their state-authorized lending shelves. Public schools are celebrating Islam while banning Christmas.

"Public education is the battlefield of the culture war. Democrats use public schools to normalize the LGBTQ agenda in the hearts and minds of our kids. Upon infiltrating public schools, LGBTQ activists began molding and shaping students into their image beginning in pre-k.

"Democrats continue to up the ante by expanding deviancy. Students are being indoctrinated to embrace numerous dangerous sexual perversions under the umbrella of “healthy sex education” -- BDSM, rimming, anal sex, asphyxiation, gender-bending and more.

. . . 

"Traditions, principles and values everyday Americans and Christians hold dear are under relentless attack by Democratic enemies within. As a Christian, I view the Democrats' aggression as the Spirit of Anti-Christ. Jesus proclaiming himself our savior and Lord is as repulsive to leftists as is showing Dracula the cross. This is why even though Islam clearly hates homosexuals and suppresses women, Democrats overwhelmingly prefer Islam over Christianity. Democrats are banning Christianity in public school while quietly replacing it with Islam.

"No, I do not believe Sharia law will overtake America. But if Democrats take the White House, Sharia Law will swiftly gain government-protected strongholds across America."

Four Question for Those Who Oppose the Electoral College; What the Electoral College Saves Us From

R. E. Bowse  "Have you heard?  The Electoral College is bad.  Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and others support its abolition.  On March 28, Delaware became the thirteenth state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) in which members agree to award their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote.  The compact goes into effect only when the combined number of electoral votes of member states reaches 270, assuring their candidate victory. Legislation affixing New Mexico to the NPVIC sits on the desk of Governor Michelle Grisham (D). She's expected to sign it, giving the coalition 189 votes."
"The debate surrounding this issue is another example of proponents avoiding the salient points.  I pose the following four questions to those would undo the electoral college system, with the goal of promoting clarity and focusing on the nub of the matter."

1. If you support the direct democracy of a popular vote system, do you also reject republicanism as our form of government? . . .
2. If you reject the notion of disproportional representation, do you reject the institution of the U.S. Senate? . . .
3. Parity between the states was key to ratification.  Does parity not matter anymore? . . .
4. Is a popular vote system a cure for the disease? . . .

What the Electoral College Saves Us From;  "The winner of a national office should have nationwide support" . . .

. . . As with all such enthusiasms — expanding the Supreme Court, abolishing the filibuster and the Senate itself, lowering the voting age to 16, letting convicted felons and illegal aliens vote, adding D.C. and Puerto Rico as states, automatic voter registration, abolishing voter ID, etc. — the scarcely concealed argument is that changing the rules will help Democrats and progressives win more.

. . . "Picture a two-candidate election with 2016’s turnout. The Republican wins 54 percent of the vote in 48 states, losing only California, New York, and D.C. That’s a landslide victory, right? But then imagine that the Republican nominee who managed this feat was so unpopular in California, New York, and D.C. that he or she loses all three by a 75 percent–to–25 percent margin. That 451–87 landslide in the Electoral College, built on eight-point wins in 48 states, would also be a popular-vote defeat, with 50.7 percent of the vote for the Democrat to 49.3 percent for the Republican. Out of a total of about 137 million votes, that’s a popular-vote margin of victory of 1.95 million votes for a candidate who was decisively rejected in 48 of the 50 states." . . .

Democrats in 2020: Unelectable Nonentities

Conrad Black

Here are a few of Black's salient points:
. . . "The Gadarene stampede to (and over) the edge of the abyss of all who advocate open borders, 70 percent income taxes, the green terror, socialized medicine, legalized infanticide, reparations to native and African-Americans, packing the Supreme Court, and vacation of the Electoral College, has finally elicited, in a Churchillian expression, a tiny mouse of dissent." . . .
. . . "Nixon told me that neither of them said a word as [McGovern's] speech was delivered in the Mr. Peepers monotone of the nominee, and that when he ended, the president turned to his wife and uttered this reflection: “All our time in politics, we have fought the Democrats of Roosevelt, Truman, Stevenson, Jack, Lyndon, and Hubert; all substantial and formidable men. How did that great party fall into the hands of such jerks?” (The real last word is not suitable to repeat in a family magazine.) . . .
. . . "At least Beto O’Rourke, halfwit though he is, gave it a great try for the U.S. Senate from Texas. Such is the poverty of these Democratic candidates, Mayor Pete is starting to rack up some points as an antidote to the geriatric Sanders-Biden vote, which polls show, pulls about 55 per cent of Democrats." . . .
. . . "The country still seems to like to change parties in the White House every eight years, but the Democrats will have to do better than this farrago of nonsense and nonentities." . . .