CNN to host LGBT townhall pertaining to homosexuality and transgenderism, Oct 11

Lifesite News  "Next month, CNN and the LGBT lobbying group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will be joining forces to host a town hall marathon specifically for the 2020 Democrat presidential field to discuss issues pertaining to homosexuality and transgenderism, the two organizations announced this week.

"The event will take place on October 11 in Los Angeles, CNN announced, to coincide with National Coming Out Day. Consisting of a series of “back-to-back town halls throughout the evening,” it will be open to Democrat candidates who have won at least 2 percent support in four consecutive national polls, and received contributions from 130,000 unique donors, including 400 donors apiece from 20 states.

"Qualifying candidates to accept so far include former Vice President Joe Biden, openly-gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, and Sens. Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren. The event will not be open to the public; the audience will consist of invited guests, “LGBTQ stakeholders,” and members of civic organizations, according to HRC.

“ 'Today, at a time when our most basic civil rights and democratic values are under attack, our work has never been more urgent,” HRC president Alphonso David claimed in a press release. “We are eager to hear from this field of Democratic presidential candidates about how they plan to win full federal equality, defend the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people, and protect the most vulnerable among us -- both here in the United States and around the globe -- from stigma, institutional inequality, discrimination, and violence.”

"All of the 2020 Democrat candidates are doctrinaire leftists on LGBT issues, from supporting the so-called Equality Act (which would impede the religious liberties and conscience rights of religious adoption agencies and businesses, as well as force women and girls to share sex-specific facilities with men) to opposing the Trump administration’s ban on gender-confused soldiers. Several have even added their “preferred pronouns” to their social media bios, in a show of solidarity with gender-identity activists." . . .

CNN's Climate Change Townhall -- An Affirmation of Faith

Alexander G. Markovsky  "George Bernard Shaw aptly wrote, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.” There couldn’t be a better description of the ten aspirants for the high office participating in the CNN-sponsored seven-hour climate change townhall.  

"The townhall was CNN’s contribution to the movement that has been characterized by a profusion of prophetic absolutism and fanatical devotion to the cause. Instead, it exposed the illiteracy and shallowness of the candidates who believe that the electricity comes from the outlet and money comes from the bank. CNN and the participants were trying to convince the viewers that the skies would soon fall under the weight of rising CO2, but the magnificent ten, like Atlantes and Caryatids, would hold up the skies while we reject the hydrocarbons and plastic straws, outlaw meat, install expensive light bulbs, enact population control, and blow trillions of dollars to fend off “the existential threat” to our civilization.  

This was an affirmation of faith, obligatory for believers intent on following the most farsighted stateswoman and formidable authority on the climate change, former bartender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who put forward the Green New Deal as the key to salvation.  

"But my Eastern European suspicion tells me otherwise. Let’s make it clear --  climate change is real. Historical records confirm that the temperature on this planet was at some periods significantly lower and higher than we experience nowadays. 

"It has been well documented that the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt and the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia around 2200 B.C. were brought about by a catastrophic rise in temperatures and subsequent droughts. It is well known that Romans grew grapes in northern England. Hence, temperatures on this planet were a lot higher then. At various times, the European continent was subject to prolonged ice ages.

"However, given the level of erudition of the presidential candidates, one may doubt that they are aware that neither the Bronze Age civilizations nor the Romans had internal combustion engines, oil refineries, or coal-fired power plants." . . .

One America News Network files $10 million defamation lawsuit against Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, and corporate parents

Thomas Lifson  "President Trump isn’t the only one who hits back. The parent of the scrappy conservative news outlet One America News Network (OANN), Herring Networks, has filed a lawsuit against Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, and its corporate parents for defamation. The entire statement by the plaintiff’s attorneys is embedded below, but this constitutes the heart of the matter, and goes beyond mere defamation:"
. . . 

"The concentration of ownership of our media is a major problem, particularly since studies consistently reveal that 90% of news reporting is hostile to President Trump. When a corporation like Comcast (and its parent AT&T) controls news providers like MSNBC and NBC, and also controls a major distribution system like Comcast’s cable operations, the exclusion of a competitor that offers a diametrically different viewpoint, that seems like a problem for which antitrust law is the solution." . . .

Maddow called OAN "a little boutique news outlet"  . . . “This is vile, sensationalistic reporting,” OANN’s lawyer, Skip Miller, said according to a previous press release. “These defamatory statements must be retracted immediately. One America News Network has no connection to the Russian government or any other government — no connection whatsoever, financial or otherwise.”

"Comcast is being sued for refusing to carry OANN as part of its cable programming because the network could go against liberal politics of MSNBC, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also alleges that Maddow and the other defendants knew her comment was false. It suggests the statement was intentionally made to hurt OANN because of the network’s conservative views."

Via Weasel Zippers

. . . "OANN’s lawyers gave Maddow and The Daily Beast until Aug. 15 to retract its statements, according to the cease-and-desist requests sent on July 29.
“ 'One America is wholly owned, operated and financed by the Herring family in San Diego,” Miller said according to a statement. “They are as American as apple pie. They are not paid by Russia and have nothing to do with the Russian government.”
“ 'This is a false and malicious libel, and they’re going to answer for it in a court of law.” . . .

Leftist philosophies both silly and dangerous, thanks to the media we allow into our homes

Buttigieg: Using a Straw or Eating a Burger Means You Are ‘Part of The Problem’

"Compares climate change to the Great Depression, World War II"

Al Thompson III at Kelli Katts!

Ignorance and silliness on display as Democrats race down climate change rabbit hole  . . . "Last week’s marathon CNN climate forum makes it clear: Dorian blew what remained of Democrat common sense right off the map.
. . . "Beto, who can often be counted on for comic relief, related telling his son that the family would move to Washington, D.C., in the unlikely event of his election (he may not have framed it exactly that way) – because that’s where the White House is and because, after all, El Paso was going to quickly become uninhabitable thanks to global warming.
. . . "Common-sense Americans won’t buy it, either. As Democrats tumble down the climate change rabbit hole, they may find the price of “owning” climate change is extremely high indeed."

Seven Times Hollywood Weasels Wished Death Or Other on Trump

Trump Supporting High Schooler Harassed, Threatened and Hounded Out of School by Liberal Classmates — Principal Tells Her “It Will Blow Over   . . . "And Jayne says the teachers were not helpful. She even had instances where the liberal teachers lowered her grades because she supported the president."

CNN spent seven hours this week with the Democratic presidential candidates, lecturing the American people about plastic straws, hamburgers, and airplanes.
. . . "Finally, CNN lost their minds over “Sharpiegate,” accusing President Donald Trump of committing a felony by altering a national weather map. However, they apparently didn’t notice that their own producers mislabeled a weather map, mistakenly marking Alabama as Mississippi." . . .

Media Meltdown over Trump’s Hurricane Predictions  " . . . 'CNN conveniently forgot their video from August 28 where they themselves told Alabama to “be on the lookout” for Hurricane Dorian. CNN went on to say, . . ."

Much more at the Tunnel Wall

Protesters Wave American Flags, Sing U.S. National Anthem in Push for Help to ‘Liberate Hong Kong’

Laughing at Stupid Things Liberals Say

CNS News

"Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents, some waving American flags, marched to the U.S. Consulate Sunday, urging Congress to quickly pass legislation providing for U.S. responses to Beijing-instigated rights abuses or attempts to erode the territory’s autonomy.

“ 'President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong,” read a large blue banner and numerous posters held by demonstrators, some of whom also sang along to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” piped through loudspeakers.

“ 'Resist Beijing! Liberate Hong Kong! Democracy Now!” protesters chanted, alluding to concerns about an erosion of freedoms in the former British colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 with guarantees it would continue to enjoy a “high degree” of autonomy for at least 50 years." . . .

"Visible on some placards were words that drew parallels between Hong Kong residents’ appeals to the U.S. government and American colonists’ looking to France for support during the War of Independence. “We, Hongkongers and Americans, are united by our yearning for freedom and dignity,” they read."

 Meanwhile here in America:

 

The Taliban Shouldn’t Get within 5,000 Miles of Camp David

National Review

"The fear that the Afghan war will be “endless” shouldn’t push us into ending it badly."

Our distinguished negotiating partners

"The best thing to be said for the planned Camp David meeting with the Taliban is that it didn’t happen.
"President Trump has a weakness for the grand gesture. Hosting the leadership of a vicious, terrorist insurgency that aided and abetted September 11 and is trying to kill Americans as we speak certainly would have been . . . memorable.
"The invitation was part of the effort to bring to a conclusion negotiations that were close to a deal, although not one favorable to the interests of the United States.
"The deal envisioned the U.S. reducing its current troop presence of roughly 15,000 down to zero about 16 months from now, at which point any commitments the Taliban had made would be worthless. We understand the frustration with a war that has lasted 18 years, but it would be foolish to end the “endless war,” or our part of it, with the Taliban once again in position to threaten Kabul and harbor international terrorists who mean us harm. We’ve had recent experience with a president following through on campaign pledge to end a war no matter what — and, of course, Barack Obama had to order troops back to Iraq when ISIS took over a swathe of the country.

Pompeo: Taliban 'Overreached' in Attack That Killed American

"And then the Taliban failed to live up to a series of commitments that they had made, and when that happened President Trump said, 'I'm not going to take that deal. I'm not going to work with someone that can't deliver on their commitments.'"
He said Trump "broke it off," because he did not want to "reward that behavior," referring to Thursday's attack. The secretary of state said Trump "broke it off" because he did not want to "reward that behavior," referring to Thursday's attack.

Democrats would have signed hoping the Taliban would be nice.  Maybe a pallet of cash would have sweetened the deal.

Save California, Ban Environmentalists

If California legislators really wanted to reduce unnecessary paper consumption, they should consider printing fewer nonsense bills.

Daniel Greenfield  "The 6-foot-tall man dressed as a giant receipt stood on a stool next to the emblem of the State Capitol in Sacramento. He was there because Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Fran wanted to ban receipts.

"California had a great ban streak going. It had already banned plastic bags, straws and dog breeders. Assemblyman Ting, who had only been known for wearing bow ties, had declared war on receipts.

"And Ting had his aide wear a giant receipt to show how bad receipts were for the environment. And how better to crusade for the environment than by printing up a receipt 100,000 times normal size?

Photo added by TD

"According to Ting’s people, receipts not only wasted trees and water, but were actually toxic. The San Francisco Democrat explained that receipts were coated in chemicals that weren’t allowed in baby bottles. It’s probably a good thing then that receipts don’t go inside baby bottles. Or inside babies.

"There was even a hashtag, #SkiptheSlip.

"In an extraordinary setback for stupid bans, Ting’s receipt ban bill never made it to the floor. "But Ting tweeted that he was “glad to have raised awareness about the health & environmental harm receipts can cause. Change often takes time.” Next time around, the receipt bill ban will succeed." . .  .

California ban may force shoppers to give private email or text info to every store - If enacted, AB 161 would prohibit large businesses from issuing paper receipts to their customers

California’s Crusade Against Receipts Is Pointless  

"Can grandstanding empty the oceans of plastics and the landfills of trash?

For the last five years, California's been conducting an experiment to find out. In 2016, the state enacted a limited plastic-bag ban. This year, a new law forbids most restaurants from distributing plastic straws unless requested by a customer. Next up? A San Francisco lawmaker has introduced legislation to ban paper receipts unless a customer specifically asks for one. If adopted, proponents argue, the environmental and health benefits will be significant.
"In reality, the “Skip the Slip” measure would have almost no impact on either. Instead, like the plastic-straw ban that preceded it, and which it emulates, the receipt ban is simply another low-impact environmental campaign that asks little of Californians and will accomplish less. Worse, it diverts attention and effort from bigger and far more pressing waste and recycling issues that are negatively impacting the state right now." . . .

LGBT Activists Seek to Destroy Christianity

CNN headlined that "Drew Brees says he doesn't support a conservative Christian organization after appearing in a video they made."  That's what constitutes news at the apple is an apple network.  They must have been really inspired to break into their endless and breathless coverage over a map of Alabama....or Mississippi...to push the anti-Christian agenda.

Toon added by TD since the shoe fits

 Fletch Daniels . . . "The LGBT movement will not be happy until Christianity is completely driven from the public square and criminalized.  This is why Christian bakers, photographers, florists, and business-owners are being sued under the most outrageous pretexts.  These cases are almost always deliberately set up by extreme activists seeking a pretext to destroy what they hate.  They often succeed.

"The goal is to either beat the Christian business-owner in court or bankrupt him through the legal process.  The burdensome and expensive process alone within the administrative state is often punishment enough to accomplish the goal.  The Equality Act intends to take these vile state and local anti-Christian efforts and to codify them into federal law.

"A common Christian mantra is to love the sinner but hate the sin.  Many leftists take the opposite approach and fiercely hate people who don't believe as they do or serve the same master.

"Incidentally, Islam also has strong teachings against all elements of the LGBT agenda, which is why homosexuality is criminalized in many Muslim-majority countries.  But Islam is mostly left alone due to the temporary alliance between liberals and Islam in America, built largely around foolish intersectionality grievance hierarchies and blatant anti-Semitism.

"The LGBT activists won't stop until Christian and Jewish religious leaders can no longer read certain scriptural passages in places of worship because to do so is considered criminal hate speech.  Imagine the state forcing parents to embrace their young children's chosen "gender preference" or risk losing them.

"These activists also will not stop until Christian-owned business, such as Chick-Fil-A, are driven into oblivion.  This week, Chick-Fil-A opened its first restaurant in Canada and was met by hateful protest.  The angry, hate-filled, and irony-challenged protesters declared that they would not allow hateful rhetoric into their community.  Chick-Fil-A doesn't bring rhetoric at all, other than perhaps asking if a customer would like a refill on his iced tea, offered with a smile.  That's quite the expression of hatred.  They don't refuse service to people based upon religious belief or sexual orientation.  But being owned and overseen by Christians is crime enough for liberals." . . .

But then:  Buttigieg Scolds ‘Sanctimonious’ ‘Virtue Signaling’ Chick-Fil-A Protesters

. . . "Buttigieg expanded on his earlier remarks during an interview with BuzzFeed News on Wednesday, offering a critique of liberal efforts to boycott Chick-fil-A over the political views of its leadership. While he sympathized with the views of Chick-fil-A opponents, Buttigieg expressed concern that such efforts could devolve into "sanctimonious" "virtue signaling" that betrays a lack of consistency." . . .

Silly virtue-signaling as practiced by this now-gone Democrat candidate:

Once upon a time, an NFL star would have been praised for telling kids to read their Bible. Today, the LGBT community has just declared war on Drew Brees for sharing a video telling youngsters to bring their Bibles to school.  

. . . "So poor Drew is now an intolerant, homophobic American?

"The intolerance here lies with the LGBT side, not with Drew Brees.

"The LBGT community wants to impose its view of the world on millions of Americans.  These people forget that respecting and tolerating each other's beliefs is what this country is all about." . . .

A French soldier's view of US soldiers in Afghanistan

Thomas Lifson

U.S. Soldiers depart Forward Operating Base Baylough, Afghanistan.

"A reader who, in this day of blacklists, must remain anonymous, sends this observation about our soldiers in Afghanistan:

It's not unusual for the French to comment on anything American and normally in the negative.  What is rare is a Frenchman saying something positive about Americans; in this case heaping praise on our soldiers in Afghanistan.

Blogger and veteran Wes O'Donnell has translated an editorial in a French newspaper from a French soldier serving with a prestigious U.S. infantry battalion.  I recommend reading the whole thing.  Here are some excerpts:

US soldiers are in top physical shape compared to the French, and it appears much better in infantry tactics.  The soldier notes:

Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins, and creatine — they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo.  Our frames are amusingly skinny to them — we are wimps, even the strongest of us — and because of that they often mistake us [the French] for Afghans. [snip] Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how.  Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seems to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest.

" In combat, US soldiers go on the offense in every encounter with the enemy in contrast to soldiers of other nations who have been taught to first defend and await orders:" . . .

Biden or Bust? "Best of a Bad Lot", "Gaffes Are Better Than Suicidal Socialism" . . ."Democrats seem to prefer random senselessness to pre-mediated lunacy."

Victor Davis Hanson

"For better or worse, the Democratic establishment apparently has decided it has no choice but to embrace the former vice president. Can he be propped up and pampered for the next 14 months?"

Tony Branco toon added

"Pundits and politicos play the current parlor game of counting Joe Biden’s daily bloopers, signs of debility, or embarrassments.

"Unlike former “Apprentice” host Donald Trump’s exaggerations and narcissisms, Biden’s fantasies are not baked into an outsider candidacy that by intent offers as a radical change of policy, a tough presidential tone, and unconventional political tactics. Trump is a renegade. "Biden remains what he always was—a deep state fixture. And his brand is mainstream Democrat left-liberal orthodoxy, which supposedly does not include weird and wild La La Land pronouncements.

"Also, Trump is hated by a media that is 90 percent negative in its coverage of his every word, deed, and sneeze. In contrast, the media is in the Biden tank.

"So the reaction to the respective boilerplate gaffes and untruths of each is quite different: when Trump is caught mythologizing, his supporters blame the “fake news” media for taking things out of context—confusing his jest with seriousness, or conflating normal exaggeration and bombast with mortal-sin lying.

"Their dismissal of Trump’s imperfections is perhaps justified when contrasted to the media reaction when one of their own, like Biden, proves a walking, talking prevaricator. The subsequent shock arises despite, not because of the media. Trump when caught can always blame a biased media. Biden can only shrug his gaffe was so egregious that even his media conspirators could not contain its toxicity.

"Trump’s gaffes are usually ones of exaggeration—inflating crowd size or pumping up good economic news. Or they are the overload use of terms like “tremendous,” “fantastic,” “incredible,” and “awesome.” Or they consist of perceived crudity: the supposedly unpresidential promiscuous use of invectives like “liar,” “crook,” and “cheat. Yet in terms of his 2016 campaign promises, he has either met them or tried to meet them.

. . . 

"After all, we remember a much younger Biden’s lies about his college résumé, his plagiarism in law school, his decades of creepy hugs and breathing into the ears and curls of prepubescent girls, his intellectual theft of British Labourite Neil Kinnock’s stump speech and padding it with family distortions, his trademark appropriation of the ideas and buzzwords of others, his racialist commentary (e.g., Barack Obama is our first “clean” and “articulate” major black presidential candidate, Delaware donut shops are all stuffed with Indian immigrants, Mitt Romney would put blacks “back in chains”) and on and on." . . .  Then VDH sizes up each of the other candidates in his own insightful way.

Ben Garrison

Trump and Pompeo do what Democrats like Kerry, Obama, and...well, about any Democrat would fear to do with the Taliban

Several days before Trump canceled the Taliban meeting:  

 Why Is Trump Surrendering To The Taliban?  . . . "The administration has enlisted the diplomatic prowess of an admittedly impressive personage in Afghan-American former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (and, before that, to Afghanistan and to Iraq) Zalmay Khalizad, who held numerous foreign policy posts under Reagan and both Bushes.

"But has there ever been a more impressive diplomat than Henry Kissinger? Yet the deal he negotiated with North Vietnam in 1973, for which he shared the Nobel Peace Prize, was followed two years later by the Communist North’s conquest of South Vietnam. As the disaster materialized, South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu justifiably declared: “The United States did not keep its word … The United States did not keep its promise to help us fight for freedom.”

"The Vietnam Syndrome must stop. There is simply no way to negotiate successfully with an anti-democratic aggressor without military force hanging close over that aggressor’s head. And yet Trump has already announced that U.S. troops in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been making territorial gains for years, will soon be reduced by more than a third, from 14,000 to 8,600. A deal would reportedly mean the withdrawal of most U.S. forces by November 2020." . . .

A deal at any price is good for Obama-Kerry but not for Trump.


Trump Cancels Secret Meeting at Camp David With Taliban After Attack

. . . "The attack on Thursday, so close to the U.S. embassy, was a clear message from the Taliban: after nearly two decades of fighting, the Americans are impotent and can't defeat us.

"Pompeo said that the talks will resume -- eventually." . . .

For the US to withdraw while the Taliban attacks tells their world that we are being driven out by them.

Trump drops Saturday bombshell: calling-off planned secret Camp David negotiations with Taliban and Afghan president  . . . "In my opinion, it was always fruitless to negotiate with the Taliban. They would violate any agreement whenever they saw advantage in doing so. Their goal is to drive out the Americans the same way they drove out the Soviets, and before them, the British and the Persians. Their time horizon is unlimited, while ours is tied to the four-year presidential election cycle. Any agreement with the Taliban would be worthless.

"My guess is that President Trump knows this. And as his critics now point out, he criticized President Obama in 2012 for negotiating with the Taliban … after “slashing the military." . . .

Liberal Author: ‘Normal’ People Must Stop Wearing Any Kind of Red Hat Because Red Hats Are Scary

Katherine Timpf

Rebecca Makkai, a former finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, apparently believes red hats make ‘disenfranchised people feel unsafe.’

"A prominent liberal author has compared the red “Make America Great Again” hats to Nazi swastikas, and told “normal people” — that is, people who don’t support Trump — to stop wearing any kind of red hat, lest they start “making people scared.”

"Rebecca Makkai, who has been a finalist for both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, made the controversial comments on Twitter, according to Fox News.

"To be clear, Makkai really was talking about all red hats. In fact, she even specifically asked fans of sports teams that wear red hats — such as the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals — to not wear those hats out in public to avoid making other people afraid.

“Not worth making disenfranchised people feel unsafe,” she wrote.

Makkai also had a problem with MAGA parody hats:

“Also, for the love of God: The clever folks wearing “Make America Read Again” or whatever caps — NO,” she said. “You’re making everyone scared. Don’t do it.”

"Honestly, there are so many things wrong with this that I hardly even know where to start." . . .

Tony Branco