FEC boss who tried to muzzle Drudge now on Soros payroll

Paul Bedard  "The former chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, who famously eyed regulating the politics of conservative outlets like the Drudge Report, has joined an advocacy group funded by George Soros and run by his son.

"Ann Ravel is the first fellow listed with the California advocacy group New America.

"Her fellowship began in March and pays a $30,000 stipend.

" 'We want to help amplify the work of each of our fellows, both to help them better articulate and reach their target audience, and to raise their profiles as change-makers," according to the group.

"Since leaving the FEC, Ravel has continued to speak out for more election regulation, especially on the internet where she sees political advertising shifting to in the next presidential contest." . . .More.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com

The Obama Cult

No wonder the man's speeches were, and are are cluttered with  personal pronouns  such as "I", "Me", "Mine" as he referred to "my military", "my Secretary of State" and, of course, his use of Greek columns along with that loooong walk out into the crowd for his 2008 inauguration speech. TD

Richard Terrell   . . . "Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Obama cult was revealed early on, during the first campaign, in which a worship song, "Sanctuary," was adapted to the promotion of the One.  In this song, the worshiper pledges to make himself a sanctuary, pure and holy, for the Lord.  In the video adaptation, Obama is substituted for Christ as the object of honor and worship.  
"The words of the song are regularly interrupted with images of people exhorting viewers to "say the word – Obama!" and similar invitations.  The song itself says: "Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.  With thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for you."

"That people, even longstanding church members, were more than willing to accede to this idolatry became apparent to me as I sought to alert friends to this emerging cultish devotion.  It made no difference, and my "look at this" exhortation was met with dismissal or blind eyes.  In one instance, a rock-solid, decades-long leader in my church, after receiving a message from me about these expressions, simply replied, "I believe in him."

"The Obama cult does, in fact, insert itself into the problematic arenas where religion and politics meet.  There has never been, in the U.S., a clearer flash point providing Christians with an opportunity to embrace or turn from lurid idolatry.  It constitutes, as it were, a test of allegiance, and Mr. Obama and his wife seem to have wanted it that way.  For many people, even among the "churched," the substitute Great One seems to have won the day." . . .

Newt Gingrich Drops Seth Rich Bombshell: DNC Operative Was Behind Wikileaks DNC Email Release

"It is amazing that the media was more interested in 2 scoops of ice cream President Trump was served after dinner rather than the 2 shots in the back that silenced Seth Rich."  deebyoda tweeted.

Jim Hoft

"On July 8, 2016, 27 year-old Democratic staffer Seth Conrad Rich was murdered in Washington DC. The killer or killers took nothing from their victim, leaving behind his wallet, watch and phone.

"Shortly after the killing, Redditors and social media users were pursuing a “lead” saying that Rich was en route to the FBI the morning of his murder, apparently intending to speak to special agents about an “ongoing court case” possibly involving the Clinton family.

"Seth Rich’s father Joel told reporters, “If it was a robbery — it failed because he still has his watch, he still has his money — he still has his credit cards, still had his phone so it was a wasted effort except we lost a life.' ” . . .

"This morning Newt Gingrich dropped a bomb on FOX and Friends on the Seth Rich story."

Melania Trump gets rave reviews in Saudi press

CNN!  "Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (CNN) First lady Melania Trump's fashion choices got rave reviews in local Saudi Arabian press Sunday, despite forgoing the customary headscarf. 

"Both the first lady and first daughter Ivanka Trump have been closely watched in Saudi Arabia for both style and substance."

Arab News noted the resemblance as well, quoting a boutique-owner in Jeddah, Nahed Andijani: "When I saw her arrival pictures wearing a modest outfit respecting our culture, I was like, 'This looks so much like my abaya!' " . . .

"Trump wore the jumpsuit for a day of bilateral meetings before changing in the evening into a sweeping magenta gown, complete with flowing cape sleeves, for dinner at the Saudi palace. American press noted that the first lady and Ivanka Trump were the only women present at the opulent welcoming ceremony, which featured the Saudi king and Cabinet secretaries dancing with swords.

"Grisham said of the decision to opt out of the scarf that Trump has been working closely with the State Department protocol and received briefings before the first foreign foray.

" 'It was not required for her to wear a headscarf and nobody asked her to, and based on that she chose not to," Grisham said, adding that the first lady has been "studying hard" for the trip." . . .

Bob Schieffer: Trump ‘Sounded Like a President’ in Saudi Arabia Speech

Mediaite

. . .  "He took note of how Trump delivered this “dignified speech” and hasn’t tweeted out anything needlessly provocative recently.

"Schieffer added, “He didn’t sound like the guy at the end of the bar popping off. He sounded like someone who had actually thought he was going to say before he said it.”

"Reliable Sources guest host John Berman brought up the likely backlash he would get for giving Trump marks for passing that “low bar.” Schieffer said he’s not “normalizing” Trump and made it clear he has questions about Trump’s overall policy, but also felt Trump’s “different presentation” was noteworthy." . . .

Emphasis mine, to show the pressure the press is under to undermine this President.

At California Dem convention, chairman leads crowd in chant, ‘F#*@k Trump,’ with extended middle fingers

If there are any any Democrats who have a modicum of class and dignity, why do they not condemn and leave this vile party? Does this once noble nation that threw off - at last! - Jim Crow laws and stood off the devouring colossus of Soviet Communism now deserve to become what we see in this post?  TD

Thomas Lifson   "Trump Derangement Syndrome strikes again, as California Democrats brought a level of mass vulgarity to their state convention.  Jonathan J. Cooper of the Associated Press used rather delicate language to describe the unprecedented loss of basic decorum by a major political party in the United States in the sixth paragraph of his report:" . . .

thegatewaypundit.com/

. . . "Such boorishness was the order of the day, as Dems driven mad by their electoral failures last November regress to levels of childishness unworthy of the oldest political party in the world. If anyone thinks that party elders will intervene to check the madness, they should think again. Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House and third in line for the presidency in the event of death or incapacity, thought it was just fine to engage in mass potty mouth behavior, that would not be tolerated in second grade. Just look at her yucking it up among the middle fingers and F U chants."

Obama dead-enders still infest Trump White House - and hide Hillary emails

Monica Showalter  "In an interview with Judicial Watch's president, Tom Fitton, the Daily Caller is reporting that Obama holdovers still populate the White House, and these minions are doing their darndest to hide and conceal Hillary Clinton's emails from Judicial Watch inquiries. That's obstruction of justice, made opaque through the pretense of incompetence.

Citizens, [Fitton] declared, “don’t have to take it from the politicians. They work for you. You don’t work for them.”

"The whole point is relevant because President Trump did say he would pursue justice in the case of Hillary Clinton's illegal private server case. But it's also relevant because of the hysteria coming from Democrats on the claims of Russian spying. The Hillary emails could go a long to providing perspective on who was really in bed with the Russians given Clinton's uranium sales to the Russians as well as other concessions offered.

"Right now, as the Daily Caller dryly notes, the only spying that has been provably going on in this ongoing political crisis is that of the Obama administration officials on Trump campaign staff. It was illegal of course and Clinton's emails may shed great light on the story.

"What are the Obama holdouts still in the White House really hiding?"

Judicial Watch’s President Tom Fitton is astounded: The Trump officials he finds working on Freedom of Information cases he files are still, typically, Obama holdovers.

No, President Trump did not bow to the Saudi Arabian King as Obama did

Legal Insurrection

"Unless everyone who is over four feet tall “bows” when receiving a medal"

"President Trump was awarded a medal and dipped his head to receive it because he is considerably taller than King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

"So of course, the left is coming unglued with screeching accusations of “hypocrisy” over Trump chastising then-president Obama for bowing to the Saudi Arabian king."

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igorvolsky 

✔@igorvolsky

Might be a good time to re-up this Trump tweet about Obama, "The Amateur." https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/215528582670331906 …

Obama: 

President Trump:

Waiting...waiting. Any day now.

Doug Ross Journal

Why Staying Put Was McMaster’s Most Patriotic Act

Politico

"The National Security adviser was called a hypocrite for defending Trump’s handling of classified intelligence. But critics misread his book and his motives."

 

"In the wake of H.R. McMaster’s May 15 press briefing on the president’s alleged sharing of classified information with the Russians (“The story that came out tonight is false,” McMaster insisted), there was no shortage of voices saying that Trump’s national security adviser had failed to live up to his own standards. His defense of the president, critics said, was an unnecessary mishmash of double­speak and hair­splitting, that he seemed more of a political cheerleader than a sober foreign policy adviser. 

 "Military analysts condemned McMaster by arguing that his defense of Trump “soaked” him in a “swamp of deceit,” that he’s in danger of becoming a second Colin Powell, that his press statement retailed the “parsed half truths” that characterized the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Vietnam era. In sum, his critics claimed, McMaster abrogated the principles of truth and honesty that he laid out in his celebrated 1997 book, Dereliction of Duty, which showed that the joint chiefs were complicit in Lyndon Johnson’s lies about Vietnam and “failed to confront the president with their objections” to the military strategy adopted by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Thus, McMaster sullied his hard­earned reputation. 

"Those who know him well, including a friend of 25 years and a McMaster mentor, vehemently disagree." . . .

More on General McMaster:
McMaster's battlefield report on the great tank battle at 73 Easting, Iraq, 1992

Then-Capt McMaster and the Abrams tanks against the Iraqi Republican Guard, who once terrorized the Iranians.

Saudi Royals signal the real magnitude of the deal they made with Trump

Thomas Lifson  "President Trump’s spectacular reception in Riyadh is a signal to the world (and to Saudi subjects, in particular) that big changes are coming. Elderly and frail King Salman ventured out onto the apron in 110 degree heat and actually shook Melania Trump’s hand as she deplaned Air Force One, thereby touching a female infidel."

"Perhaps even more important in terms of Saudi daily life, the women in attendance at functions did not wear head coverings and abayas.  The entire nation saw this on television and understands that the fracking-created global oil glut changes everything, that the infidels no longer cower in fear of a cutoff of the oil that Allah granted to the protectors of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.  The old arguments of the fanatics hold less water.  Change is coming. The King signaled that the restrictions declared by the Wahhabi clergy are no longer the ultimate arbiter of personal behavior, and that Saudis are going to have to start respecting the customs of the infidels.  Something like his handshake gesture can seem trivial, quaint, or even humorous to Americans, but it is very serious business. The role modeling of the women at the highest and most formal level reaches deep into the culture.

"It is now clear that the King and his two designated successors (Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nyef and Mohammad bin Salman) have made a deal to liberalize Saudi Arabia. The deal-maker president has told them that there is a price of continued American support." . . .

How can other nations not feel contempt for Democrats and the Americans who put them into office?

Why couldn't that "presidential" idol of TV talk shows have been capable of doing these things, instead of showing submission like this?

Obama was a "president" who was sorely ashamed of his own country.

Democrats Should Put Country above Party, Too

"The New York Times reported President Trump asked James Comey to drop the FBI probe of Mike Flynn in February and added that Comey heroically refused. It never ends. Trump should re-nominate Jim Comey as FBI Director just to watch the Democrats change positions on him again."The Washington Post says Trump leaked intel on ISIS to the Russians Friday. Now Congress is on the warpath. Any guy who might get impeached over an unsubstantiated report from an unnamed source denied by everyone in the room may want to hire one of the Clinton defense lawyers."  Comedian Argus Hamilton

National Review

"It is reckless to throw around words like “impeachable” and “treason” before the evidence is in."

. . . "Then again, recklessly throwing around words like “impeachable” and “treason” before the evidence exists to level those consequential charges also puts party above country. Hysteria also erodes trust in our institutions for nothing more than political gain. You will, for instance, have to read six paragraphs into Reuters’s recent highly shared scoop headlined “Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources” to learn that “people who described the contacts to Reuters said they had seen no evidence of wrongdoing or collusion between the campaign and Russia in the communications reviewed so far.” 

"Talk about burying your lead. 

"For those keeping score, despite ceaseless leaking from the intelligence community, there has really been no evidence offered so far to prove “collusion” between Trump officials and Russia to “hack the election” — an absurd oft-used phrase that has convinced millions of Americans that their votes, their government, and their free will have been abducted by another country. If that day ever comes, I will write a column in favor of impeachment. Until that day, I’m certain folks with giant platforms like David Gregory will continue claiming that the Russians “hacked the election.' ” . . .