Politifact Exposed

“ 'A fact-checking outfit hiring Alan Grayson is like a church hiring Charlie Sheen to run their youth group,” National Review columnist Dan McLaughlin tweeted."

PowerLine

"PolitiFact is a liberal “fact checking” operation that serves the Democratic Party by pretending to be credible and non-partisan. To further its mission of providing unbiased “fact checking,” it hired former Florida representative Alan Grayson, perhaps the most despicable Congressman of modern times. It didn’t end well:

PolitiFact announced it hired former politician Alan Grayson to critique its work in an effort to improve trust and credibility on Thursday…but that decision lasted about three seconds.

“It has become clear our choice of Alan Grayson did not meet that threshold to many,” PolitiFact executive director Aaron Sharockman tweeted on Thursday after the initial tweet that he was hired received an onslaught of criticism from respected media members.
***
“A fact-checking outfit hiring Alan Grayson is like a church hiring Charlie Sheen to run their youth group,” National Review columnist Dan McLaughlin tweeted.

Politico’s Jake Sherman asked, “Is this a joke?”
***
The liberal firebrand once said the GOP health plan was to hope people die quickly.

Former U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called for him to drop out of a Senate race in 2016 when the New York Times reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for a hedge fund he controlled.

“His actions aren’t just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress,” Reid said at the time.

"If Harry Reid thinks you’re a disgrace, you know you are in trouble. We have written about Grayson over the years, for example here, in a post titled “Greatest. Democrat. Ever.' ” . . .  Keep reading.

Democratic Leaders, Why Do You Find Patriotism Divisive?

David Limbaugh  "Did you ever think you'd see the day when a prominent political party would accuse the president of being divisive and exclusionary for saying "America" too many times during his State of the Union speech? 

"The American Civil Liberties Union made that very complaint. No, the ACLU is not the Democratic Party, but their positions on such matters are virtually indistinguishable. Besides, many prominent Democrats and media liberals made similar objections after the speech. 

"MSNBC host Joy Reid brazenly trashed traditional American values and institutions with her tweet accusing President Trump of trying to force the normalization of himself by using "terms of the bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for" -- namely, church, family, police, military and the national anthem. 

"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump's unapologetically pro-America speech, which was widely approved by the American people in flash polls immediately afterward, "dangerous." 

"Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who recently compared Trump's presidency to a time "right after the 1932 elections when Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor," took umbrage at Trump's statement that Americans, like the immigrants whose parents brought them here illegally as children, "are dreamers, too." 

"Fox News analyst Juan Williams was deeply disappointed by the speech, saying that this was an opportunity for Trump to reach across the aisle and bring us together but he didn't take it. More bizarrely, Williams said in response to Trump's statement that "Americans are dreamers, too," "David Duke and the KKK would love that." Seriously? " . . .

Quick Thoughts on The Nunes Memo

National Review  "Here’s my quick takes on the “Nunes Memo” that was just released: 
"1. Like basically everything that has come out of Congressional investigators the past 229 years, this is a partisan document – written by partisans, in the context of partisan controversies, and contested to the extent possible by by the opposing partisans for partisan reasons. (Notably, the Democratic responses so far have suggested that the memo misleadingly omits important facts, but there has – thus far, and this may change – not been a similar effort to claim that the factual assertions in the memo are themselves inaccurate). Readers should view it with appropriate skepticism. That said, the media drumbeat of downplaying the memo in advance on the basis of it being a partisan product is just wildly hypocritical, as reporting on the work of Democratic investigators during the Bush (both), Reagan, and Nixon presidencies was never prefaced with things like this:
. . .
"If Democrats take over one or both Houses of Congress in 2019, expect the media to go back to headlines that focus on the merits of their findings, not how partisan the people presenting them are. Indeed, the entire point of the Nunes Memo is that information derived from a partisan source (the Steele dossier, an opposition research product financed by the DNC and the Clinton campaign) should have been met with more skepticism and labeled as such." . . .

Andrew C. McCarthy: House Memo Details Use of Steele Dossier to Spy on Trump Campaign Adviser
. . . "What we have long suspected (see, e.g., here and here) has now been confirmed: The Obama Justice Department and the FBI used the unverified Steele dossier to convince a federal court to issue a warrant authorizing surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser. Confirmation came in the much-anticipated memorandum released today by the Republican-controlled House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The memo states that the Obama administration concealed from the court that the dossier was commissioned and paid for by the political campaign of Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Nor was the court informed that the dossier’s author, former British spy Christopher Steele, told a senior Justice Department official that he was “desperate” to prevent Trump from being elected president." . . .

Inside a Public School Social Justice Factory

Weekly Standard

"The city of Edina has changed the way it approaches public education, putting social justice above learning. The results will shock you."

 

"For decades, the public schools of Edina, Minnesota, were the gold standard among the state’s school districts. Edina is an upscale suburb of Minneapolis, but virtually overnight, its reputation has changed. Academic rigor is unraveling, high school reading and math test scores are sliding, and students increasingly fear bullying and persecution.

"The shift began in 2013, when Edina school leaders adopted the “All for All” strategic plan—a sweeping initiative that reordered the district’s mission from academic excellence for all students to “racial equity.”

“ 'Equity” in this context does not mean “equality” or “fairness.” It means racial identity politics—an ideology that blames minority students’ academic challenges on institutional racial bias, repudiates Martin Luther King, Jr.’s color-blind ideal, and focuses on uprooting “white privilege.” . . .

"As a result, the school system’s obsession with “white privilege” now begins in kindergarten.

Even Worse Than You Thought: FBI Knew Dems/Hillary Behind Dossier, Didn’t Tell Court In Getting Warrants, Comey, McCabe, Rosenstein, Yates, Boente All Implicated

Washington Examiner via Weasel Zippers

"And this is why they didn’t want anyone to see it. This is killer and they should all go to jail, especially Comey. And Democrats can’t argue any of this away. And this is why Andrew McCabe was removed.

"Via Washington Examiner:

The House Intelligence Committee has released its controversial memo outlining alleged abuses of secret surveillance by the FBI and Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation. Here are some key points:

* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.

* Andrew McCabe confirmed that no FISA warrant would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information.

* The four FISA surveillance applications were signed by, in various combinations, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Sally Yates, Dana Boente, and Rod Rosenstein.

* The FBI authorized payments to Steele for work on the dossier. The FBI terminated its agreement with Steele in late October when it learned, by reading an article in Mother Jones, that Steele was talking to the media.

* The political origins of the Steele dossier were known to senior DOJ and FBI officials, but excluded from the FISA applications.

Keep reading…

From the comments to this post:

 

Nunes Memo Alleges FBI Used Dossier to Get FISA Warrant on Trump Campaign Member

I'm sure Hollywood celebrities will see the light and turn away from their support for Hillary. John McCain, of course will not.

Legal Insurrection

The dossier “formed an essential part of the [Carter] Page FISA application.”

"We finally have the memo written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA). It alleges that the FBI did in fact use the disputed dossier to receive FISA warrants to spy on members of then-candidate Donald Trump’s team." . . .

Full article here.

Full text: Nunes memo on FBI surveillance

...And reading the Nunes-released memo

Politico   "With President Donald Trump’s blessing, Republican lawmakers on Friday released a classified GOP-drafted memo that alleges misconduct by senior FBI officials investigating Trump’s 2016 campaign.

"Trump on Friday declassified the GOP-authored memo. White House counsel Don McGahn sent a letter to the House Intelligence Committee that included a declassified copy of the memo, according to a White House official. Here's the declassified memo:" . . .

Here is the full text via Infidel Bloggers

January 18, 2018
To: HPSCI Majority Members
From: HPSCI Majority Staff
Subject: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Purpose
This memorandum provides Members an update on significant facts relating to the Committee's ongoing investigation into the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and their use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Our findings, which are detailed below, 1) raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and 2) represent a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.

Investigation Update
On October 21, 2016, DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order (not under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. Page is a U.S. citizen who served as a volunteer advisor to the Trump presidential campaign. Consistent with requirements under FISA, the application had to be first certified by the Director or Deputy Director of the FBI. It then required the approval of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General (DAG), or the Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.
The FBI and DOJ obtained one initial FISA warrant targeting Carter Page and three FISA renewals from the FISC. As required by statute (50 U.S.C. §,1805(d)(l)), a FISA order on an American citizen must be renewed by the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate finding of probable cause. Then-Director James Comey signed three FISA applications in question on behalf of the FBI, and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe signed one. Then-DAG Sally Yates, then-Acting DAG Dana Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ.
Due to the sensitive nature of foreign intelligence activity, FISA submissions (including renewals) before the FISC are classified. As such, the public’s confidence in the integrity of the FISA process depends on the court’s ability to hold the government to the highest standard- particularly as it relates to surveillance of American citizens. However, the FISC’s rigor in protecting the rights of Americans, which is reinforced by 90-day renewals of surveillance orders, is necessarily dependent on the government’s production to the court of all material and relevant facts. This should include information potentially favorable to the target of the FISA application that is known by the government. In the case of Carter Page, the government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts. However, our findings indicate that, as described below, material and relevant information was omitted.

1) The “dossier” compiled by Christopher Steele (Steele dossier) on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application. Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain derogatory information on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
a) Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials.
b) The initial FISA application notes Steele was working for a named U.S. person, but does not name Fusion GPS and principal Glenn Simpson, who was paid by a U.S. law firm (Perkins Coie) representing the DNC (even though it was known by DOJ at the time that political actors were involved with the Steele dossier). The application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of—and paid by—the DNC and Clinton campaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.
2) The Carter Page FISA application also cited extensively a September 23, 2016, Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff, which focuses on Page's July 2016 trip to Moscow. This article does not corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News. The Page FISA application incorrectly assesses that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo News. Steele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo News—and several other outlets—in September 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS. Perkins Coie was aware of Steele’s initial media contacts because they hosted at least one meeting in Washington D.C. in 2016 with Steele and Fusion GPS where this matter was discussed.

a) Steele was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations—an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI in an October 30, 2016, Mother Jones article by David Corn. Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts with Yahoo and other outlets in September—before the Page application was submitted to the FISC in October—but Steele improperly concealed from and lied to the FBI about those contacts.
b) Steele’s numerous encounters with the media violated the cardinal rule of source handling—maintaining confidentiality—and demonstrated that Steele had become a less than reliable source for the FBI.
3) Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General Yates and later Rosenstein. Shortly after the election, the FBI began interviewing Ohr, documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he “was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president.” This clear evidence of Steele’s bias was recorded by Ohr at the time and subsequently in official FBI files—but not reflected in any of the Page FISA applications.

a) During this same time period, Ohr’s wife was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all of his wife’s opposition research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS. The Ohrs’ relationship with Steele and Fusion GPS was inexplicably concealed from the FISC.
4) According to the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, corroboration of the Steele dossier was in its “infancy” at the time of the initial Page FISA application. After Steele was terminated, a source validation report conducted by an independent unit within FBI assessed Steele’s reporting as only minimally corroborated. Yet, in early January 2017, Director Comey briefed President-elect Trump on a summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was—according to his June 2017 testimony—“salacious and unverified.” While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations. Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information.
5) The Page FISA application also mentions information regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, but there is no evidence of any cooperation or conspiracy between Page and Papadopoulos. The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok. Strzok was reassigned by the Special Counsel’s Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter Page), where they both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated. The Strzok/Lisa Page texts also reflect extensive discussions about the investigation, orchestrating leaks to the media, and include a meeting with Deputy Director McCabe to discuss an “insurance” policy against President Trump’s election.

Questions Raised About Risks of Putting 200 Congressmen on One Train

Jim Stinson

It's likely not prudent to put so many senators and representatives on the same vehicle, say national security experts

" Wednesday’s collision of a garbage truck with an Amtrak train carrying 200 or more Republican members of Congress to a retreat in West Virginia is raising questions about whether sufficient thought was given to security considerations.
"The collision, which killed the truck driver and caused a number of minor injuries to people on the train, “should trigger a review of measures designed to protect government officials from attack and similar tragic accidents,” Sebastian Gorka, former strategist to President Donald Trump and author of the New York Times best-seller “Defeating Jihad,” told LifeZette on Thursday.
"Gorka said terrorists specifically look for soft targets of opportunity with great symbolic value. A gathering of senators and representatives on an unguarded train traversing rural areas could be an inviting example of such a target.
“ 'Terrorists look for targets of high symbolic value, and both al-Qaida and ISIS have publicly instructed their followers to attack high concentrations of unarmed civilians,” Gorka said." . . .

Home Depot’s Co-Founder Explains Why Democrats Keep Losing ...

Godfather Politics  "Marcus recently appeared on Fox Business with Neil Cavuto to talk about President Trump’s recent tax reform bill which Marcus argued was obviously good for the country. He then pointed out that during the debate Democrats argued that the savings most Americans would see, were “crumbs.” This shocked Marcus, who is very wealthy, because even he understands that a few hundred to a few thousand dollars can be a HUGE deal for most Americans. A thousand dollars could be the difference for one family paying their bills on time, or for another being able to cover their rent payment.

"What it proved, in Marcus’ mind, was that the Democrat Party is simply out of touch with the average American taxpayer."

“WHAT’S GOOD FOR AMERICA? WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? LET’S STOP THINKING POLITICS. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY? IS THIS MEAN WE CAN TAKE THE PRESIDENCY? I MEAN, LET’S START THINKING IN TERMS OF REALLY LIFTING UP THE LIVES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE — CREATING MORE JOBS, TAKING MORE PEOPLE OFF OF FOOD STAMPS — THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT.I THINK THAT TRUMP IS DOING WHAT HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO DO AND THAT IS SO UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL FOR A POLITICIAN TO GET OUT THERE AND DO WHAT HE SAID HE’S GOING TO DO. IT’S SHOCKING. IT’S SHOCKING.”

Caps and Emphases in the original. 

Poll: NFL losing core audience

Conservative Daily News  . . . "The NFL is taking the hit following two years of intense politicization as players chose to kneel or sit in protest against the American flag and the National Anthem. League Commissioner Roger Goodell chose not to enforce league policy that players stand during the anthem, instead siding with players who largely weren’t sure exactly what they were protesting or how their actions would change anything – other than game attendance and viewership." . . .

. . . "Ratings and advertising revenue have dropped dramatically since the protests reached their pinnacle and as of December, fans could get a Colts ticket for just $2, Carolina Panthers seats went as cheap as $7 and even Green Bay Packers tickets went for as little as $12.

"While most Americans found the protests ineffective and abhorrent, the league bet that its key demographic would largely either support the players or not care – they were wrong." . . .

5 Times Democrats Should Have Stood and Clapped During Trump's State of the Union — But Didn't

PJ Media

"When President Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address last night, Democrats weren't happy about it. It was a real shame, because Trump offered them many olive branches — libertarians would say he gave them too many." . . .

1. Black unemployment. . . .

"Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) credited former President Barack Obama, rather than Donald Trump, for the drop in black unemployment."  Naturally.

2. Paid family leave.

3. Veterans.

4. Infrastructure.

5. "USA!"

CBS News

✔@CBSNews

Eight in 10 Americans who watched tonight felt that the president was trying to unite the country, rather than divide it, according to CBS News poll http://cbsn.ws/2nl1vvh  pic.twitter.com/6fEeSPMkdW

Mark Steyn: FISA Friday Fever!

Mark Steyn Club  "Will the memo be released this morning? Yesterday evening, Thursday, Mark joined Tucker Carlson to discuss the Democrat-media opposition to "transparency". Click below to watch:

"If you're one of the many Deep State operatives under cover in The Mark Steyn Club, feel free to speak up in the comments." . . .