The US in one direction, Cuba and Venezuela in another

Tony Branco

Silvio Canto, Jr.  "On Friday, President Trump celebrated some good news from the U.S. economy.  In the last week, a different message is coming from Cuba and Venezuela.
"We are watching three countries going in different economic directions: the U.S., Cuba, and Venezuela.  It is a classic case of free markets versus socialism.
"Down in Cuba, the message has not changed over the years, as the new president reminded us:

Cuba's economy grew less than expected in the first half of 2018 and an ongoing liquidity crisis will force fresh belt tightening, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Sunday.

"He is proposing constitutional changes.  However, Cuban perestroika won't work any better than the one we saw in the USSR.

"Venezuela is more than falling apart: "Venezuela could eventually have 1 million percent inflation."

"What does that inflation level mean?  It means this: "Venezuela's currency has lost 99.9997 percent of its value in the past 6½ years.  To put that in perspective, $333,333 worth of bolivars in 2012 would be worth $1 today."

"A failed state?  I think so!

"As I recall, a "bolivar," the currency, was 4.29 to a U.S. dollar back in the 1980s.  It used to be a middle-class country!

"On the other hand, we had great news in the U.S.

"It was a good day for the U.S. economy; for workers; and, yes, for President Trump.  It is not the same down in Cuba and Venezuela."

Obama scolds Transgender activist: 'You're in my house!'

From Update America:  Obama tells reporter "This is my house!" Press cheers

CNN Politics  . . . "Shortly after the incident, an immigration group claimed the protestor was an undocumented immigrant named Jennicet Gutiérrez, who is transgender. According to a press release, Gutiérrez was a founding member of FAMILIA TQLM, established to advocate for LGBTQ immigrants who the group says are often excluded in the immigration debate.

"Immigration activists often interrupt Obama when he's delivering speeches on the road -- examples have included remarks he delivered in San Francisco in 2013, and speeches he delivered in Chicago and Las Vegas last November.

"Interruptions are more rare at the White House, where guests are typically invited and pre-screened. One previous example came in June 2012, when Obama was announcing a change in immigration policy.

"A reporter from the Daily Caller website called out a query in the middle of Obama's remarks, leading the President to retort that it wasn't the time for questions.

"The reporter later said he miscalculated the ending of Obama's speech." 

Comedy for Conservatives Week at Legal Insurrection

Legal Insurrection

"For people on the right, there was plenty to chuckle about this week."

• Democrats’ embrace of Socialism reflects the desperation of a party losing control of the judiciary and regulatory state
• They’re Losing Their Minds: Trump Derangement Syndrome Descends into New Level of Ridiculousness
• Hilarious Satirical Interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Triggers Liberals  (That video)
• . . . 

This person seems to have a personal idea of racism

Shehan Jayawardene: The Federalist Papers; Snowflake's Safe Space & Buttercup Ranch

Virtue Signaling Is Now A Cheap, Prolific Substitute For Actual Virtue

The less prone we are to self-examination, the more self-aggrandizing we become in our denunciations. It’s making our society harsher.

Both left and right are guilty, though we must admit that it is far easier to be a liberal than a conservative. TD

The Federalist

  "For several reasons, all embarrassing testaments to my vice, I was listening to an interview of a beloved former contestant on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” He was making public amends after having traded his good-guy persona for a series of one-night stands and unfulfilled promises.

"I’m sure it’s a temptation of some enormity to be suddenly surrounded by beautiful and willing young women who see you as you want to see yourself. Still, he knew, as all celebrities must know, that how his fans saw him wasn’t real. He began to cope with that disparity by becoming louder in support of various charities. Somehow he thought that by putting his weight behind a good cause he could bridge the chasm between perception and reality, a chasm exacerbated by his womanizing.

"His case was less egregious than, but still reminiscent of, Harvey Weinstein’s bizarre public mea culpa about fighting the National Rifle Association in light of the revelations of his predation. Such a jarring non sequitur was deemed unacceptable because he’d violated the last sexual norm: consent. But it was still revealing in how we’ve come to see public support of a popular cause as a great balm for our personal guilt.

"It made me wonder how often we all do this. We feel the dissonance between who we ought to be and who we are, and we make up for it by becoming noisier about some issue. If our noise can also implicitly condemn moral beings with whom we disagree, then we might come that much closer to feeling satisfied with ourselves." . . .

Noelle Mering is the arts and culture editor and social media manager for helenadaily.com. She received her undergraduate degree from Westmont College in California and did graduate work in philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Noelle and her husband live in Southern California with their six children. Noellemering.com

Hillary Gets Standing Ovation From Fans At Broadway Production Of Hello, Dolly!

‘OMG!! Bette and Hillary together have made my day and my night. What an amazing surprise!!’ CBS News political journalist Joe Stevens wrote on Instagram. "Journalist"? The death of journalism.

UK Daily Mail  "This is why we have the electoral college. "Via Daily Mail:

Weasel Zippers

"Hillary Clinton has received a standing ovation from her devoted fans while out on the town for the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!

"The audience at the Schubert Theatre in Manhattan gave an unrestrained cheer on Thursday night as they spotted the Clinton entourage entering and taking prime seats in Orchestra Level.

" ‘You can still be 46!’ one fan shouted over the roar of applause, referring to hopes for another Clinton presidential bid.

"Star Bette Midler greeted Clinton backstage during intermission, where the former Democrat candidate delivered an impromptu address to the cast and crew.

" ‘Vote!’ Clinton told the cast, according Midler’s Instagram post. ‘Tell your friends to tell their families and friends in every state to register, and make sure they have not been purged from the rolls before they get there to cast their ballot!!’ ". . . 

Why are Americans not sick to death of this Democrat Party?

American Thinker

Holy Kenneth Copeland! Maxine Waters Says She Is Sent By God To Stop Trump

. . . Addressing the congregation at First AME Church, Waters said, “You’ve gotta know that I’m here to do the work that I was sent to do, and as pastor said to me when I came in this morning, ‘When God sends you to do something, you just do it!’” she exclaimed to cheers from the crowd." . . .

Hollywood Left and Never-Trumpers Unite to Hound President

. . . "It might also explain why Never-Trumpers like Max Boot have become so unraveled.

"Boot’s latest folly is to team up with the most militant nuts of the institutional Left -- Rob Reiner and Obama's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper -- to launch a seedy get-Trump effort called “Investigate Russia.”

"Think about that. Someone who climbed through the ranks claiming to be a conservative has now teamed up with Rob Reiner to hound a Republican president. Meathead and Max, together chasing Vladimir.

"Investigate Russia" is a one-stop shop for Trump-hatred:

All relevant information is aggregated in one place to provide context and allow users to see the full picture of what Russia has done and will continue to do unless we start paying closer attention. For generations, people have fought to protect democracy. Now it is our turn.

"Now it's "their turn." Useful idiots can be quite useful, especially conservative useful idiots." . . .

Twitter Suspends Account Who Threatens Conservative High School Students With Bat

Judge Kavanaugh: Democrats hope to destroy a decent man... and his marriage if necessary

Rush Limbaugh  . . . "Folks, I’m telling you. Behind closed doors, it’s never as copacetic and peaceful as you think it might be. You think people in this sphere of life are used to this and are prepared for it and it rolls off their back because it’s just the rules of the game, but I’m telling you it’s not that way. It doesn’t happen that way. This is designed to cause acrimony between Kavanaugh and his wife. It’s designed to cause and put pressure points and stress.

"It’s designed to make her not want any part of this. It’s designed to make her get mad at him. “Look what you’ve dragged me into! I didn’t sign up for this when we got married. It’s none of their business what I did here and what I’ve written in my emails,” and then he has to talk her down. If this happened! This is what they’re trying to create. I’m not predicting that this is the result within their marriage. I’m just telling you this is what Drive-Bys are trying to create here.

Democrats are "all about dividing people. They’re all about driving wedges between people, including married couples. But this is how desperate they are. I telling you, when news of this gets out, you can throw this on the pile of stuff that’s gonna end up backfiring on these people like they can’t even imagine. They think they’re off in a new area. “This is a brilliant tack,” they’re probably thinking. “We can’t find any dirt on Kavanaugh, but his wife’s certainly got some information we can use to sully both of them.” They have no idea how it’s gonna backfire. You just wait." . . .

NEW YORK TIMES TARGETS KAVANAUGH’S WIFE

"I wouldn’t have thought my opinion of the New York Times could get any lower, but it just did. NTK Network reports that the Times, as well as the Associated Press, has requested emails sent or received by Ashley Kavanaugh in her capacity as town manager of Chevy Chase, Maryland:

The New York Times and Associated Press both filed requests under the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA) seeking e-mails that Ashley Kavanaugh, the wife of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, sent as town manager of The Village of Chevy Chase Section 5, according to documents obtained by America Rising Squared (AR2) and shared exclusively with the NTK Network.  . . .

Establishment Media Gunning For Brett Kavanaugh’s Wife

"Families are now fair game.

"Via Breitbart:

The New York Times and Associated Press are aggressively targeting the wife of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, while CNN is targeting the wife of Bill Shine, the new White House deputy chief of staff for communications.

In the age of Trump, the establishment media have whined incessantly about protecting norms, about keeping in place the way things have always been done.

But even as the media bellyache about President Trump violating norms, in their own partisan zeal to destroy anyone of the political right the media are also violating all kinds of norms, including fomenting, excusing, and encouraging violence.

What’s more, this past week a number of far-left media institutions violated another cherished norm, the one about leaving families, including spouses, out of the political fray.

The moral standards of Ted Kennedy, the Clintons, and Harry Reid on display. 

Mass Graves Covered Up In Iran

Noisy Room

Iran: Road to be built over individual and mass graves 

"The families of political dissidents who were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially killed in Ahvaz, southern Iran, in the 1980s are suffering untold mental anguish and distress as the authorities are destroying the individual and mass graves of their loved ones. They are afraid of facing further persecution if they speak out.

***

Amnesty International reports that Iran’s regime is destroying a mass grave of the victims of the 1988 massacre. According to estimates from the opposition, these victims number in the 10s of 1000s (the vast majority from the MEK).

. . . 

 The Trump administration must now prepare for near-term Iranian terrorist attacks against the U.S. homeland, because the leader of Iran’s revolutionary guards, or IRGC, external action force gave a very aggressive speech on Thursday.

"Addressing followers in the ancient city of Hamedan (a location probably chosen as a metaphor of Iranian durability), Qassem Soleimani warned Americans, “We are closer to you than what you think. You should know that I am your foe. The Quds Force alone and not all the Armed Forces is enough to be your rival. You are aware of Iran’s power in asymmetric war.”

"Soleimani means for his words to be taken as references to terrorist attacks. In specific terms, IRGC modus operandi and tactical capability render “closer to you than what you think” and “asymmetric war” as references to Quds force attack cells and cyber-strike teams in the U.S. homeland, South America, and Europe.

"But Soleimani wasn’t done there." . . .

Ocasio-Cortez: U.S. Can Fund Socialism with ‘Large Amount’ of New Tax Revenue

American Thinker

National Review  "During a Thursday night appearance on The Daily Show, Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez explained some of the mechanisms she believes can provide sufficient government revenue to fund the many costly promises she’s made to voters.

"Asked by host Trevor Noah how the debt-addled federal government can fund Medicare-for-all and no-cost college tuition, the avowed Democratic socialist suggested that if people “pay their fair share” in taxes, and the government makes some “back of the envelope” budgetary adjustments based on “our values,” the government will have the requisite revenue to pay for her campaign promises.

“ 'If people pay their fair share, if corporations and the ultra wealthy, for example as Warren Buffet likes to say, if he paid as much as his secretary pays, if he paid a fifteen percent tax rate,” Ocasio-Cortez explained. “If we reversed the tax bill but raised our corporate rate to 28 percent. If we do those two things and also close some of those loopholes that’s $2 trillion right there.”

“ 'Now, if we implement a carbon tax so that we can financially incentivize people away from fossil fuels, that’s an additional amount, of a large amount, of additional revenue that we can have,” she added." . . .

Russianism: Trump’s critics need a scapegoat to explain why they haven’t managed to vanquish him.

Victor Davis Hanson

Russianism is a psychological malady in which furor at Donald Trump’s election victory and presidency — and the ensuing depression resulting from the inability to abort it — finds release through fixation on Russia.

. . . "Obama’s 2009 reset was birthed as a correction to George W. Bush’s modest sanctions against the Putin government for going into Ossetia. What then followed during the Obama administration was the embarrassing red reset-button rhetoric that was usually couched in anti-Bush-administration snark.

"Or, as Hillary Clinton put it:

We believe that there are a lot of challenges and threats that we have inherited that we have to address. But there are also opportunities, and we are being extremely vigorous in our outreach. Because we’re testing waters, we’re determining what is possible. We’re turning new pages and resetting buttons. 

"Then we witnessed a “turning new pages” effort by the Obama administration to downplay Russian aggression and emphasize its own new creative outreach to Putin. They thought the Russian strongman would be charmed by humanitarian sanctimoniousness and the hope and-change charisma of Barack Obama. Instead, Putin, true to character, saw weakness accompanied by pious sermonizing. That is always a fatal combination when dealing with a brute.
And so, Putin proceeded to gather up his easy pickings.

"What variously ensued was the inadvertent hot-mic offer of quid pro quo collusion with Putin by President Obama when he was up for reelection. Obama more than fulfilled this promise. . . "

The American Left's Selective Outrage

Lloyd Marcus

The American left is filled with angry, bitter people without a Godly moral compass. Insidiously, leftists divide Americans into supposedly victimized voting blocs. Leftists consider their duped voters to be useful idiots, mere pawns in furthering the American left's anti-Christian and anti-America agendas.

"Repeatedly pointing out the American left's obvious dishonesty, hypocrisy and selective outrage seems pointless. And yet, I feel compelled to do so.

"For example: Fake news media created a 24/7 media firestorm over Trump's alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels before he became president. Due to recordings by Trump's lawyer, CNN has excitedly gone 24/7 in making the case that Trump is unfit to serve because of his private life before he was elected.

"Hypocritically, CNN told us that Bill Clinton's private life was none of our business while he was president. The American left did everything in their power to downplay President Clinton's affair with an intern while he was president; using cigars as sex toys, hiding a semen-stained dress and lying about his adultery. The American left (Democrats, Hollywood, and fake news media) trashed the character of all men to minimize president Clinton's reprehensible behavior. They said no man could resist a young woman coming on to him.

"The left's lie was particularly offensive to me. At that time, my Dad was pastor of a large congregation and my brother was county commissioner of a youth football league. When approached with similar opportunities, neither my dad or brother behaved like President Clinton." . . .