Trump's Venezuela policy isn't a case of right versus left. It's a case of right versus wrong.

Cartoons added by TD

NBC News; NBC? No, really!

"As a former Obama-era diplomat, I can and should acknowledge when this president does diplomacy correctly."

"The people of Venezuela are being held hostage by Nicolas Maduro. For years, he has denied them food, medicine and basic supplies. More than three million refugees have fled the country. In 2017, more than 280,000 children were found to be malnourished and at risk of dying. The situation in the country has only declined drastically and the statistics are likely far worse now. Alarmingly, the government denies there are any problems; it doesn’t even allow health statistics to be officially kept.

"Still, we know that newborns in Syria, which is still wracked by war, are more likely to survive than those born to Venezuelan mothers; maternal mortality rose 66 percent from 2015 to 2016. The average person in the nation lost 24 pounds in 2017.Reports indicate that nearly 80 percent of hospitals lack regular access to water, 53 percent of the nation's operating rooms are shuttered and more than 70 percent of emergency rooms cannot regularly provide services to patients.

"Maduro callously refuses to acknowledge, let alone address the suffering of his people. If America allows him to stay the course, the consequences will be catastrophic. This isn’t just a political crisis. There is a humanitarian imperative to act.

"It's true that American hasn't always been a good neighbor; Our relations with Latin America have often oscillated between indifference and ill-advised interventions. And on Wednesday, during a House Foreign Affairs committee hearing on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, many Democrats focused on that past and the possibility that any intervention in Venezuela could turn out as poorly as past efforts in the region.

"But they all but ignored the present perilous predicament of the Venezuelan people. Our past cannot hold us back from doing what is right, and required now. Inaction is not necessarily respect; in this case, it is morally wrong and reprehensible." . . .

By Brett Bruen, president, Global Situation Room, Inc.

Stop Sneering at Evangelicals for Supporting Trump

James Arlandson  "The religious left is still looking down on conservative Christian peons for supporting imperfect, feisty Trump.  Throughout social media and elsewhere, the left accuses us of compromising our faith and standards.

"Prof. Randall Balmer of Dartmouth University recently posted an opinion piece at the Los Angeles Times with the ironic title “God Is on Team Trump? Let’s take a quick check with the Bible.” The sarcasm is seen when God is on Trump’s team, not the other way around. Then he proceeds to dismantle -- at least in his mind -- evangelical support for Trump.

"He starts off with more sarcasm that God put his thumb on the scale of the election, so that Trump barely won and only by the Electoral College. Some victory for God! In reply, just because we cannot figure out the details of how God works in an ocean of humanity does not mean God does not have his purposes and works them out. Prof. Balmer seems to assume that if a victory is not a landslide, then God was not at work. Since he wrote a book about evangelicals, he must know that some of them with a more prophetic gifting predicted long before the November 2016 elections that Trump’s victory would stun the world. It did.  

"Next, Prof. Balmer tackles immigration and summarized some verses in Leviticus and one in the epistle to the Hebrews (since Heb. 13:2 is talking about household hospitality -- not on a national scale -- and the possibility that an angel could be a guest without our knowledge, let’s skip past his wrenching that verse out of context). It is difficult to find mass migration in the ancient world, but let’s assume that millions and millions of immigrants moved into ancient Israel in 20-30 years. And let’s assume that a certain percentage of them raped and assaulted women and children at the border and transported some sort of ancient, mind-altering drugs. Yes, protect the innocent, but there would be nothing wrong with building a wall back then, much as Israel has done today, to good effect. Obama and other Democrats in the past have said there was a crisis at the border. And there is nothing immoral with securing our borders today with a wall or updating the one that is already there. In any case, these are two different contexts, so let’s move on." . . .

James Arlandson’s website is Live as Free People, where he has posted Leftwing NY Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Misses Facts on Race, and William Penn Proclaims Pennsylvania’s Charter of Privileges.

2020 contender Kirsten Gillibrand backs third gender classification at federal level

CBS News   "New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a 2020 candidate, endorsed federal implementation of a third gender listing for Americans who identify as non-binary. 

"Speaking at an LGBTQ-focused meet and greet in New Hampshire on Friday, Gillibrand emphatically said "yes" about recognizing "X" as a third gender marker. 

"Palana Belken, a transgender woman and organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, asked Gillibrand the question and applauded her quick answer.

" 'According to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S., non-binary is an "adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman."  

Donkey Hotey

"Belken said her question originated from the efforts of New Hampshire State Rep. Gerri Cannon, a transgender lawmaker who recently introduced two similar identification bills at the state level to present this third option on birth certificates and driver's licenses.

"The potential federal change is important, Cannon said, because states have differing implementation of the "X" identifier.

" 'Right now, especially non-binary people, when they go to one state to another some state trooper may take a look at a license with an 'X' on it and go, 'What is this?'" Cannon said. 

"A handful of states, including Maine, Oregon, California and Colorado, plus the District of Columbia and New York City, recognize a third option for gender identity." 

"Gillibrand is on a campaign swing through New Hampshire this weekend, with stops Saturday in Exeter, Keene and Hanover "

Editorial: Presidential plotters must face punishment

Americans need to know the entire story.  If, as it appears, there was an effort to sabotage a presidency and create elaborate distractions and cover-ups using the powers entrusted to them, members of the U.S. government have involved themselves in a criminal conspiracy that dwarfs Watergate.

  Boston Herald "That Justice Department officials were having discussions about ousting a sitting president should concern every American. It is simply astonishing that these actors allegedly held conversations around the notion of seizing power from the elected head of the executive branch.

"Obviously, heads should roll, but really such a plot should result in criminal prosecutions with all the high-profile force that was used to arrest Roger Stone.

"The new revelations come to us care of former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe, who has written a book and is shilling it on “60 Minutes.” The interview will air in full on Sunday, but the tidbits that have been released in advance are already damning.

"According to CBS’ Scott Pelley, the reporter who interviewed McCabe, after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, McCabe jumped into action with other members of the Justice Department. McCabe was alarmed that Trump “might have won the White House with the aid of the government of Russia.” The next day, he brought the investigators together for a meeting.

“ 'There were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment,” Pelley said.

“ 'I was speaking to the man who had just run for the presidency and just won the election for the presidency,” McCabe told CBS. “And who might have done so with the aid of the government of Russia, our most formidable adversary on the world stage, and that was something that troubled me greatly.”

WATCH: AOC’s 'Green New Deal' Supporters Asked To Explain How Exactly It’ll Stop Climate Change

Daily Wire  "Campus Reform took some time to talk with a few self-styled progressive students last week and learned that when they heard some of the goals spelled out in AOC's since-deleted explainer and FAQ, their confidence in her plan waned dramatically." . . .

"Elad's video follows another similar man-on-the-street video released by Campus Reform, which bases its questions off of AOC's since-deleted explainer and FAQ, a document her office has tried to dismiss as an "early draft" despite having sent it to major media outlets and posted it online before deleting it amid massive backlash.

"In the video, Campus Reform's Cabot Phillips speaks with students at the University of Miami to see how they feel about the GND. Most initially express enthusiasm, saying they thinks it's time to "cut our reliance on fossil fuels" and deeming the deal to be "a great idea" and appopriately "progressive."

" 'I think if we didn't do that, then we're going to be killing ourselves, basically," one student tells Phillips. "So we need to take care of ourselves.' " . . .

"But when Phillips begins to site goals outlined by AOC's team in the FAQ, students' tunes change. Video below: . . .

Brit Hume Takes On NBC Reporter And Obama Adviser Over Kamala Harris Coverage

Daily Caller   "Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume took issue with the way several reporters covered the Kamala Harris campaign — and defended himself when NBC’s Kasie Hunt and former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes fired back.

"It all began with a Saturday tweet from CBS political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns, who posted a video of Harris trying on a rainbow-colored sequined jacket — apparently at the behest of CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston. Video

"Hume felt as though the reporter had possibly crossed the line with regard to objectivity.

“ 'This is just embarrassing,” he argued. “So now journalists are going shopping with Harris, helping pick out clothes and then putting out glowing tweets about it.' ” . . .

. . . 
"Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes also attacked Hume, citing the time Fox News host Sean Hannity appeared on stage at a campaign rally.
. . . 
"But Hume pointed out the fact that Hannity is an opinion host, not a correspondent — and the fact that Hannity was rebuked by the network for his appearance at that rally. “Lame comparison,” he tweeted." . . .

Pundits Call Out Reporters Who Helped Kamala Harris Shop While Covering Her Campaign

Did The Department Of Justice Protect Brenda Snipes From Prosecution For Ballot Destruction?

Disobedient Media

. . . "In addition to Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s involvement in the Awan scandal, the Awan brother’s legal counsel had a direct connection with Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Daily Caller reported that Chris Gowen, the lawyer representing the Awans, had been a Clinton associate:

“Chris Gowen, Imran Awan’s lawyer, is a long-time campaigner for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton… He left the Public Defender’s office to work for former President William Jefferson Clinton and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. Chris was a fact checker for President Clinton’s memoir, My Life. He also served as a traveling aid for President Clinton’s national and international trips. Chris finished his tenure with the Clintons by directing the advance operations for then-Senator Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign.”

"Adding to all of this, Disobedient Media previously noted that Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was reported to have threatened the U.S. Capital chief of police with “consequences” in a heated exchange after he refused to surrender a laptop seized from Imran Awan. Fox News also aired allegations that the Awan brothers aided Wasserman-Schultz in making bizarre voice-modulated phone calls to the offices of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the DNC Fraud lawsuit, drawing a potential connection between the Awan scandal and the DNC Fraud lawsuit.

"In stories like this, the image painted of the Department of Justice is one of a federal agency that functions in a manner far more akin to organized crime than to a governmental body. The DOJ’s refusal prosecute the Awans, and Rosenstein’s alleged decision to prevent legal consequences for Brenda Snipes shows us that corruption allowed to stagnate in Broward County affected the whole country. The public could, therefore, be forgiven for directing a portion of their collective wrath towards the DOJ for enabling such criminal behavior.

"If the Department of Justice refuses to prosecute such crimes as detailed in the Awan scandal and as committed by Snipes, how can the public hope to hold their government accountable for election interference and other forms of corruption?"

The Mythologies of ‘Joe Being Joe’ Biden

Victor Davis Hanson
Biden is hardly the sober and judicious alternative to a supposedly reckless Donald Trump.

"Some polls put 76-year-old Joe Biden as the Democratic front-runner for the 2020 presidential election. There is certainly some logic to that reckoning.

"Biden has far more experience than any of his likely party rivals — 36 years in the Senate, eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president, and two past presidential runs.

"He may be the only Democratic candidate who could likely win back some of the “deplorables,” “irredeemables,” and “clingers” of the critical Midwestern swing states.

"But all of that said, the folksy Biden is hardly the sober and judicious alternative to a supposedly reckless Donald Trump.. . . 

"Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that grilled Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in such a crude fashion as to turn the failed nominee’s name into a verb. “Borked” is now synonymous with the sort of character assassination that Biden led. His later aimless and incoherent questioning of Thomas during his confirmation hearing managed to enrage both critics and supporters.

"Biden was accused of — and confessed to — plagiarism in law school, and he withdrew from the presidential primaries in 1987 after being caught plagiarizing British Labour-party leader Neil Kinnock in campaign speeches (while also inserting fabrications about his family’s background).

"On the 2008 campaign trail, Biden committed so many verbal gaffes that President Obama reportedly lamented in frustration, “How many times is Biden gonna say something stupid?”

"More recently, Biden — who has called for more civility in public discourse — has boasted that he would like to take Trump (whom he referenced as “the fattest, ugliest SOB in the room”) behind the proverbial high school gym “and beat the hell out of him.” . . .

Why is Trump, and not Obama, the so-called 'dictator'?

It is dangerous to our freedom and prosperity when most journalists, instead of holding all powerful politicians to account, support one party no matter what they say or do and seek to destroy the other party with misleading and inaccurate articles.  It degrades journalism to indoctrinate the public with misleading and false stories disguised as news. Well, here we are again.  They are doing it again now, and not even a true matter of national security is stopping them.

 Jack Hellner  . . . "Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, including gang members and other criminals, descend on our long southern border each year.  They overwhelm our current ability to screen out and stop drugs, criminals, and people with diseases.

"President Trump tried to end DACA with an executive order since President Obama implemented that with an executive order, and somehow, complicit judges decided that only the first executive order was actually a law.

"Trump then offered Democrats a more permanent solution on DACA in exchange for funding the border wall, stopping chain migration and ending the lottery system for immigrants and Democrats turned him down even though they have been in favor of those things in the past.

"Trump has tried to get sanctuary cities and states to comply with immigration law and cooperate with ICE, but he has been blocked by Democrats and complicit judges.  Trump is essentially trying to enforce immigration laws Congress passed and is being thwarted at every turn.  

"Democrats have declared that illegal aliens crossing the border had to be stopped in the past, but have never followed through.  Now they are absolute obstructionists.

"It certainly appears that after seeking many options, President Trump's newest tack — to give the border guards and Homeland Security what they say they need to enforce the law and protect the citizens of the United States — is a reasonable solution to invoke for the national emergency in compliance with the 1976 law.

"Trump is being transparent in what he is planning to do and where the money is coming from, yet he is being labeled a dictator." . . .

Collusion: The Criminalization of Policy Disputes

Unable to establish conspiracy, Trump’s opposition settled on collusion. It is a usefully slippery word. Collusion just means concerted activity — it can be sinister or benign. It can refer to a conspiracy or to any arrangement people have together, including those that may be sleazy but non-criminal.

Andrew C. McCarthy

The word covers every contact between anyone connected to Trump and anyone connected to Russia, with no need to show that a crime was committed.

"What a weasel word “collusion” is.
"In Washington, Senator Richard Burr (R., N.C.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has now seen fit to pronounce that, after two years of investigation, the panel has found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian regime. Meanwhile, in a nearby courtroom, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s senior staffer, Andrew Weissmann, told a federal judge that an August 2016 meeting between the then-chairman of the Trump campaign and a suspected Russian intelligence officer “goes . . . very much to the heart of what the special counsel is investigating” — which sure sounds like Mueller’s collusion hunt is alive and well.
"What gives?
"Readers of these columns know that the “collusion” label has been a pet peeve of your humble correspondent since the media-Democratic “Putin hacked the election” narrative followed hard on the declaration of Donald Trump’s victory in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, November 9, 2016." . . .

"Collusion" You mean like this?

Single-Payer: The Gateway to Socialist Paradise

Dark Angel Politics  “ 'Free health care for all is not only a no brainer but immoral to dismiss.”  That was in the email I got from my successful, highly-educated daughter in 2010, just before every Democrat in Congress voted to implement Obamacare , also known as the ironically-named “Affordable Care Act”.   

"They also simultaneously voted to exempt themselves from the “benefits” of Obamacare, and instead bravely shouldered the burdens of maintaining their own privately-run luxury healthcare program. 

"Now it appears that almost all Democrats in Congress, at least among their leadership, favor implementing a “single-payer” (i.e., government owned and operated) healthcare system.  For you, of course, not for them.

"Do you seriously believe that Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or any of the other Dem single-payer advocates have any intention of giving up their Cadillac private healthcare to go on single-payer themselves?

"As in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others.  One set of laws are for those who are ruled, and another for the rulers." . . .

"French writer Albert Camus recognized, “the welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.' ” . . .

'Health Care' for All — Affordability for None  . . . "However, the Left fights not for Anglo-American concepts of individual liberty.  Rather, it seeks, with the cultlike passion of all anti-democratic movements, hard Left or far Right, liberation.  Liberation from tradition, personal responsibility, and most of all liberation of government -- especially its ruling clique -- from checks and balances, from rights reserved to the people and other fundamentals of American constitutionalism.

"Such governments convert citizens into subjects.  They do so by promising voters more, more necessities and more desires.  This works because, as French writer Albert Camus recognized, “the welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.' ” . . .

With Amazon NYC 'second HQ' deal canceled, Ocasio-Cortez now officially is a huge problem for Dems

Thomas Lifson  "Move over, Speaker Pelosi, and make room for New York governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio as Democrats waking up to the disaster the rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is inflicting on the Democratic Party.  She is no longer just a potential threat to their schemes and operating principles; she has taken a wrecking ball to them.  Trust me: they desperately want to be rid of her, but, due to her media presence and popularity with the young and ignorant, cannot visibly stick the shiv in her back.  So Nancy Pelosi's ability to "cut your head off and you won't even know you're bleeding" (as her own daughter put it) will come in handy.

"The Amazon tax breaks, calculated to be worth $3 billion over a period of many years, were going to bring 25,000 high-paying jobs to Ocasio-Cortez's district in Queens and generate many times that sum in increased tax receipts, according to Cuomo and de Blasio, who exulted over the deal.  But offering any kind of benefit to a big corporation founded and headed by the richest man in the world is anathema to the radical left." . . .