The Instincts of Donald Trump are Uniquely American

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

For a lot of Americans, while President Trump’s mannerisms are not always where they want them to be. But they saw that the supposedly well-mannered President Obama was an existential threat to the country, while Trump is making America stronger at every level. This would never show up in Obama’s approval ratings because so many decent Americans are simply terrified of even the thought of being considered racist.

However, Americans also understand that good manners don’t necessarily make a good president.

Good manners don’t cancel out lying about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, good manners don’t cancel out stoking racial tensions at every opportunity, such as lying about what happened in Ferguson; good manners don’t cancel out weaponizing the IRS and EPA to destroy the lives of political opponents; good manners don’t cancel out a federal gun-running scheme to Mexican drug cartels that killed at least one American border guard; good manners don’t cancel out throwing the health insurance market out of whack and lying about Americans’ ability to keep their doctor and have their premiums reduced; and good manners don’t cancel out turning the FBI against Americans and a presidential opponent.

Good manners in a bad president still leave Americans with a bad president.

And while Trump’s mannerisms may leave something to be desired, his instincts on what is good for America and the American people are as good as they come. From tax reform to piecemeal Obamacare repeal to Jerusalem to North Korea and China to the Paris Climate Accords to actually looking out for American interests at the G7 summit to his directly confronting a dishonest and hostile media, President Trump’s instincts far surpass his sometimes ill-mannered ways.

Many of Trump’s opponents consider his lack of experience or deep understanding of the dark wonkiness of the federal government are his weaknesses. But are they? Even there, perhaps the thing we need in a president right now — even a flawed president — is one who will not easily get consumed by the detailed workings of the mammoth federal government and lose sight of the strategic goals for which he was elected.

While many in what Glenn Harlan Reynolds calls the “Front-Row Kids” of highly educated, mobile and globalists consider President Trump a bumptious rube, bumbling his way around in a racist, misogynistic fog, much of America sees hims as basically a patriotic guy who intuitively knows the nation has been on the wrong path — and for longer than just the disastrous Obama administration.

Trump doesn’t really get politics, certainly not the cesspool of Washington politics of public glad-handing and private backstabbing. But that’s not only good, it’s probably mandatory at this point. And he has certainly proven himself able to learn — from constitutional issues to international affairs to macro economics.

So there’s a lot in the machinations of self-serving Washington, D.C. that Trump does not get. Sometimes that hurts, often that helps keep him on track in the big picture.

But what Trump does get is imperative: He gets the American people, and does so in a way the Front-Row Kids cannot even grasp.

Over and over and over again, the elite and media and establishment are sure that his latest whatever is going to be what brings him down. Some tweet, some comment, some supposed scandal — something that Washington deems to be negative — is going to separate him from his base and he is going to tumble.

But he doesn’t. In fact, Trump’s popularity is growing as solid, conservative policies and judges are put in place and people begin to see the results. The reason is simple: Washington doesn’t actually know America very well. It knows the thin layer of Front-Row Kids, which is essentially coastal elites and the powerbrokers and monied interests in major metro areas.

But Washington doesn’t know America. And somehow, this billionaire Manhattanite does.

It’s not because he’s studied America in any traditional way. That’s not Trump’s style. It’s not that he has palled around with Joe Schmoe American. Obviously, it’s not his golden Trump Tower style, either.

What he does have that so many elites do not — and most certainly his predecessor did not — is a genuine, deep and abiding love for America, and for Americans. He probably cannot even explain why very well, but he instinctively does. Further, he seems to have a reasonably strong grasp of human nature, not one bushwhacked by the latest deranged theories in feminist-gender studies or liberal poli-sci classes. And that helps him relate to such a variety of Americans in a way totally unexpected for a man who came from wealth and then built enormous wealth.

Consider these few areas where his instincts are in line with Americans, and not surprisingly, American interests: China trade; Immigration; G7; NFL kneeling debacle; North Korea; Israel; Americans view of D.C.

On every one of these, the Front-Row Kids get it wrong. Because they don’t know America. Trump gets it right, because he does.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in The Revolutionary Act.

I Went to DC’s Gay Pride Parade. Here Are 9 Things I Saw. [Graphic images]

/2 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Editor’s note: This article accurately describes a “gay pride” event and contains language and images that may offend some readers.

Thousands of gay rights activists and their supporters celebrated Saturday in Washington, D.C., by participating in and watching the city’s gay pride parade.

The “Pride Month” parade consisted of over 200 floats in addition to marchers and vehicles, and covered 1.5 miles in promoting and celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, among other gender identities.

I checked out the event for The Daily Signal, observing the parade and talking with attendees. With a warning that some readers will find this content offensive, here are nine things I noticed:

1. Animosity for the Trump Administration

During a rally before the parade, one speaker called Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson a “wacko” and others in his agency “the other wacko wackos at HUD.”

Carson parted with recent “national tradition,” Politico reported Thursday, by declaring June to be “National Happy Homes Month” and declining to recognize it as Gay Pride Month.

2. Law Enforcement Not Welcome

Signs posted near the parade route read: “No cops at pride.”

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

3. A ‘F–k Them’ Attitude

Some attendees told me that the deeply held religious beliefs of some Americans about marriage—including those such as bakers who don’t want to be forced to design and make a cake for a same-sex wedding—don’t matter.

“F–k them,” one person said of business owners who would choose not to make a cake or provide floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

The Supreme Court ruled June 4 in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, who declined to create a custom cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding because of his traditional Christian beliefs.

Multiple people I interviewed at the parade said bakers should be forced to fill orders that celebrate messages going against their deeply held religious beliefs.

4. Hostility to Traditional Ideas on Marriage

Multiple signs and pins displayed vulgar language suggesting that those who do not support gay marriage are intolerant and hateful.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

One person in the parade wore a shirt saying, “Homosexuals are possessed by demons,” which appeared to make fun of the religious beliefs of some who don’t back the LGBT political agenda.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

5. Unquestionable Acceptance for the Gay Lifestyle

In contrast to the evidence of hostility and even hatred toward those with traditional views of marriage—one T-shirt read: “If you’re not gay friendly take your b—h a-s home”—the event provided ample public affection for homosexual men and women and acceptance for gay rights.

One marcher held a sign that said, “I love my gay family.” One couple’s sign, “God blessed us with two gay sons.”

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

6. A Shoutout for Bisexual Moms

One person I encountered along the parade route appeared to be pregnant and wore a tank top with the message “#Still Bisexual,” apparently promoting the opinion that women can have children but be sexually attracted to both men and women.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

7. Not Age Appropriate

Aspects of the parade certainly weren’t family friendly or appropriate for children. At one point, men clad only in leather straps marched in front of a school group.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

The event also featured trash receptacles along the parade route that advertised lubricant for gay sex.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

Some attendees chose not to wear shirts; others wore very revealing outfits.

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

8. ‘Resist’ Crowd Promotes ‘No Hate on My Ballot’

The anti-Trump “resistance” movement was present in the parade, carrying signs sporting the “HRC” logo of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s largest advocates of the LGBT political agenda.

Marchers who walked with a “Resist” banner also carried signs with messages such as “Resist. Vote. Win,” “Midterms Matter, Vote 2018,” “Don’t Just Hope for Equality, Vote for It,” and “No Hate on My Ballot.”

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

9. Planned Parenthood Supports LGBT Rights

Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the nation, was present in full force. The organization’s pink shirts, tank tops, and signs had slogans such as “Together We Fight for All,” “#QueersForRepro,” and “Repro rights = LGBTQ Rights.”

(Photo: Rachel del Guidice/The Daily Signal)

COMMENTARY BY

Portrait of Rachel del Guidice

Rachel del Guidice

Rachel del Guidice is a reporter for The Daily Signal. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Forge Leadership Network, and The Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program. Send an email to Rachel. Twitter: .

RELATED ARTICLE: We Asked DC Pride Parade Attendees About Kids Changing Gender Without Parental Permission. Here’s What They Said.

Dear Readers:

With the recent conservative victories related to tax cuts, the Supreme Court, and other major issues, it is easy to become complacent.

However, the liberal Left is not backing down. They are rallying supporters to advance their agenda, moving this nation further from the vision of our founding fathers.

If we are to continue to bring this nation back to our founding principles of limited government and fiscal conservatism, we need to come together as a group of likeminded conservatives.

This is the mission of The Heritage Foundation. We want to continue to develop and present conservative solutions to the nation’s toughest problems. And we cannot do this alone.

We are looking for a select few conservatives to become a Heritage Foundation member. With your membership, you’ll qualify for all associated benefits and you’ll help keep our nation great for future generations.

ACTIVATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY

Supreme Court Upholds Ohio Voter Purge Law

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

A five-justice majority of the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Ohio’s voter purge system, finding the process by which the state removes inactive voters from the rolls does not violate federal law.

Although critics of Ohio’s practice charge the state’s true purpose is the removal of left-leaning voters from the registry, the high court found the process is consistent with federal law.

dcnf-logo

“Today’s decision is a victory for election integrity, and a defeat for those who use the federal court system to make election law across the country,” Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said. “This decision is validation of Ohio’s efforts to clean up the voter rolls and now with the blessing nation’s highest court, it can serve as a model for other states to use.”

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the court’s opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Justice Stephen Breyer led the liberal bloc in dissent, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.

Ohio’s maintenance process is fairly straightforward. Voters who do not cast a ballot during a full federal election cycle (which runs two years) are sent a mailer confirming they are still residents of Ohio who wish to remain registered voters. If the mailer is not returned, and if the individual does not vote for the next four years, they are removed from state rolls.

The 1993 National Voter Registration Act requires all states to adopt policies providing for the removal of ineligible voters from state rolls. In his opinion for the court, Alito claimed 24 million voter registrations are currently “invalid or significantly inaccurate,” according to a 2012 study from the Pew Center on the States. However, the National Voter Registration Act forbids removal “by reason of the person’s failure to vote.”

Civil rights and good government groups challenged the Ohio procedure, arguing it targets and prunes voters on the basis of their inactivity. Nonvoting, the challengers point out, is used twice by the state’s process: once as the trigger for the mailer, and again as a condition for final removal. But Alito explained that the National Voter Registration Act only prohibits the use of nonvoting as the sole cause for deregistration.

“We reject this argument because the Failure-to-Vote Clause, as originally enacted in the NVRA … simply forbids the use of nonvoting as the sole criterion for removing a registrant, and Ohio does not use it that way,” he wrote.

Sotomayor wrote her own dissent connecting Ohio’s procedure to “concerted state efforts to prevent minorities from voting and to undermine the efficacy of their votes,” which the National Voter Registration Act sought to curtail. Progressive organizers hit a similar tenor speaking after the ruling.

“Countless voters, including homeless and housing-insecure Ohioans, have already been stripped of their rights as a result of Ohio’s unjust and illogical purge process,” said Chris Knestrick, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. “By green-lighting Ohio’s purge process, the court allowed states to shut out the voices of these voters.”

Defenders of the process say it ensures the states maintain accurate voter rolls, which are not often updated to reflect forms of attrition like death or relocation. Opponents charge it is yet another iteration of GOP voter-suppression tactics, particularly because nonvoting is a poor proxy change in residence.

The civil rights groups challenging Ohio’s policy seized on this point, citing another provision of the National Voter Registration Act that permits states to use U.S. Postal Service data when sending confirmation mailers of the sort Ohio uses. This, the plaintiffs said, indicates that states may only use data points with a high degree of correlation to relocation as a trigger for the mailer, like USPS information or tax records.

But Alito rejected that arguments as well, stressing that their role was not to scrutinize the good faith policy judgements of Ohio’s state Legislature.

“What matters for present purposes is not whether the Ohio legislature overestimated the correlation between nonvoting and moving or whether it reached a wise policy judgment about when return cards should be sent,” he wrote. “For us, all that matters is that no provision of the NVRA prohibits the legislature from implementing that judgment.”

Some 30 states filed amicus (or “friend of the court”) briefs in the dispute. A coalition of 12 Democratic states filed a brief arguing Ohio’s practices were unlawful, while 17 Republican states urged the high court to uphold them.

COLUMN BY

Kevin Daley

Kevin Daley is a legal affairs reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Twitter: @kevindaleydc.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Supreme Court Gives States the Green Light to Clean Up Voter Rolls

Judicial Watch Statement on Supreme Court Decision Upholding Ohio Efforts to Maintain Clean Voter Rolls

EDITORS NOTE: Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities for this original content, email licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Dad’s Funeral: Final Notes Regarding A Civil Rights Pioneer

/0 Comments/in , /by

The funeral of my dad, Dr. Reverend Lloyd E. Marcus, was June 7, 2018. My sister told everyone she was wearing a yellow dress to Dad’s funeral because we wanted it to be a celebration of Dad’s extraordinary life and homecoming. Yellow represents bright sunshine. She also chose it to represent God’s “Son”. My sister’s idea caught on like wildfire. Surprisingly, several women showed up at Dad’s funeral wearing yellow. I was only able to gather a handful of the lovely ladies for a photo.

God’s grace and timing for Dad’s passing was perfect. Although he was 90, had Dad passed two months earlier, my three brothers, sister and I would have been devastated. Dad was placed into home hospice. Dad out lived two wives. His second wife died in March. As Dad’s health rapidly declined, each of his five kids took shifts taking care of him. The hospice nurse said typically only one child shows up to care for their dying parent.

Whenever my sister spoon fed Dad and whenever us four sons bathed him, Dad told us he was ready, happily anticipating going home to Jesus. This helped us release Dad.

The day before Dad died, all five of us gathered around his bed. Dad appeared unconscious with his eyes closed. Earlier, the hospice nurse told my sister that hearing is the last to go and Dad would be able to hear us. Each of us spoke so dad could hear our voices. We told Dad that he did a great job raising us, we loved him and we would be okay. Dad appeared to give a sigh of relief. From that moment, and I sensed my siblings felt the same, I was at peace with Dad going home. God had graciously prepared us.

The warm united vibe in Dad’s bedroom was amazing. My brother David is not big on making touchy-feely statements. He blurted out, “Thank y’all for being who you are.” I knew what David meant. We were united in love for our father and each other; committed to sending Dad peacefully home.

Around 7:00 AM the next morning, my sister calmly yelled down to me sleeping in the basement,  “Hey Peanut, Daddy is gone.” I replied, “Okay.”

When Dad’s health began declining, I knew if we, his 5 kids, did not handle the process correctly it would haunt us for the rest of our lives. Each of us stepped up and did our part.

Dad’s funeral was a wonderful celebration. Citations were read from Baltimore’s mayor and the Baltimore Fire Department. Pastors and community leaders spoke of how Dad impacted theirs lives, congregations and communities.

About a year ago, I felt compelled to get video of Dad on YouTube for future generations to see and hear him. Grand-kids barely remember my mom who passed 25 years ago. I took Dad and my 4 siblings into a recording studio to record an uptempo version of “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. The music producer and engineer were stunned that our 89 year old Dad recorded his vocal in one take. We produced a music video of the song using family photos. The music video was a huge hit at Dad’s funeral. 

Dad was a man of several firsts – Baltimore’s first black paramedic and first black chaplain. The fire department chaplain who spoke at the funeral said Dad was also the first firefighter to become a chaplain which paved the way for other firefighters to become chaplain.

When I spoke at the funeral, I shared how Dad strove to be excellent and walk in biblical principles despite horrific racist working conditions at Engine 6. Dad could not pour himself a cup of coffee from the same coffeepot as the white firefighters. I said no special concessions (lowered standards) were made because Dad was black. And yet, Dad won “Firefighter of the Year” two times. The audience erupted with applause.

At the reception with food called “the Repass”, one of Dad’s grandsons told me he had no idea of the humiliating racism his grandfather endured as a civil rights trailblazer. He wasn’t sure he could have taken it. The twenty-something year old said the information gave him as insight into where he came from and who he is as a Marcus.

Black firefighters at the funeral said Dad corralled, encouraged and mentored them to take the test to become firefighters.

A private conversation I had with a gentlemen at the funeral epitomized Dad. The gentlemen said several years ago, he was going through a severe crisis. He knocked on my parent’s front door at 3am. Rev Marcus opened the door, invited him in, listened and ministered to him. That’s my Dad.

Years ago, a book was popular titled, “Passages”. I never read it, but I feel like I have entered a new passage of my life. With Dad gone, I am the patriarch of our family. Like my 4 siblings, I want to continue making Dad proud.

While in Baltimore for Dad’s funeral, my wife Mary and I stayed at his home. I noticed Dad’s slippers on the floor and put them on my feet. I told Mary, “Wow, I have literally stepped into Dad’s shoes.” God has prepared me for such a time as this.

Meet the Arnolds: Planned Parenthood’s Billionaire Benefactors

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

With Starbucks in hot water over its donations to Planned Parenthood, 2ndVote decided to look into other major donors to the abortionist the general public might night be aware of.

John and Laura Arnold

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation has donated almost one billion dollars to research since 2011. The organization is renowned for its focus on evidence-based solutions to public policy problems. Its grants fund projects have funded research on those suffering from mental health, better understanding of gun violence, and bail reform.

What’s less known is that behind the Foundation’s “evidence-based” efforts is frequently distinctly left-wing, anti-life advocacy.

For example, while the Arnolds give to both parties, John Arnold was a bundler for the 2008 Obama campaign. According to Huffington Post in 2012:

Billionaire John Arnold, a former Enron trader and his wife Laura, were slated to host in their Houston home a $10,000-ticket Obama fundraiser to feature Michelle Obama last October (the event was postponed). Arnold describes himself as a libertarian, and his wife Laura identifies as a Democrat. Still, Arnold was one of Obama’s top 2008 donors, a bundler who gave the campaign between $50,000 and $100,000. According to Huffington Post’s FundRace, he has given $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund 2012.

Both Arnolds have also contributed a few thousand each to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and hundreds of thousands to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The Arnolds have also personally donated millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood’s powerful political arm. In the past two years alone, the Arnolds contributed to the following pro-abortion entities:

Also, their foundation gave nearly $1.5 million in 2015 and 2016 to Improving Contraceptive Options Now (ICON), a research project of MRDC which explicitly focuses on funding abortion-inducing drugs and devices like the Intra-Uterine Device for teenagers.

See more of 2nd Vote’s research on which companies and non-profits are funding Planned Parenthood here.

 Help us continue providing valuable content like this by becoming a 2ndVote Member today!

RELATED ARTICLE: Child Abuse Cover-Ups Haven’t Stopped Starbucks’ Funding of Planned Parenthood

VIDEO: White People

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Are white people really as bad as the militant left make them out to be?

RELATED ARTICLE: Republicans Are More Eager to Vote This Year Than Democrats.

Are the Dems Still Ballot-proof?

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Donald Trump may not be on the ballot in November, but the future of his conservative agenda is. And three waves into this primary season, that seems to be all the motivation Republican voters need.

For the third time in as many primaries, conservatives seemed determined to change the media’s narrative about the midterm elections — turning out en masse in four southern states that will be critical to keeping the GOP’s hold on the House. At least in Republican-leaning states, the “blue wave” Democrats keep promising has been more like a blue sprinkle. That’s not to say things can’t change — they most certainly can, especially with the string of West Coast and New England races still to be decided. But for now, it is clear that conservative voters are far from disengaged.

David Wasserman, one of the analysts with an eye on these trends, says that after a rough start to the year, Republicans are getting some small doses of good news. So far, the GOP seems to be reaping the benefits of a banner spring for the White House’s international policies. After positive developments on Iran, Israel, and North Korea, the Democrats’ lead over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot is nonexistent. After being up by double digits in January, Reuters says the two parties are neck-and-neck. But, Wasserman warns, there’s still a long way to go. “Republicans still can’t point to hard election data that proves their base has suddenly closed the ‘intensity gap’ in the last few months.”

But they’re working on it! Tuesday’s showing in Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Georgia was the third strong showing for conservatives in states where liberals hoped to make some noise. Our friend Chris Wilson (@WilsonWPA), who first started seeing some positive trends for Republicans in toss-up states like Pennsylvania, says that pattern is continuing. In Texas, the Democrats’ turnout in the runoff resulted in the fewest votes case since 1920!

“D’s hopes of turning #TX even slightly violet continue to fade,” Chris tweeted. “Despite a closely contested #TXgov runoff… Dems can’t reach record low of 449k votes from 100 years ago!” And that’s not all, “In each of the open #TX [congressional districts] where *both parties* had a runoff, [Democrats] massively underperformed.” Republicans, on the other hand, continued to stream into their polling stations. In Georgia, the party cast 54,000 more votes than Democrats, which seemed like small potatoes compared to Arkansas, where they cast 96,000 more. Obviously, these are states where conservatives should be outperforming liberals. But in a year where Republicans can’t afford to take anything for granted, the outcome was a reassuring one.

Meanwhile, over at Democratic headquarters, party bosses deepened their bench of far-Left radicals on the November ballot with wins for LGBT activists, abortion extremists, and candidates who promise a return to the Obama years. In the Democrats’ words: We will impeach. We will abort. We will raise taxes. And that’s exactly the kind of agenda that failed them in 2016. Even now, a full year and change into Trump’s administration, heartland Democrats have pleaded with the national party to return to the middle. “You’re Killing Us” was the message to Washington. A message, so far, unreceived.

Over at Deep Root Analytics, experts are making a pretty solid case for a values-driven campaign. After the May 5 and 18 primaries, we mentioned just how potent social issues are proving to be in this election cycle. Well, it turns out, they’re even more compelling than most pollsters realized. In Pennsylvania and Idaho, where we pointed out that turnout was higher than expected, social issues appeared in “more GOP ads than any other issue — nearly doubling the total number of ads as tax reform, the next highest appearing issue.” In fact, Deep Root explains, there were “nearly two-times as many ads containing a social issue message than a tax message in these primaries.”

What does that mean? A lot if you’re a conservative campaign manager. “While the data we currently have access to does not allow us to comprehensively connect social issues advertising to higher-than-expected turnout, it does indicate something clearly: GOP advertisers relied on social issue messaging as their closing argument…” Obviously, David Seawright wrote, “advertisers believed that messaging on social issues was critical to their goal of both motivating and persuading GOP primary voters during the final stages of each campaign.”

It’s certainly worked in the primaries we’ve seen so far. Of course, the important part is not to get comfortable. I don’t mention these positive developments so that people can get complacent. On the contrary, we want people to know just how important and influential their voice can be. Making America great again starts by making America good again. And that’s not government’s mission, but ours.

Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC Action senior writers.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Trumping Expectations: Pro-lifers Celebrate a Year of Wins

The Long Harm of the Law

Republicans Are More Eager to Vote This Year Than Democrats.

Why Kanye West and More Black Americans Are Supporting Trump

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Kanye West surprised the American music scene by dropping a single, “Ye vs. The People,” in which he and fellow rapper T.I. go back and forth about their political views.

Some are calling his vocal support of President Donald Trump nothing more than a publicity stunt. But even if that’s true, West is bringing attention to some very important issues.

At what point did Trump become such a villain and the blame for everything and everyone’s problem?

An article from Revolt TV points to over 35 positive rap references to Trump, including Jay Z, Ice Cube, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, and Meek Mill. You get my point.

FiveThirtyEight did a study on 266 hip hop songs and lyrics referencing Trump and Hillary Clinton. From 1989 until 2015, Trump was positive and represented money, power, and what many strive to achieve, including “Listen I ain’t from the slums, I fought my way up out the slum / Arrogant rich n—- , we might vote for Trump,” Cam’ron rapped on “Dope Spot” in 2015 .

Most references to Clinton were negative, including “Never Put Your Trust in Hillary Rodham”.

Even some of the most recognized black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton praised Trump for his diversity efforts. Trump endorsed Jackson in his failed attempt to run for president years ago.

So something besides just ideological differences has to be going on here, right?

Is it Trump? Is it the Republican Party? Is it the policies he represents? Most people I ask give reasons that are personal, as well as what they’ve heard through liberal media.

In the song West said, “See that’s the problem with this d— nation / All Blacks gotta be Democrats, man, we ain’t made it off the plantation.”

And while I wouldn’t put it quite the same way, I do believe many of the policy priorities so strongly supported by the left do more to keep people poor than they do to lift them out of poverty.

According to Forbes, “Welfare offers short-term help and long-term poverty.” The first failure of government welfare programs is to favor help with current consumption while placing almost no emphasis on job training or anything else that might allow today’s poor people to become self-sufficient in the future.

It’s hard to argue against policies that will reduce energy poverty for black and minority communities, or to defend why you dislike Betsy DeVos and K-12 education policy under this administration promoting school choice when your child attends private school.

Opportunities to pursue the American dream without worrying that an occupational license scheme will keep you from starting your own business have become a cornerstone of conservative policy, and the opportunity to receive justice under the law and take mental health into consideration is getting more and more attention every day.

These are policy priorities of the Trump administration and issues I was in favor of long before Trump became a candidate. These are issues that most African-Americans and other minorities believe in.

I rode a bike and delivered newspapers every morning from sixth through 12th grade and earned a football scholarship.

I’ve also been a small business owner under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump. These and other experiences have allowed me to see life through a different lens.

For me, there’s no comparison. We’ve been more successful as a small business and family under these Republican administrations than under the Obama administration. That’s why I believe in opportunity over handouts, and empowerment over entitlements.

When it comes down to it, it’s about opportunity, and that’s something we should all get behind. However, like many other blacks who have spoken out in support of the Trump administration, I’ve been called names, lost friends, and gotten all sorts of clapback because I see things differently.

I’m a husband and father whose children are taught to respect everyone’s point of view—even if you don’t agree. But more and more, those who don’t follow the narrow box built for us by the left are written off as crazy.

However you choose to vote, we should all be able to agree to respect each other. Just because we disagree doesn’t mean we’re enemies. So, do you, Kanye West! And props for speaking your truth. We should all feel comfortable doing the same.

COMMENTARY BY

Portrait of Derrick Hollie

Derrick Hollie

Derrick Hollie is president of Reaching America and host of Reaching America on Demand podcast. The organization addresses complex social issues impacting African-American communities. Twitter: .

Dear Readers:

With the recent conservative victories related to tax cuts, the Supreme Court, and other major issues, it is easy to become complacent.

However, the liberal Left is not backing down. They are rallying supporters to advance their agenda, moving this nation further from the vision of our founding fathers.

If we are to continue to bring this nation back to our founding principles of limited government and fiscal conservatism, we need to come together as a group of likeminded conservatives.

This is the mission of The Heritage Foundation. We want to continue to develop and present conservative solutions to the nation’s toughest problems. And we cannot do this alone.

We are looking for a select few conservatives to become a Heritage Foundation member. With your membership, you’ll qualify for all associated benefits and you’ll help keep our nation great for future generations.

ACTIVATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image of Kanye West is by USA Today Sports/Newscom

WATCH Israel i24 TV, Spin Room Panel: Pamela Geller destroys antisemitic leftist Jew

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Earlier today, I debated Yariv Oppenheimer  — Former Director, Peace Now; an anti-Jew left-wing Jew, Akiva Eldar — Political Analyst, Senior Columnist Al Monitor and Haaretz (notoriously anti-Israel); and Daniel Seaman — Former Director of Israeli Government Press Office, today he is the chief editor of Mida English Online Magazine.

We fight it out on the issues — Gaza border, Netanyahu’s diplomatic visit to Europe meeting Merkel, Macron and Teresa trying to get to agreements with them about Iran deal, Trump-Kim summit, and the antisemitic Argentina football team cancellation of a match here in Jerusalem after Palestinians and left organizations pressured them to cancel.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The Geller Report. Pamela Geller’s shocking new book, “FATWA: HUNTED IN AMERICA” is now available on Amazon. It’s Geller’s tell all, her story – and it’s every story – it’s what happens when you stand for freedom today. Buy it. Now. Here.

Miss America without swimsuits! Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Anthony Weiner & Harvey Weinstein respond. [Video]

/2 Comments/in , /by

PHOTO: Gretchen Carlson appears on Good Morning America, June 5, 2018.

Gretchen Carlson, chair of the Miss America Organization Board of Trustees,  announced there will be no more swimsuit competition. Ms. Carlson said, “We are no longer a pageant; we are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance!”

Ms. Carlson pointed to “evolving in this cultural revolution” for the decision.

We decided to ask a select group of men about this “cultural revolution” shift.

Bill Clinton during his #MeToo book tour noted,

I believe that the Miss America Board of Trustees should consider a blue dress competition. This will allow the judges to not focus on physical appearance, no offense Monica, but rather on the content of their contestants’ characters, no offense to MLK. I have sent a box of premium Cuban cigars to Ms. Carlson.

Well done!

Bill Cosby, formerly known as America’s father, in a brief statement from his lawyer said,

Father’s across America and the world thank Gretchen for covering up our women. I have since converted to Islam and as a Muslim believe that the Miss America Board should consider a “burka competition.” Only then can the pageant truly become a competition. Only then will women be judged not by their appearance but by their submission to Allah, no pun intended.

Anthony Weiner tweeted the picture below to Ms. Carlson stating, “I was unfairly judged by my outward physical appearance. I commend Gretchen for starting a ‘new cultural revolution’ where men are not judged by their selfies to underage girls! #SelfieOn!”

Harvey Weinstein in a brief press release said,

I, like Bill Clinton, am a victim. I never judged women based upon mere outward appearance when on the casting couch for my films.

Just look at my film “Teaching Mrs. Tingle” as an example. Its a film about a hardworking and bright high-school senior, Leigh Ann (Katie Holmes) who has her impending status as valedictorian jeopardized when her bitter history teacher, Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren), gives her a poor grade on a project.

Obviously I admire mind over physical experience [sic]!

I fully believe that I will be vindicated and upon my release I will be asked to be a judge at the 2020, or maybe the 2070, Miss America pageant?

Wendy’s has re-released the below ad in the spirit of “competition”:

A Wendy’s spokesperson, a gender and physical appearance neutral term, noted, “We are proud to announce that we will be a Russian ruble sponsor for the 2019 Miss America Competition taking place on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Our motto will be ‘where’s the beef?’, no pun intended.”

EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column has been submitted to Sports Illustrated for placement in its next “swimsuit edition.”

Tens of Thousands in New York Cheer Israel’s 70th Anniversary

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Seventy years  since the Jewish people with almost half their population was murdered in Nazi death camps the surviving Jewish people created a modern day miracle called Israel. No other country in modern times has ever survived a siege by its enemies for 70 years and survived, prospered and given so much to humanity.

Israel and the blue and white flag with its Star of David represents  the Judeo-Christian ethic and the Torah which is the basis our American forefathers used to create the Constitution.

Is there any question why so many people in America feel a connection to Israel and their people who struggle every day to survive against their enemies.

‘70 and Sababa’: Tens of thousands in New York cheer Israel’s anniversary with signs, song and wonder

The 54th annual “Celebrate Israel” parade in New York City on Sunday drew tens of thousands of people, who waved blue-and-white flags and sang Hebrew songs in support of Israel.

BY SHIRYN SOLNY

(June 4, 2018 / JNS) Beautifully crafted and decorated signs were in full display on June 3 at “Celebrate Israel” parade, many of them paying homage to this year’s theme of “70 and Sababa!” Others held by the tens of thousands of people from the New York and elsewhere focused on Israel’s unity, strength and freedom. One sign read “Israel @70: Still Putting Its Stamp on the Future,” while another said “70 Years a Free People in Our Own Land.” Some marchers held signs that said “70” or “SABABA” in big, bright letters, while others held posters that depicted Israel’s innovations, such as the navigation app Waze. Another group of marchers held a banner that featured pictures of Israel’s popular sites, such as the Western Wall, Dead Sea and the open-air Middle Eastern marketplaces known as “shuks.”

The America China Public Affairs Institute had a float that boosted Israel’s friendship with China by featuring an enlarged photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and China’s President Xi Jinping. Another banner held by marchers read “70 years of turning desert land into green land,” and one group towards the end of the parade held signs with the pictures of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul—two Israel Defense Force soldiers killed in action by Hamas during Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014. Written on the same signs was a popular Jewish phrase that translates to: “All of Israel is responsible for one another.”

Read more.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image of a large group of Jewish teenagers celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary with a banner featuring Israel’s ReWalk, a bionic walking assistance system. Credit: Shiryn Solny.

Prog off: New Rocky and Bullwinkle Season 101 approved!

/0 Comments/in , /by

I just watched the first two episodes of Dreamworks’ The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle 2018 on Amazon Prime (Season 101) – mostly to make sure that someone in Hollywood didn’t ruin the old favorite and/or resurrect the themes of Red Scare and Russian spies in order to perpetuate the Trump/Russia collusion narrative.

It turns out, I liked the remake even better than the original. Of course, I never watched them as a child, having spent my tender years on the other side of the Iron Curtain, so I may not have the right perspective.

Boris and Natasha look almost the same, only more angular and stylized, but with the same great pseudo-Russian accents. The Fearless Leader is now less East German and has more of a Russian accent. Talking about his motivation to control the world, he seems to be stealing his lines from Vladimir Putin:

As you know, for years, Pottsylvania has been the laughingstock of the Free World. “Pottsylvania is weak!” “Pottsylvania is stupid!” “What’s a Pottsylvania?” Well, the laughing stops now, when I unleash the full power of my doomsday device!

If the original cartoon placed his country vaguely in the spot where East Germany used to be, the new map shows Pottsylvania as an island in the middle of the Black Sea (it has no islands), right next to the Crimean peninsula, which recently had been annexed by Putin. I find it very clever.

The main difference from the original series is that now Rocky and Bullwinkle are being chased not only by Boris and Natasha, but also by the incompetent Homeland Security, headed by Director Peachfuzz, a crazy androgynous black lady. I don’t know if that’s intentional, but Peachfuzz is a great composite caricature of Loretta Lynch / Susan Rice / Comey / Clapper / Brennan and the rest of the notorious gang.

If ridiculing our bumbling intelligence leaders at other times may have seemed subversive, in the Trump era it’s spot-on and hilarious.

Enjoy and write your own reviews below!

EDITORS NOTE: This political satire column by Red Square originally appeared on The Peoples Cube.

Sweeping DNA Study Supports Creationism?

/1 Comment/in , , /by

In May, 2018 Mark Stoeckle Senior Research Associate in the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University in New York and Dr. David Thaler Center for Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Basel in Switzerland published the results of a study in which they compared five million gene snapshots (DNA bar codes) collected from 100,000 animal species by hundreds of researchers around the world and deposited in the U.S. government-run GenBank database.

What Stoeckle and Thaler found upends evolution theory and appears to support creationism in several ways.

Stoeckle and Thaler reported:

  1. For the planet’s 7.6 billion people, 500 million house sparrows, or 100,000 sandpipers, genetic diversity “is about the same.”
  2. That species with large, far-flung populations—from ants, to rats, to humans—do not become more genetically diverse over time.
  3. That nine out of 10 species on Earth today, including humans, came into being 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
  4. In analyzing the bar codes, across 100,000 species, found a telltale sign showing that almost all the animals emerged about the same time as humans.
  5. Species have very clear genetic boundaries, and there’s nothing much in between.

Elizabeth M. Economou in an article titled “New DNA Findings Raise More Questions About Theory of Evolution” reported:

“This [study’s] conclusion is very surprising, and I fought against it as hard as I could,” Thaler also told AFP (Agence France-Presse), the international news agency headquartered in Paris.

“What’s astounding to me in hearing about this study is that although evolutionary science is still not totally established, it is taught as unwavering fact in grade school through college,” a mortgage professional from North Carolina told LifeZette. “I questioned evolution and defended creationism in high school and was basically mocked by teachers. Now it turns out there is so much more to learn — and each step seems to strengthen creationism’s case.”

In his 1859 book, “On the Origin of the Species,” widely considered the foundation for evolutionary biology, Charles Darwin himself wrote, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ [structure], existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modification, my theory would absolutely break down.”

Experts see more questions ahead for those who support evolution theories.

“There’s a great danger to the evolutionary model in this study in ways they don’t quite realize yet,” Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, a research biologist for Answers in Genesis, told OneNewsNow of evolutionary theorists.

It appears that science now gives greater credence to Genesis 1: 20-24,

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

The truth is being revealed.

The Racism of Government Family Planning

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

New proposed changes in regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services will close the door on using funds from its Title X family planning program for abortion.

HHS’ Office of Population Affairs, which administers this program, is a poster child for ill-conceived government policy. How is it, in our nation that cherishes the ideals of human freedom and dignity, that we’re funding government bureaucrats to advise low-income citizens—almost a quarter of these “clients” are black—about how many children they should bring into this world and when?

Despite explicit language in the legislation that created the Title X family program in 1970 prohibiting funding “programs in which abortion is a method of family planning,” this directive has been effectively ignored.

HHS reports that 4 million individuals are getting services through this program. However, 1.6 million of them, 40 percent, according to the Guttmacher Institute, are receiving these services at Planned Parenthood clinics.

Given the millions that Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, spends on lobbying and political contributions, its success in keeping the faucet of federal funding of its activities open comes as no surprise.

But now the Trump administration is stepping up to enforce the law, with the positive additional benefit of protecting human life. You might say that our president understands that building a culture of life is a vital part of making America “great again.”

The new HHS order requires complete financial and physical separation of Title X funds from abortion activity. No Title X funds can be used for abortion. And abortions cannot be performed in any facility in which programs being funded by Title X are taking place.

Although Title X counselors will be prohibited from discussing abortion as a family planning measure, they can discuss it when a woman has already decided it’s what she wants. Then they can provide a list of abortion providers.

But as we think about this, let’s consider the bigger question. What is the federal government doing in the family planning business anyway?

The Office of Population Affairs describes, among the activities of its “Family Planning Mission,” offering guidance “to assist individuals in determining the number and spacing of their children.”

Given that this family planning guidance is targeted to low-income Americans, who happen to be disproportionately black, let’s consider what has happened to the black family since the Office of Population Affairs first began.

The budget of the Title X family planning program in 1971 was $6 million. Today, it is $286 million dollars, an increase of fiftyfold. What have we gotten?

In 1970, 38 percent of black babies were born to unwed mothers. Today it is more than 70 percent.

In 1960, 10 years before the program started, 2 percent of black children lived with an unmarried parent. By 2008, 41 percent did.

In 1960, 61 percent of blacks over the age of 18 were married. By 2008, 32 percent were.

I would suggest that government “family planning” is really an insidious, pernicious kind of racism. It’s not about improving the quality of life, but rather it is about discouraging black women, and other poor women, from having children and encouraging them to abort their pregnancies.

The collateral damage has been the collapse of the black family.

This important new HHS proposed rule will take care of the abortion issue.

But we need a broader initiative to get rid of the damaging and wasteful government “family planning” business.

The nation would be better served, particularly at a time of trillion-dollar deficits, to return the $286 million spent on Title X programs to taxpayers.

Black women should be getting their “family planning” guidance from their pastor, not from government bureaucrats.

Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure.org. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM

COMMENTARY BY

Portrait of Star Parker

Star Parker

Star Parker is a columnist for The Daily Signal and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Twitter: .

Dear Readers:

With the recent conservative victories related to tax cuts, the Supreme Court, and other major issues, it is easy to become complacent.

However, the liberal Left is not backing down. They are rallying supporters to advance their agenda, moving this nation further from the vision of our founding fathers.

If we are to continue to bring this nation back to our founding principles of limited government and fiscal conservatism, we need to come together as a group of likeminded conservatives.

This is the mission of The Heritage Foundation. We want to continue to develop and present conservative solutions to the nation’s toughest problems. And we cannot do this alone.

We are looking for a select few conservatives to become a Heritage Foundation member. With your membership, you’ll qualify for all associated benefits and you’ll help keep our nation great for future generations.

ACTIVATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is by  Resolution Productions Blend Images/Newscom.

Canada: Conflicts growing between Indigenous people and refugees

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Diversity is strength alert!

This isn’t supposed to be happening in welcoming Canada!

Aren’t we led to believe that poor and oppressed minority people feel for each other, that there couldn’t possibly be racism when neither side is white European?

“It’s further colonization,” Wirch said of refugee resettlement. “We [Indigenous people] are further being displaced from our lands, from our food, from our waters. And it’s wrong.”

Here is a bit of the story at Refugees Deeply where the author is working really hard to get the message out that the two minority groups (Indigenous people and refugees) are working on their tensions.

CANADA HAS A reputation as a welcoming haven for refugees. But for some Indigenous Canadians, public support and funding for displaced people stands in stark contrast to their own communities, which remain impoverished and overlooked.

Notice how the author immediately has to get a whack in at Donald Trump!

Last year the nation welcomed 300,000 newcomers, including about 43,500 refugees and asylum seekers. Faced with President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies, thousands of migrants have left the United States to seek asylum in Canada.

Many arrived in Manitoba, whose capital Winnipeg has the largest Indigenous population of any Canadian city. The city also faces problems with violence, drugs and homelessness. [So of course it is the perfect place to insert Middle Eastern refugees!—-ed]

Refugees compete with the local low income people for government services. Where have I heard this before?

Screenshot (480)

Indigenous peoples’ leader Jenna Wirch

Refugees in Winnipeg often settle in low-income and predominantly Indigenous neighborhoods. Many of the residents fear they will be forced to compete with their new neighbors for resources that are already scarce.

Last year, a group of Indigenous children pepper-sprayed a group of young refugees outside an Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) housing facility in the mainly Indigenous Centennial neighborhood of Winnipeg.

[….]

Jenna Wirch, 26, an Indigenous woman from Winnipeg and a community development worker at IRCOM, works with both communities. She is also the youth engagement coordinator for Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, an organization working in Winnipeg’s North End.

“It’s further colonization,” Wirch said of refugee resettlement. “We [Indigenous people] are further being displaced from our lands, from our food, from our waters. And it’s wrong.”

Keep reading, there is much more about how this grand experiment in creating a multicultural dream land is not going so well.