Civil War: What you get when one side doesn’t accept the results of a free election
What do you get when one side will not accept the results of a free election?
Texas Moms Demand Action President Charged for Accosting Teen Girls
Not content to let the gun control and hardcore anti-Donald Trump communities’ hateful rhetoric be relegated to the internet, print media, television, and protests, prominent Texas Moms Demand Action President Kellye Burke decided she would take direct action against her political adversaries – by allegedly berating some teenage girls in a bakery. Burke is also a city council member in West University Park Place, Texas.
Kelly Burke
According to a report from Houston’s KPRC, a group of teenage girls were waiting in line at Tiny’s Milk and Cookies to buy some baked goods for their church when Burke happened upon them. Apparently disturbed that one of the teens had decided to exercise her First Amendment right by wearing a “Trump: Make America Great Again” shirt, Burke allegedly began to shout an expletive for a part of the female anatomy at the young girls.
The father of one of the girls told KPRC that the group initially ignored Burke’s aberrant conduct. However, Burke allegedly continued to harass the girls, reportedly shaking her fist and mockingly shouting “MAGA! MAGA! MAGA!”
Demonstrating a level of maturity not present in the council member, the girls reportedly left the bakery without engaging Burke. According to the father, “They were absolutely scared. My little girl essentially wanted to know if this woman was going to hurt her.”
The bizarre encounter was captured on video, which allowed Burke to be identified.
Due to Burke’s position as a city council member, the case is being handled by the Harris County Constable’s Office, who, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, cited Burke for disorderly conduct on Thursday.
Following the citation, Burke released a sarcastic apology through her attorney, Texas super-lawyer Rusty Hardin.
The mother of one of Burke’s alleged victims didn’t appreciate Burke’s sardonic response, stating, “Clearly her ‘apology’ was an attempt to placate very angry parents as opposed to a genuine apology.” Offering Burke some friendly advice, the mother went on to note, “if a t-shirt triggers such strong emotions, one should seek therapy.”
Burke first came to the attention of the gun rights community when she offered false testimony to the Texas Senate’s Committee on State Affairs during a February 12, 2015 hearing on campus Right-to-Carry legislation. Representing Moms Demand Action, Burke told the committee,
We do not know about how, quote responsible [concealed handgun license] holders are because that dataset is not available and is completely locked down. Any statements about how quote responsible and law-abiding CHL’s are is completely anecdotal and therefore conjecture.
In fact, the Texas Department of Public Safety makes detailed statistics concerning conviction rates among CHL holders available to the public, as well as a variety of demographic data that includes CHL revocations.
Burke’s erroneous testimony failed to sway the committee. The State Affairs Committee approved the legislation by a vote of 7 to 2 and campus Right-to-Carry became law on June 13, 2015.
According to an interview with the radical left-wing publication Mother Jones, Burke was driven to support gun control by what she called the “sickness and the callousness” of NRA. Most Americans, and probably an even larger portion of Texans, do not share Burke’s view. A March 2018 Reuter/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans hold a favorable view of NRA. The same cannot be said for Moms Demand Action’s preferred presidential candidate.
Look for the top-down Michael Bloomberg gun control machine to distance itself from Burke following her alleged attempt to dictate the attire and political beliefs of those around her. Then again, why should they? Controlling the legitimate behavior of others is what gun control is all about.
RELATED VIDEO: “If you are a #MAGA, I don’t care if you live or die” – One America News:
6 Crises Where Trump’s Blunt Pro-Americanism Is Working
Diplomacy is often considered the most Genteel and cultured of governmental pursuits. And that can work many times, when done right. But it can also fail miserably, as Winston Churchill clearly understood watching the ever-so-Genteel Neville Chamberlain botch what could have preempted World War II. And it has been failing America over multiple presidential administrations.
Donald Trump is no Winston Churchill in eloquence or knowledge of history or philosophies or alcohol intake, but he has Churchill’s fiery love of country and willingness to speak bluntly outside the nicety circles while carrying a big stick to defend that beloved country. Refreshing and effective.
At the time of his inauguration, Trump inherited at least half a dozen perennial crises that had been allowed to fester through ignorance, incompetence or indifference. He did not have Henry Kissinger skills, but he also was not a John Kerry bungler. He wasn’t a new world order Bushian and he wasn’t an America-meh-whatever Obamaian. In fact, he was a wholly different kind of modern American president, a throwback to Reagan but perhaps much further. And let’s be frank, his developer-TV reality star skill set was unknown in the history of the White House.
But it appears that his blunt pro-Americanism is just what was needed by January 2017. Here are five international crises where it appears that after 14 months with Trump in office, are either promising or measurably better — from America’s point of view.
- In January 2017, the deranged North Korean regime had apparently developed not only newer and more powerful nuclear weapons, but the ability to install those on the tips of missiles that could reach the U.S. West Coast. They were belligerent towards South Korea, Japan and the United States and multiple administrations had failed to move China to reign in their crazy step-child. Genteel diplomacy was an utter failure. No more appeasement. Trump sent aircraft carriers to the seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula, tightened down sanctions and ridiculed Kim Jong Un. He gave the appearance and talk of being willing to use force, something North Korea’s leaders knew previous presidents would not do. And now, North Korea is talking to South Korea in a more conciliatory tone with Kim Jong Un actually crossing into the South for talks while asking to meet with President Trump. Plus, China seems to be actually applying pressure on the North Korean dictatorship. The jury is definitely out still on this nutso regime, but these may be the most promising steps in decades as the leadership recognize they are dealing with a President willing to do more than talk.
- In January 2017, Russia had invaded and occupied the Crimea, invaded and occupied through proxies eastern Ukraine, threatened its tiny Baltic neighbors and re-established itself in Syria and so the Middle East. Genteel diplomacy was not working. (Perhaps actual Obama-Russian collusion was?) The breadth of Russian expansionism during the Obama years was breathtaking. Trump stated a willingness to work with Russia and stroked Putin’s ego. But he also immediately fired on a Syrian government air base that had launched a chemical attack — the Syrian government being allied with Russia — destroying the base. He is strengthening ties with the Ukraine and just met with the Baltic leaders to do the same. He has slapped economic sanctions on Russia and expelled diplomats over poisonings in England, our ally. (Worst Russian puppet ever.) Putin, for the first time perhaps as president, seems a little on his heels and his expansionism has been blunted, at least for the moment.
- In January 2017, speaking of Russian expansionism, NATO countries in Europe had continued to flaunt their promised military defense expenditures. Remember, NATO was formed for the defense of our European allies against Russian aggression in the form of the Soviet Union. For decades, however, they had not been keeping to the agreements on military levels, but instead giving empty lip service to spending more while intending to continue being shielded largely by the American military. Genteel diplomacy was not working. Trump said time was up, pay up or we will rethink the American role in NATO. Given Putin’s ambitions and Trump’s tendency to follow through with threats, Germany, France and others are now actually budgeting more spending on their military.
- In January 2017, China had been feasting on violating trade agreements and stealing American technology. They were forcing American companies to share technology for entry into their market and they were using endless protectionist mechanisms to benefit their manufacturers at the expense of American companies. Previous presidents either did not see this anti Americanism as an issue or just ignored it. Genteel diplomacy had failed. Trump came in with Americanism promises to change it and immediately dumped Pacific Free Trade Agreement (TPP) that seemed very favorable to China and others. He’s now thrown on tariffs and China has responded. However, he knows he has the stronger hand in that China is far more reliant on our imports than we are on theirs — in part because of all their cheating. Jury’s out, because a full trade war is bad for everyone. But that seems unlikely for the pragmatic Chinese leadership.
- In January 2017, Mexico was continuing its decades long policy of urging its least desirable citizens northward across the porous American border. They fought against any tightening on the border and howled about Trump’s “stupid” and “f**king” wall — to quote two former Mexicel diplomacy had failed, if it had even been tried. But Trump saw in this situation what Americans saw and the genteel diplomats did not: Anti Americanism. Despite a fairly open border, ridiculously generous benefits to all those who snuck in illegally, constraining income growth at the low end for Americans and $30 billion exiting our economy annually to head back to Mexico through remittances, both the Mexican government and many illegal aliens and those speaking for them continued to criticize the United States’ policy and people with charges of racism, xenophobia and so on. Americans had had enough. Trump had had enough. So now the military is headed to the border until the wall is built. Mexico is not happy about this, but a lot of Americans are, because a lot support pro Americanism.
- In January 2017, the radical Islamist organization ISIS held large swaths of Syria and Iraq, had declared a caliphate and was spreading terrorism on multiple continents while committing ongoing atrocities against its own population in the vein of Chinese communists, Soviet communists and German Nazis, just a smaller scale. No kind of diplomacy was available with ISIS, but brute force was and the U.S. under Obama had been reluctant to use it. By the end of 2017, they had lost their capital and virtually all of the caliphate. Their holdings in both Iraq and Syria were liberated. This had been very slowly starting to happen in the final years of Obama. But Trump promised to pound ISIS out of existence and followed through by loosening the restraints on the U.S. military, which effectively helped wipe out most of the wicked nest of evil so far in the 21st century.an presidents. Gente
International relations and events are always fluid. It’s difficult to predict the future with any certainty. But it’s clear that Trump’s blunt, pro-Americanism style of diplomacy is having a positive impact on the world and certainly on American prospects. It may not be what will always be needed. But it is what has been needed at least in these six areas.
RELATED ARTICLE: TRUMP WINS: Migrant Caravan Changes Mind After Trump Announces U.S. Forces To Border.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The Revolutionary Act. Join The Revolutionary Act’s YouTube Channel
Contrast Between Pence Family Wisdom And Left Ugliness Is Stark
Marine Lieutenant Mike Pence, Jr. with wife Sarah.
The Pence family is an amazing portrait of wisdom and grace under unrelenting, ugly attacks by leftist activists.
Vice President Mike Pence has been assailed repeatedly for his traditional Christian faith, from believing in God’s involvement in people’s lives to not accepting homosexuality as an equivalent lifestyle worthy of extra protections that heterosexuals do not enjoy. He’s been attacked for the private wedding of his Marine son in October being held at a public park in Indiana and inconveniencing people. Even his high moral standard of not being alone with a woman to prevent temptation to sexual infidelity or even give the appearance of it was roundly mocked — until the #MeToo movement erupted. Then that mockery fell silent.
Through all this hideous behavior by leftists and Democrats, Pence and his family have remained cheerful, loving and wise. And it shows in their children.
Because now comes Charlotte Pence, his daughter, who is proving to be a chip off the ol’ block.
Charlotte wrote a non-political children’s story about the family bunny titled “Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President.” She is donating the proceeds to charities fighting human trafficking and supporting art therapy. It’s just a fun children’s story and was illustrated by her mother, Karen Pence, who it turns out is quite a gifted artist.
But Pence disdain on the left, driven by the gay militant machine that brooks no opposition, could not allow his daughter to just write a lovely, non-political children’s book.
John Oliver, one of several late-night-style talkers who have transformed their platforms into Democrat attack dog kennels, is mocking Charlotte’s book and vilifying her father personally at the same time. So, you know, all class.
Oliver released a copycat book called A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo that makes a pair of rabbits gay as the main characters and, naturally, rants against Pence hating gay people (he doesn’t, by the way). Mocking, virtue signalling, ranting, attacking. The left just doesn’t have much else right now. Even this book. It is ironic, in that rabbits are best known for their reproductive acumen and two males ain’t reproducing anything — except snarkiness.
Oliver’s fans thought he had gone too far however and…haha, I’m joking! No, they went even further. Just applauding the snarker for attacking a politician’s child’s innocent children’s book was not enough. Nor could they just buy his book. No, his fans followed in troll fashion and spammed Charlotte’s Amazon page with one-star reviews. Because, well, that’s the sort of thing that rotten people do.
Fortunately, Charlotte is long acquainted with the hate emanating from the left for people who disagree with them. It is brutal, personal and ugly. (I know this personally.) She handled it all with the kind of grace the troll leaders like Oliver and his minions truly cannot imagine.
She thought his book was great and she lauded him for sending the money to charities, just as she is doing. “I’m fine with it!”
She comes by this affable, generous attitude because of how she was raised.
Charlotte once relayed her dad’s advice to her when protesters (it’s just what liberals do) would be outside their residence chanting things about her dad she knew to be untrue.
Mike Pence simply and beautifully told his daughter: “Charlotte, that’s what freedom looks like.”
As ugly and hurtful as the protest lies were, she realized that protests being allowed against a powerful man meant we still have a great and free country, filled with individual liberties.
The Pences are quite a compare and contrast moment with what else is going on.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The Revolutionary Act. Join The Revolutionary Act’s YouTube Channel
Politics from the Pulpit: Silence is NOT an Option [video]
In February 2017, at his first National Prayer Breakfast address after taking office, President Donald Trump vowed “to get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”
The Johnson Amendment is a provision in the U.S. tax code, since 1954, which reads:
(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
Liberty Council has put together the below video explaining how pastors, priests, rabbis and imams can use their pulpits to address political issues without consequence or loss of their non-profit status.
ABOUT LIBERTY COUNSEL
Liberty Counsel is a Christian ministry that proclaims, advocates, supports, advances, and defends the good news that God in the person of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept him as Lord and Savior. Every ministry and project of Liberty Counsel centers around and is based upon this good news, which is also referred to as the gospel. Liberty Counsel is a corporate expression of Christian believers who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and join together in regular prayer, study of the Bible, praise and worship. Liberty Counsel has a Doctrinal Statement and a Worldview Statement affirmed by every employee, staff member, and person who works for or represents the ministry.
We believe every person is created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that discourse should be civil and respectful. We condemn violence and hatred and do not support any person or group that advocates or promotes violence or hate. Learn more.
VIDEO: Sexism didn’t defeat Hillary Clinton — Wild untruths about emails are why she’s not Madam President
There’s a new book out by Hillary Clinton’s former communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, suggesting that sexism by American voters – not Clinton’s email scandal – was the key factor responsible for Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Palmieri writes in her book – titled “Dear Madam President” – that Clinton couldn’t get out of the email “box” because American voters couldn’t get past their “unease” about a woman seeking power.
In fact, Palmieri goes on to suggest that the Clinton email issue was both trivial and irrelevant – notwithstanding the fact that a Reuters poll just six weeks before the election showed a significant 46 percent of Americans were “very concerned” about that very issue.
In her book, subtitled “An Open Letter To The Women Who Will Run the World” Palmieri writes:
“One thing our campaign was never able to move beyond was the vexing issue of Hillary’s emails … I think it was the unease people felt about Hillary’s motivation as a woman seeking power that made it impossible for us to very fully put this matter to bed. I have weathered a lot of political crises, but never encountered one quite like this. It was a box we could never get out of.” (Emphasis added).
Hillary Clinton’s problem was that many Americans didn’t trust her because she was caught telling untruths – repeatedly – about her email system.
Given Clinton’s recent comments that Trump voters were backwards and women voters were manipulated by men, it is no surprise to see a Clinton adviser attacking American voters rather than suggesting that voters fairly evaluated Clinton based upon her conduct.
Clinton’s problem was that many Americans didn’t trust her because she was caught telling untruths – repeatedly – about her email system. She first told us it was simply a matter of convenience to use her unsecure, non-government email system. That wasn’t true.
Clinton next told us there was no classified information on the email system. That wasn’t true.
Then the Democratic presidential candidate told us she turned over all the government emails that she had. That absolutely was not true.
And the kicker was Clinton’s attempted deletion of over half the emails she supposedly took with her when she left the State Department – 33,000 in total.
On top of that, there is the pay-to-play scandal that Judicial Watch uncovered in August of 2016 that raised further legal issues about Clinton’s conduct as secretary of state.
Palmieri’s suggestion that sexism made it impossible for Clinton to explain her way out of the email scandal insults all voters. The real concern – among male and female voters alike – was about putting someone into high office who had such utter contempt for the rule of law.
Recall that Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination back in 2008 thanks in part to his argument that Bill and Hillary Clinton’s record of corruption would be an albatross during the general election.
Just a few months ago, we disclosed the classified emails from the Clinton email server found on the laptop of Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s scandal-ridden husband, disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. It was one more instance of misconduct in a serial violation of national security laws that would have gotten anyone else arrested.
This “trivial and irrelevant” email scandal resulted in a FBI investigation into whether Clinton was in violation of criminal laws concerning the handling of classified information. She escaped prosecution because of the political intervention of the Obama White House, FBI and Justice Department leadership.
Palmieri’s book shows that Clinton wasn’t the only person on her campaign oblivious to the way people perceived her misconduct. While Palmieri does a poor job of explaining the Clinton email scandal, she does a good job of showing how Clinton’s aides enabled her misbehavior.
‘Ultimate Success America’ Launched to Restore American’s Core Values of ‘Faith, Family & Free Enterprise!’
President Donald J. Trump on January 20th, 2017 during his inaugural address said:
Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.
How can power be transferred from Washington, D.C. and returned to the people?
Our friend and contributor Bill Finley gives each and every American the way to taking back America. In the below video titled “Battle Stations America” Bill lays out the way.
The best way to take back America is to organize for action.
On February 19, 2009, when Rick Santelli, a commentator on the business-news network CNBC, referenced the Boston Tea Party (1773) in his response to former President Barack Obama’s mortgage relief plan. This lead to the creation of the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party.
Nine years later we see the launching of another grassroots movement Ultimate Success America (USA). While the TEA Party was politically based with a focus on the U.S. Constitution and bringing America back to its Founding Fathers vision of government of and by the people, this new movement is based on a higher calling. According to its website Ultimate Success America describes itself as:
[A] Grass Roots Organization of Like Minded Patriotic C4 (Christian, Conservative, Compassionate, Capitalist) Believers.
USA’s founder is Brit Hart a former U.S. Marine and successful American businessman. USA notes:
This last election has shown very clearly that the America Conservatives and Patriots have reached the end of tolerating the Progressive Nonsense of the Liberal Left. Abraham Lincoln said it best: “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.”
As Christian Conservative Americans, we have, in the past decade, witnessed an unprecedented attack on our Core Values and Godly Heritage. An Anti-God, Anti-America spirit has infiltrated every level of our Government and plagued our Educational System, attempting to redefine America by overturning cultural and societal norms. It is time for “We the People” to Unite, Band together and Rise Up in order to Shake off the existing regime and help Restore this Nation to its former glory. It is imperative that we understand the gravity of this time and how we must work together to Secure and Restore our precious Heritage.
When our Nation’s Founding Fathers gave us the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they had to lean upon a common understanding of Law, Government, Social Order and Morality. That Understanding sprang from the common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic. That is the System of Moral and Social Values that originates in the Old and the New Testaments in the Word of God. It is these very Moral and Social Values that we find ourselves fighting to preserve today.
There is a Clear and Honorable Pathway that any generation of Americans can use to protect that which is Right and Change that which is Wrong within our Nation:
Pray – Process – Participate – Persevere
USA warns:
Make no Mistake About it: We are engaged in a Spiritual Battle that threatens our Country, our Families and our very existence as Americans. Only God’s Intervention will return America to Solid Footing and Restore a moral nation that will Exalt Righteousness. As Believers in Christ, we have His call to be “Salt and Light” to the world (Matt. 5:13-16). We must take seriously our responsibility to put God first, not only in our homes but also in our National Affairs. It is to this end that Ultimate Success America was purposed and envisioned.
USA is dedicated to more than just Making America Great Again. It’s ministry is to win the cultural and spiritual battle for the heart and soul of America. USA, USA, USA is more than three simple letters that have been shouted out across America at rallies and in the halls of Congress.
The founder of USA Brit Hart believes, “All it takes for Evil to Prosper is for Good people to do Nothing… Let’s get this fire started and let it spread…Lets UNITE our Base – Lets Stand in the Gap for our beloved Values, and Lets Activate as Christian Conservative Compassionate Capitalists (C4s) in Taking Back the USA. We are an Organization that is made up of people who are Proud to be Americans. Join us… Get involved and Lets Display the “A” across this Great Land.”
The USA must stand for something or it’s citizens will fall for anything.
Please Click Here to Join USA!
7 Reasons Why The 2018 Midterm Elections May NOT Be A Blue Wave
This is not a rose-colored view. The midterm elections are going to be dicey for Republicans in the House. Virtually all of modern American history, regardless of party i power, demonstrates this. Yes, the GOP could definitely lose the House.
First, here are the numbers suggesting GOP vulnerability in the House. In 16 out of 18 post-WWII midterms, the president’s party has lost House seats. Importantly, the average loss for the president’s party is 25 House seats. The Republicans currently have a 23-seat majority.
However, there is a counter case to the media narrative that muddies the electoral waters in a way not normally seen. This is pure political analysis, and things could change. Certainly some of the recent election losses are serious red flags.
First a quick look at the two exceptions to the postwar rule on midterm elections. In 1998 under President Clinton, Democrats picked up five seats. That was a second term president and a booming economy — which is relevant based on the case below. The other exception was in 2002 under President Bush, when Republicans picked up six seats in the House.
Both of those presidents had very high approval ratings; 66 percent for Clinton in a very strong economy and 63 percent for Bush, but we were a nation at war, just a year after the 9-11 attacks and Americans rally behind the president during times of war. In this Gallup chart, you can see how the midterm elections track generally with the president’s approval rating. President Trump’s Gallup approval rating is 39 percent. Reagan’s was 42 percent during his first midterm, and the GOP lost 28 seats.
So just by the numbers, it looks pretty bad for Republicans. And it may be. But numbers are usually driven by underlying factors — which is why Clinton in 1998 and Bush in 2002 bucked the overarching trend.
So let’s look at some of those underlying issues. There are at least seven fairly major areas affecting Americans that should be favorable for the President in power in a midterm election. Here they are in probable order of importance in November.
1) The Economy. Whether measured by GDP growth or job growth or unemployment rates, the American economy is perhaps the strongest it has been this century. This is a pocketbook issue and has always electorally benefitted the party in power. (Clinton in 1998.)
2) Tax Cuts. The tax reform package is putting more money in people’s pockets. It’s as if the GOP Congress and President Trump gave Americans a pay raise. This also is a very positive pocketbook issue. (Bush in 2002, from the 2001 tax cuts and, as stated, the 9-11 attacks.)
3) Obamacare rollbacks. More freedom for millions of Americans who will not be penalized for not buying a product that their betters in Washington were forcing them to buy. Again, a positive pocketbook issue, in addition to a liberty issue.
4) Deregulation. This has been going on steadily through the White House, freeing American corporations to be more competitive and provide more affordable products and services for Americans. This is the hidden gem because it is largely unreported, but it helps tens of thousands of companies and their employees, and will continue to benefit the economy.
5) Jobs and Manufacturing Jobs. President Obama said of declining manufacturing jobs that those are gone and they’re never coming back. Under Trump, American companies have added 222,000 manufacturing jobs in the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Obama was wrong, because Democrats have the wrong policies. This can matter in blue collar purple districts.
6) North Korea. For the first time, North Korea’s psycho leader is talking seriously to South Korea and reached out to meet with an American president. This may still tank given the brutal regime’s history, but just getting this far without giving in to extortion as previous administrations did is an accomplishment. It’s not a big electoral needle-mover, but it doesn’t hurt. Improving Trump’s approval rating could translate into House wins.
7) Hammering Putin and Russia. Despite all the Trump-Russia collusion nonsense, for which there is stil l no evidence at all, Trump has been considerably harder on Russia than Obama, who openly colluded with Russia during his 2012 re-election campaign. He’s bombed Russian allies, extended military cooperation with our Eastern European allies facing Russia and has slapped sanctions on Russia for meddling in 2016.
As demonstrated, several of these mitigating factors have played a role in the two midterm exceptions. They will play a role in this year’s also. Whether they are enough to offset the momentum and excitement of Democrat wins in 2017 and the most recent in Pennsylvania, only time will tell.
The wild card remains, of course, President Trump — his mannerisms that turn off a percentage of Americans who otherwise agree with this policies, if they are aware of them — and whether he will modify those mannerisms. Based on the underlying attitude of people thinking the nation is going in the right direction, it is probably Trump’s mannerisms and the daily drumbeat of negativity in the media that is driving down his approvals.
The media definitely won’t change. Trump probably won’t change them much. However, he already has dialed back the little side-fighting tweet wars with celebrities, athletes and other knuckleheads.
One last wild card is the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. If Mueller finds real corruption in the Trump campaign, then a blue wave is assured. But that is seemingly not going to happen. If Mueller finds nothing more on Trump and Russia, or even pivots toward Clinton and the Democrats, that could blunt a lot of Democrat momentum.
Either way, it seems clear that a blue wave is not assured at this point — Democrat fundraising letters and media reports notwithstanding.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in The Revolutionary Act. Please visit The Revolutionary Act’s YouTube Channel.
Why Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Censor the Fifth Estate
The Fifth Estate is defined as:
A socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media or “social license.”
According to Wikipedia:
William Dutton has argued that the Fifth Estate is not simply the blogging community, nor an extension of the media, but ‘networked individuals’ enabled by the Internet, i.e. social media, in ways that can hold the other estates accountable.
Holding the “other estates” accountable
The other estates are the President of the United States, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. judiciary and the U.S. media. The Fifth Estate has now become a trusted agent to hold the other estates accountable.
The media used to be the Fourth (and last) Estate. With the growing distrust of the media, a new outlet was launched know as the Internet. The first “blog” was Links.net created by Justin Hall, a Swarthmore College student, in 1994. It was from this DNA the contemporary Fifth Estate was conceived. And grow it did!
Link.net gave rise to social media sites designed to provide friends the opportunity to share information with friends. This sharing began with the building of personal relationships, to the growth of like minded friends of a socio-cultural/ political nature. Today, every political party, social group and religious ideology are on social media. Social media is the equivalent of the old printing press but more powerful. It is more powerful because the friend to friend trust level is higher than the trust level between social media sites and the other estates.
Hence the threat of the Fifth Estate has grown exponentially.
The major social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Pinerest) have realized that the growth of the Fifth Estate is a threat to them and their socio-cultural/political narrative. These bloggers, known as citizen journalists with traditional “outlier viewpoints”, are a direct threat to them and those socio-cultural causes that they support. Therefore, these social media sites, led by Facebook, are “shadow banning” certain view socio-cultural/political points using the rationale that they “violate their socio-cultural community standards” or are considered socio-cultural “hate speech.”
When did censorship of the Fifth Estate begin?
It is difficult to determine exactly when the social media sites decided to begin restricting the freedom of friends to share ideas with friends. Perhaps it began when WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg joined forces to become watchdogs over actions of the privileged and powerful.
What is clear is that since the election of President Donald J. Trump the censorship on the Fifth Estate has increased dramatically.
Why is the Fifth Estate being censored?
Rod Thomson gives two simple reasons why the Fifth Estate is being censored.
• Government Knows Best. The instinct of liberals is that government is the best institution for solving societal woes. Not the family. Not the church. Not community organizations. Government. This, of course, is the antithesis of the thinking of the founders and framers of the nation, who saw the government as the single biggest threat to a society made up of individuals.
That’s why socialism is such a cozy fit for a progressive liberal: Benevolent government, run by the smartest among us, owning and distributing society’s wealth and making all the big decisions, is surely far better than selfish capitalists and ignorant masses making those decisions in chaos.
If you prefer central government decision-making over individual liberties — which is not the words, but most certainly the practice on the Left today — then of course you are hardly going to be in favor of uncontrolled speech by the masses.
• Liberal Ideas Don’t Win Arguments. This is going to trip some triggers — so perhaps a trigger warning is in order — but liberalism generally builds its belief structure on emotions, not on rational, data-driven, science-grounded arguments. This is why contradictions and inconsistencies are so common, and why liberals are so quick to resort to demonstrations and protests with signs and placards — those can capture emotional sentiments much better than reasoned arguments.
Censorship has become weaponized. The Fifth Estate is working to expose those who use censorship in a country where freedom of speech is held near and dear. Tyrants use censorship to silence their enemies. Those who use censorship are working to destroy our Constitutional Republican form of government. They don’t want to be held accountable.
RELATED ARTICLE: 2 Simple Reasons Why The American Left Instinctively Seeks Censorship
VIDEO: House Intelligence Committee Democrats responsible for ‘over 100 leaks’ to the media
Jessie Waters interviewed U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) about closing down their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. During the interview (see below video) Rep. Nunes states:
Jesse Watters: Congressman Schiff has been accused of leaking a lot. Have you found that to be true?
Devin Nunes: Well we have over 100 leaks from our committee. Over 100 leaks that didn’t come from the Republican side. So it had to come from the Democratic side. We can’t pin it on a particular member or staff but there’s over 100.
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Votem joins with Department of Homeland Security to Stop Election Fraud
CLEVELAND, Ohio /PRNewswire/ — Votem is proud to announce its participation in the Department of Homeland Security’s Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) for the Election Infrastructure Subsector. The Council, which is a cooperative effort between the DHS, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), The National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), and state and local election officials, will facilitate joint engagement between public and private entities to coordinate efforts to make voting the United States’ voting infrastructure as secure as possible.
The SCC will also be comprised of private sector companies, including Votem, that have an interest in making American elections more secure and threat-resistant. Votem is joined in the council by 23 other companies, ranging from elections providers to major publications, that have a stake in the success and betterment of domestic elections.
Votem’s membership on the SCC will offer the company the unique opportunity to weigh in on the most prescient security issues facing the U.S.’s election infrastructure, including questions of how to prevent meddling in the upcoming 2018 Midterms.
“Votem is honored to be a founding member of the Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) which was formed to defend the U.S. elections infrastructure. We believe that the SCC, in conjunction with the Government Coordinating Council (GCC), will help usher in an era of unprecedented security in our elections.” – Votem CEO Pete Martin
About Votem
Votem is a blockchain mobile voting platform enabling citizens around the world to easily vote online with a level of verifiability, accessibility, security and transparency that does not currently exist. Founded in 2014 by CEO, Pete Martin, Votem’s mission is to change the way people vote and believes that mobile voting will lead to positive change in the world by providing voters with complete transparency, thus shaping the future of democracy. Having conducted nine elections for both private and public clients, Votem has received praise and accolades from various institutions including the Cleveland Technology Awards and OHTech Best of Tech Awards.
The mobile voting platform is in its public pre-sale of Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) for its VAST tokens that is currently only open to accredited investors. The public pre-sale is scheduled to close on March 29th,2018.
Did the Republicans really blow it in Pennsylvania?
I recognize the election for the House seat in Pennsylvania’s District 18 hasn’t been certified, but I’ve been sifting through the vote data produced thus far:
Source: New York Times
It seems rather obvious to me that the real person who cost Rick Saccone votes was Libertarian Drew Miller.
Here is another example of how people waste their votes and open the door for an opposing party. Had the Miller votes gone to Saccone, he would have won hands down. Instead, they have put a Democrat in the driver’s seat.
The other thing I’m having a problem with is how the press claims Donald Trump won District 18 handily in 2016. To quote the New York Times,
“In 2016, Mr. Trump won the district by double digits, but the race between Conor Lamb, a moderate Democrat, and Rick Saccone, a Republican, had become unexpectedly competitive.”
I would like to know where they got their data to make this claim. I’ve searched the Internet high and low looking for such data, including Pennsylvania’s Board of Elections and a variety of media sources, none of which report results based on District, only by counties. District 18 consists of the following counties:
Source: Politico
The problem here, unfortunately, is only a portion of Allegheny County is in District 18, not the whole county, thereby muddying the waters as to who actually won the district.
In other words, I am skeptical of the media when they claim Mr. Trump won by double digits. Prove it.
According to the County records, Mrs. Clinton won the area handily, and if we compare the data to yesterday’s votes, the Republicans actually made a good showing.
So why would the main stream media, make such a claim?
Could it be they are suggesting the Democrats have a ground-swell of support coming in November, or a “Blue Tide rising”? That would imply there is collusion between the Democrats and the news media. “Collusion” – whoops, there is that word again. Oh my.
Keep the Faith!
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EDITORS NOTE: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Candidate for Los Angeles County Sheriff Supports 2nd Amendment, wants politics out of law enforcement
LOS ANGELES, CA /PRNewswire/ — Bob Lindsey, a thirty-two-year veteran and honorably retired Commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, announced his 2018 Campaign for Sheriff of Los Angeles County last year. While he has indicated some of his positions on the campaign trail, Candidate Lindsey has decided to restate and clarify several of his positions on key issues relevant to county citizens who will vote in the primary scheduled for June 5, 2018. He’s running on the principal position of, “Let’s get politics out of law enforcement.”
Lindsey says, “By the Sheriff’s Department’s own records, during the last five years, some crimes have increased dramatically1. I feel the Sheriff’s Department’s morale has significantly declined, and for the first time in more than twenty years, the Department’s budget is imbalanced, with the county facing an unprecedented more than $200 million deficit. I intend to resolve these issues and many more.”
Bob Lindsey is an advocate for the Second Amendment, a constitutional right that protects citizens from crime, and tyranny in government by allowing citizens the right to bear arms to protect themselves under times of duress. He says, “There’s a reason our forefathers made the right to bear arms the Second Amendment versus the hundredth. While I am not an advocate of violence, unlawful use of firearms, or terrorism of any kind, I stand behind this amendment because it provides freedom of choice, balance of power, and a commitment to preservation of our total society, not just its parts.”
States that allow non-criminal, mentally stable citizens the right to bear arms through lawful CCW [legal concealed carry license] issuance have significantly lower crime rates2. “If an assailant knows it is possible citizens are carrying guns he or she is much less likely to pursue the crime,” Lindsey says. “Continuing to deny law-abiding citizens access to exercise this inalienable right only serves to undermine the principles of democracy and the labor, foresight, and ingenuity of our forefathers. The national crisis within schools across America suggests a need for programs that equip educators with the resources, training, and skills necessary to protect themselves and our students in hostile environments where they might otherwise perish.”
Candidate Lindsey also plans to implement fair and equitable law-enforcement practices for businesses irrespective of industry. California legalized medical cannabis back in 1996. As of January 1st, 2018 California legalized adult recreational use of cannabis. According to Lindsey, “Legal cannabis businesses and collectives are currently subject to discrimination, lack of support, and push-back from the Sheriff’s Department. I advocate that the Department must instead act in partnership with the cannabis industry and support the establishment of standards and regulations to serve and protect under the guidelines and mutual covenants agreed upon by all.”
Bob Lindsey is prepared to restore trust by bridging the gap between law enforcement, government, underserved communities, businesses, industries, and the public. “It sickens me to witness the current administration’s lack of commitment in upholding sworn responsibility by instead pursuing private agendas that breach public trust,” said Lindsey. Los Angeles County is home to 10.2 million residents. He concludes, “We must return power to the people and cannot run the risk of leaving the safety of ourselves and our families in the hands of irresponsible leadership.” Bob Lindsey was born and raised in Los Angeles and is committed to preserving it by serving the diverse people that color and breathe life into its landscape.
Bob Lindsey welcomes and encourages the public to join him in his campaign. Please visit:
https://sheriffboblindsey.com
https://www.facebook.com/BobForLASheriff/
https://twitter.com/BobForLASheriff (this is listed incorrectly on his media kit)
https://www.instagram.com/bobforlasheriff/
https://www.youtube.com/c/BobLindseyForLosAngelesCountySheriff
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EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of Bob Lindsey, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department commander. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Revolutionary Approach to GOTV Provides 25% Increase in Voters
LOUISVILLE, Ky., March 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — In 1980, the English new wave band The Bugglesreleased their iconic song “Video Killed the Radio Star” in the height of the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The hit track celebrated the evolution of a newer technology over its obsolete predecessor. At a time when Russian hacking and political influence has us questioning how to get better informed Americans to the polls, a unique technology firm is turning politics on its head – and everyone in the world of political campaigns is taking notice.
A firm known as ‘El Toro‘ out of Louisville, Kentucky is revolutionizing programmatic media through its patented approach of matching physical addresses to IP addresses, allowing clients to effectively target voters in their homes and on their devices where they live. While campaign hacks debate whether or not political television ads are dead, is this new technology the silver bullet to actually kill this campaign dinosaur? The results of this case study might certainly lead you to that conclusion.
In this real-life scenario, the client was a municipal organization in a southwest Ohio county. The campaign, managed by the Ohio firm Burges & Burges Strategists, had identified a group of high fidelity voters who had a 72.77% likelihood to vote – those who had voted in 2 or more of the last 4 similar elections – and launched a get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign aiding a ballot measure on behalf of Ohio’s Montgomery County Health & Human Services. So dire was the need for a win, its very success would secure the continuation of numerous programs serving tens of thousands of citizens with developmental disabilities, homebound seniors, and children in foster care – as well as helping the county fight infectious diseases and drug abuse.
The County needed to increase their specifically targeted voter turnout for a ballot measure in order for voters to reauthorize a $55 million tax levy – at a time when tax issues were historically unpopular. El Toro needed to heavily target the County’s high-fidelity voters and influence them to vote in favor of the measure.
El Toro’s Approach
Nearly 108,000 homes were identified as part of the voter segment. These voter homes were split into two groups: a control group which consisted of about 45,500 voters and a targeted group which was approximately 62, 500. The target group was delivered 2.2 million display and video advertisements during the four weeks leading up to election day. The control group did not receive any IP-targeted ads.
Campaign Results
The target group had an incredible 91% election turnout compared to the control group turnout of 73%. This 18-point, or 25% increase, in turnout was made possible by using precise digital political targeting. At a cost of less than $4 for each of the 11,500 incremental votes received, these results were 14.5-times more cost effective than the expected cost per incremental vote (Stratmann). “From my observation and study of these methods, delivering messages to voters with such razor-sharp precision and effectiveness has never been easier,” said University of Louisville political science professor Jason Gainous, Ph.D. “El Toro might have possibly cracked the code.”
So successful was the campaign, Burges & Burges has submitted the GOTV strategy results to the American Association for Political Consultants (AAPC) for their 2018 annual Pollie Awards. “The dramatic influence in critical GOTV voter turnout was impressive,” said Dorigen Cowling, Senior Consultant at Burges & Burges. “El Toro really bowled us over with their incredible results, and our client couldn’t be happier with their success.”
So confident is El Toro about delivering similar results for other political and issue campaigns, they are offering a money-back guarantee for any GOTV campaign of over $100,000. If El Toro doesn’t increase turnout among targeted voters by at least 5%, they’ll give 50 percent of the total spend back to the campaign. That’s confidence you can take to the bank – or better yet, to the polls.
About El Toro
El Toro is revolutionizing programmatic media through its patented approach of matching physical addresses to IP addresses, allowing clients to effectively target consumers. The El Toro system is 100% cookie-free and its proprietary approach connects with real people at an unparalleled accuracy, eliminating ad fraud. With a 95% or greater confidence level, El Toro is the premier choice for digital advertising. Information on El Toro’s money-back guarantee can be found at http://www.eltoro.com/political-guarantee-lander/.
VIDEO: What Trump Meeting With Kim Jong Un Says About Trump’s North Korea Strategy
The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano appeared on Fox News early Friday to discuss with anchor Heather Childers the announcement that President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in May. Watch the video or read this lightly edited transcript of that conversation.
Heather Childers: Well, here now to react, senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation and foreign policy expert James Carafano. Thank you so much for joining us this morning on this, really, the heels of this amazing news last night. What did you think when it first came out?
James Carafano: I thought it was predictable. We know a couple of things about Trump. One, is we know he likes to meet with leaders, particularly his competitors, and size them up. It’s a Trumpian thing he does.
We also know he’s actually really good at these meetings. He’s had many of them, and he actually does very, very well.
And most importantly, what this shows is what a lot of us have been saying all along: This was not a crisis spinning out of control. The United States wasn’t getting ready to pre-emptively attack North Korea. That maximum pressure, it was the right policy, and the president was right to stick with it.
Childers: Yeah, and that’s what is interesting, one of many things, talking about how people were just going the complete opposite direction. Let’s take a look at this timeline from North Korea and the launch they’ve had in some of their nuclear tests. Going from Feb. 12 in 2017, that was their first test during President Trump’s administration. Then, their last was on Nov. 28, 2017. That was their last [intercontinental ballistic missile] test. People said, people that are against President Trump, said that he is driving us straight towards war, and now we have this.
Carafano: Yeah, well, it’s cause they’re idiots. Look, I mean, the reality is maximum pressure is exactly the right strategy. Missile deterrence, nuclear deterrence, conventional deterrence with our allies, heavy sanctioning, these keep Kim from becoming a more serious threat.
Now, I think we have to be honest. We don’t know why Kim does what he does. Maximum pressure’s a strategy to keep him from being a threat. It doesn’t necessarily drive how he chooses to negotiate. So, we don’t know where this is going, but I think the critics have basically just reflexively attacked the administration for saying, “Well, they’ve absolutely no idea what they’re doing.” I mean, they really ought to start having second thoughts.
Childers: South Korea’s national security adviser in the announcement [Thursday], he gave President Trump credit for the maximum pressure, the increased sanctions. Do you think people here in our country will do the same?
Carafano: Well, again, I don’t know what drove Kim to do this. Here’s what that announcement by the South Korean leader shows. President Trump has done a tremendous job binding the alliance of U.S., Japan, and South Korea in holding a stiff face to North Korea. That is an accomplishment of the United States and an accomplishment of the statesman, and he ought to get credit for that.
Childers: Well, no sitting U.S. president, from what I understand, has ever met a North Korean president. This is the first world leader that Kim Jong Un will have met at all. Now, he hasn’t traveled outside of North Korea. Where do you think that they’ll have this meeting?
Carafano: Well, the logical place to have it would be in the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. I was actually stationed in Korea when I was in the Army, drove up there, saw the demilitarized zone. It’s the only logical place. It’s unlikely that Kim would want to leave the country. It’s also incredibly unlikely the United States would want to go to Pyongyang. So, that would be my guess.
Childers: Yeah, and definitely still taking precautions. As Griff Jenkins was just telling us, the president tweeting out [Thursday] that they will also have this missile freeze during this time period until May when they have this meeting. Hopefully, it does happen.
Carafano: The most important thing is that the U.S. policy and strategy is maximum pressure stays in place until North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat to the United States or its allies.
Childers: Yeah, I mean, just give it a chance. The people already last night, some of the people against President Trump saying, “There’s no way that he will be prepared to have this meeting.” Give it a chance.
Carafano: They’re just yahoos.
Childers: Yeah, all right, James, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
COMMENTARY BY
Video Team
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