The Hydra of Jihad

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There are some good-hearted, non-Muslim tolerant people who tend to overlook all the terrible things that Islam perpetrates and point to some of its good teachings. These folks contend that the world should direct its effort not to combat Islam, but at those individuals and groups that commit heinous acts in the name of Islam.

There are others who disagree with this benign approach. This latter group sees all the so-called aberrations as inherent and part and parcel of Islam. They believe that it is Islam that actively promotes and is terribly out of sync with the best interests of the 21st century world.

They contend that Islam may have served the primitive Arab people of fourteen centuries ago. But by breaking out of its cradle and morphing into a world dominant crusade that has inflicted incalculable harm to its victims as well as those who ended up in its fold.

For now, Islam can be thought of as a stagnant body of water. Over the years, the body of water has become greatly polluted to a point that it has become a breeding medium for all kinds of death-bearing insects such as the ‘West Nile Disease’ mosquitoes.

Humanity has suffered horrific wars in the past. Yet, the present multi-form and multi-front war waged by Islamists has the potential to inflict more suffering and destruction of more lives than ever before. Ruthless Islamic forces advance rapidly in their conquests while those of freedom acquiesce and retreat. Before long, Islam is poised to achieve its Allah-mandated goal to cleanse the earth of all non-Muslims through ‘grand Jihad’ and establish the Islamic Ummah.

The counter-jihadists struggle with jihadist is like Hercules’ epic combat with the multi-headed Hydra-monster. You slay one jihadi, two more appear in no time. It makes you wonder if we are ever able to eradicate jihadists for good!

“Bin Laden is Killed,” headlines blanketed the world, a few days ago. Many rejoiced and felt justice was served while a few mourned the mass murderer’s demise. Celebration and mourning aside, the fact is that the death of one demon does not mark the end of the evil of Islamism. In the same way that it is the nature of swamps to breed mosquitoes, Islam is the incubator of jihadist mass murderers. It never ends.

Jihadists have searched the scripture and selectively choose those statements and precedents that they do use to legitimize their violent and primitive agenda. Jihadists, for instance, claim that the Quran itself urges them to make jihad, “jahedoo fee sabeil-u-llah,” (make jihad for the cause of Allah.) The word “jihad” has at least two vastly different meanings. It means exertion. It also stands for making war, and it is the latter that jihadists invoke as their mandate.

“Jihad in the path of Allah is greater than any individual or organization. It is a struggle between Truth and Falsehood, until Allah Almighty inherits the earth and those who live in it. Mullah Muhammad Omar and Sheikh Osama bin Laden—may Allah protect them from all evil—are merely two soldiers of Islam in the journey of jihad, while the struggle between Truth [Islam] and Falsehood [non-Islam] transcends time “(The Al Qaeda Reader, p.182, emphasis added).

While so-called silent Muslims generally ignore jihadists, either out of fear, lack of organization, or apathy, Islamists work around the clock and around the world to further their agenda. Hardly a week passes without a Grand Mufti or an Ayatollah who issues pronouncements in support of extremist Islam. The rank-and-file Islamist clergy, for their part, transmit these fatwas and edicts to their flock at mosques and hammer them into the minds of impressionable children in madrassahs. Through this grassroots process, Islam is recruiting greater and greater numbers of adherents. On the one hand, Islamists engage in acts of violence to disrupt the function of societies, while on the other they cleverly exploit the freedom they enjoy in non-Islamic lands to subvert them from within.

After 1400 years, Islam is still on a campaign of conquest throughout the known world. Hordes of life-in-hand foot-soldier fanatical Muslims strive to kill and get killed. All they want is the opportunity to discharge their homicidal-suicidal impulse, on their way to Allah’s promised glorious afterlife. And in the background, granting the foot-soldiers’ wishes, are their handlers, the puppeteers, who pull the strings and detonate these human bombs.

Those who cherish life must recognize these emissaries of death, what makes them, what motivates them, and how best to defend against them. The campaign of death waged by these Islamic jihadists, be he a puppet or a puppeteer, is energized by the belief of delectable rewards that await the faithful implementer of Allah’s dictates.

Through a highly effective indoctrination, the jihadist has come to believe firmly in Islam’s absolute delusion. He believes that Allah is the one and only supreme creator of the heavens and the Earth; that it is his duty and privilege, to abide by Allah’s will and carry out his plans at all costs. He believes firmly in a gloriously wonderful immortal afterlife in paradise, for which a martyr’s death is the surest quickest admission. Although the dominant theme of the delusion is quasi-spiritual, the promised rewards of the afterlife awaiting the martyr are sensual and material. Civilized people must come to terms and accept the reality that orthodox Islam requires endless jihad!

One Osama is dead. More Osama are in the wings. The enemy is relentless. The free people must wage an unceasing battle against this menace of Islamism through massive education and by any other means to preserve humanity’s most prized possession—liberty.

UN poised to launch global ban on speech that insults Muslims

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Sharia-adherent nations have long “sought a determination from the United Nations that any criticism of Islam or Muslims is ‘Islamophobia’ and banned globally.’”

But somehow Westerners still generally refuse to acknowledge the real meaning and intent of the concept of “Islamophobia.” In short, it’s intended to promote the supremacy of the Sharia by discrediting and silencing critics of Islam. The UN declared its intention to become closer with the OIC years ago, and it has happened. Now:

Nations belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other governments adhering to Shariah law across the world are ramping up their new campaign with the United Nations to prohibit all speech that Muslims consider offensive.

This aggressive campaign is the logical next step following years of appeasement, thanks to politically correct Western leaders. There have been enough warnings. Now, the final stage for Western subjugation has arrived, and the more Westerners fight for their own right to the freedom of speech, the more aggressive the “Islamophobia” brigade will become, particularly in light of the fact that they have come this far through bullying, intimidation, deceit and manipulation. They’re not about to surrender now, as they have been encouraged by too many Western dhimmis surrendering to them.

Pakistan Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi incited more support to silence any opposition to Islam and its adherents – including speech condemning Islam for its scriptural inciting of terrorists to conduct jihad (holy war) on “infidels.”

Mainstream Muslim groups in the West share the message of Lodhi and routinely persecute those who call out the truth about Islam. Lodhi stated a common message which is now embraced across the West in describing the so-called consequences of those who offend Islam:

“An inevitable consequence is to fan the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia”

An “inclusive political process for durable peace”  by rejecting “Islamophobia” is what Lodhi — and other stealth jihadists who are promoting the Sharia — have duped Westerners into believing as they promote Islamic anti-blasphemy laws.

“UN poised to launch global ban on all criticism of Islam,” by Michael F. Haverluck, One News Now, June 23, 2019:

Nations belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other governments adhering to Shariah law across the world are ramping up their new campaign with the United Nations to prohibit all speech that Muslims consider offensive.

“Islamist nations … long have sought a determination from the United Nations that any criticism of Islam or Muslims is ‘Islamophobia’ and banned globally,’” WND reported, noting that with 57 members, the OIC represents the largest voting bloc in the U.N. “But each time it has come up for a vote, more realistic arguments prevailed and the campaign never was legitimized.”

Pakistan putting on the pressure
After U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled the new “U.N. Strategy and Plan of Action” to fight so-called “hate speech” at a special meeting in the packed Economic and Social (ECOSOC) chamber, Pakistan Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi incited more support to silence any opposition to Islam and its adherents – including speech condemning Islam for its scriptural inciting of terrorists to conduct jihad (holy war) on “infidels.”

An inevitable consequence is to fan the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia,” Lodhi proclaimed before ambassadors, senior diplomats and high-ranking U.N. officials, as quoted in a press release, according to MSN. “My Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently again called for urgent action to counter Islamophobia, which is today the most prevalent expression of racism and hatred against ‘the other.’”

RELATED ARTICLES:

Canada: Trudeau calls for “Conservative Muslims” to help Conservative Party cure “Islamophobia”

Boris Johnson Impressed with Israel, Thinks Islam Leaves Much to be Desired

Arizona: Muslim teen who threw rocks and brandished knife at cop had disseminated jihad propaganda

Canada: Immigration minister seeks to “massively ramp up” refugee intake

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Fact-Checkers Of Trump’s Orlando Speech Show AOC-Level Ineptitude

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A PolitiFact fact-check of President Trump’s campaign launch last week in Orlando that was run in newspapers nationwide went horribly, embarrassingly, laughably wrong on the one count in which they ruled Trump was “wrong.”

PolitiFact did their usual number after Trump’s speech, supposedly fact-checking the President. In it, there are assumptions made that highlight the normal bias.

But the only fact-checked statement these intrepid journalists ruled as “wrong” — they got totally wrong.

Here’s what PolitiFact wrote that Trump got wrong:

(We passed) “the biggest tax cut in history.”
Wrong.
Trump often repeats this point, but three tax cuts were larger. In inflation-corrected dollars, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 cut $321 billion per year. The Tax Relief Act of 2010 cut them by $210 billion per year. And the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 reduced taxes by $208 billion a year.

The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act cut taxes by $150 billion a year.

You, like me, might be shocked to find out that Obama signed much larger tax cuts during his administration. Twice! Seems like that would have been pretty big news — and pretty out of character. But a quick google of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 finds the details at Investopedia.

The truth? Neither was a tax cut.

They were both a continuation of the Bush tax cuts that were set to expire. So if they had expired and the tax rates reverted to their higher levels, it would have been a tax increase. But they did not. This supposed “tax cut” actually did nothing more than keep taxes at the exact same level as they were.

Maintaining tax rates at the same rate is definitionally not a tax cut. Unless, that is, you are simply trying to make the President look like he was wrong.

Further, this supposed “tax cut” that is the American Taxpayer Relief Act actually raised taxes.

ATRA’s passage prevented the expiration of most of the major tax cuts enacted between 2001 and 2010. It made permanent the tax savings included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. ATRA extended through 2017 the tax cuts built into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009. Along with these extended tax cuts, ATRA raised payroll taxes for many Americans and reversed cuts for the highest earners that had been passed with the support of the George W. Bush administration.

Well, what about The Tax Relief Act of 2010, which cut taxes by $210 billion per year as PolitiFact’s claims?

Nope. Same thing. According to Wikipedia, it extended the tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 for two years.

The Act centers on a temporary, two-year reprieve from the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), together known as the “Bush tax cuts.” Income taxes would have returned to Clinton administration-era rates in 2011 had Congress not passed this law.

So this “tax cut” also merely kept the Bush tax cuts in place for two years. It did not cut taxes. In fact, this mere two-year reprieve of the taxes being increased is what led to the 2012 one above.

Both of them kept rates the same. They did not cut taxes.

The Reagan tax cuts might have been higher, it’s hard to find firm, inflation-adjusted numbers there. But the last line in PolitiFact has the most interesting twist.

Did the Trump tax cuts actually only cut $150 billion? I could not find that number and PolitiFact did not cite it or provide a link — which is pretty sloppy for a fact-checking outfit. I did, however, find plenty of much higher numbers by liberal outfits painting the picture of how irresponsible the tax cuts were.

One of those, the Tax Policy Center, said the tax cuts amounted to $275 billion — much more than expected. Of course, they were making the case then that the tax cuts were not paying for themselves as the GOP had promised, so the much higher number was convenient for that.

So it looks like on every, single element of their conclusion that Trump was wrong on the tax cuts, they were wrong.

But we should totally trust PolitiFact.

EDITORS NOTE: This Revolutionary Act column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Reparations: Democrats Scam and Insult Blacks Again

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A congressional hearing was held on a bill to study reparations for blacks as payback for slavery. Reparations is simply another worm Democrat presidential candidates will put on the hook of their fishing rods to catch black votes.

I am a black man who is proud, grateful and understands how blessed I am to be born an American. My response to the Democrats’ reparations scam is, “Please stop!”. Please stop telling black Americans that we are crippled, inferior and are helpless children who can only succeed via government handouts, lowered standards and special concessions. Just stop it!

The Civil War effectively ended slavery in 1863. After 8 years of Americans making a black man the leader of the free world, Democrats are absurdly claiming blacks are suffering the negative repercussions of slavery and deserve a check. These people (Democrats) are evil, divisive, race-baiting and race-exploiting con artists.

In Maryland in the early 1950s, my late dad was among a handful of blacks who broke the color barrier to become Baltimore City firefighters. Despite humiliating racism within the fire department, Dad won “Firefighter of the Year” two times. Dad didn’t desire reparations or insulting lowered standards. All Dad and his fellow young black trailblazers desired was an opportunity to compete.

In the 1980s, I was promoted to supervisor of the art department at WJZ-TV, ABC affiliate TV station in Baltimore. Democrat friends attempted to rob me of the pride and dignity of my achievement. They demeaned my promotion, claiming it was due to affirmative action. I was insulted. My promotion was the result of being the most qualified. No brag. Just facts.

But this is what Democrats relentlessly do to blacks; always sending us the subliminal message that we don’t quite measure up. For example: When Democrats say requiring a photo ID to vote disenfranchises black voters, Democrats are really saying we are stupid, inferior to other Americans. Black Americans should be outraged.

Metaphorically, Democrats want to keep blacks barefoot and pregnant. Democrats despise and seek to destroy self-reliant, self-motivated and independent blacks. I am referring to extraordinarily successful blacks like Herman Cain, Justice Clarence Thomas and Dr Ben Carson to name a few. Because these blacks took the traditional road of education, hard work and making right choices to achieve success, they expose the Democrat and fake news media lie that blacks can only succeed in racist America via lowered standards and government programs.

Democrats and fake news media celebrates multimillionaire blacks like Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee, Colin Kaepernick, Samuel L. Jackson and others who sell blacks the lie that America is a hellhole of racism against them.

Over the years, I have sparred with hosts on CNN a few times. I would be a highly sought-after regular CNN guest if I said, “I am a victim in this awful racist country”. CNN would be thrilled for me to absurdly say Republicans and conservatives are responsible for blacks murdering each other in record numbers. It is whitey’s fault that epidemic numbers of blacks are dropping out of school. White racism is the cause of over 70% of black kids growing up in fatherless households. Spewing such nonsense would make me a CNN rock-star.

In response to Democrats clamoring for reparations, one could argue that electing Obama was reparations, payback for slavery. Obama was the least vetted presidential candidate in US history. As a matter of fact, digging into Obama’s past, his health records, his college records and even his birth certificate was declared racist by Democrats and fake news media. Millions of whites voted for Obama solely because he was black. They sincerely wanted to send the message that we as a nation had moved beyond our sin of slavery.

Naive American voters had no idea that Democrats and their fake news media operatives would use Obama’s skin-color as a bludgeon to beat Americans into submitting to every anti-American insane policy of leftists’ dreams. Obama’s black skin exterior made him leftists’ perfect Trojan Horse. Outrageously, anyone who opposed Obama’s socialist, anti-American and unconstitutional policies was swiftly and viciously branded racist.

One could also argue that the 620,000 lives lost fighting the Civil War to free blacks from slavery was reparations, payback for slavery.

For decades Democrats have purchased black voters’ loyalty with ineffective dependency programs and welfare checks. Reparations is Democrats’ latest scam to purchase black votes with a government check. Blacks have received nothing for their loyalty to Democrats. The same issues which plagued urban blacks 40 years ago are worse today.

My late dad’s historic black church is located in a declining black neighborhood in Baltimore city. At 89, my dad, Dr Rev Lloyd E. Marcus, led a handful of residents one day a week. They marched their neighborhood carrying signs pleading with black youths to “Stop the Killing!” Dad told me that senior residents were living in fear, disrespected, harassed and assaulted by thugs.

There are sections of Baltimore that you simply dare not enter after dark. Fifty years ago when I was a kid, Baltimore was rough, but no where near as violent and out-of-control as it is today. Hellholes of black on black crime such as Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore have been run by Democrats for decades. Reparations are not the solution.

If Democrats and wealthy black celebs really cared about their people rather than furthering a leftist socialist political agenda, they would call for blacks to take full responsibility for their lives. They would encourage a return to biblical morality. They would encourage traditional marriage, bringing fathers back into households. They would encourage black youths to exploit the wonderful blessing of being born in America; the greatest land of opportunity on the planet for all who choose to go for their dreams.

I love this line from the movie, “Blazing Saddles”. “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges.” I say to Democrats, “We don’t need no stinkin’ reparations!”

RELATED ARTICLES:

Forget Reparations. Money Won’t Solve Black Community’s Problems.

When Europeans Were Slaves: Research Suggests White Slavery Was Much More Common Than Previously Believed

Inequality Has Surged Since 1989, but the Lifestyle Gap Has Shrunk

This Is What I Believe

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On a flight right now returning from a five-day trip that I believe was orchestrated from above, I take this moment and reflect. I have been inspired by two patriots, two beautiful souls who were brought to me for a reason, for a purpose. This soon will be revealed, of this I am sure. Our paths have crossed by no accident. I am grateful and thankful. I believe there are no coincidences.

I believe that as George Washington was divinely inspired and protected to form America, it is my belief that Donald J. Trump is divinely inspired and protected to resurrect America. I believe the storm is upon us. It is my belief that this storm will challenge each and every one of us in ways that perhaps we have never been challenged before. Why? Because this is a battle between good and evil. Read through my articles and books and you will gain a greater understanding of what it is that I am talking about. This has just begun and will intensify as the years go by. These are defining moments in time. Once again, these are the times that try men’s souls.

Tragedy brings unity. As the remains of the twin towers in New York City were reduced to smoldering twisted steel and ash, innocent lives perished. People were injured, horrified, devastated and in shock with grief beyond words, as the loved ones left behind were left in a state of desperation and suffering beyond words. What did I see? People uniting. There were no divisions. There was not one delayed thought or consideration to help one another. We are instinctively good. We are one. We united. Tragedy brings unity. It mattered not, your political affiliation, race, religion and so on. I believe that people are instinctively and inherently good.

And so the storm that is now upon us is exposing the evil acts which are no longer hiding and lurking among us in the dark, in disguise. It is now hidden in plain sight. Know this evil well. Know it for what it is. The age of transparency is here. Truths are now being revealed and this has just begun. I believe civilization is at a crossroads with America in the cross-hairs. Yes, once again it is up to us. Freedom is up to us. With dignity, decency, common sense, and knowing the difference between right and wrong hanging in the balance, we must seek strength within. What will soon be revealed will be heart wrenching and most difficult to endure. Yet I believe many of us will unite with one heart and one mind while others will be cast away into the abyss of darkness. Surround yourself with like-minded people who understand the times in which we live. Expand these circles. Stay informed. Be prepared and pray for God’s mercy, wisdom, strength to endure, and for protection.

The election of Donald J. Trump is the miracle many had been praying for. I for one, wrote about this early on in 2015 in my book Misconceptions and Course Corrections, prior to the escalator event, stating that the most unlikely person in our hour of need will arrive to provide the leadership that America and the world so desperately needed to bring us out of the darkness and into the light. That time has arrived.

Donald Trump’s entire life led him to such a time as this. Pray for our President and for his family, for in my opinion, no Trump, no hope. I do believe that the days that are now upon us and the years to follow shall bring out the good in us once again. It’s time to bring ourselves up by the boot straps. I believe it’s time for us to raise our level of confront. I believe it’s time for us to focus, be confident, strong and support one another in spite of our often times, vast differences, for we are one. Stay the course, trust the plan. Someone once said “love is but a song we sing, fear is the way we die”. “Come on people now, smile on your brother everybody get together try to love one another right now”. Choose love. I believe that with the grace of God, together we will save America.

Video Commentary:

Lieutenant General Flynn Hires Firebrand Attorney Sidney Powell

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When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.  Frederic Bastiat

There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. Montesquieu

The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity. Frank Serpico

A huge hallelujah and a big sigh of relief went up across the country when those who love justice and the “rule of law” heard who General Michael T. Flynn had hired to represent him.  My phone rang off the hook for two days…the General’s supporters are thrilled!

Attorney Sidney Powell

General Flynn has hired a brilliant powerhouse attorney who knows and understands the corruption in DC.  Sidney Powell served in the Department of Justice (DOJ) for ten years in both Texas and Virginia and for the past twenty years has devoted her private practice to federal appeals where she was lead counsel in more than 500 appellate cases.

Ms. Powell has been an outspoken critic of the Enron Task Force prosecutions and accused prosecutor Andrew Weissmann in particular of overreach.  Weissmann was a prominent member of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating the bogus Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election and any obstruction of the probe by President Donald Trump. Here is the full transcript of Powell’s interview with Mark Levin, but watch the following twelve minutes on Weissmann.

In Powell’s book, Licensed to Lie, William Hodes, Professor of Law Emeritus, Indiana University stated, “that a coterie of vicious and unethical prosecutors who are unfit to practice law has been harbored within and enabled by the now ironically named Department of Justice.”  Ms. Powell had to self-publish her first edition because houses feared the content. The second edition is stunning and frightening.

Powell documents the prosecutorial misconduct of the U.S. Attorneys in the Enron trials. All of the convictions except for three were overturned.  Unfortunately, none of the attorneys mentioned in Ms. Powell’s amazing tome were ever disbarred, and they went on to continue their nefarious activities.

Many innocent people were ruined because the justice department lawyers apparently valued their own upward career mobility over the very reason for their existence in their positions…Justice.

Some of the same lawyers involved in the Enron miscarriage of justice were on the Mueller team going after President Trump and his supporters. Do Americans want anyone being targeted by attorneys so unethical their convictions are overturned because of their blatant disregard for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution?  Well, it happened, and General Michael T. Flynn is a prime example.

In a recent interview with The Epoch Times Sidney Powell blasted the appalling two-tiered judicial system in America today where General Michael Flynn can get set up and prosecuted by deep state operatives while Peter Strzok can leak and lie and get off scot free.

In December 2018 Powell accused the Mueller team of destroying evidence and obstructing justice in the Flynn case. Mueller’s team wiped all of the data off of Peter Strzok’s and Lisa Page’s iPhones after determining “they contained no substantive text messages.”  Powell said until the Mueller investigation is probed, no one can have faith or trust in the Department of Justice or the FBI.

As for the bogus Russia investigation, what Mueller pulled in his eight-minute press conference was subterfuge.  Powell commented that if Mueller couldn’t decide whether or not President Trump obstructed justice in a two-year investigation, then it is evident there is no violation. She said, “the entire Russia collusion narrative was made up by anti-Trump political partisans in the FBI and DOJ.”

“It couldn’t have been more divisive,” Powell said of Mueller’s press conference. “What we’ve witnessed in the last, I don’t know, 15, 20 years, is an extraordinary rise of double standards where people who are Democrats are given passes on clear offenses, and Republicans are literally targeted and prosecuted and their lives destroyed on things that are even made up.”  Powell said Mueller knew there was no conspiracy even before he started to investigate.

Please help General Flynn and Sidney Powell by donating to the Michael Flynn Legal Defense Fund.  Attorney Powell asked for 90 days to review the massive Flynn case, and Judge Emmet Sullivan gave her 60 days.

General Michael T. Flynn

President Donald Trump told Fox News that Vice President Mike Pence doesn’t automatically have his backing should he mount his own run for the White House in 2024.  Perhaps the President has gleaned some awareness of the real Mike Pence.

By now, many of General Flynn’s supporters understand that VP Pence was involved in his removal as National Security Adviser.  Allegedly, the February meeting between Pence and McCabe about General Flynn was set up by Peter Strzok using an unofficial backchannel, a Pence staffer’s wife who worked for Strzok.  VP Pence’s Chief of Staff, Joshua Pitcock’s wife, was working as an analyst for Peter Strzok on the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server.

There are many more Deep State players, all of whom were not only terror-stricken but were absolutely frantic to be rid of the man they feared knew too much about them.

To this day, many of their ilk are still in charge, including the new Trump appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray who was most likely suggested by former Governor and transition head, Chris Christie who many called Abu Christie because he had appointed a Muslim to the New Jersey Supreme Court.  Wray was Christie’s lawyer during Bridgegate.  Wray’s corrupt FBI actually lost the notes from the meeting where crooked cop, Peter Strzok was told that China was hacking Hillary’s email in real time.

Back in December of 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team released key documents relating to the FBI’s questioning of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, confirming agents did not believe at the time Flynn intentionally lied to them — though he was later charged with making false statements in that interview.  These were the heavily redacted FD-302 reports of FBI Agents, Strzok and Pientka who interviewed the General.  The documents also included disgraced and fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s notes after talking with Flynn to arrange his interview with the FBI.  Many sources believe McCabe edited the FD-302s to target the General.

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein refused to allow Agent Pientka to testify despite his reported willingness to defend Michael Flynn.  Mueller redacted Joe Pientka’s name in the 302 reports.

Judge Emmet Sullivan

In May 2019, Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the release of the transcripts of General Flynn’s conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak along with the transcript of a voicemail recording by Trump’s personal attorney, John Dowd, left with Robert Kelner, defense lawyer for Flynn.

The Feds did release the transcript of a voice mail left in November 2017 by John Dowd to Kelner, but the DOJ refused to comply with the court order to release the transcript of the General’s conversation with Ambassador Kislyak. Sources close to the General tell me that he wanted these documents released to the public.

Judge Sullivan, a Clinton appointee, in a two-sentence order said he’d decided not to require the public release of transcripts after considering prosecutors’ response.  Prosecutors claimed they were not relying on that conversation to establish his guilt or to determine his sentence.  Then why not release it?  Perhaps they haven’t had time to properly edit it for weaponization against the General, when we know those transcripts would prove General Flynn’s complete innocence.

Flynn’s phone calls with Ambassador Kislyak during the Trump Transition were perfectly legal and only portions of his calls have been selectively leaked to the media.  One has to wonder how many of those leaked portions were edited.   Every time there’s a leak, AG Barr needs to release the truth to the public.

The Joint Defense Agreement

Republicans allege that a separate court-ordered transcript release in the case showed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s report contained a conspicuously — and allegedly deceptive — edited version of the voicemail message from former Trump lawyer John Dowd to Flynn’s lawyer, Rob Kelner.

Here is the edited version of Dowd’s phone call:

I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t state it in starker terms. . . [I]t wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with … the government. … [I]f… there’s information that implicates the President, then we’ve got a national security issue, . . . so, you know, . . . we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of protecting all our interests if we can …. Remember what we’ve always said about the ‘President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains ….

And here is the full text of the message, which Mueller’s gang did not want seen:

Hey, Rob, uhm, this is John again. Uh, maybe, I-I-I‘m-I’m sympathetic; I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t … state it in … starker terms. If you have … and it wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with, and, uh, work with the government, uh … I understand that you can’t join the joint defense; so that’s one thing. If, on the other hand, we have, there’s information that … implicates the President, then we’ve got a national security issue, or maybe a national security issue, I don’t know … some issue, we got to-we got to deal with, not only for the President, but for the country. So … uh … you know, then-then, you know, we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of … protecting all our interests, if we can, without you having to give up any … confidential information. So, uhm, and if it’s the former, then, you know, remember what we’ve always said about the President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains, but — Well, in any event, uhm, let me know, and, uh, I appreciate your listening and taking the time. Thanks, Pal.

Do you see?  If you look at the full transcript, Dowd is very specific about not wanting any information he should not have, not wanting any “confidential information.”  Mueller left out that one very important exculpatory evidence in his edited transcript… “without you having to give up any … confidential information.”  There was only one reason for Mueller to remove it…to further his attempt to frame Trump via manufactured evidence or by hiding exculpatory evidence.

Mr. Dowd left the voice mail not long after Mr. Flynn left the joint defense agreement with Mr. Trump to cooperate with the Special Counsel.  (Remember Mueller’s 30-year modus operandi.  Link and Link) Of course, the Mueller report cites the voice mail as scrutiny into possible obstruction by the President even thought Mr. Kelner had already told Dowd “that Flynn could no longer have confidential communications with the White House or the President.”

Dowd told Sean Hannity, “Well, I had an obligation as counsel to the president to find out what was going on. And I’m so glad Judge Sullivan ordered the transcript because they now know the truth. And we also know that this entire report by Mueller is a fraud, and we’re going to find more of these things.  Isn’t it ironic that this man who kept indicting and prosecuting people for process crimes committed a false statement in his own report? By taking out half my words, they changed the tenor and the contents of that conversation with Robert Kelner. And it’s an outrage. And there’s probably more of it.”

Conclusion

George Washington said, “Truth will ultimately prevail where there are pains to bring it to light.”  Sidney Powell, knows all about the lies and the pervasive decay in our intelligence community, and she is the finest legal mind General Flynn could have chosen, and yes, she will bring the truth to light.

Please help this great patriot, General Michael T. Flynn and Sidney Powell by donating to the Michael Flynn Legal Defense Fund.  Truth is our cause!

PODCAST: Getting Ready for Round #1 with the Democrats

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Well, it is finally show time, the first round of debates for Democrats seeking to become the party’s presidential candidate. As of now there are 23 officially declared as candidates, with possibly two more waiting in the wings. This is bigger than the 17 Republican candidates who ran in 2016.

In a way, this race among the Democrats reminds me of the Triple Crown in horse-racing. The first race, the Kentucky Derby, historically supports a full field, crowded at the gate. This is greatly reduced over the remaining races, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. I suspect we’ll see the same in the Democrat debates.

NBC will host the first debate at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, next Wednesday and Thursday, June 26th and 27th, accompanied by their sister networks MSNBC and Telemundo. This makes sense as NBC has long been the media outlet for the party for quite some time. It will be hosted by five NBC personalities: Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, and José Díaz-Balart of Telemundo.

No more than ten candidates will appear each night. In simple terms, in order to qualify, candidates must either have received more than 65K donations, or a minimum of 1% in a qualified national poll. There will likely be twenty candidates qualified for the first round of debates.

So, what can viewers expect? There will, of course, be the ceremonial bashing of President Trump and the Republicans. They will be accused to mishandling everything from the economy, to immigration, to trade, defense, etc. It will be interesting to see how the moderators address the subject of presidential impeachment which will inevitably come up when the Mueller investigation is mentioned. All of this is to be expected.

Beyond this, the most interesting part of the debate will be how the other candidates will try to take down the front-runner, former VP Joe Biden. This will likely be led by Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Corey Booker, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, all of whom need to take Mr. Biden down in order to further their candidacy. Sen. Bernie Sanders won’t be bashful either, but he will likely leave the main attacks to the others and extol the virtues of his socialist agenda.

Look for Mr. Biden to take a lot of heat for reversing his position on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to subsidize abortions except for special circumstances (e.g., rape, incest, life threatening). Mr. Biden originally supported the amendment back when he was a U.S. Senator, but recently reversed himself to gain political favor from abortion advocates. Look for this issue to ignite an ugly squabble between the candidates, leading to other issues where the candidates differ.

As I have reported, the Democrats have turned decisively to the left. This is most certainly, NOT your father’s party. As such, they desperately do not want to hang on to the past, and why they no longer want Joe Biden. At 76 years of age, the former vice president will be portrayed as past his prime and essentially no different than Hillary Clinton, which the left has long deserted following her defeat in 2016. The far left of the party wants something new and refreshing, which certainly is not Mr. Biden. It may also not be Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will turn 78 in the Fall.

So, in terms of Round 1 of the debates, Yes, we will hear the usual bashing of the Republicans and the President, but the real story will be how the party turns on one of their own. They may preach unity during the debate, but watch them swarm against the front-runner.

Keep the Faith!

P.S. – Don’t forget my new book, “Tim’s Senior Moments” now available in Printed and eBook form.

EDITORS NOTE: This Bryce is Right column is republished with permission. All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

NEW YORK WILL PROVIDE ILLEGAL ALIENS WITH DRIVER’S LICENSES: Where is Gov. Cuomo’s MVP Award from terrorists?

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On June 18, 2019 The New York Daily News reported, “Cuomo signs bill granting undocumented immigrants access to New York driver’s licenses despite 11th-hour concerns.”

Incredibly, the concerns were not about how this might impact national security, public safety or the immigration crisis on the border, but about how information in the DMV databases might help the federal government to enforce immigration laws and what needs to be done to prevent this from happening!

This is not the first time that the New York State legislature attempted to provide driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, but this time this dangerous and wrong-headed legislation has become the law of the state.

Back in 2007 then-New York State Governor Spitzer pushed for similar legislation that would have provided illegal aliens with driver’s licenses.

I testified before the New York State Senate on October 15, 2007 on that issue, in which I voiced my extreme opposition to the legislation.

When I addressed the hearing I noted that the preposterous claim made by proponents for issuing driver’s licenses, and an argument that was used during the most recent debate, is that since illegal aliens will drive “anyway” (with or without a license), a license would enable them to get insurance and they would learn to drive more safely. I told them that by this reasoning the State of New York should provide convicted felons with firearms training and carry permits since it is likely that they would also violate the laws and carry guns “anyway.” I then said that with proper training the criminals could improve their accuracy and thus would be less likely to hit innocent bystanders in a gun battle. Further, perhaps through training, they could be convinced to use trigger locks between bank robberies and drive-by shootings. With my tongue firmly embedded in my cheek I suggested that this would improve public safety immeasurably.

You can imagine their reactions!

The concerns I included in my prepared testimony then are as relevant today as they were then, with one additional critical factor: in the nearly 12 years since that hearing, while there have been no terror attacks carried out by international terrorists that involve the hijacking of airliners, there have been a string of deadly mass casualty terror attacks around the world and in the United States that involved terrorists using motor vehicles as weapons.

On June 14, 2019 the Justice Department announced the sentencing of a citizen of Yemen for his terrorist activities: “New York Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Attempting to Join ISIS in Yemen.”

The press release included this paragraph:

Following his return to the United States in September 2015, Naji continued to express his support for ISIS and violent jihad.  In July 2016, following the ISIS-inspired terrorist truck attack in Nice, France, that killed scores of innocent civilians, Naji told the CS how easy it would be to carry out a similar attack in Times Square, explaining that ISIS “want[s] an operation in Times Square” and stating that an ISIS “reconnaissance group . . . put up scenes of Times Square.”

Naji further explained, “if there is a truck, I mean a garbage truck and one drives it there to Times Square and crushes them . . . Times Square day.”

Terrorists have also used vehicles such cabs and passenger vans to conduct clandestine meetings and as a means of conducting covert surveillance on potential terror targets.

The TSA was created in the aftermath of the terror attacks of 9/11 and funded to the tune of billions of dollars. It currently employs more than 45,000 people and  maintains and uses so-called “No Fly Lists” to help prevent terrorists from gaining access to airliners.

Yet there are no “No Drive Lists” to prevent terrorists from being able to access cars and trucks.

Perhaps the efforts to enhance security in the commercial aviation sector have paid off or, perhaps the terrorists have simply shifted their methodology. In any event the use of motor vehicles as weapons has prompted cities to install numerous physical barriers to protect against such attacks but few barriers exist to prevent terrorists from gaining access to motor vehicles.

On August 20, 2018, CNN provided a synopsis of such attacks in an article, “Terrorist Attacks by Vehicle Fast Facts.”

Terrorists who have driver’s licenses don’t pose a risk only to those who live in the state where the license was issued. They can simply rent a car in New York and drive anywhere in the U.S. or travel to any other state and use their New York driver’s license to rent a car there.

Now New York, the state that by far suffered the greatest devastation on September 11, 2001 and has suffered other terror attacks, including one that involved a truck used to run down people on a bicycle path just blocks from the World Trade Center, will enthusiastically provide illegal aliens with driver’s licenses.

My dad taught me to drive. When he handed me the keys to our family car he told me that a car could be more lethal than a gun. And as we have seen all too frequently, that statement is accurate, dead accurate.

Continuing with my dad’s comparison of guns and cars, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) is a federal law that prohibits certain individuals from possessing firearms that includes:

(5) who, being an alien- (A) is illegally and unlawfully in the United States; or (B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(26)))

The penalty for violation of this law is a maximum of 10 years in jail.

New York City Penal Code similarly prohibits non U.S. citizens (aliens) from possessing firearms.

Why then should illegal aliens be given the privilege of driving motor vehicles when their very presence in the United States is a violation of law and we may never know their true identities?

Drivers licenses, however, convey more than the authority to drive motor vehicles.

Illegal aliens, criminals, fugitives and terrorists seek to acquire identity documents such as driver’s licenses, particularly under false names to conceal their true identities and their movements and provide them with an illusion of legitimacy to which they are certainly not entitled.

My earlier article, “Immigration And The Unlearned Lessons Of 9/11,” included the link to an important New York Times article, “Roosevelt Avenue, a Corridor of Vice,” which reported on the nexus between illegal immigration, crime (including human trafficking, prostitution, narcotics), and the use of false identity documents, primarily by illegal aliens.

“Undocumented Immigrants” generally have no authentic and reliable means of identifying themselves. The New York Times article noted how important it was for the NYPD to shut down the fraud document vendors because of the dangers associated with providing such individuals with identity documents. However, for local officials to provide illegal aliens with authentic driver’s licenses directly violates the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission which was behind the creation of the REAL ID Act.

It is all but impossible for state or local officials to properly determine the true identifies of “undocumented” aliens. Thus illegal aliens would be able to easily game the licensing procedures to acquire an actual driver’s license under false identities making the DMV no better than the fake document vendors who ply their trades in communities across the United States as described in the New York Times article I noted above.

It is remarkable that on August 4, 2004, MSNBC published an NBC report, “9/11 report light on ID theft issues,” which included this paragraph:

But in the nation’s most comprehensive look yet at what went wrong on Sept. 11., and what can be done to prevent the next terrorist attack, identity theft gets scarce mention. Buried deep within the 9/11 commission report — on about 10 pages, starting with page 393 — are suggestions for dealing with the deeply connected problems of terrorism and identity fraud.

Then there was this disconcerting paragraph:

Terrorism and identity theft go hand in hand, experts say.  The al-Qaida training manual includes provisions for trainees to leave camp with five fake personas, says Collins, who uses a copy of the manual to train law enforcement officials. Terrorists are regularly schooled in the art of subsisting off credit card fraud while living in the United States, Collins said.

In the hands of an illegal alien, a driver’s license may well become a license to kill.

RELATED ARTICLE: Chip Roy: House Democrats Have Agreed To Vote On Trump’s Emergency $4.5 Billion Border Supplemental Request

EDITORS NOTE: This FrontPage Magazine column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Mary Millben Is Singing the National Anthem at Trump’s Rally. She Loves Performing America’s Patriotic Music (Just Listen).

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Recording artist Mary Millben will perform the national anthem for President Donald Trump at Tuesday’s rally at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Millben headlined The Heritage Foundation’s Annual Leadership Conference in April and spoke to The Daily Signal about her love of America’s patriotic music and what it’s like to perform for three U.S. presidents. She recently celebrated the release of her debut single “Grace Will Lead Me Home,” written for the new film “The Meanest Man in Texas.” The full interview, along with a lightly edited transcript, is below.

Rob Bluey: You’ve had the opportunity to perform before three presidents, most recently at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, but also for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. What is that experience like, to sing before the leader of the free world?

Mary Millben: Thanks for having me, it’s been a joy to be here with Heritage and so grateful to Mrs. Kay Coles James for the invitation.

I tell you, it’s pretty surreal, but I will say, a true blessing. I have loved my interfaces within the political arena. And I think every artist, when you have the opportunity to use your platform for good, and it’s certainly in the context of for the country, it’s an honor.

The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >>

To have worked for President Bush and then go into entertainment and sing for President Bush and Mrs. Bush and President Obama and first lady Obama and now our president and first lady Melania Trump, it’s a true honor and a stat, I would say, in my journey that I feel blessed to have.

Bluey: Tell us about your life story, how you ended up in government, and then how you moved into the entertainment world.

Millben: In short, because it’s a pretty lengthy one, I’ll say, entertainment and politics are pretty much the same profession. Every four years a new Broadway show comes into town. Right?

But, I tell you, it’s been great because I started in a pretty robust journey in politics. I was an intern at the White House for President Bush and then went to work the latter four years of the Bush administration.

During my time there I was doing a lot of singing in Washington, D.C. I was singing for Christmas tours in the White House and dinners in D.C. And that’s what really introduced me to the entertainment business.

Following my appointment with the Bush administration, I auditioned for a Broadway show that was opening in D.C. at the time. And right when President Obama came in, I left and went into entertainment.

[It] kind of led me to the concert world and moving to New York and all types of things.

But it’s been wonderful because now in my season of performing I’ve been doing a lot of performing back in Washington, D.C., and in the political arena.

That has been a joy because I care about policy, I care about this country, I love America. I know where my freedom comes, as Gary Sinise says, our good friend.

So it’s been a joy to be able to contribute musically in an arena and an environment that I feel so strongly about.

I think artists have such a unique position because we are apolitical, in that sense, we can advocate for the country, we can advocate for communities in need, we can advocate for the everyday American. That sometimes it’s hard for politicals per se to do.

I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been given a platform that works on both sides of the aisle to make a difference for the country.

Bluey: So when you’re doing the Trump inaugural or other events, you don’t shy away from your pro-America feelings.

Millben: Sure.

Bluey: What has it been like to be in entertainment, though, and have some views that might differ from maybe where the majority of people are?

Millben: It’s certainly not a cake walk. I am a proud conservative, I’m not afraid to say that, and certainly have my convictions and values that I hold true.

But I am in a profession that has diverse views and diverse backgrounds and I respect those views and backgrounds.

So I think, again, artists, entertainers have the great opportunity to use their platforms for broad conversations. I heard a recent person say, “You can’t change the world and resemble the world you want to change.”

I am not afraid to be in a profession that may not particularly agree with everything I say or care for everything I say.

I know that … this is what God has called me to do and I try in everything that I am presented with to represent him first and certainly represent the convictions and values that I believe in.

I feel that we are in a time where we are losing some of that civility in the context of being able to have conversation that may differ. I encourage it more.

The more I sit down with someone that I don’t agree with perhaps or may share a difference of opinion, the better because that’s a way for us to all find common solutions and common ground to bettering the country.

So I’m not afraid of a little opposition in the entertainment business, but certainly always find ways to work with differing opinions to better the country.

Bluey: I’m so glad to hear you say that. That’s really important. I know it’s important to Heritage’s president, Kay Coles James, as well.

Millben: Absolutely.

Bluey: That’s a message that she certainly speaks about frequently.

And you’ve had success in entertainment. So I’d like to hear about some of the things you have coming up. A new single coming out and debuting in a film.

Share with our listeners what they can expect to hear from you in the future.

Millben: Thank you. Well, [I’m] very excited. I have been really blessed as a newbie still in the music business to I have worked with some great songwriters and composers. And it’s just been a blessing.

A couple of years ago I recorded a great song called “Grace Will Lead Me Home” with Stephen Dorff, who is a very popular, three-time Grammy nominee, six-time Emmy nominee, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year.

And we recorded a song a couple of years ago, landed into a film called “The Meanest Man in Texas,” which opened April 19 in Texas. And will be in theaters across the country here May 20.

We’re so excited about the film, we’re so excited about the song, because it really speaks to the element of grace, which is we are all blessed to have God’s grace and how that sustains all of our lives.

The film did very well in the film festivals across the globe and certainly here in the states. We’re just very excited about the film and the music.

That has just led to a whole new energy of interfaces musically within film and within the recording music industry and so lots of exciting things. I’m really blessed. Really blessed.

Bluey: Who would you say are some of the biggest role models in your life when it comes to the entertainment world?

Millben: Sure.

Bluey: It can, I guess, be political as well.

Millben: I tell you, I’ve been blessed. … My parents are retired ministers, so I come from a a long journey within the faith community and certainly the ministry. A lot of great mentors come from there.

But musically, when I was a little girl, the faces on my wall were the Diana Rosses, and the Barbra Streisands, and Aretha Franklins, and the Clark Sisters coming from the gospel music world. … Musically, [they] were a lot of my inspirations going into music. You can add Whitney Houston right in there, too.

But I would also say politically, Ronald Reagan was on my wall growing up, and certainly [I’ve had] such admiration for the Bush family because of working for them.

I tell you, I’ve been blessed. I’ve had a tremendous amount of mentors from an array of different professions.

And one that we know well is Mrs. Kay Coles James, who is the president of Heritage.

She’s been a tremendous support to me and to my career as a young professional and an artist and just a blessing to be able to be connected to Heritage in this regard musically, but also in what I believe and my conviction.

So I think Mrs. Kay, she’s been a great mentor. Great mentor.

Bluey: Thank you for that. Do you have a favorite song that you’ve performed?

Millben: Goodness. You know, I love music. I was trained classically, so I grew up singing the great arias and the classics. But I love just about everything.

Bluey: OK.

Millben: Actually, my favorite music to sing, and I’m not just saying this because I’m here, I love singing America’s patriotic music.

I love those words of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.” Those songs are timeless, of course, but they speak to who we are as human beings, as citizens, as a community.

Those types of songs that inspiration are very meaningful to me. So while I love to sing—I love gospel. I love country music. I love jazz. I love Broadway theater. I love just a little bit of everything, but I think it’s the songs of our country that I love singing most.

Bluey: I agree with you on that. They certainly do represent all those values that we talk about.

Millben: Absolutely.

Bluey: Finally, I want to ask you, what advice do you have for young people who may want to make their mark in the entertainment world? Based on your own experience, what would you tell them?

Millben: Be true to who you are. Be true to what God is calling you to sing, and you to say, and you to contribute.

The entertainment business is a tough one. And many times you get into the business and you have a lot of voices and a lot of people telling you what they want you to sing, and what they want you to say, and how they want you to look, and can divert you from what you feel true to.

So, to any young person coming into the business, first: Do it. There’s nothing more rewarding than getting up every morning and saying, “I’m doing what God is calling me to do.”

But more importantly, stay true to who you are. Your voice is unique and there’s only one of you.

So when you get into the business, sing exactly what God is calling you to sing, do exactly what God is calling you to do, and be and become exactly what God is calling you to be and become in the business.

You’ll make an impact beyond what you could ever imagine if you stay true to that as an artist and as a voice in the business.

Bluey: Mary, great advice. Thanks so much for being here.

Millben: Thanks for having me. It was great to be here.

COLUMN BY

Rob Bluey

Rob Bluey is executive editor of The Daily Signal, the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation. Send an email to Rob. Twitter: @RobertBluey

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: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. All right reserved.

19 Arrests Later, a Texas Town Is Torn Apart Over Voter Fraud

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EDINBURG, Texas—The story that thrust a Rio Grande Valley city into the national spotlight is hardly a new anomaly, say residents such as Richard Monte.

“Down here, voter fraud is not all that unusual,” says Monte, a city planning consultant in a brown suit jacket, sitting with other activists at a table in Coffee Zone on McColl Road. “It’s unusual when they get prosecuted.”

Now, for this south Texas town, that unusual moment has arrived. A November 2017 mayoral election has been under scrutiny from local and state officials, and 19 arrests have been made over alleged voter fraud. The mayor—and winner of the 2017 election—was indicted earlier this month, along with his wife.

Only 8,400 votes were cast in the mayoral election, and Mayor Richard Molina’s final vote count was more than 1,200 votes ahead of the No. 2 candidate, 14-year incumbent Richard Garcia. From what’s known now, the election result couldn’t have been changed by the number of suspicious votes identified.

But Molina reportedly is the first elected official in Texas to face a felony charge under a 2017 statute against vote harvesting, casting the midsize city into the national debate over election integrity. The mayor denies the charges.

“Some people are unfortunate in that they are caught,” Monte tells The Daily Signal.

Fraud and Small Towns

Across the nation, officials made more than 60 formal findings of voter fraud in 2017 alone, according to The Heritage Foundation’s voter fraud database, and six of those cases were out of Texas. And 2018 saw more than 50 official findings of voter fraud.

“Many of the cases in our database are in small towns,” said Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. “That’s because, one, those kind of races are often decided by a very small number of votes. So it’s easier to commit fraud when you don’t have to fake as many votes.”

“Second, it’s in small towns, particularly rural areas, where, particularly in areas that are economically not as well off as other parts of the country, [that] county and city government are the sources of jobs and contracts,” added von Spakovsky.

“So there is a big incentive in those smaller towns and smaller county governments for people to cheat in order to be in a position of power where they can distribute jobs.”

A federal judge overturned a mayor’s race in Florida’s Miami-Dade County in 1997 because of massive voter fraud that included phony registrations, noted von Spakovsky, who also served on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

“You find cases where it’s just an isolated voter taking advantage of the system,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Signal, “but there’s plenty of cases in our database where it is an organized conspiracy oftentimes involving an elected official who wants to ensure he is reelected.”

‘Shady Past’

Edinburg, filled with palm trees, Tex-Mex restaurants, and friendly people, is the Hidalgo County seat. Home to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the Museum of South Texas History, it has a population of 77,000 as of the 2010 census.

Edinburg boasts parks as well as shopping plazas with box stores and fast-food eateries along streets such as Freddy Gonzalez Drive, Cano Street, and University Drive, where Edinburg City Hall stands.

A sign inside City Hall reads “PRISM,” which stands for “Professionalism and Transparency,” “Respect,” “Integrity,” “Synergy and Cross Training,” and “Maximization of Operational Performance.”

Just down University Drive is a nightclub called Sin.

Based on what prosecutors and some residents say, the nightclub’s name might better characterize the region than do the goals of integrity and transparency on the PRISM sign.

The reputation of the Rio Grande Valley, where the town of Edinburg is nestled, long precedes the mayor’s arrest.

The four border counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata have had executive officials, top law enforcement officials, a county judge, and a sheriff either indicted or convicted of criminal charges.

That’s according to an editorial on Molina’s arrest in The Monitor newspaper in McAllen, Texas, about 12 miles away from Edinburg, which adds that various members of city councils, county commissions, and school boards also have faced corruption charges.

The U.S. Justice Department created a Rio Grande Valley Corruption Task Force in 2015, NPR reported, because the area was “steeped in corruption of every stripe: drug smuggling, vote stealing, courthouse bribery, under-the-table payoffs and health care fraud.”

The Molina voter fraud prosecution might be “selective,” suggests Fern McClaugherty, a licensed firearms instructor who was an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 2017.

“We have a shady past,” McClaugherty said of the city, speaking with The Daily Signal during a meeting with fellow civic activists, including Monte, at the Coffee Zone.

This past, she said, includes what’s known in the region as “politiqueras,” who are paid by political campaigns or parties to turn out the vote. These local operatives visit nursing homes and adult day care centers, and sometimes entice homeless persons to vote by giving them cash or food.

At the suggestion around the table that election winners in the region “stole it fair and square,” someone jokingly corrected: “They buy it fair and square.”

‘Loud and Clear’

Molina won a four-year term as Edinburg mayor on Nov. 7, 2017, and decisively so.

“The people spoke loud and clear—1,240 votes,” Molina told The Daily Signal in a brief interview after a City Council meeting in late May at City Hall.

Molina ran a reform campaign against Garcia, questioning city contracts and other matters under the incumbent mayor’s leadership.

That winning margin over Garcia, first elected in 2003, was out of 8,400 votes cast in the three-candidate race.

“Insurmountable,” Molina said. “If you do research on any of the elections previously, maybe a couple hundred votes determine the outcome of that election. That’s the biggest margin of victory in the history of the city, four figures. It’s never been done before.”

“It’s very obvious that people wanted change,” Molina, the former Army veteran and 11-year Edinburg Police officer said. “There was an incumbent here that was here for 14 years, and people wanted a new face. The public wants me here. I’m not here because I want to be here. Nonpaying job. It’s easier to walk away.”

Edinburg’s mayor and four council members don’t draw salaries. Under the city’s weak-mayor, council-manager form of government, the city manager oversees administration while the mayor and council oversee the legislative side.

Municipal elections are nonpartisan in this heavily Democratic area.

‘Vote Harvesting Scheme’

On April 25 of this year, Molina and his wife, Dalia Molina, were arrested.

“Molina and his wife had numerous voters change their addresses to places they didn’t live—including the apartment complex he owns,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced after the arrests, adding that Molina’s “vote harvesting scheme involved the participation of paid campaign workers, among others.”

Vote harvesting is when campaign workers collect and submit voter registration forms and absentee ballots by soliciting people.

Earlier this month, a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted Richard and Dalia Molina on one count each of engaging in organized election fraud and 11 counts of illegal voting. The indictment names nine co-conspirators.

Molina declined to speak with The Daily Signal about the criminal charges, citing the advice of lawyers. However, he noted that his margin of victory over Garcia far exceeded the number of questionable votes cast.

Ricardo Rodriguez, the Hidalgo district attorney who is prosecuting the case, declined an interview with The Daily Signal during a brief meeting at his office at the Hidalgo County Courthouse Annex, saying speaking about the ongoing case could pose legal problems.

Some of Molina’s supporters, however, insist that the other side engaged in a similar voting scheme, and they suggest the prosecutor has a conflict. They filed their own complaints against presumed Garcia voters.

Molina’s defenders also note that Rodriguez is the nephew of Terry Palacios, a law partner of the former mayor in the firm of Garcia, Quintanilla, and Palacios.

‘Pressured and Persuaded’

The criminal complaint against the mayor lays out a scathing picture of recruiting voters from Sept. 19 to Nov. 7,  2017, which was Election Day. The mayor has denied every allegation.

In Texas, it’s a first-degree felony to engage in organized election fraud, under a bill passed by the state Legislature that went into effect on Sept. 1, 2017.

The law outlines what constitutes an offense committed “with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a vote harvesting organization.”

Shortly after it went into effect, the criminal complaint alleges, Molina “aided, solicited, and encouraged” and “pressured and persuaded” persons who lived outside Edinburg to register illegally with an address inside the city so they could vote for him. One of the addresses is for an apartment complex the mayor owns, prosecutors said.

Most of the 19 arrested, including the mayor and his wife, were charged with illegal voting, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Two were charged with making a false statement on a voter registration form, a Class B misdemeanor.

Documents from the Attorney General’s Office identify “cooperating conspirator witnesses” whose identities are being shielded.

The most damaging information may have come from the seventh cooperating witness, who claimed to be part of a conversation in which Molina said his strategy was to falsely register some voters with city addresses.

This witness said Dalia Molina advised him or her to register at an Edinburg address and vote for her husband, which the witness did, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint against the mayor’s wife states that on Aug. 21, 2017, Dalia and Richard Molina first asked someone who later became a cooperating witness to make an address change. The complaint further alleges that she followed up Oct. 10 by giving “Person A” a blank voter registration form.

Mayor’s Apartment Complex

Among those arrested were three sisters and their brother whose voter registrations show them living at a four-building apartment complex at 2416 E. Rogers Rd. The apartment complex is owned by Molina, according to a public announcement and additional arrest reports provided by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Arrest reports note that investigators combed through motor vehicle information, school enrollment, and utility bills to determine that those arrested actually lived outside the city limits.

Residents who answered their doors at the apartment complex—located in a rural edge of Edinburg behind several manufactured houses—told The Daily Signal that they didn’t live there in 2017. Some noted that the mayor or his wife collect their rent checks.

“I heard something about a scandal, but I can’t believe he’d be involved in something like that,” said Lewis, 72, a resident who didn’t want to give a last name. “He won by a landslide, from what I heard. Anytime somebody wants to bring down a politician or a preacher or whatever, they just come up with a scandal.”

One of the mayor’s supporters, who asked not to be identified, said it is a low-income complex. Residents rent from month to month, the supporter said, which is why it’s likely someone might have had a different address before or after registering to vote.

Little Blue House

Seven out-of-towners were registered to vote with the address of 409 E. Fay St., a small blue house not far from downtown Edinburg, authorities say. At least four were from a family whose home actually is in Alamo, Texas (about 12 miles away), and another was identified as a boyfriend, according to arrest reports.

The blue house appeared abandoned when visited by The Daily Signal, with boarded-up windows and an overgrown yard. A sign on a chain-link fence says: “For Sale by Owner.”

“They said they all live there,” Molina reportedly said in May 2018 of the seven voters registered with the 409 E. Fay St. address. “I don’t know; I don’t stay in the house with them every day.”

Six others registered to vote with different addresses inside city limits other than East Rogers Road and Fay Street, but didn’t live at those addresses, according to arrest reports.

In May 2018, Texas Ranger Chad Matlock interviewed a cooperating witness who admitted to changing his or her voter registration on Sept. 19, 2017, after Molina said the witness “was permitted to do so.” The witness then voted illegally.

Another witness, in an interview with the Election Fraud Unit’s investigator Sgt. John Waits, admitted to doing the same, falsely registering on Oct. 10, 2017, before illegally voting in the municipal election. This witness claimed he or she “would have never falsely changed” the registration if Richard Molina “did not solicit” the action.

This witness claimed to have received numerous text messages from Molina for several days before the election, as a reminder to vote.

Another witness said Molina “provided the address” to use on a voter registration form.

The Texas Rangers made the first round of arrests in May 2018, charging four individuals with illegal voting, including one they said registered to vote with the Fay Street address and another with the East Rogers Road address, but who actually lived outside the city.

In November 2018, a year after the election, the Rangers made another roundup of Hidalgo County residents mostly connected to the Fay Street and East Rogers Road addresses, charging them with illegal voting.

Of the 10 charged, three were not registered at either the East Rogers Road or the East Fay Street addresses.

Al Alvarez, a McAllen lawyer who represents one of the defendants in the case, is critical of the law that led to the prosecution.

“Historically in Texas, all cases about voting were misdemeanors because we want to encourage people to vote, not discourage them,” Alvarez told The Daily Signal. “It’s difficult to know where the law ends and politics pick up, but the people suspect.”

“Election cases usually don’t do very well,” he said. “Politics don’t change through prosecutions, they change through elections.”

The Investigation’s Start

After Molina’s victory, Mary Alice Palacios, a former municipal judge with connections to the defeated mayor, compiled information about voter addresses. She sent her complaint documenting addresses to the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, which referred most of the questionable registrations to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Palacios “alleges that multiple persons provided false information to register to vote and voted illegally,” the attorney general’s Law Enforcement Division said in a memo dated Jan. 22, 2018.

Palacios is the aunt of the Hidalgo county prosecutor involved in the case, Rodriguez. Rodriguez disclosed his connection with her to Paxton’s office, which primarily pursued the case through Waits. Texas Rangers in the state’s Department of Public Safety also investigated, according to the April 25 criminal complaint from Paxton’s office.

Molina has also reportedly called the investigation retaliation because Palacios had a $300,000 insurance contract with the city that was cancelled when Molina was mayor.

Palacios returned a phone call from The Daily Signal, but declined to comment on the case while it is under investigation.

‘Wrong Case?’

Paxton, the attorney general, expressed appreciation in a press release for the district attorney’s “commitment to election integrity” in this and unrelated cases.

However, not everyone in Edinburg thinks the commitment is consistent.

Jerad Najvar, a Houston lawyer who has actively fought voter fraud, represents Molina in the recall matter. He contends that Paxton is pursuing the wrong case.

“Molina’s side filed the same complaints, but the attorney general wanted a big fish. This is a mayor of a reasonable-sized city,” Najvar told The Daily Signal.

Supporters of the mayor, including his wife Dalia, made complaints to Texas Secretary of State David Whitley about presumed Garcia voters. They provided motor vehicles records and land deeds as evidence that likely Garcia voters registered with Edinburg addresses were residents not only of nearby McAllen but also of Houston and San Antonio.

The Secretary of State’s Office received 12 complaints against Garcia’s campaign for recruiting nonresidents to vote in the city election. It determined six complaints had enough evidence to refer to Paxton’s Election Fraud Unit, spokesman Sam Taylor said.

“If there was not enough evidence to warrant an investigation, we didn’t refer,” Taylor told The Daily Signal.

Asked about Molina’s margin of victory, Taylor said: “I’m not aware that there were 1,200 illegally registered voters in the city; I believe [it’s] far less.”

Among the complaints against presumed Garcia voters, alleging they used phony addresses, including one complaint about Mary Alice Palacios.

The one about Palacios, the former judge who filed the first complaint against the Molina campaign, is one of the six complaints the Secretary of State’s Office confirmed forwarding to the attorney general for investigation. It accuses Palacios of living outside the city but using another address.

“They are using prosecutorial discretion to allow prosecution of just one side of the aisle,” Najvar said, referring to the case against Molina. “The incumbent Garcia and Palacios were law partners.”

“The public sees through it. This is an effort to take back the power they lost in 2017,” he said, referring to the mayoral election.

“I’m all for fighting voter fraud and I’ve done so in Hidalgo County,” Najvar said. “Attorney General Paxton is going after voter fraud. That’s fantastic. But Paxton has been jerked around on this by complicit local prosecutors.”

Taylor, spokesman for the secretary of state, said the attorney general’s office typically doesn’t confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. So it doesn’t comment on whether Garcia supporters also are under scrutiny.

Paxton spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn initially told The Daily Signal that someone from the office would address the matter, but the office did not respond to several follow-up calls and emails.

The Next Chapter

As the mayor, his wife, and those accused of voting after registering with fake addresses move toward a trial, the next chapter could be a recall election.

Robert Solis, a nurse anesthetist, says he isn’t particularly political but started a petition drive to recall Molina because he thought Edinburg was getting a black eye.

“It looked bad on our city. I mean, we made The Washington Post, we made The New York Times, USA Today, Austin [American-] Statesman,” Solis told The Daily Signal. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Solis and others have collected more than half of the nearly 2,200 signatures they need by June 21 to trigger a recall. They seek signatures at tables set up in the Echo Hotel and at public events such as a 5K race.

Solis, leader of the recall effort, said he is familiar with allegations against both sides, but would like to see the city make a new beginning.

“I know the people that I have talked to on both sides, mainly on the recall side, really want to push, hopefully, somebody new, somebody not involved on either side, somebody that can bring new leadership to Edinburg,” Solis said.

Recall efforts are not unusual at the municipal level in Texas or nationally, and public officials frequently weather the storm, according to data from Ballotpedia, a nonprofit that tracks election information.

“In 2018, Ballotpedia covered 206 recall efforts against 299 officials” nationally, Dave Beaudoin, news editor at Ballotpedia, told The Daily Signal. “Recall attempts targeting 150 officials did not make it to the ballot.”

“Of the 123 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot,” Beaudoin said, “77 were recalled and 46 survived the attempt. Ten other officials resigned before their recalls could go to a vote. That year had the largest percentage of recalls approved at the ballot since our tracking began in 2012.”

Mayors accounted for 13% of the recall efforts across the country in 2018, down from 19% the year before.

The mayor’s office contends it’s business as usual.

“Day-to-day operations are not affected at all,” city spokeswoman Cary Zayas told The Daily Signal, talking about the case against Molina. “The mayor remains the mayor. … He has been very much accessible at all times.”

“He’s at the meetings,” Zayas said of Molina. “He’s conducting business, he’s going to groundbreakings. He’s carrying on with business as usual because he denies any wrongdoing, No. 1; and No. 2, there is no reason why he shouldn’t.”

Monte, the planning consultant, said he worries that a recall election for Molina at this stage is “putting the cart before the horse.”

“Whether you believe the mayor is guilty or not, I think that we need to wait for the process,” Monte said. “He has been arrested, but he has not been tried. He has not been found guilty. There is already a recall. It’s politically based in reference to other people that wish they were mayor or want to be mayor, rather than anything else.”

Other Edinburg residents have differing views.

“If the mayor committed voter fraud, he should pay a price,” Sara Reyes, 47, told The Daily Signal outside a shopping center in Edinburg. “He should stay clean. This is why people don’t trust politicians.”

Abel Rocha, 46, said Molina “seems like a good man.”

“I’ll leave it up to God,” Rocha said in an interview near the same shopping center. “If he committed a crime, or it ends up he did something wrong, he’ll be punished.”

Joseph Schubert, 51, had a more decided view.

“I’ve heard people talk about it, but the mayor won in a landslide,” Schubert said in a parking lot interview. “I think some people are just sore losers.”

COLUMN BY

Fred Lucas

Fred Lucas is the White House correspondent for The Daily Signal and co-host of “The Right Side of History” podcast. Lucas is also the author of “Tainted by Suspicion: The Secret Deals and Electoral Chaos of Disputed Presidential Elections.”Send an email to Fred. Twitter: @FredLucasWH.

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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: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Florida Passes Toughest Sanctuary City Ban In The Nation

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed into law the toughest sanctuary cities bill ban in the nation, keeping a campaign promise despite apoplectic, snarky media coverage.

DeSantis today signed Senate Bill 168 requiring Florida law enforcement officials and governmental entities to honor federal “immigration detainer” requests that ask a law enforcement agency to detain someone on probable cause that they can be removed from the country under federal immigration laws. That is, they are here illegally and will be sent home. Because law enforcement is holding them, that means they either have or are accused of committing crimes beyond illegal entry into the U.S.

In sanctuary cities around the nation, law officers cannot hold them for Immigration officials, but must release them back into the population.

The new law prohibits local officials from implementing any sort of “sanctuary” policies, which problematically had previously not been defined in state law, and gives the governor the authority to remove officials from office if they do not comply with the law.

That is a powerful strong law.

Despite the media talking about how the law is “controversial” — mostly in newsrooms and Democratic headquarters — DeSantis and team created a huge, public signing ceremony, live-streamed it on Facebook and had a lot of those involved present. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represents Okaloosa County, where the bill-signing took place, and bill sponsor state Sen. Joe Gruters, of Sarasota, also the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, joined at the event.

Apparently these guys don’t feel it is too “controversial.”

DeSantis told a packed Okaloosa County Commission Chambers that the bill “is about the rule of law” and emphasized the issue of “public safety.”

“I said we were going to do certain things, and I’m happy to report after having just one legislative session under our belt we’re delivering on the promises we made to the people of Florida,” he said.

Sanctuary cities are popular in liberal states and in some cities in red states. But they are also havens for criminals who obviously flock to those areas where they will be protected from the feds.

DeSantis called them “law-free zones” where people who are here illegally can commit crimes, and then “just walk out the door and continue to do it.”

The media is running their normal PR campaign for Democrats. The Tampa Bay Times’ snarky headline is: “Gov. DeSantis signs ‘sanctuary cities’ ban into law. There aren’t any in Florida.”

Well yes, because there had not been a definition before and this is designed to make sure there won’t be any in the future.

Here’s the lead right below it.

“Fulfilling a key, controversial campaign promise popular with his party’s base, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday that will ban so-called “sanctuary cities” in Florida, though the policy is expected to draw a legal skirmish over its constitutionality as it goes into effect next month.”

See, it’s just about playing to the base. But is it? The Hill reported:

“A survey from Harvard–Harris Poll provided exclusively to The Hill found that 80 percent of voters say local authorities should have to comply with the law by reporting to federal agents the illegal immigrants they come into contact with.”

So maybe not all that controversial among Americans after all. Mostly journalists.

Considering the chaotic and tragic crisis at the southern border that President Trump and some Republicans have been trying to fix — and being blocked at every turn by activist judges and Democrats in Congress — this issue will remain a winner for Republicans in 2020.

EDITORS NOTE: This Revolutionary Act column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Trevor Loudon documentary on ANTIFA, a worthy use of one’s time

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Published by Eeyore.

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WARNING: The dangers of ‘negative identification’ and the tyranny of blaming others for what you are doing

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I came across a very insightful clip of Jamie Glazov speaking about “negative identification.” Please watch:

I found this clip profound in that it explains the sadistic nature we are seeing played out today globally. Rape, incest, sodomy, hate, lies, torture and murder are headline news every day.

In my column Democratic Party Candidates for President Are Promoting the Seven Deadly Sins I noted:

As the Democratic field of candidates for president expands we are beginning to see what policies they are promoting. As we read their public statements of things that they promise they will do if elected it brought to mind that they fit into neat categories. These categories are the the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Seven Deadly Sins are: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Laziness, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Each of these can lead to a state of self negative identification.

Another outcome of those who embrace one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins is “projection.’ Projection is, “a form of defense in which unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat from the external world. A common form of projection occurs when an individual, threatened by his own angry feelings, accuses another of harbouring hostile thoughts.”

What we are seeing is words thrown about at the highest level of our government and lowest parts of our street culture that blame others for what one actually does. Whites calling other whites “supremacist”, blacks calling other black “Uncle Tom” because they hold conservative political views and socialists calling others Nazis, when in fact the Nazis were socialists.

As I have written these Seven Deadly Sins have now become public policy, at least in one political party in the United States. Here’s the list:

  • Lust – to have an intense desire or need. Each of the candidates for president has a lust for power over the masses. This lust for power (big government) is demonstrated by the turn of Democrats toward “Democratic Socialism.” In a 1989 television interview Senator Bernie Sanders described himself as a “socialist.” As the author of ‘From a “Race of Masters” to a “Master Race”: 1948 to 1848‘ A.E. Samaan wrote “Democratic Socialism devolves into totalitarian Socialism and eventually into full on Communism as people resist statism.”
  • Gluttony – excess in eating and drinking. Democrats work hard to portray the Republican Party, and President Trump, who support the free market system as gluttony. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said in 2015, “Let me say a word about that. You are looking at a candidate who does not represent the agenda of corporate America. Who does not represent the agenda of the billionaire class.” According to Celebrity Net Worth, as of 2017, Sanders is worth an estimated $2 million. According to Business Insider, “Sanders reportedly owns three homes, including a four-bedroom house in Chittenden County, Vermont, that he bought with his wife, Jane, for $405,000 in 2009.” Senator Sanders is considered one of the poorest of those running for president. For example, according to News Week Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, “O’Rourke had a net worth of about $9 million in 2015…O’Rourke also married into wealth. The woman he married in 2005, Amy Hoover Sanders, is the daughter of real estate tycoon William Sanders, whom The New York Times called a billionaire, but his net worth was closer to $500 million, Forbes estimated in November [2018].”
  • Greed – excessive or reprehensible passion in acquiring money or material things. See Gluttony.
  • Laziness – disinclined to activity or exertion: not energetic or vigorous. Democrats support two policies that promote laziness. The first is the $15 minimum wage ($15 Now). Raising the minimum wage without merit promotes laziness. Why work harder when a Democratic Party controlled government is going to raise every ones hourly salary anyway? The second is promising a job to everyone. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., released a plan that would create a pilot job guarantee programs in 15 communities where unemployment is particularly high. NPR reports, “Proposals like a job guarantee, Medicare for all and tuition-free college have moved from the policy fringe on the left toward the mainstream in the Democratic Party, embraced by some of those interested in challenging Trump as the party tries to give voters a clear, memorable outline of what Democrats stand for.” Getting something for nothing is the definition of laziness.
  • Wrath – strong vengeful anger or indignation. Anger, indignation and hate permeates the Democratic candidates. They cannot fathom that there are Americans who voted to make Donald J. Trump president and will do so again in 2020. Timothy P. Carney in a Washington Examiner column titled “Can Democrats love the voters Hillary hated?” wrote, “Democrats took over the House of Representatives in part by picking up dozens of seats in upper-middle-class suburban districts. The new bragging point for Democrats is that they are the party of the highly educated and the successful. It allows for the self-serving explanation that people who know the real deal vote Democratic, and only the clueless bitter clingers vote Republican.” The use of terms like racist, bigoted, hateful, misogynistic, Islamophobic and homophobic against those who support President Trump are key indicators of how wrathful Democrats and their supporters have become. What is also on the rise is the wrath of the Democratic Party against Jews. Anti-Semitism is now their official policy.
  • Envy – painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage. Democrats hate success (see Gluttony, Greed and Wrath). Democratic candidates for president are by all definitions successful people. However, they envy those who are as or more successful than they are. They want to tax those with wealth at a rate of 70%. It is most interesting that Democrats are fully embraced by a litany of Hollywood millionaires, corporate billionaires (CEOs of Facebook, Google, Twitter) and multi-millionaire sports and media personalities.
  • Pride – quality or state of being proud – inordinate self esteem. Democrats embrace the term “pride” but pride in what exactly? Are they proud to be an American? Do they take pride in making America, and thereby Americans, great? Their stated policies would show that they hate America. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stated on MSNBC, “I hear these things about ‘let’s make America great again’ and I think to myself, exactly ‘when did you think America was great’?” Another example of pride is former President Barack Obama referring to himself a record-breaking 392 times in his April, 2019 Berlin speech. Democratic pride in deed and words.

When some say that the November 2020 Presidential Election is about the soul of this nation, they are spot on.

Chameleon Man Vs Trump. Genuineness In The Age Of Fakery

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A lot of Americans do not like President Trump’s vulgarities, the name-calling, petty Twitter feuds and previous adulteries. But they love the flag-hugging, make-America-great-again, straight-talking President Trump that is presiding over an awful lot of good in the country and clearly puts American interests first.

He’s not a global community kind of guy. He’s America first.

And it points to a powerful but underestimated strength of President Trump: His genuineness. He doesn’t poll test and run focus groups to figure out which policies are popular and which phrases to use like so many politicians do.

He doesn’t (very much) kowtow to what is popular in his Republican Party to win points. If he did, he would not be waging tariff wars to get more fair trade agreements or going to the mat to secure our southern border — both of which are intrinsically part of MAGA and that genuine love for America, but make a lot of Republicans quiver.

He’s most definitely his own man. His unpopular personality traits and his authenticity all flow together to create a public man who is the same as the private man. People can actually relate to that.

Americans like straight-talkers and not two-faced political hacks who will say anything to get support.

Which brings us to the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race.

Joe Biden is the epitome of what Trump voters despise about politics, politicians and Washington, D.C. in general. In a word, he’s a phony. (In this sense, Biden acts as a sort of stand-in for everyone running in the Democratic Party right now, with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders. And let’s be honest, a lot of Republicans do the same.)

Biden morphs into whatever his wet finger in the wind tells him voters want him to be.

It’s his sole superpower: He’s Chameleon Man!

Biden stuck with the Hyde Amendment that blocked direct federal funding of abortion for decades. It was not popular with the NARAL crowd, but many in the Democratic Party and certainly most of Americans agreed with the principle.

For 46 years he supported the very “principle,” or so he said, that taxpayers morally opposed to abortion should not be forced to pay for them. But the Democratic Party has been reactionarily radicalized in the age of Trump and now heavily supports dumping the Hyde Amendment. NBC News did a story on Biden’s long support of Hyde and reported staffers saying he still did. The base represented by Alyssa Milano erupted in horror and slammed him, as did his Democratic opponents.

Cue Chameleon Man! Within 24 hours of the non-issue becoming an issue, Biden flipped on his 46-year “principles” and abandoned Hyde.

The Hill reported:

“By the time he was preparing his remarks for a Democratic Party fundraising event that night, even Biden realized there was no plausible way forward beside switching his previous position.”

Poof! No principles, just the wet finger. This is of course totally expected of politicians. But it’s actually not something Trump does. In such a situation, he punches back and punches back. It can look ugly and petty, but he rarely flips, and certainly not on any of his big issues.

Biden had already donned his Chameleon Man outfit over the crime bill he helped champion during the Clinton administration. The bill, with its mandatory minimum sentences and other points was in response to crime spiraling out of control and Americans’ frustration with judges continually letting bad guys go with a slap on the wrists. It undoubtedly was a major contributor to the decline in the crime rate. More bad guys were locked up for longer, less crime was committed. Math. Biden used to be proud of it.

But to the current left and Democratic Party, it caused a “mass incarceration crisis” because a higher percentage of the more bad guys locked up were minority, specifically black. And blacks vote Democratic at 90 percent. So the crime bill that lowered crime is now seen as a bad thing.

Shazaam! Chameleon Man leaps to the mic and flip flops on his long support of his own crime bill. He now considers it well-intentioned, does not really want to admit the mass incarceration language, but says they should have done differently and he would not do it again. He’s like a fish on the boat floor, flipping and flopping everywhere.

And then there is the really slimy thing he did with Vice President Mike Pence. Biden called him a “decent guy” but then went on to criticize him on a number of issues. Well, the “decent guy” part got him hammered on social media because Pence is a Bible-believing Christian and actually believes that marriage should be between one man and one woman — like all of history until five minutes ago.

But to the heavily influential LGBTQ+ segment in the Democratic Party, Pence is Satan — if they believed in Satan. Chameleon Man to the rescue! Biden came out the next day and “clarified” that there is no room for bigotry regarding LGBTQ+ rights. No more talk of Pence being decent.

Reuters writes of Biden and his new climate change proposal, and flip on the Hyde Amendment, in the normal language of simply accepting this is reality among politicians: “(Biden) was courting the groups he needs to consolidate his grip on the nomination: the activists, progressives and millennials who right now have the louder voices in the party.”

No principles. No authenticity. Just a big, sloppy wet finger in the wind.

Biden has been an empty vessel for a long time. He was caught lying in the 1980s when he claimed he marched with Civil Rights protesters in the south. When he was caught in the lie, he said he meant marched in spirit with them. He also was caught heavily plagiarizing a paper in law school, and also on stump speeches in his 1987 presidential campaign, while additionally actually lifting experiences from other people’s lives and using them as his own.

Far left Slate magazine wrote of Biden’s troubling problems with both the truth and flip-flopping:

“What remains concerning about that history is Biden’s tendency to enthusiastically claim life experiences that aren’t his own, whether because it’s politically advantageous or rhetorically exciting to do so. He didn’t just use hefty chunks from a published law review for a 15-page paper in law school. He didn’t just lift some phrases from Bobby Kennedy. In 1987, Biden started borrowing not just language but biographical details from U.K. Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, citing nonexistent coal-mining ancestors and wondering aloud why he was the first in his family to go to college (he wasn’t). Biden also lied—repeatedly, and despite being repeatedly corrected—about marching for civil rights.”

This is just who Biden is, and always has been. He is a principle-free empty vessel into which Washington politics has been poured. In this sense, Biden acts as a sort of stand-in for possibly everyone running in the Democratic Party right now, with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders.

Trump is a totally different animal. You may not like what Trump says or his policies. But he won’t cave to various special interest groups or flip on issues because it will help him pick up a few votes.

When Trump walked on stage to give a speech at CPAC in March and spontaneously hugged the American flag with that big old grin on his face, everyone knew that was genuine. And they liked him for it — not just the core conservative crowd, but a lot of non-Democratic Party Americans. It wasn’t just that he obviously loves the flag and the country, which is a sharp departure from his predecessor, but that everyone knew he really meant it. This was no poll-tested flag hug.

There is a lot of “code” attributed to Trump. But that is obvious nonsense. Donald Trump is constitutionally incapable of being subtle, at least in the public arena. To the chagrin of some, he usually says exactly what he thinks. But that separates him from pretty much all of the political world.

And many middle Americans may well be placing greater value on authenticity than they used to.

EDITORS NOTE: This Revolutionary Act column is republished with permission.

Before the Income Tax, our Nation was Supported by Tariffs

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The prohibiting duties we lay on all articles of foreign manufacture which prudence indeed requires us to establish at home, with the patriotic determination of every good citizen to use no foreign article which can be made within ourselves, without regard to difference of price, secures us against a relapse into foreign dependency. Thomas Jefferson, in an 1815 letter to John-Baptiste Say, a French economist

A free people … should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent on others for essentials, particularly military supplies.  President George Washington

Under free trade, the trader is the master and the producer the slave. Protection is but the law of nature, the law of self-preservation, of self-development, of securing the highest and best destiny of the race of man. Free trade destroys the dignity and independence of American labor… It will take away from the people of this country who work for a living— and the majority of them live by the sweat of their faces— it will take from them heart and home and hope. It will be self-destruction. President William McKinley

I wish we still had tariffs on all imports.  Why?  Because tariffs are what kept America’s manufacturing alive, our people with decent jobs, our ability to purchase quality goods produced by American owned companies, and because those tariffs once supported the entire cost of running our country. For 126 years, until 1913, there was no federal income tax and we kept all of the monies we earned.  Today’s communist progressive taxation is a far cry from what our founders envisioned for America’s citizens.

Following World War II, America began switching from a policy of protection, to a policy of “free trade,” which used international trade deals as a means of diplomacy and alliance-building, slowly eroding and ultimately destroying America’s status as the world’s dominant manufacturing power.

The idea that America’s economic tradition has been economic liberty, laissez faire, and wide-open cowboy capitalism, which would naturally include free trade… is simply not real history. The reality is that all four presidents on Mount Rushmore were protectionists. Protectionism was, in fact, the real American way.

Trump’s populist pro-tariff advisors Bannon and Navarro opposed the globalists in Trump’s administration, including economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, then Trump’s national security adviser.

Gary Cohn resigned when the President called for broad import tariffs on steel and aluminum, anathema to establishment free-trade Democrats and Republicans.  McMaster was fired and replaced by former UN Ambassador, John Bolton.

The 1913 Income Tax

This tax dominates the revenue scheme of the federal government today.  It is totally unconstitutional.  Prior to ratification of the 16th Amendment (income tax) in February 1913, the federal government managed its few constitutional responsibilities without an income tax, except during the Civil War period. During peacetime, it did so largely or even entirely on import taxes called “tariffs.”

Congress ran the fed government on tariffs alone because fed responsibilities did not include welfare programs, agricultural subsidies, Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid.  Before the Northern War of Aggression, the need for tariff revenue to finance the federal government generally kept the tariffs at reasonable levels. During wartime throughout early American history, the Founding Fathers were able to raise additional revenue employing a different method of direct taxation authorized by the U.S. Constitution prior to the 16th Amendment. These alternative taxing methods gave the young American nation embarrassing peacetime budget surpluses that several times came close to paying off the national debt.

President Andrew Jackson boasted in his veto of the Maysville Road Bill in 1830 that God had blessed the nation with no taxes (except tariffs on imports) and no national debt.  “Old Hickory” presided over a nation where Congress had abolished all federal internal taxes, and no citizen saw a tax collector of the United States unless that citizen was in the business of importing foreign goods.  (And now, the $20-dollar bill sporting the visage of Tennessee’s beloved President Andrew Jackson will be replaced with the picture of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman.)

While American consumers were occasionally manipulated by outrageously high protective tariffs, inside the United States a massive free market emerged over which the U.S. government had almost no influence.

By way of contrast, the advent of the income tax prompted some congressmen to note that this tax was designed not principally for revenue, the U.S. government had always had plenty of money from tariffs, but to manipulate the American people and their choices in the market.

This has been the legacy of the income tax. While the income tax has produced the type of revenue that has made a massive transfer of wealth from the productive to the unproductive, the incentives, through thousands of deductions and tax credits have manipulated the American people into choices that they wouldn’t have otherwise made in a free market. These manipulations, whether in favor of “green energy” research, “cash for clunker” automobile purchases, or tobacco crop subsidies, have been chosen according to the prevailing virtue in Washington.

Prior to 1913, Americans were responsible for themselves and independent enough to know that their future depended not on the government, but solely on themselves.

Selling Out American Manufacturing

In 1992, ads in local newspapers encouraged businesses to transfer their manufacturing to Honduras, El Salvador, the Caribbean Basin International Development Zone, of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  These were International Free Trade Zones and Port Industrial Free Zones. This included Mexico.

Instead of paying living wages in the United States, corporations were urged to move to countries where wages were $.33 to $.56 per hour.  In 1991, a U.S. government agency actually directed apparel firms in the Southeast to be approached and sold on the idea of going offshore where the labor was cheaper.  There is a Puerto Rican and Asian connection as well.  Hundreds of companies moved their plants out of our country, and this was 27 years ago.

I remember a friend of mine who worked for Levi Strauss jeans at a terrific middle-class salary being told to train the Mexican workers how to do their jobs knowing the company was moving manufacturing to Mexico.  The Mexicans were given free living accommodations in our country, they were free from our income taxes, and they took over the jobs our American citizens had for a lot less money and manufacturing was ultimately moved to Mexico.

Check out the 1992 article from the Pennsylvania Crier.  It will shock you.  Then go to the original Pennsylvania Crier home page and click on “Downloads.”  The information in this website documents history with far more than anything you’ll find in today’s school books.  It is invaluable!

Our country’s manufacturing was purposely sold to third world countries to the detriment of our own people.  When NAFTA was first promoted, the calls to our Congressional reps were ten to one against it, but our globalist enemies sold us out and voted for it.

Unfortunately, Trump’s Trade Representative, CFR member Robert Lighthizer has sold us out and fooled our President into thinking the USMCA is a better deal than NAFTA.  It is not! And Trump does not have conservative advisers who will read Lighthizer’s USMCA and tell him the truth.  Numerous articles have been written regarding the contents and the loss of our sovereignty.  Publius Huldah wrote that it not only violates our U.S. Constitution, but it also sets up global government.  And my friend, J.W. Bryan, has written numerous articles exposing the dangers within the USMCA.

Trump’s Tariffs on Chinese Imports

Last September 2018, President Trump announced tariffs on “roughly $200 billion of imports from China.” These tariffs are on top of the ones imposed during the summer on $50 billion of products from that country.

Mr. Trump has consistently believed that Beijing needed America far more than America needed China, largely because China is the country running large trade surpluses. In 2017, China’s merchandise trade surplus against the United States hit a record $375.6 billion. As Trump knows, trade-surplus countries get mauled in “trade wars.” Therefore, Beijing, not Washington, is the party that needs to talk to reduce tension.

After extensive trade talks with China ended without an agreement on May 10, 2019, President Trump raised the tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. China retaliated three days later, announcing new tariffs on $60 billion of American exports.

Asia expert, Gordon Chang is urging the president to remain strong on tariffs, telling Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Opens a New Window. the only way to prevent Chinese theft and trade imbalance is for the U.S. to raise tariffs Opens a New Window. and implement continued pressure on the Chinese.  Chang told Dobbs, “We have seen so many trade negotiations between previous presidents and the Chinese. They have all failed. The Chinese have violated every single agreement. This is really important for us. This is where we either stand or we fail, and the only thing that’s going to get us there is President Trump.”

Of course, there are free-trade Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz who claim these actions will hurt the farmers and people of Texas.  Cruz previously supported giving fast track authority on trade to President Obama.  But our President already said the government would be subsidizing the farmers’ losses during this “fair” trade battle with China.

The Mexican Border and Trade

Personally, I’d like to see the border closed completely.  The trade trucks can stand in line at the border and be thoroughly inspected to allow them into the states.  But the border should be closed.  All border ports of entry should also be closed.  We are being flooded with illegal immigrants pleading asylum, being loosed in America and never showing up for their court appearances.  If anyone believes there are only 12 to 30 million illegals in this country, they are not paying attention.  The count is over 60 million or more and growing daily.

We do not have enough border patrol agents, ICE agents, fences or walls built as high as the Vatican, or congressional laws to protect American citizens from the influx and costs of these lawbreakers.  There are many Islamist terrorists amongst them who daily illegally cross into America.

President Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico being raised every single month until something was done by Mexico to stop them.  According to the State Department, Mexico agreed to dispatch 6,000 national guardsmen at the border with Guatemala to block migrants from reaching the United States and expand a Trump administration program that holds thousands of asylum-seekers in Mexico during U.S. immigration processing.  Over 90 percent of those released into America never appear in court and are free to remain in America.

If Mexico’s actions “do not have the expected results,” additional measures could be taken within 90 days, and the two countries will continue to discuss add-on steps during that period.  This includes tariffs on Mexican goods coming into our country increasing every month until this influx of illegal aliens is quelled.  Link  Without our President and without these tariff threats, there would have been no deal.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson put more than 100,000 National Guard troops on the Mexican border.  The military buildup followed an early-morning raid at the garrison town of Columbus, New Mexico. Ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed when the Mexican revolutionary leader General Francisco “Pancho” Villa attacked with almost 500 men.

It’s time for America to put thousands upon thousands of National Guard troops on our border again, and armed with equipment to prevent the surge of illegals from entering our country.  And yes, there is new military equipment that repels invaders called the Active Denial Systems Non-Lethal Weapon and turns them back without hurting them.  This needs to be manned and used on the entire southern border.

Conclusion

Pat Buchanan was absolutely on target when he stated, “Once a nation has put its foot onto the slippery slope of global free trade, the process is inexorable, the end inevitable: death of the nation-state.”

Tariffs are the answer.  The only way our nation can regain control of trade that benefits American citizens is through tariffs.  Neither China nor Mexico will cave to our demands unless they suffer the consequences of American tariffs.

If we subsidize our farmers and those who lose during this battle, a battle that we continue to fight over a period of five years or more, manufacturing would again start up in America, first with small businesses, and then it would spread.  Our nation would again be one of productivity, surplus, and financial growth for her citizens.

To right the wrongs can be painful for a short time, but in the long run will revive and restore our country.