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Ruth King

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Interminable impeachment By J.T. Young

By on December 27th, 2019

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/475894-interminable-impeachment

President Trump’s acquittal in the U.S. Senate is a foregone conclusion. But it will not be impeachment’s conclusion for Democrats. Democrats’ decision not to send House impeachment articles to the Senate clearly signals their strategy: Delegitimize any action short of removal. They will not let impeachment go, now or ever, because they must counter their sagging – and President Trump’s strengthening – political position.  

Democrats have been calling for President Trump’s removal forever, pursuing de facto impeachment since taking the House this year, and pursuing it in fact since September. This marathon became a sprint: One week in the House Judiciary Committee and one day on the House floor. Now, it has abruptly halted at what should be its climax.  

House leaders say they are not sending the impeachment articles to the Senate in order to leverage a fair trial there. How this gives them leverage, or how a trial there could be less fair than the House’s proceedings, is unclear. What is clear is that Democrats intend to maintain impeachment as an issue beyond its constitutional course. To rephrase Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over, even after the fat lady sings.”

To understand why, it is necessary to understand the myriad reasons behind Democrats’ singular obsession with impeachment.  

First, they have a weak case. This was evidenced by the bipartisan opposition to impeachment and the Democrats’ inability to convince even one Republican to support it.

Democrats therefore must blame someone else, and they are laying the foundation for claiming that someone else – additional witnesses – could have provided it.  

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HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

U.S. appeals court voids ‘shockingly low’ 17-year sentence in NY terrorism case Jonathan Stempel

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-crime-terrorism/u-s-appeals-court-voids-shockingly-low-17-year-sentence-in-ny-terrorism-case-idUSKBN1YV1AL

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday ordered the resentencing of a Staten Island, New York man for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State and kill an FBI agent, saying his 17-year prison term was “shockingly low.”

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Fareed Mumuni’s trial judge abused her discretion in imposing a term that was 80% below the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines, and even below the 18-year term for co-defendant Munther Omar Saleh, who was not accused of attempted murder.

In a 2-1 decision, the court said U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie improperly second-guessed whether Mumuni, 25, intended to kill FBI Special Agent Kevin Coughlin in June 2015 by stabbing him repeatedly with an 8-inch kitchen knife in Mumuni’s home.

It also said Brodie gave too much weight to mitigating factors such as Mumuni’s age, his lack of a prior criminal record and support from family and friends.

Such errors “caused the district court to render a sentence that is shockingly low and unsupportable as a matter of law,” Circuit Judge Jose Cabranes wrote for the majority.

Mumuni’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue in Brooklyn, whose office appealed the sentence, declined to comment.

Coughlin survived the attack.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

CAN TRUMP PUT THE USA BACK TOGETHER AGAIN? ROGER SIMON

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.theepochtimes.com/can-trump-put-humpty-dumpty-the-usa-back-together-again_3186323.html

I’m no Nostradamus—indeed Nostradamus was no Nostradamus when it came to predictions, if you read the actual history. But I’m certain “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Donald Trump, despite the inevitable hiccups, will not be removed from office by the Senate and will win reelection next November.

But as much of a rough ride as the two hurdles might be, they are far from his most significant challenge. His real challenge, and it will be an extraordinarily difficult one, close to a 10 on the Richter Scale, will be to put Humpty-Dumpty—aka the United States of America—back together again.

Our society is riven as it hasn’t been since the Civil War. Families, friendships, work places are all fractured. Although we are rich as never before and at peace (cf. Matt Ridley and Michael Barone), we are, days before Jan. 1, 2020, effectively two countries at each others’ throats.

Some say this is Trump’s fault. His extreme rhetoric has driven us apart. To some degree this is true, but the yet more substantial causes were and are his opposition in the Democratic Party, the FBI, the CIA, and the media—not necessarily in that order but all working in tandem. (Entertainment and the academy helped too.)

Reading the inspector general’s report and the many intimations of what is going on with John Durham’s investigation, it is clear that Trump was ganged up upon in an unprecedented, and quite likely illegal, way even before he was nominated, let alone elected.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Fends Off Rival in Primary Battle Leader touted his security credentials and high international profile to stave off a serious internal challenge By Dov Lieber

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-prime-minister-netanyahu-defeats-rival-in-primary-battle-11577399968

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won an overwhelming victory in a primary contest for control of his Likud party, despite corruption charges against him and months of political deadlock, to lead the party into Israel’s third national vote in a year.

His challenger, Gideon Saar, a 53-year-old former interior and education minister long regarded as his only serious rival for leadership of the Likud in Thursday’s party ballot, conceded defeat.

“A huge win! With God’s and your help, I will lead the Likud to a big victory in the coming elections and we’ll continue to lead the State of Israel to unprecedented achievements,” Mr. Netanyahu tweeted Friday morning.

Mr. Netanyahu won 72.5% of the vote, according to final results released by Likud. Nearly half of the 116,000 eligible voters cast their ballots in Thursday’s vote, the spokesman said.

Mr. Netanyahu’s victory, which followed a series of rallies up and down the length of the country, shows his enduring popularity within his party, preparing the way for his campaign for new elections set for March 2.

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Why Palestinian Leaders Fear Opinion Polls by Khaled Abu Toameh

By on December 27th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15334/palestinians-corruption-opinion-polls

The Palestinian Authority leadership was far from pleased about AMAN’s exposure of the Palestinians public’s discontent with corruption.

Palestinian leaders fear that reports about corruption could contribute to a drying up of international funding of the PA. If donor countries got whiff of the fact that their taxpayers’ money is being squandered and stolen by senior PA officials, the cash cow might just kick over the PA bucket.

The statement by Transparency International is a clear indication of the campaign of threats and intimidation its representatives have been facing since the release of the corruption survey. The statement implies that AMAN was forced to withdraw its public opinion poll after its staff received threats from the PA leadership.

Mahmoud Abbas also apparently wants to make sure that donor countries continue to channel funds to his government without noticing that a majority of Palestinians are complaining about corruption.

Palestinian Authority leaders are upset: a survey published on December 11 by Transparency International, a global organization that “gives voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption,” found that corruption is increasing in the PA and in five Arab countries.

Transparency International said that its survey, called “Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Middle East and North Africa,” revealed that “almost two-thirds of all people (65%) in six countries surveyed think that corruption is getting worse in their country, and that their governments are not doing enough to end corruption.”

The GCB report, one of the largest, most detailed surveys of citizens’ views on corruption and experiences of bribery, incorporates the views of more than 6,600 citizens from Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan and Tunisia, according to Transparency International.

“For the first time, the GCB also measures the prevalence of wasta, or the use of personal connections, to access public services, in three countries: Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine,” it said in a statement. “Despite the relatively low bribery rates in countries like Jordan and Palestine, citizens often resort to wasta in order to get public services they need.”

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Democrats Just Betrayed Working-Class Americans To Appease Environmentalists Donald Bryson

By on December 27th, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/12/27/democrats-just-betrayed-working-class-americans-to-appease-environmentalists/

Congressional Democrats just betrayed America’s working class.

The House recently passed a series of bills banning offshore energy development, a significant source of employment for blue-collar Americans. Fueled by environmental fervor, these lawmakers are willing to sacrifice opportunities for their most important constituents.

There could be up to 90 billion barrels of oil and 328 trillion cubic feet of gas buried beneath federally owned sections of the ocean floor. That’s enough oil and natural gas to power the United States for over a decade. Ideally, energy companies would lease these underwater lands from the government and extract this bounty.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration outlawed energy development in over 90% of federal offshore territories. This policy prevents companies from accessing energy riches in the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans — as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

Soon after taking office, President Trump vowed to lift this ban and revamp offshore energy production. But House Democrats are doing their best to stop him. The bills they passed last month would ban energy development off of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Alaskan coasts.

These policies deny working-class Americans prime employment opportunities.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Pelosi’s Streets of San Francisco by Lloyd Billingsley

By on December 27th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/26/pelosis-streets-of-san-francisco

The House Speaker’s recent antics bring to mind a saying, sometimes attributed to Mark Twain: politicians and diapers should be changed often, and for the same reason.

A specter is haunting San Francisco, the city by the Bay, also known as “The City.” Call it the “defecation crisis,” or an excess of excrement, but as they say, it is the shit, and lots of it. So much, in fact, that maps mark out favored defecation areas, and we are not talking about dogs here. Human beings are dropping their drawers and unloading at will, and that’s a problem.

When fecal matter dries, particles become airborne and can spread dangerous viruses such as rotavirus. Inhaling those germs can be fatal, according to infectious disease expert Lee Riley of UC Berkeley, just across the San Francisco Bay. So the dangers of continuing to allow this folly have been proved by science—but The City wasn’t always so foolish.

In 1967, on the cusp of the “Summer of Love,” Scott McKenzie released the song “San Francisco,” all about the gentle people and wearing flowers in their hair. McKenzie passed away at 73 in 2012, and current conditions in The City require some revision to his famous song, perhaps along these lines:

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The Hidden Agenda Behind the Roundup Lawsuit Campaign Julie Kelly

By on December 27th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/26/the-hidden-agenda-behind-the-roundup-lawsuit-campaign/

Eliminating glyphosate would drastically reduce feed crop yields, prompting a major rise in food costs, especially meat. It would green-light more bad science and enrich more bottom-feeding lawyers while punishing farmers and consumers.

A Virginia lawyer arrested earlier this month for extortion should bring much-needed attention to one of the biggest legal, scientific, and environmental scams in recent memory: The case against Roundup, a weedkiller used on farms and open spaces in more than 160 countries around the world.

Timothy Litzenburg, a Charlottesville attorney, has been charged with threatening an unnamed company unless it paid his $200 million shakedown. The unidentified company, according to the federal indictment, manufactures glyphosate, the active chemical in Roundup.

Litzenburg warned he would use “media and other means to find plaintiffs to sue” the company if it didn’t pay up. “In exchange for the $200 million, Litzenburg allegedly indicated that he would not tell any existing or future clients about Company 1 or its purported role in manufacturing the product,” federal prosecutors said in a press release.

Litzenburg is one of hundreds of attorneys seeking to profit from alleged damages caused by the popular weedkiller. If you own a television, you’ve seen the commercials: Lawyers trolling for sufferers of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma who’ve used Roundup. The ads warn that glyphosate contained in the Roundup formula is linked to the deadly cancer.

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ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

Socialism’s Cyclical Appeal Cal Thomas

By on December 27th, 2019

https://patriotpost.us/opinion/67587-socialisms-cyclical-appeal-2019-12-26

Like swallows returning to Capistrano, socialism makes an appearance on a regular cycle.

The current presidential campaign features self-confessed socialist Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who doesn’t self-describe as a socialist, but whose policies closely resemble those of Sanders.

Sanders has the luxury of condemning millionaires and billionaires from his comfortable life as a multi-millionaire. As Forbes magazine has reported, “Sanders … has amassed an estimated $2.5 million fortune from real estate, investments, government pensions — and earnings from three books.” Sanders is also quoted, “I wrote a bestselling book. If you write a bestselling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”

Sanders appears to favor capitalism for himself, but he’s against it for everyone else.

Socialism is a false doctrine. It sells itself to new generations who know little about it. They promote it by promising “free stuff,” along with envy of the successful.

Why does socialism continue to have appeal in America? Part of the reason is adherents claim it is fairer than capitalism. It isn’t fair, socialists say, that some people make more money than others.

Socialism and its twin sister liberalism have always been about feelings, rather than outcome. That so many liberal programs have failed to achieve stated objectives does not matter to the left. Apparently, it is intent, not success, that counts. When liberals or socialists fail, they simply go on to new errors.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The Settled Science of Refusing to Debate Michael Kile

By on December 27th, 2019

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2019/12/the-settled-science-of-refusing-to-debate/

The silly season came early this year, at least to Ultimo and the ABC Science Show. According to the latter’s homepage, it offers “unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms”. Yet the site also provides a safe space for climate wafflers and promulgaters of pejorative bile, while emphatically denying a voice to scientists who continue to question the alarmist orthodoxy.

Planet saviours, gender warriors and merchants of “climate change denialism” (CCD), however, seem especially welcome. They can share their eco-anxiety with the public free from harassment here, hit guys where it hurts , blame the lack of “climate action” on “fragile masculinity”, and pontificate sagely about all manner of alleged “links” until the methane-belching cows come home; the latest being between (naturally) white male “climate deniers and the anti-feminist far-right”:

The idea that white men would lead the attacks on Greta Thunberg is consistent with a growing body of research linking gender reactionaries to climate-denialism—some of the research coming from Thunberg’s own country. Researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology, which recently launched the world’s first academic research center to study climate denialism, have for years been examining a link between climate deniers and the anti-feminist far-right. (The Misogny of Climate Deniers, New Republic, August 28, 2019)

Consider the following segments from the Science Show episode of December 7, 2019:  “Students continue protests as bushfires destroy houses, farms, infrastructure and forests” (10mins 58secs); controlled burns destroy ecosystems and may not reduce fire risk (4mins 41secs); and the origins of climate denial tracked (5mins 45secs).

Why spend millions of dollars – probably billions globally – on climate modelling and so-called attribution studies? For according to presenter, Robyn Williams, AM: “The Science Show first broadcast warnings about climate 44 years ago.” Transcript here

Mr Williams then quoted the late Peter Ritchie Calder (1906-1982), described in his Wikipedia entry as a “Scottish socialist author, journalist and academic”.

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