Stembridge News Digest
  • Losing Istanbul again, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suffers a massive blow Mon, 24 Jun 2019 16:11:17 GMT
    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's party lost Istanbul's mayoralty on Sunday for the second time this year. The first time, Erdoğan demanded a recount, lost it, then refused to accept the result, and had a kangaroo court throw it out.
  • Trump blinks on immigration, failing his supporters one more time Mon, 24 Jun 2019 16:03:14 GMT
    Never underestimate the ability of some of President Trump’s most devoted supporters to delude themselves into thinking each one of his losses on immigration is actually a win. Case in point, the right-leaning Washington Times reported in earnest that House Democrats “blinked” by agreeing to “grant at least part of President Trump’s emergency border funding” request.
  • Trump should speak a lot less and carry a big stick Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:40:34 GMT
    President Trump can seem like a walking contradiction when it comes to war and peace. He loves talking tough, but he’s proven trigger shy. He has surrounded himself with bellicose hawks like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, but for decades he has sounded philosophically averse to war.
  • On international refugee day, Russia showed why there are so many refugees Mon, 24 Jun 2019 11:19:26 GMT
    Attacking an nongovernmental organization ambulance in western Syria, warplanes from the Syria-Russia axis killed four innocent civilians on Thursday, June 20 — International Refugee Day. Three were paramedics and one a wounded civilian.
  • The profound cynicism of Jack Dorsey and other abortion-promoting CEOs Mon, 24 Jun 2019 04:56:51 GMT
    Earlier this month, a coalition of CEOs launched an ad campaign voicing their opposition to new state-level laws that seek to protect unborn children and their mothers from abortion at various stages of pregnancy.
  • Trump's healthcare executive order will only mean more red tape, not cheaper care Mon, 24 Jun 2019 04:05:05 GMT
    President Trump has been the champion of reducing red tape. That’s why it’s confusing that he plans to issue an executive order requiring healthcare insurers and providers to reveal the details of their pricing contracts.
  • We’re missing the point of the giving pledge Sun, 23 Jun 2019 04:17:54 GMT
    You’d think someone who’s announced she’s giving away $17 billion to charity would be a hero. Instead, Mackenzie Bezos and others like her have come under fire for donating half their wealth to philanthropic causes.
  • The best kind of superhero is a relatable one Sun, 23 Jun 2019 04:00:45 GMT
    Cinema today is littered with superheroes. The Avengers, the X-Men, the Justice League; there are enough comic book franchises, stand-alone films, spin-offs, etc., going on that we can watch some mighty do-gooder face off against the forces of evil almost every month for about 10 bucks a pop. Despite this modern influx of comic book films giving us enough superheroes to populate a small country — which, actually, is literally true considering the inhabitants of Wakanda’s access to vibranium, but I digress — there remains one movie superhero who stands above the rest and has done so for 30 years now.
  • How Qatar is buying conservative column inches Sat, 22 Jun 2019 04:14:43 GMT
    On June 4, the Washington Times published a “special section” of articles lavishing praise on Qatar, its institutions, and its global influence. Each of these articles was labeled as “sponsored,” although the Times neglects to say by whom. At first glance, this is a surprising insertion in a conservative paper whose editorial board has previously been critical of the Middle Eastern state.
  • Thanks to Congress, we're making real progress in the opioid crisis Sat, 22 Jun 2019 04:00:22 GMT
    One year ago, Republicans and Democrats put partisan labels aside to confront a killer claiming more than 130 lives a day in the United States: the opioid crisis. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act passed the House with overwhelming support. Four months later, after the Senate and House agreed on a final version, President Trump would sign it into law, making this joint effort the most comprehensive law ever enacted by Congress to take on a drug crisis.
  • Bernie Sanders: 'Not appropriate' to deport illegal immigrants who skip court Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:42:07 +0000


    Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) claimed on CBS News' "Face The Nation" over the weekend that deporting illegal immigrants is "not appropriate," even for those who do not follow the asylum process.

    "There are ICE raids set to start Sunday morning. Estimates of some 2000 people or so who will be targeted, is this appropriate?" host Margaret Brennan asked.

    "No, it's not. It is absolutely not appropriate," Sanders replied.

    "But specifically on this point the 2,000 that are supposed to be targeted haven't shown up for a court date so essentially they're not following the asylum process, the legal standards when they're here," Brennan followed up. "So should they be prosecuted, should they be deported?"

    "I don't like this deportation thing at all and I think Trump uses this as a beginning to do worse things to come," Sanders said.

    Bernie Sanders Says It Is Not “Appropriate" To Deport Illegal Immigrants Not Following Law In The US www.youtube.com

    The interview was taped before President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he delayed the planned ICE raids for two weeks.

    Trump said he delayed the raids to allow lawmakers to work on a bipartisan solution to the growing immigration problem, but reports suggested the raids had to be delayed because government leaks put immigration authorities at risk.

    Acting ICE director Mark Morgan confirmed leaks, which were widely disseminated by media, contributed to the delay. Reports suggested that acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan was the source of the leaks, flying last week to the border on a government plane with the Washington Post reporter who broke the story about the raids.

    The government had planned to target approximately 2,000 illegal immigrants across 10 U.S. cities in raids Sunday morning.

  • Beto O'Rourke proposes 'war tax' on non-military households Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:27:07 +0000


    Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke has unveiled a proposal for a progressive new "war tax" on non-military American households, as part of a broader plan aimed at providing better support for veterans.

    What are the details?

    The O'Rourke campaign unveiled the former Texas congressman's four-pronged plan on Monday, wherein he calls for the establishment of a new Veterans Health Care Trust Fund for each war the U.S. fights. Each trust fund would be accompanied by a "war tax" that would be "levied on households without current members of the Armed Forces or veterans of the Armed Forces."

    The announcement reads, "This modest tax would be implemented on a progressive basis, with taxpayers who make over $200,000 per year (adjusted gross income) paying $1,000 in a new tax for each war." Politico reported that the war taxes would start at "$25 for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes below $30,000."

    Reuters noted that O'Rourke "did not specify what types of war, or the scale and origins of the wars, on which the tax would be levied."

    O'Rourke — who has never served in the military — invoked the words of former President John F. Kennedy in promoting his plan, saying Americans must be "willing to pay any price and bear any burden" to provide support for those who have served our country.

    O'Rourke served on the House of Representatives' Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services committees during his tenure in Congress. According to The Texas Tribune, the El Paso native held quarterly veteran-specific town halls over his three terms representing the West Texas district, which is home to Fort Bliss.

    In addition to the new war taxes, O'Rourke's plan calls for ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, building a "state-of-the-art veterans affairs health care system," ending discrimination against veterans, and improving transition assistance to help veterans succeed following their exit from the military.

    Anything else?

    O'Rourke launched his presidential campaign in March with impressive fundraising numbers after gaining national attention for his failed bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). But so far he has failed to impress Democratic primary voters, and is currently polling around 4 percent.

  • Left-wing actress blasts Trump administration over illegal immigrant 'torture' facilities — using photos from Obama era Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:12:08 +0000


    Left-wing actress Nancy Lee Grahn issued a damning tweet against the administration of President Donald Trump, saying it's "forcing children 2 sleep on cement floor with an aluminum blanket & lights on all night" at illegal immigrant facilities, and that companies are "making 750 a kid a day to torture them."

    Image source: Twitter

    But there was a big problem with Grahn's Friday tweet, which has received 34,000 likes and was still pinned to the top of her page Monday morning.

    Oops

    Others pointed out that the photos she used were taken in 2015 when President Barack Obama's administration ran such facilities — and that a time stamp was curiously cut out from her post:

    Image source: Twitter

    Image source: Twitter

    Image source: Twitter

    Image source: Twitter

    How did others react?

    Conservative columnist Matt Barber noted, "This was all under Obama. Images from 2015. You're a lying propagandist, not a journalist. Busted."

    Image source: Twitter

    As you might imagine, others also took issue with the faux pas from Grahn, who's a "General Hospital" cast member and quite politically active:

    • "Doesn't even care she's been caught editing the photo to remove the date and even pins it on her profile. Mama Mia."
    • "I enjoyed your silence about this between 2009 and 2016."
    • "Dangerous misinformation, Nance."

    She still had her defenders

    Others pushed back against the criticism against Grahn — and were soundly trounced:

    "Doesn't mean the caption (the important part) isn't describing a situation that's occurring in the present. Which it is. Don't deflect," one user tweeted.

    Which was followed by, "Why did she crop it off though? If not for ulterior motives?"

    Another user argued that it "doesn't matter whether it's an old date stamp or new stamp. Child abuse is child abuse. Be it 1868 or 2015 child abuse is child abuse..."

    And that was met with, "But it does matter. Especially when those who use these photos to spread misinformation don't give a damn about the people in these photos. Or they'd have criticized it at the time these photos were made public 4 years ago. They only care when it fits their agenda. It's a shame."

  • Trey Gowdy reveals mysterious evidence 'changed my perspective' on entire Mueller investigation Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:57:08 +0000


    Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) was initially supportive of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. But he revealed on Fox News over the weekend that his perspective shifted when he laid eyes on a mysterious piece of evidence.

    Gowdy told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures" the evidence is FBI transcripts of conservations involving Trump campaign associate George Papadopoulos and FBI informants.

    "Some of us have seen transcripts of those conversations. And I was supportive of Mueller. I was supportive of the idea to initiate, to investigate what Russia did," Gowdy said.

    "But when I saw this transcript, it actually changed my perspective, because you want to think of law enforcement as being unbiased and disinterested in the outcome, as long as we just find the facts," he explained. "This really matters. When you have exculpatory information, and you don't share it with a court...then your bias begins to impact the investigation."

    Gowdy, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee before leaving office in January, hinted last month that the FBI intentionally withheld "game-changer" evidence from the FISA court when obtaining a surveillance warrant against Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

    It is widely believed the transcripts Gowdy referred to are exculpatory evidence. Some Republican lawmakers believe the government withheld the transcripts from the FISA court because they would have hurt the government's case for obtaining a warrant against Page.

    Gowdy told Bartiromo the transcripts have the potential to persuade the public in President Donald Trump's favor.

    "There is some information in these transcripts that I think has the potential to be a game-changer if it's ever made public," Gowdy said last month.

    And there is the possibility the transcripts will be made pubic.

    Attorney General William Barr is actively investigating the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign, which heavily relied on the recorded conversations.

    It would be Barr's decision whether or not the transcripts are released since Trump has given him the authority to declassify documents related to the investigation.

  • Trump says Iran would face 'obliteration like you've never seen before' if it went to war with the US Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:42:14 +0000


    President Donald Trump said he wasn't looking for war with Iran, but if it came Iran would face "obliteration like you've never seen before."

    What's the background?

    On Thursday morning, Iran shot down an American RQ-4A Global Hawk drone. Iran claimed that the drone had violated its airspace. The U.S. has insisted that it was over international waters and called this an "unprovoked attack."

    The same day, Trump prepared to launch a counterstrike against Iran. However, just minutes before the attack was going to be carried out, he called it off. In a tweet, he said that he had decided against the strike after a general told him that 150 people would be killed.

    What did Trump say?

    During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump described the moments leading up to his decision. He said that despite previous reports, American planes had not been in the air before the attack was called off.

    "I'm not looking for war, and if there is, it'll be obliteration like you've never seen before. But I'm not looking to do that. But you can't have a nuclear weapon. You want to talk? Good. Otherwise you can have a bad economy for the next three years," he said.

    He added that Iran could be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. "And if you want to talk about it, good. Otherwise you can live in a shattered economy for a long time to come." With the exception of nuclear weapons, he said he would be ready to meet with Iran with no preconditions.

    Trump also said that he thought Iran wanted to make a deal.

    President Trump's Full, Unedited Interview With Meet The Press | NBC News youtu.be

  • Gay reparations? Elizabeth Warren introduces bill to pay certain same-sex couples Sun, 23 Jun 2019 22:18:02 +0000


    Amid debate over whether Americans should pay reparations for slavery, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is advocating what many claim amounts to "gay reparations."

    Warren introduced a bill last week — called the "Refund Equality Act" — that would permit gay married couple to amend past tax returns to receive the additional tax breaks they would have received had they been allowed to file taxes jointly with their partner.

    "The federal government forced legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts to file as individuals and pay more in taxes for almost a decade," Warren said, according to NBC News. "We need to call out that discrimination and to make it right."

    Same-sex couples in 10 states were allowed to legally marry before the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013. Warren's bill would allow those couples to amend their previous tax returns for all the years they were married before DOMA was overturned. The IRS previously allowed same-sex couples to amend the last three years of returns, the same time allotted to all married couples.

    A report by the Joint Committee on Taxation revealed last week those couples would be eligible for $57 million in refunds.

    "We must right these wrongs," Warren said last week.

    Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) introduced companion legislation, called the "PRIDE Act of 2019," in the House earlier this month.

    Warren introduced similar legislation in 2017, put it failed to gain enough support to pass, despite being co-sponsored by more than 30 lawmakers.

  • Student who told teacher there are only 'two genders' now facing harsh punishment from school, report says Sun, 23 Jun 2019 21:13:12 +0000


    A Scottish teen who was reprimanded by his teacher in a viral video for claiming there are only "two genders" has been suspended from school.

    What's the background?

    A video surfaced earlier this month showing an unknown Scottish student debate with his school teacher about gender. The debate ensued after the teacher kicked the student from class for saying there are only "two genders."

    "I'm not making any discrimination. I'm simply saying there are two genders. Male and female," the student said.

    After some back-and-forth, the teacher told the student he was kicked from class because his views were not "inclusive," and instructed the student to "take [your views] somewhere else."

    What happened now?

    The 17-year-old Aberdeenshire student on the receiving end of the teacher's anger is now speaking out after he was suspended from school for three weeks, according to the Daily Mail.

    The student reportedly wanted to bring attention to the "dangerous" views being taught to kids, his friends told the Daily Mail.

    "He decided to film the teacher because he wanted to show what was going on in schools today for simply stating there are only two genders," one friend said. "He believes telling kids that boys are girls and girls are boys is a very dangerous thing and wanted to get his views across to the teacher."

    "His view is that scientifically there are only two genders. This new gender theory that there are unlimited genders is something that should be discussed and debated – not just thrown into a class discussion and if you disagree you get kicked out of the room," the friend explained.

    The incident was triggered when the teacher found only "male" and "female" gender options on a website, which he denounced as "old fashioned." When the student voiced his disagreement, the teacher kicked him from class.

    The teacher later allowed the student to return to class. That's when the student filmed the now-viral debate with his teacher.

    My Teacher Kicked Me Out of Class for Saying There are Two Genders www.youtube.com

  • Biden compares Trump's election to high-profile assassinations of Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy Sun, 23 Jun 2019 18:53:49 +0000


    Former Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday compared the cultural ripple effect of President Donald Trump's election to the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-N.Y.) in the 1960s.

    Speaking with MSNBC host Al Sharpton during the South Carolina Democratic Convention about criminal justice reform, Biden claimed that Trump's election ignited a cultural awakening that will shift the tides of public policy just like the assassinations of King and Kennedy drove change a half-century ago.

    "I think what's happening now is, I think that Donald Trump may have reawakened sensibilities in this country to say 'Whoa, maybe we can do this now,' just like our generation was awakened when Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated," Biden said. "Our whole generation said, 'I'm back in, man.'"

    "These millennials — they get it, Rev., and now they want to get engaged," he added.

    Biden compares Trump's election to assassinations of RFK, MLK Jr. www.youtube.com

    Although Biden remains the clear frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, his gaffe-prone nature has already reared its head early into his campaign.

    Biden has particularly been criticized for his history of praising segregationist lawmakers, a habit the former vice president maintained over the weekend.

    Meanwhile, the New York Post published an unsavory report on Democratic Party sentiment toward Biden's campaign over the weekend, proving, among other things, that the Democratic Party is very nervous about Biden's chances against Trump in what will prove to be a very difficult election.

  • Florida police arrest woman who took husband's guns to police in fear for her life Sun, 23 Jun 2019 17:03:41 +0000


    A Florida woman who is an alleged victim of domestic violence was arrested earlier this month after she turned over her estranged husband's guns to police.

    What's the background?

    Following a divorce hearing in court on June 14, Courtney Irby's soon-to-be ex-husband, Joseph, rammed her car and ultimately drove her off the road. Courtney immediately called police "uncontrollably crying and advised that she was in fear for her life," an arrest affidavit says, HuffPost reported.

    Police arrested Joseph and charged him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. At the same time, Courtney petitioned the court for an immediate injunction for protection. It was not the first time Courtney requested a protective order against her husband.

    Despite testifying over the phone at Joseph's pretrial hearing, a judge released him, but ordered he could not possess or own any weapons.

    In response, Courtney went to her estranged husband's apartment and took possession of his firearms — one handgun and one rifle — with the intention of turning them into police. She did not believe Joseph would comply with the judge's order, and she said she remained in fear for her life.

    Why was Courtney arrested?

    She went to the Lakeland Police Department on Friday June 15 to turn over the firearms, according to WMKG-TV. That's when police arrested her because she allegedly broke into Joseph's apartment to take possession of the guns.

    "Well, he was arrested yesterday for trying to run me over with his car and he is now in jail. So I went to his apartment, since he is in jail, and I searched his apartment for the guns I knew he had and I took them," Courtney told police.

    "So, you are telling me you committed an armed burglary," the arresting officer reportedly replied, WMKG reported.

    "Yes, I am, but he wasn't going to turn them in so I am doing it," Courtney said.

    After they arrested Courtney, police called Joseph at the Polk County jail. He told police he wanted to press charges against his estranged wife.

    Joseph was released from jail later that day. Unfortunately, Courtney spent nearly a week in jail. She was released on $7,000 bond last Thursday.

    What was the reaction to Courtney's arrest?

    Florida state lawmakers were left outraged over the incident, claiming law enforcement is punishing a victim of domestic violence.

    State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) said:

    The case of Courtney Taylor Irby demonstrates once more the dangerous linkage between intimate partner violence and access to firearms. Court records show that Irby applied for a temporary injunction against her husband and the two were in the process of a divorce. She was actively protecting herself and her family from an estranged husband who had not turned over his firearms to law enforcement, and was arrested for it. We should be outraged by her arrest, and Irby should not be prosecuted by the local State Attorney's office.

    Meanwhile, Courtney's lawyer, Lawrence Shearer, alleges his client did not commit the crime police claim she did.

    Theft is to deprive someone of the right or benefit of property. She didn't do either one of those. She was taking them to the police department for safekeeping," he said, according to HuffPost. "I have faith in our state attorney's office that they will do the right thing."

  • ABC station in Texas promotes 9-year-old 'drag queen' for spreading 'message of love' Sun, 23 Jun 2019 15:26:07 +0000


    An ABC affiliate station in Houston ran a story, and shared it on Twitter, about a 9-year-old boy who is a "drag queen" and spreading a "message of love", and drew some attention for it on social media on Saturday.

    The child, whose real first name is Keegan, performs as "Kween KeeKee" to "promote inclusiveness," according to the report.

    "A third grade teacher asked her class what they wanted to be when they grow up, Keegan wrote in his memory book, 'gender creative,'" ABC reported. "Keegan says he can be himself when he's wearing a dress."

    "He also has a message for anyone struggling with their identity," the ABC-13 anchor continued, offering no skepticism about the idea of a 9-year-old "struggling with identity."

    The video includes the third grader, in a dress and cape in his 9-year-old's bedroom for some reason, offering life advice about being "special" and being who you want to be.

    The exploitative report ended on a particularly pointed note, both on air and online.

    "Keegan usually goes by the pronouns 'he,' 'him' and 'his.' His family says Keegan has acceptance and support at a school in their conservative, Christian town outside Austin," the report says, to make sure there's no misunderstanding about in whose face the report is carefully shoved.

    Online, at the end of the article, there is another video embedded featuring a ten-year-old "drag kid" helping a reporter with her makeup for a Pride Parade. It then includes a link to a story about another "drag" 10 year old who faced threats after media attention.

  • ICE director reveals real reason Trump delayed ICE raids — and report suggests who is behind leaks Sun, 23 Jun 2019 13:42:30 +0000


    Mark Morgan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed Saturday that the ICE raids planned for Sunday morning were cancelled because of government leaks and the media's subsequent reporting on key operation details.

    "The media got ahold of some operational specifics, and they reported it. It's just egregious, and it puts the lives of the officers and agents at risk," Morgan told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.

    "The men and women at ICE are true American heroes. The president recognized that. He postponed it to protect them," Morgan explained.

    President Trump Delays ICE Raids www.youtube.com

    President Donald Trump announced Saturday afternoon the ICE operation would be delayed two weeks, citing requests from Democrats. It has since been reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called him personally to request the government not move forward with the raids.

    The operation was originally slated to begin in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday, targeting thousands of illegal immigrants across 10 U.S. cities.

    Who leaked operation details?

    According to the Washington Examiner, government officials believe acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is behind the leaks.

    Five government officials who spoke with the Examiner said McAleenan has been petitioning against the operation for months.

    From the Examiner:

    The sources said only a small number of people in the White House, ICE, and DHS were even aware of the plan's details, including which cities, the date and time, and who would be targeted.

    Two officials said the acting secretary, who was promoted internally in April, had fought for months during closed-door discussions with White House officials, the former acting ICE Director Ronald Vitiello, and the new acting ICE Director Mark Morgan against the plan, which they noted was similar to one the Obama administration carried out in 2015.

    Further, according to the Examiner, McAleenan traveled to the border on a government plane last Wednesday with the Washington Post reporter who broke the news about the ICE operation.

    "It really jeopardized the safety of law enforcement officers — that's the part that's really detrimental," one official told the Examiner.

  • Woman who says Trump sexually assaulted her gives bizarre reason why she won't pursue rape charges Sat, 22 Jun 2019 22:23:09 +0000


    E. Jean Carroll, the Elle magazine advice columnist who claims President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, provided an extremely bizarre explanation for why she will not pursue criminal charges against her alleged attacker.

    Speaking on MSNBC Friday after going public with her allegations in New York magazine, Carroll claimed it would be "disrespectful" to pursue rape charges.

    "I would find it disrespectful to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock down there without any protection," Carroll said. "As you know...the women have very little protection there. It would just be disrespectful."

    She added that she is a "mature woman" who can "keep going" despite the alleged traumatic encounter with Trump 23 years ago.

    "But for the women down there, around the world...it just seems disrespectful," Carroll said. "It just doesn't make sense to me."

    Carroll publicized her allegations ahead of her upcoming book release, which also details the alleged assault.

    Carroll claims that sometime in late 1995 or early 1996 she had a chance encounter with Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan that ended with an approximately 3-minute sexual assault. She claims she told two friends about the alleged assault, but never went to police.

    Trump unequivocally denied Carroll's allegations.

    "I've never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section," Trump said in a statement Friday. "False accusations diminish the severity of real assault. All should condemn false accusations and any actual assault in the strongest possible terms."

  • 2020 Dem Swalwell warns 'if you're Hispanic' Trump will deport you, because apparently if you're Hispanic you...aren't from here? Sat, 22 Jun 2019 21:01:41 +0000


    In attempting to make a dramatic slam on President Trump on Saturday, 2020 Democrat and Starbucks Martyr Eric Swalwell stayed to true to form and self-owned instead, when he presumed that being Hispanic means not being from the United States.

    "If you're Hispanic," he began the tweet, asserting a very broad demographic category, then there's "nothing" that Trump "won't do to to break up your family, cage your children, or erase your existence with a weaponized census."

    Swalwell is referring to the controversial effort by the Trump administration to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The premise of his Tweet is that the question of being a citizen is somehow detrimental to anyone of Hispanic descent or identity, seemingly precluding the possibility of being Hispanic and a citizen, whether born here or naturalized.

    He's talking about being detained and deported, and he expressly specifies the census, showing his cognizance that he is referring to all who are Hispanic within our borders.

    For the record, Rep. Swalwell, people who are Hispanic can be born here, can have become citizens at some point since coming here, can be currently pursuing citizenship, or can be here legally or illegally in a variety of ways. Including, we feel necessary to repeat, by being from here.

    We're kind of surprised you didn't know that, frankly. So were a lot of other people on Twitter.

    Our personal favorite was from RedState Editor-at-Large Kira Davis, who questions the very existence of Swalwell.. at least as far as social media is concerned.

    A compelling theory. From the above mentioned Starbucks moment to his idea for nuking gun owners, his Twitter timeline is a gallery of fail almost too good to be true.

  • President Trump announces delay to illegal immigrant deportation operation Sat, 22 Jun 2019 20:20:10 +0000


    President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will temporarily delay his plan to deport thousands of illegal immigrants from the United States.

    The president said he chose to delay the operation in order for lawmakers to address the growing border crisis with a bipartisan solution.

    "At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border," Trump said on Twitter. "If not, Deportations start!"

    Immigrant roundups were slated to begin Sunday morning, targeting thousands of illegal immigrant families across nearly a dozen major U.S. cities, whose leaders voiced apprehension over the plan.

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) even threatened to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from accessing Chicago law enforcement databases to prevent agents from arresting immigrants.

    Trump's announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on Trump to back down, characterizing the operation as "heartless." She even pressured religious leaders to persuade Trump to halt the plan.

    Earlier in the day, Trump defended his plan, explaining immigrants who would be targeted have already been ordered leave the U.S., but refused to do so.

  • Bystanders in California neighborhood taunt, threaten police at scene of fatal shooting of female officer Sat, 22 Jun 2019 19:33:18 +0000


    "We got guns too," said one of the many citizens in Sacramento, California harassing and taunting police after the shooting of a female officer this week.

    "Whatever officer getting shot, need to be. Y'all all need to be. Y'all all need to," said another person.

    That officer, 26-year-old Tara O'Sullivan, died later that evening. She had been shot with a rifle while responding to a domestic violence call. As O'Sullivan and other police were helping a female victim gather her belongings and leave the home where the domestic violence allegedly occurred, the assailant opened fire.

    From the public statement by Sacramento PD:

    On June 19, 2019, the Sacramento Police Department received a call regarding a disturbance between a male and a female. Officers made contact with the involved female at a residence in the 3700 block of Esperanza Drive. Officers then responded to a residence in the 200 block of Redwood Avenue to standby while the involved female gathered some belongings from a residence. At approximately 6:10 p.m., officers on scene reported shots had been fired, and an officer was struck by gun fire. The officer who was shot, Tara Christina O'Sullivan succumbed to her injuries after being transported to the hospital. The suspect, 45-year old Adel Sambrano Ramos, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges relating to the murder of Officer O'Sullivan.

    O'Sullivan was shot first, and was down in the backyard of that home as police attempted to reach her while the gunman continued firing at police.

    The suspect has been arrested and charged.

    The officers in the video below, shared by a photojournalist with Comstock, were securing that horrific and deadly scene when apparent residents of the neighborhood gathered and began berating them.

    The video shows the residents taunting the cops, praising the shooting of the officer, and even threatening police with more violence.

    “Take that gun off. I'll whoop your little butt," one woman's voice can be heard saying. “All y'all cowards."

    Keep in mind those cowards were there to protect a female victim of domestic violence as she attempted to leave a bad situation. It is a miracle that the victim was not also wounded or killed by the ambush shooter.

    Keys shared more video later via YouTube.

    Police also released bodycam footage of the shooting on Friday.



    The videos of these California residents mocking and praising the death of a young female police officer who was responding to a cry for help from a female victim is a disturbing, shameful display, but it's hard to use the words "shocking" or "unexpected" over such things anymore.

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