Thursday, April 14, 2016

Liberal Nut Cartoon


'Duck Dynasty' star's NASCAR prayer enrages liberals


My good buddy Phil Robertson has drawn the ire of a bunch of Jesus-bashing, liberal lug nuts after he petitioned the Lord during a NASCAR invocation to put a “Jesus-Man in the White House.”
Brother Phil delivered the pre-race invocation on April 9th at the Texas Motor Speedway’s Duck Commander 500. And it was a mighty fine invocation, indeed.
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“I pray Father that we put a Jesus-Man in the White House,” he prayed. “Help us do that and help us all to repent, to do what is right, to love you more and to love each other. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.”
Brother Phil also mentioned the Bible, guns and thanked the Good Lord for the United States military – just like any good church-going, Christian man would do.
But the Duck Commander’s heartfelt invocation caused the Mainstream Media to blow a collective head gasket.
Sports commentators and journalists suggested pre-race prayers were too “Southern” and too “redneck.” As if there’s something wrong with being a Southern-fried redneck?
Deadspin called Brother Phil an “unapologetic bigot” and a “duck call industrialist.”
The Associated Press auto racing writer accused Brother Phil of pushing an agenda – and accused NASCAR of “clouding its image with politics.”
“There are Democrats who enjoy NASCAR,” writer Jenna Fryer sneered. “Jews and atheists and women, too.”
Consider the words from this Orlando Sentinel column titled, “NASCAR doesn’t need Phil Robertson’s prayers.”
“What if at next Sunday’s race, someone got up and prayed for gun control, the Koran and that a Muhammad-woman be put in the White House?” writer David Whitley opined. “Most of the people defending Robertson would be throwing tire irons at their TVs.”
Well, I sincerely doubt a devout Muslim would be asking Allah to put a “Muhammad-woman” anywhere near the White House. And let’s be honest, you don’t see too many burkas at Bristol.
“Beyond the Flag” ran an essay written by Christopher Olmstead that contemplated whether or not religion still belongs in NASCAR.
“For a sport that is trying to become a global success is it appropriate to attach a certain religion or religious tone to yourself? For a sport that might have several drivers who might not believe in God or religion is it appropriate to hold the pre-race invocation? For a sport that is trying to reach out to different cultures around the world who may believe in a higher power other than God, is it appropriate to have the invocation?”
It’s tempting to tell Brother Phil’s critics to blow it out their tail pipes – but that’s not the Christian thing to do.
And besides – Brother Phil has more supporters than detractors – including the president of Texas Motor Speedway.
“He said what he felt and believed there are a lot of people that agree with him and a lot that disagree with him,” Eddie Gossage told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Nowadays, you cannot say what you think because of political correctness. So I guess everyone has a right to free speech or nobody does.”
Prayer is an important part of Southern culture. It’s what we do. It’s who we are -- whether we’re asking the Good Lord to bless the butter beans or offering an “unspoken” prayer request before Bible Study.
And that’s why the Mainstream Media may be in for a rude awakening if they think they can “prayer-shame” the good, church-going racing fans of America. It’s not going to happen.
Why, NASCAR without Jesus would be like biscuits without gravy.

It's not like sports: Why the candidate with the most delegates may lose out


The Washington Post declares that Ted Cruz “is close to ensuring that Donald Trump cannot win the GOP nomination on a second ballot.” 
Which, if true, would mean Donald Trump’s only shot would be to win it on the first try.
But wait! RNC rules committee member Randy Evans told “Morning Joe” yesterday that Trump will be the nominee if he manages to win 1,100 delegates—in short, that 1,100 is the new 1,237.
Every hour, it seems, some pundit or politico is handicapping the hand-to-hand combat over delegates and praising or denouncing the procedures for picking a nominee.
When you play baseball, or football, or basketball, there are all kinds of rules—balk, roughing the passer, 24-second-violation—but even if the contest goes into overtime, the team with the most runs or points wins. Presidential campaigns, not so much.
The insiders can literally move the goalposts, by changing the rules for the convention. In 2012, Mitt Romney’s forces didn’t want anyone else seizing the spotlight, so they pushed through rules requiring a candidate to have won eight states to be nominated. That rule could be tossed out in 2016 if the rules committee wants to lower the bar.
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With Trump saying the system is rigged and Cruz accusing him of whining, the system itself is on trial.
Suddenly, I’m not hearing about tax cuts. I’m not hearing about health care. I’m not hearing about ISIS. I’m hearing about the arcane Colorado selection process that gave the store to Cruz, and how Cruz won 11 of 12 delegates selected so far in Arkansas, and complaints that some in Trump’s orbit are being heavy-handed in their comments about targeting delegates.
Here we have Trump on the verge of a major victory in New York next week, and leading in Pennsylvania and Maryland the following week, and the media’s focus is on state-by-state rules—driven in part by Trump denouncing what happened in Colorado as a disgrace.
Now I get that the rules were established in advance and every campaign has to adapt to them. And I get that there are times that Trump has benefitted from formulas that awarded him a greater share of delegates than his percentage of the popular vote. And yes, as Al Gore reminded the country, you can win the most votes and still lose the presidency.
Clearly, the Cruz camp is far better organized for this sort of political infighting than the Trump team. But that argument misses the resonance of Trump’s complaint that insiders are gaming the system when he wins Colorado and gets zero delegates, without most Republicans having a chance to vote.
By the way, this CNN video underscores the absurdity of the process, showing how Colorado picked among 600 delegates from an assembly line in which they each got to make 10-second speeches.
Once we get to Cleveland, the Post says, “Cruz is poised to pick up at least 130 more votes on a second ballot…That tally surpasses 170 delegates under less conservative assumptions — a number that could make it impossible for Trump to emerge victorious.”
Well, maybe. While 95 percent of all delegates are bound to their state’s winner on the first ballot, nearly 60 percent will be unbound on a second ballot, and 80 percent on a third ballot, the paper says.
Of course the media have to cover the procedural battle over luring delegates in one state after another. In the end, math matters. But they shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Trump will go to the convention with the largest bloc of delegates, and depriving him of the prize will be ugly no matter how skillfully the rules are exploited.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

Trump vows Mexico border wall will be built within two years


Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Wednesday that his proposed wall across the U.S.-Mexico border would be completed within two years.
"I would say it would be complete within two years from the time we start, we'll start quickly," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity at a town hall in Pittsburgh, Pa. "We'll start quickly, and it will be a real wall. It will be a real wall."
The self-imposed deadline was the most detail Trump has offered about his controversial proposal aimed at preventing illegal immigration. At one point, the crowd at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall began chanting "Build the wall! Build the wall!"
Trump followed that outburst with a call-and-response, asking the crowd "Who's gonna pay for the wall?"
After the crowd responded, "Mexico!", Trump told Hannity, "They'll pay in one form or another."
Trump again accused Colorado Republican officials of changing the rules of the state’s convention to select delegates for this summer's national convention in Cleveland after he officially announced his candidacy in June 2015.
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“When I went into the race, which was in the middle of June—after that, they changed the whole thing in Colorado,” Trump said. “I would’ve done great in Colorado [if they didn’t] have this arcane [delegate] system that nobody understands.
“My delegates went there, they wouldn’t put them on the list, then they even did “Never Trump, Never Trump,” the real estate mogul added, referring to a now-deleted tweet from the state party’s official Twitter account that included the hashtag popular among Trump's detractors. The Colorado GOP blamed the miscue on “unauthorized access” in a later tweet.
Trump also criticized April 26’s Pennsylvania primary. Voters there will award 17 delegates to the statewide winner and 54 additional delegates will be elected directly by the voters. But ballots will not identify which candidate each of the additional 54 delegates have pledged to support. Some of the delegate names will be recognizable local officials, while others may be less-identifiable to voters.
“I could win Pennsylvania by a landslide…get 17 delegates, and somebody else could get 35 or 40, and they didn’t even win—but they have connections to the machine. It’s not right,” Trump said. "We have to bring the voter back into it."
Trump also touched on his meeting earlier Wednesday with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, with whom he has carried on a months-long dispute.
"She was very, very nice," Trump said. "Maybe it was time or maybe she felt it was time. I give her a lot of credit for doing what she did."

Trump campaign manager won't be prosecuted on battery charge


Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager will not be prosecuted on a charge of misdemeanor battery over allegations he grabbed the arm of a reporter, the campaign confirmed late Wednesday.
Trump campaign social media director Dan Scavino posted on his Facebook page that the charge would not be pressed against Corey Lewandowski.
 
The decision not to prosecute Lewandowski was first reported by Politico. Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg was scheduled to formally announce his decision on Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred after a March 8 press conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla., where Lewandowski was accused by Michelle Fields, a reporter for Breitbart at the time, of grabbing her arm as she asked the Republican front-runner a question.
Lewandowski initially denied the incident had taken place.
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However, the Jupiter Police Department obtained video from the ballroom that it said paralleled Fields' version of events, and subsequently charged Lewandowski.
The police report says Lewandowski "grabbed Fields left arm with his right hand, causing her to turn and step back."
Fields told Fox News' Megyn Kelly in a "Kelly File" interview Wednesday night that she is planning to pursue a civil case against Lewandowski for defamation.
She also responded in a series of tweets on reports that Lewandowski won't be charged.
"Prosecutor's office told me they would inform me of decision tomorrow. If reports true, guess they decided to leak to reporters first. Ugly," she wrote.
Mike Edmonson, Aronberg's executive assistant, denied leaking the information to the media, but added that the initial report that Lewandowski would not be prosecuted was "not incorrect."
"For those asking, office of prosecutor asked 2 weeks ago if I'd be ok with an apology from Corey. I said ya but haven't heard back about it," Fields added.
Trump has staunchly defended his campaign manager after he was charged, as the Republican front-runner suggested the reporter could have been perceived as a threat.
 
“She's grabbing my arm. She's not supposed to. She broke through Secret Service, she is asking questions,” Trump told Fox News last month. “She's got a pen in her arm, which she's not supposed to have. It shows that she's a very aggressive person who is grabbing at me and touching me. Maybe I should file charges against her.”
If reporter Michelle Fields really had fallen, Trump said, “He would have been fired before she even got up.”
The counter-accusations made clear that Trump and his team would continue to fight the charges.
Fields, meanwhile, stood by her claims. And after Trump earlier suggested she changed her story, she pushed back.
“Seriously, just stop lying,” she told Trump on Twitter.
The Trump campaign issued a statement after the charges were announced calling Lewandowski “absolutely innocent.”
“Mr. Lewandowski was issued a notice to appear and was given a court date. He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge,” spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement. “He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated.”

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