Virginia Rep. Tom Garrett will not seek re-election: 'I'm an alcoholic'

Virginia Republican Rep. Tom Garrett reportedly announced he will not seek re-election due to a battle with alcoholism.  (AP)

Virginia Republican Rep. Tom Garrett announced Monday he was not seeking re-election because of his ongoing battle with alcoholism.
The announcement comes just three days after Garrett reassured voters he was not abandoning his run for a second term in Congress despite a week of turmoil, including reports he and his wife turned staffers into his own “personal servants.”
“Any person – Republican, Democrat or independent—who has known me for any period of time and has any integrity knows two things: I am a good man and I’m an alcoholic,” Garrett said in a video recorded at the state Capitol in Richmond. “This is the hardest statement that I have ever publicly made by far. It’s also the truth.”
Garrett's tepid fundraising had worried members of his party, but he said his decision not to seek another term was not motivated by fear of losing his seat. Garrett said "sometimes winning means knowing where your priorities should be."
"This isn't an ending for me, or my values of service to my fellow man, it's just a new beginning," Garrett said.
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Republican party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck thanked Garrett for his service in a statement released late Monday:
"On behalf of Republicans around Virginia and especially in the Fifth District, we thank Tom Garrett for his service. Substance abuse is a serious issue that reaches even to the halls of Congress. Tom has tremendous courage for bringing his own struggle to light. We wish him and his family all the best.
The Fifth District Committee will begin the process of choosing a replacement nominee immediately. "Congressman Garrett’s decision not to seek re-election makes it even more imperative that we select the right nominee to defeat the anti-Semitic Democrat nominee, Leslie Cockburn."
Garrett, who represents the 5th District of Virginia, now joins the group of nearly 40 other Republicans who are not returning to Congress after the 2018 midterm elections.
Last week, the former Virginia state senator was accused of making Congressional staffers pick up groceries, chauffer his children and clean up after his dog, according to a report in Politico.
A spokesman, Matt Missen, said in a statement to Politico that the allegations were "unfounded".
Garrett was set to face Democratic challenger Leslie Cockburn, who reportedly has raised more money than the Republican incumbent.

8 people killed, 25 wounded in bloody weekend in Chicago

Memorial Day weekend proved even bloodier than last year in Chicago.
At least eight people were killed and 25 others wounded in shootings across the city since midnight Friday, police told WLS. Last year, over the entire weekend of the unofficial start of summer, seven people were killed and 45 others were hurt.
The victims, WLS reported, include China Marie Lyons-Upshaw, who was shot in the chest while playing with a gun; Bobbieana Lyons, 20, a young mother shot and killed on her doorstep while celebrating her 2-year-old’s birthday; and a 31-year-old man shot twice in the chest and once in the head after he got into a fight with another man.
To try and reduce the grim statistics, police had been trying to curb gun violence by employing 1,300 extra officers on patrol with help from state and federal partners.
The crimes come days after President Donald Trump tweeted about how Chicago police are unable to properly do their jobs because of the city’s bureaucracy.
“The killings are at a record pace and tough police work, which Chicago will not allow, would bring things back to order fast ... the killings must stop!” Trump tweeted.
As Fox News previously reported, Trump’s comment came after “Blue Wednesday” in Chicago, during which members of the city’s Fraternal Order of Police showed up at a City Council meeting to address their grievances against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They claim that Emanuel, who is in the middle of an election as he runs for his third term as mayor, has “turned his back” on them.
During the meeting, members accused Emanuel of not taking their interests into consideration because of, in part, a consent decree with the federal government that’s in the works, The Chicago Tribune reported. The decree will give a federal court oversight over the Chicago Police Department.
Chicago police have argued that the decree is a shroud for even more anti-police policies.
“You are more concerned with consent decrees, settlements, pandering to police-hating groups than negotiating a contract with us,” said Patrick Murray, union vice president, according to the newspaper report. “Our members are starting to believe you have no intention of negotiating a contract with us until after the next election.”

Harvard gives Hillary Clinton award for 'transforming society' -- even when you lose you get a trophy

Harvard awarded its Radcliffe Medal to Hillary Clinton on Friday for her “transformative impact on society.” That’s not a misprint.
The prestigious Ivy League university is giving the woman who ran for president and lost, twice, an award for transforming society.
Harvard said it picked Clinton because of her advocacy for human rights, her work as a legislator, and her leadership around the world on behalf of America.
If “transformative impact” and Hillary Clinton in the same sentence has you shaking your head, you’re not alone. She not only lost the presidency twice, she has wasted the last year and a half going on tour around the world to blame America for not electing her in 2016.
It’s no wonder President Obama made her Secretary of State when he was elected in 2008 – after beating her in the primary that everyone expected her to walk away with. Clearly he knew the best way to keep her quiet was to keep her close.
Let’s be real, this is Harvard, arguably one of the most liberal universities in the country. Hillary isn’t being rewarded for transforming anything.

It’s not a good look for feminism, and all the more proof that America chose correctly in 2016. Hillary continues to look backward with anger and bitterness.

She’s being rewarded because they agree with her that it was her turn in 2016 and the country got it wrong - Donald Trump should not be president. Even though he’s the one who’s really having the transformative impact on society.
While she may not have transformed society the way Harvard is crediting her with, she has impacted and transformed the post-election cycle by turning it into a serial campaign instead of gracefully fading into the background like most dignified losers. If she were to brand a slogan for the show she’s taken on the road since losing the Oval Office to President Trump a year and a half ago, the side of her bus would read:  “The Blame Game - No Excuse Left Behind.”
Instead of cutting her losses and moving on, she’s traveling the world making sure everyone knows it’s not her fault she lost.  She has an excuse for everything and everything has an excuse.  Blame and belligerence are the name of her game.
Speaking to graduates at Yale this week, Hillary put on a Russian hat to make a joke out of the Russian involvement in the 2016 election. A year and a half after losing the election, Democrats are still trying, without a shred of evidence, to accuse President Trump of colluding with the Russians during the campaign.
Not only is there no sign of collusion with the Trump campaign and the Russians, but many signs point to an evident conspiracy among law enforcement and intelligence communities to ensure Hillary won the White House.  It’s nice that she can laugh and make jokes given that it looks as though unprecedented (and likely illegal) efforts were made by officials in the Obama administration to try to get her elected – and she still lost.
It was also at Yale that she admitted she’s still not over her loss to President Trump.  You don’t say.
In Australia recently to speak with Julia Gillard, the country’s first female prime minister, Hillary once again pulled out the sexism card, one of her favorites, to justify losing the presidency to Donald Trump. Hillary said, “There is still a very large proportion of the population that is uneasy with women in positions of leadership.”
This is an incessantly recurring theme. Earlier this year in India she said that sexism and racism were why she lost the election.
But interestingly, when given the choice between endorsing a man or a woman in the New York gubernatorial race, Hillary, the former Empire State Senator and feminist icon who believes people are uneasy with women in leadership, chose to endorse Governor Andrew Cuomo over Cynthia Nixon this week.
New York has never had a woman governor. Wouldn’t electing Nixon be truly transformative? That’s what women were told in 2016 when it came to voting for president.
And yet, there’s something eerily familiar about Hillary’s nixing of Nixon. Mrs. Clinton has always been the queen of the double standard, why should this instance be any different?
Harvard’s idea of what constitutes a transformative impact is likely very different than what most of the country considers that term to mean. Hillary has certainly impacted society, and the mark she’s made hasn’t reflected well on women.
When she couldn’t break the ultimate glass ceiling, rather than focus on what she could do, she proceeded to have a perpetual meltdown because of what she didn’t get to do. A meltdown that’s still going strong a year and a half later, and there’s no indication of it letting up anytime soon.
So, yes she’s been transformative and impactful. Just not in a way that helps move women forward, but instead sets us back decades.
It’s not a good look for feminism, and all the more proof that America chose correctly in 2016. Hillary continues to look backward with anger and bitterness. Meanwhile our country is moving forward with hope and optimism, thriving under the policies of President Trump.
Lauren DeBellis Appell, a freelance writer in Fairfax, Virginia, was deputy press secretary for then-Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in his successful 2000 re-election campaign, as well as assistant communications director for the Senate Republican Policy Committee (2001-2003).

More than 25 mortar shells fired from Gaza, Israel says

The Israel-Gaza border braces for more protests as Muslims observe the first Friday of Ramadan as Hamas calls on their people to restart demonstrations; David Lee Miller reports from Israel.
More than 25 mortar shells were fired Tuesday from the Gaza Strip in the direction of communities in southern Israel, the Israeli military said.
There were no reports of injuries, but the reported attack would be the largest fired in a single incident since 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
Most mortars were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the military said. One shell landed near a kindergarten shortly before it opened, according to media reports.
The border area has been tense in recent weeks as the Palestinians have held mass protests aimed at lifting a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israeli fire has killed more than 110 Palestinians, most of them during the Hamas-led protests, which climaxed on May 14. Reuters reported that Israeli tank fire killed a Hamas fighter on Monday at a frontier outpost.
Hamas has vowed to continue the border rallies. Israel says it is defending its border as well as its communities nearby. It accuses Hamas of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of protests.

Memorial Day 2018

Liberal NFL Cartoons

Polls show Democrats losing their 2018 midterm advantage

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 May. 26, 2018 - 7:20 - Should Republicans be optimistic about the 2018 midterms? Reaction on 'The Greg Gutfeld Show.' 

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Former commander of USS John S McCain pleads guilty, retires after deadly collision

Navy veteran Alfredo Sanchez, former commander of the USS John S. McCain, pleaded guilty Friday to dereliction of duty in connection with a deadly collision in August 2017.  (Reuters)

A former commander of the USS John S. McCain pleaded guilty Friday to dereliction of duty when the destroyer collided with a commercial tanker, killing 10 sailors and injuring five in the Straits of Singapore last August.
Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, who has served in the Navy for more than 20 years, testified during a special court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard, Stars and Stripes reported.
“I am ultimately responsible and stand accountable,” Sanchez said. “I will forever question my decisions that contributed to this tragic event.”
Per disciplinary proceedings, Sanchez agreed to retire from service, forfeit $6,000 in wages, and was issued a letter of reprimand.

In this October 5, 2017 photo, a temporary patch is welded to the area damaged by a collision aboard USS John S. McCain.  (REUTERS)

Sanchez claimed responsibility for the deadly collision. He said had failed to put a well-rested, well-trained crew in place to steer the destroyer into the Straits.
The former commander, who was immediately reassigned after the collision, initially faced negligent homicide charges, CBS News reported.
According to Sanchez, an 18-year-old undertrained helmsman had been navigating the destroyer, known as "Big Bad John," leading up to the collision.
The Navy judge, Cmdr. Charles Purnell, who presided over Friday’s court-martial, singled out the failure to navigate the console as the “overarching failure.”
Sanchez acknowledged his failure to provide a more rigorous training.
More than a dozen relatives of the fallen crewmembers attended Friday’s hearings, reading impact statements, and calling out the Navy for negligence, Stars and Stripes reported.
“I am haunted by it every day,” said Karen Doyon, mother of Petty Officer 3^rd Class Dustin Doyon, 26, of Connecticut. “This is a tragedy that should have never happened.”
The USS John S. McCain is named for the father and grandfather of U.S. Sen. John S. McCain III, R-Ariz., who like the senator had distinguished careers in the Navy.

Nancy Pelosi 'punted' on NFL anthem question, critics say

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi addresses reporters in Washington, June 15, 2017.  (Reuters)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faced questions last week about where she stands, or kneels, regarding the NFL's recently announced policy regarding national anthem protests.
Though she claimed to side with the players, her answers didn't sit well with many political observers.
"She punted," writes Becket Adams in the Washington Examiner, describing Pelosi's response to CNN's Chris Cuomo as a "professional-strength nonanswer."
Pelosi spoke with Cuomo as part of a "town hall" telecast Thursday. The host began by describing the policy recently announced by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“When the anthem comes on, you stand," Cuomo said. "If you do not want to stand, stay in the locker room. If you come out on to the field, you kneel or you in other ways protest, you will be fined."
He then asked Pelosi: "Are you OK with this rule change by the NFL?”
The California Democrat responded: “I would be more OK with it if they consulted with the players. I don’t think the players agreed to this. This is the owners. And by the way, it’s the owners who would be fined,” she said, to audience applause.

“I would be more OK with it if they consulted with the players. I don’t think the players agreed to this. This is the owners. And by the way, it’s the owners who would be fined.”

“I love the national anthem. … I’m from Baltimore. That’s where it was written, during the War of 1812. So I’m very possessive of it. Some people say maybe we should change the national anthem. No,” she said, to audience laughter.
She finished by saying she not only loves the flag, but also the First Amendment.
But to many on social media and other outlets, the reponse seemed wishy-washy at best.
“This is Democrats at their worst. Uhg. You either believe people have the right to voice their opinions or you don’t,” Hollywood producer Judd Apatow tweeted.
In a Washington Post essay, titled “Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to condemn NFL decision shows why Democrats struggle with black millennials,” Eugene Scott, who writes for the Fix, questions whether the Democratic Party has black voters’ "best interests in mind."
Scott writes that Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, told the Fix that rhetoric like Pelosi's explains why, in her view, most blacks in 2016 voted against President Donald Trump rather than for the Democratic Party.
“Democrats need to develop a message that incorporates the critical economic security issues along with a message that acknowledges the impact of the rise in racism in the country on younger voters and have actual solutions on how they plan to deal with that,” she said. “But any message that fails to incorporate those two things will land on deaf ears.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Weindling, writing for Paste Magazine, defends Pelosi’s response, arguing that the minority leader needs to be careful with her words, because they could be used against her.
“If Nancy Pelosi had said something like, ‘It was horrible of the NFL to violate their employees’ First Amendment rights, and we all need to understand this isn’t about protesting the military or the anthem,’ that reasonable clip would still appear in every GOP commercial across the country," Weindling writes.
He calls Pelosi's wavering on the issue “actually a very smart move.”
"They would play the edited video with sinister overtones, and say something to the effect of ‘[Congressional candidate] is a Nancy Pelosi liberal who wants to go to Washington to help make it easier to protest the men and women in uniform of this great country.’”
Overall, the Examiner's Adams writes, it seems the Democratic Party's leadership may simply have not yet decided “where to come down on the matter.”

Trump optimistic about North Korea summit as Moon, Kim hold surprise meeting

President Donald Trump on Saturday said talks regarding a possible summit with North Korea were “going along very well,” just days after he canceled next month’s highly anticipated meeting with the rogue nation.
“We’re doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea,” Trump said at the White House after welcoming home Joshua Holt, who returned to the U.S. on Saturday after being incarcerated in a Venezuelan jail. “Looks like it’s going along very well.”
Trump said meetings were ongoing and they were still “looking at June 12 in Singapore, that hasn’t changed.”
He added that if “it would be a great thing” if they were “successful in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
The president’s remarks followed a surprise meeting Saturday between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, during which the pair agreed their countries would have “high-level talks” next month and Kim “expressed his fixed will” on meeting with Trump, according to Yonhap News.
On Sunday, Moon told reporters that Kim committed to meeting with Trump and to a "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the Associated Press reported.
Moon said he assured Kim that Trump has a "firm resolve" to end hostile relations with North Korea and initiate economic coooperation if Kim implements "complete denuclearization."
The two Korean leaders met on the North Korean side of the demilitarized zone in the village of Panmunjom to discuss peace commitments made during their historic first summit last month. They also reportedly talked “frankly” about how they could make the potential summit between Kim and Trump a success.
The meeting came hours after South Korea expressed relief over revived talks for a summit between Trump and Kim following a whirlwind 24 hours that saw the U.S. president cancel the meeting.
"Kim Jong-un thanked Moon Jae-in for much effort made by him for the DPRK-U.S. summit scheduled for June 12, and expressed his fixed will on the historic DPRK-U.S. summit talks," Yonhap reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Kim Jong-un told Moon Jae-in to positively cooperate with each other as ever to improve the DPRK-U.S. relations and establish mechanism for permanent and durable peace.”
The leaders of the neighboring countries said they would hold “high-level talks” on June 1 and also promised to “meet frequently in the future to make dialogue brisk and pool wisdom and efforts, expressing their stand to make joint efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Yonhap reported.
The talks between North and South Korea was initially supposed to occur earlier this month until it was called off by the North, citing military exercises conducted by the South and the U.S.
Prior to Kim and Moon’s meeting, Trump suggested that his summit with North Korea may still go ahead.
“We are having very productive talks with North Korea about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th., and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date,” Trump tweeted.