Ex-acting DNI Grenell calls politics in 2020 'a fight between Washington and the rest of America'

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Monday that his time in the Trump administration has shown him that the great political struggle is no longer between Republicans and Democrats, but between the District of Columbia and the rest of the U.S.
In his first TV interview since leaving the administration, Grenell explained a tweet he posted Saturday in response to criticism of Trump from former Defense Secretary James Matts.
"The fact of the matter is," Grenell said, "we have a real problem in Washington, D.C., because it’s a system that it no longer is Republicans and Democrats pushing against each other to create good policy. It’s a fight between Washington and the rest of America."
"What we have [is] a system in Washington where people get jobs if you're there, if you know someone and you work your way up, and it’s like musical chairs from one agency to another," Grenell added. "There is no outside thought, there's no outside perspective."
Grenell, who also spent two year's as U.S. ambassador to Germany, characterized Trump as a great disruptor of this insular system.
"He's breaking their system," he said. "He doesn't play by the rules.
"I saw that at ODNI," Grenell added. "I saw that by entering the intelligence world, and senators from the Democratic Party saying, 'You have no experience, what are you doing -- why should you be there?''"
Grenell specifically called out Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, by noting that Grenell had received his first intelligence briefing back in 2001, before Warner was elected to public office.
"He said that I wasn’t qualified," Grennell said of Warner. "I actually am a receiver of intelligence, and [I'm] an expert on the consumer part of the intelligence and how to utilize it, but that perspective is never brought to Washington."

Cancel Culture Cartoons

Greg Gutfeld slams Cuomos, de Blasio, Newsom, CNN for making 'The Purge' a reality

"The Purge" movies have become reality -- but blame only those on the left, Greg Gutfeld said Saturday.
"Last week was a victory for mayhem, left-wing violence disguised as justice, and the media gets the assist with a disguise," Gutfeld said on the "Greg Gutfeld Show."
"I remember dystopian science-fiction movies I'd watch as a child: 'Soylent Green,' 'The Omega Man,' 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' and wondered, 'How could that happen? Is it caused by overpopulation? Lack of resources? Cocoa Pebbles?' I assumed our society was too rich and resourceful for anything like that to happen. I was wrong to say these are weird times. It's like saying Rome around 476 A.D. was weird times."
"The Purge" films and television series center on one night per year where there is no law -- thus no legal consequences for any crime committed that night.
Gutfeld blamed liberal leaders and the media for permitting the lawlessness that resulted following the death of George Floyd.
"'The Purge' occurred and -- sorry, Hollywood script writers -- it didn't come from some autocratic right-winger," Gutfeld said. "No, Stephen King, Cher and anyone else snorting horse tranquilizers behind a gated community who thought Trump was Hitler: It was actually your side."
Gutfeld then listed CNN's Chris Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and California Gov. Gavin Newsom as likely villains -- along with liberal news network CNN.
He ripped Cuomo for recently saying, "Show me where it says the protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful."
"Say that to the black man who watched his business burn down or the immigrant facing his boarded up deli," Gutfeld said.
Gutfeld also slammed Cuomo's brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for defending rioters and looters.
"So as New York implodes, its governor thinks the biggest problem is people seeing the implosion, the death, the mayhem, the desecration of Mr. Floyd's memory -- like this video of David Dorn, a retired 77-year-old police chief who bled to death after being shot by looters. I'm sorry, I meant peaceful protesters," Gutfeld said.
"Please don't watch because you might blur the lines between peaceful protests and looters. But who is blurring the lines? It's those who accuse you of demeaning protesters when you are pleading for help to stop the violence."
"And that allows cities to burn," he said, "because it makes it impossible to stop the mob if you continue to deny it exists."

Ivanka Trump rips ‘cancel culture’ after she’s dropped as commencement speaker

Ivanka Trump, senior adviser to U.S President Donald Trump, speaks during a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Associated Press)

Run by a bunch of stupid ass Liberal Leftest.

Ivanka Trump took to Twitter Friday evening to call out cancel culture after she was dropped as a commencement speaker for Wichita State University.
“Our nation’s campuses should be bastions of free speech. Cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination are antithetical to academia,” she said. “Listening to one another is important now more than ever!”
The president’s daughter and senior White House advisor also posted a video of the remarks she had planned to give.
“I know that all of these talented graduates will dream big and aspire to make the world a better place!” she said.
Ivanka was dropped by the university after student protests online over President Trump’s response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

“Ivanka Trump, obviously, represents her father’s administration as one of his closest advisors,” Jennifer Ray, associate professor of photo media said in a letter posted online, which drew hundreds of signatures from students, alumni and faculty. “To many Americans, that administration has come to signify the worst of our country, particularly in its recent actions toward those peacefully protesting against racist police brutality.”
A joint statement from Wichita State President Dr. Jay Golden and WSU Tech President Dr. Sheree Utash offered no explanation for why she was dropped as a speaker.
“The WSU Tech commencement plans have been refocused more centrally on students — student voices in particular,” they said.

Massachusetts Trump supporter, 82, ‘violently assaulted’ by motorist, 27, police say

Nobody should be attacked for their political views, Charlie Chase says.

But according to authorities, that’s exactly what happened last week to the 82-year-old U.S. military veteran and supporter of President Trump.
The Fall River, Mass., man says he was holding a Trump sign and wearing a Trump hat when suddenly a motorist allegedly got out of his car and charged toward him.
“Give me the (expletive) sign!” the suspect said, according to police.
“The guy, when he came at me, I had never seen a horror story … that the face was so filled with hate and anger, as his was,” Chase told WPRI-TV of Providence, R.I.
Everything happened so fast that Chase had to ask a buddy what transpired, he said.
“According to the other fella that was with me, I didn’t know that [the suspect] had lifted me up, but he apparently lifted me up and flung me down on my back to the ground,” Chase told the station.

The suspect, identified as Aidan Courtright, 27, of Fall River, also grabbed Chase’s Trump sign, tore it in half, and threw it on the ground, the Providence Journal reported.
After Chase landed on the ground, the suspect allegedly kicked the elderly man in his ribs and legs before returning to his vehicle and driving away, police said.
Police responded to the scene on a call that Chase was “violently targeted for his political views and violently assaulted,” the Journal reported. The offices saw visible bruising on Chase’s lower back and he was treated at a local hospital, the report said.
Courtright later turned himself in after being contacted by authorities. He was charged with a civil-rights violation with injury, assault and battery on a person over 60, vandalism of personal property, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the report said.
Donald Trump Jr. learned about the story and posted a Twitter message Friday.
"What kind of person commits violence against an elderly man?" Trump wrote.

After a hearing Thursday, the suspect was released and ordered to have no contact with Chase or post anything political online, with a date to return to court Aug. 6, WPRI reported.
Chase told the station that political differences should be addressed through conversation rather than violence.
“If you’ve got something, listen to what they’re saying, figure out whether you agree you don’t agree -- ‘Ah some of that’s good, maybe I should change some of the things I think’,” he said. “That’s the American way.”

Curtis Hill: Defund police in response to George Floyd killing? It’s an insane idea that would increase crime

In normal times, no one would feel the need to point out the total absurdity of a movement called “Defund the Police.” The insanity of such a concept would be self-evident to anyone possessing the faculty of reason.

The move to cut funding for police departments around the nation is motivated by the brutal and clearly unjustified May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Floyd was handcuffed on the ground, not resisting arrest and posing no threat to the four officers who arrested him for allegedly committing a minor crime – passing a counterfeit $20 bill. All four officers have since fired and been charged with either second-degree murder or aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Floyd’s killing – captured on cellphone video – has shocked millions of people around the world. As a result, we are no longer in normal times. Peaceful protests – as well as rioting and looting – have broken out in many American communities.
Some of the groups protesting to achieve racial justice have gained frightening traction pushing the idea that slashing police budgets nationwide would help create safer communities and more peaceful interactions between blacks and whites.
This is utter nonsense.
We are a nation that continues to grapple with violent crime. According to the FBI, for example, an estimated 16,214 people were murdered in the United States in 2018. If we had fewer police on our streets that tragic figure would be higher. And you can bet that criminals would commit more robberies, assaults, rapes, burglaries and other crimes as well if there was a smaller police presence on the streets.

We need police to continue to fulfill their vital function of protecting the innocent and holding lawbreakers accountable.
And so, anyone who cares about America should proclaim from the rooftops that “defunding the police” would produce terribly dangerous consequences.
Police officers in the United States risk their lives to serve and protect their fellow citizens. The overwhelming majority of officers are outstanding public servants who each day perform their difficult duties for all the right reasons.

This defunding makes as much sense as cutting funding for a hospital or a school where a doctor or teacher has engaged in criminal conduct against a patient or student.

Certainly, there are individual cops unworthy of the badges they wear, whether due to corruption, incompetence or hot tempers that get out of control. A small number of officers hired to fight crime turn into criminals themselves, violating the rights of citizens, engaging in police brutality, and – on rare occasions – even killing innocent people of all races.
But the solution to this problem lies in specifically identifying the officers acting improperly within police agencies – and removing those who are incorrigible. Further, when whole departments show systematic patterns of improper behavior, wholesale leadership changes must be made
The truth is that a small number of people in every profession engage in criminal conduct. We’ve all seen news stories about pedophile priests, doctors who rape patients, teachers who assault students, lawyers who swindle elderly clients out of their life savings, corrupt politicians who take bribes, and more. In all these professions, wrongdoers must be identified and removed from their positions – and imprisoned if convicted of crimes.
In the slow and excruciating death of George Floyd, our nation witnessed just how horrific a situation can become when bad cops walk the street. Fortunately, justice now appears to be moving swiftly in that Minneapolis case.

Defunding police departments, however, would only make positive reforms all the more difficult to achieve. In a troubling move, for example, the mayor of Los Angeles has proposed cutting as much as $150 million from funding for the city’s police department.
This defunding makes as much sense as cutting funding for a hospital or a school where a doctor or teacher has engaged in criminal conduct against a patient or student. In all these cases, the criminal cops, doctors and teachers would not be the ones to suffer as a result of defunding. Hospital patients, students and the general public would suffer instead.
When our communities hire police officers, we ask them to risk their lives to keep our families and neighborhoods safe. According to the FBI, 89 officers were killed around the nation in the line of duty in 2019. These deaths were a tragedy that should not be ignored.
The least we can do for our police officers is to ensure they have the best possible training and equipment – and enough funding for adequate staffing.
Years before he became president, Teddy Roosevelt served as New York City’s police commissioner. In his autobiography, he wrote about his longstanding commitment to adequately fund police departments. “I have not the slightest sympathy,” he wrote, “with any policy which tends to put the policeman at the mercy of a tough [criminal], or which deprives him of efficient weapons.”
With the turmoil and strife that have wracked our nation following the killing of George Floyd, perhaps it’s understandable that many people are acting and reacting out of emotion rather than logic. But we can do better.
It is shameful that a real opportunity to tackle unresolved racial discord is being hijacked by anarchists who want to destabilize our nation.

Following the killing of George Floyd, we have witnessed at least a dozen additional deaths in senseless violent riots.
One of these tragedies occurred with the death of David Dorn, age 77, who was killed while trying to protect a friend’s pawnshop from rampaging looters in St. Louis.
Dorn, a black man, was a retired police captain. His black life mattered. The fact that he was killed by looters rather than by white police officers does not make his death any less tragic.
A former colleague recalled Dorn as someone “very dedicated to youth, especially disadvantaged youth” who “wanted to see them succeed.” Dorn “wanted to be a role model for those young men and women,” the former colleague said.
We owe it to the memory of officers such as David Dorn – and all honorable police officers continuing to serve their communities – to keep supporting the work of law enforcement.
And even more than that, we owe it to all our fellow citizens to pursue policies – including adequately funding our police agencies – that will best protect our families and neighborhoods going forward.

As Americans of all races and backgrounds, let’s work together to make our police forces better. Let’s consider any and all substantive proposals truly aimed at their improved performance.
Let’s help all officers embrace the role of “guardian” as passionately as they embrace the role of “enforcer.” Let’s continue our quest for equal rights and equal justice for all. And let’s continue our journey toward racial reconciliation and improved race relations.
But let’s set our sights on real solutions rather than becoming distracted by nonsensical faddish slogans such as “Defund the Police.”

Take A Knee To Looters and Rioters Cartoons

President Trump signs executive order on commercial fishing

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:45 PM PT — Friday, June 5, 2020

President Trump has signed a proclamation to reopen rich fishing waters off the coast of Maine, which were previously designated as a sanctuary by the Obama administration.
During Friday’s roundtable in Bangor, the president ensured he will bring back commercial fishing industries “in a big way.”The move walked back an Obama-era executive order that banned fishing in the area due to conservation efforts. The president claimed the prior administration’s policies were excessive and caused serious economic harm to the lives of fishermen.
He went on to say he will continue fighting for fishing rights with his plans to crack down on illegally harvested seafood. The president is also hoping to confront the EU over what he called “unfair tariffs.”

Press Secy. McEnany: Officers have right to defend themselves, 57 officers resign from Buffalo’s Emergency Response Team in support of two suspended colleagues

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a briefing at the White House, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:10 PM PT — Wednesday, June 3, 2020

This week, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany weighed in on the nation’s ongoing protests. She acknowledged the First Amendment gives Americans the right to peacefully assemble, but pointed out it does not give anyone the right to riot loot and set things on fire.
She’s also reiterated police did not tear gas protesters at D.C.’s Lafayette Square on Monday before the president walked from the White House to St. John’s Church.

“The protesters were told three times over loudspeaker that they needed to move. It grew increasingly unruly. There were projectiles being thrown at officers, frozen water bottles were being thrown at officers, various other projectiles. The officers had no other choice than in that moment to act, make sure that they were safe and that the perimeter was pushed back. As we all know, a church was burning in that very area the night before, so the appropriate action was taken.” – Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary

She also noted the president has not lost confidence in Defense Secretary Mark Esper after he said he does not support using the military to contain the protests.

FILE – In this June 1, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John’s Church in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Esper has also dismissed the mainstream media’s portrayal of his visit to St. John’s Church with President Trump. He has said they went to Lafayette Park to thank the National Guard for their efforts and review damage at the church.
The secretary stressed he had no idea there was anything political involved when the president took a photograph with a bible. He also dismissed reports the National Guard used tear gas to clear out protesters before the group made their walk.
“First, National Guard did not fire rubber bullets or tear gas into the crowd as reported,” he stated. “Second, guardsmen were instructed to wear helmets and personal protection equipment for their own protection, not to serve as some form of intimidation.”
Esper went on to say he’s instructed officials to investigate why a National Guard helicopter was hovering above the group of protesters that same day.

57 officers resign from Buffalo’s Emergency Response Team in support of two suspended colleagues

In this image from video provided by WBFO, a Buffalo police officer appears to shove a man who walked up to police Thursday, June 4, 2020, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Mike Desmond/WBFO via AP)

 OLD or not, look how much larger this man is compared to the police officers?

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:10 PM PT — Friday, June 5, 2020

57 officers resigned from the Buffalo Police Department’s Emergency Response Team on Friday. This came after officials suspended two officers for shoving a 75-year-old man during recent protests.
A video, which surfaced this week, appeared to show police officers pushing an elderly man to the floor, where his head to started bleeding.
The two officers involved in the incident were suspended without pay from the department. These actions sparked outrage from the rest of the riot task force, who claimed that these men were just doing what they were told to do.
When asked about the resignations, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he was “exceptionally disappointed by it, because it indicates to me that they did not see anything wrong with the actions last night.”
“Being a police officer is a difficult task, there’s no doubt about it,” stated Poloncarz. “We as a community need to have officers who are working on our best behalf and honoring their pledge to serve and protect.”

N.Y. bail reform laws prevent looters from being held by police

Police search the cars of drivers amidst ongoing looting in SoHo shopping district on Sunday, May 31, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:32 PM PT — Friday, June 5, 2020

Prosecutors in New York City are expressing frustration with how quickly some of those arrested during the violent riots in the city have been turned back onto the street.
According to reports, hundreds have been arrested for rioting and looting in recent demonstrations, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd. However, many have been immediately released due to the state’s unusual bail reform law.
The law, which was enacted earlier this year, eliminated the bail requirement for suspects accused of most misdemeanors, including burglary.
The NYPD has stated groups of anarchists are targeting upscale stores, particularly in lower and midtown Manhattan. However, police have been unable to hold them, since they were charged with crimes ineligible for bail under the reform.

FILE – In this May 28, 2020 file photo, a protestor breaks a window of a business with a baseball bat, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

On Thursday, the governor of New York claimed looters are exploiting the protests because they know police are going to be busy with the actual protesters.
“It would be nonsensical if the police were arresting looters, (who) were then being arrested and returned to the street the next day to loot again,” said Andrew Cuomo. “That would be nonsensical, right?”
He called on prosecutors to seek charges of second-degree burglary, or burglary involving a “dangerous instrument” like a pipe or a brick. According to Cuomo, if looters are using rocks to break windows and steal, they should be charged for the crime they’re committing and have bail set.
Prosecutors, however, are split on the legal standing to bring second-degree charges against the looters. Some have said most of the looting cases can’t be charged with that crime.
They argued rocks and bricks aren’t considered “deadly weapons.” They also noted there’s a lack of evidence that using them to break store windows has put anyone in danger of serious injury.

FILE – In this Saturday, May 30, 2020 file photo, a protester adds materials to a fire of a building that once housed a check cashing business, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance agreed that looters should face harsher penalties. He has asked for the legislature to change the bail reform law and for Cuomo to use emergency powers to allow judges to hold looters on bail.
“This is about people who are taking advantage of this moment, when people want to come out and protest peacefully,” stated Vance. “I’m calling for more judicial discretion, to have the judge have the ability to detain someone when there is a clear risk of re-offense.”
Under bail reform, suspects of violent felonies are still required to post bail.
However, even before the law was adopted, New York law prevented judges from considering some suspects as potential dangers to the community before setting bail.