Sunday, September 17, 2017
African-American university students offended by cotton
This is a joke, right? |
Randy Lowry |
The president of Lipscomb
University issued a public apology after an untold number of African
American students were offended by a dinner table centerpiece made from stalks of cotton.
Yes, good readers – a group of college students was triggered by the fabric of our lives.
Click here for a free subscription to Todd’s newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives!Randy Lowry, president of the Christian university based in Nashville, had invited African-American students to his home for dinner last week.
One student who attended the gathering posted a diatribe on Instagram – along with a photo of the “offensive” centerpiece.
“We were very offended,” the student wrote. “My friend … asked why there was cotton on the table as the centerpiece. His response was that he didn’t know, he seen it before we did, he kind of thought it was ‘fallish’, THEN he said, “it ISNT INHERENTLY BAD IF WERE ALL WEARING IT.”
Continue reading at ToddStarnes.com.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary. His latest book is “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again.” Follow him on Twitter @ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.
College puts professor who tweeted about teaching 'future dead cops' on administrative leave
If this guy is the type of person our colleges are hiring to teach our young we're up the you know what creek! |
Michael Isaacson, an adjunct
professor at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and
self-proclaimed anti-fascist activist, was disciplined because of the
three-week-old tweet that caught fire after Isaacson’s Thursday
appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” His Aug. 23 tweet said:
Some of y'all might think it sucks being an
anti-fascist teaching at John Jay College but I think it's a privilege
to teach future dead cops“Michael Issacson harbors total disdain for the active and future police officers that he teaches at John Jay College,” Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said in a Friday press release.
John Jay College President Karol V. Mason called Isaacson’s comments “abhorrent” and the “antithesis” of an academic institution that trains future law enforcement in a statement. Although she said that professors have a right to free speech and academic freedom, “expressions of hate or intimidation are not welcome in that civil discourse.”
WATCH: TUCKER TAKES ON ANTIFA PROFESSOR ABOUT FREE SPEECH
As Fox News previously reported, Roy Richter, president of the NYPD Captains Endowment Association, said the tweet is “an abdication of the professor’s responsibility as a civilized human being” and “disgusting.”
“I am appalled that anyone associated with John Jay, with our proud history of supporting law enforcement authorities, would suggest that violence against police is ever acceptable,” Mason said in her statement.
Mason also said that faculty members and students had been threatened as a result of Isaacson’s tweet, and he was placed on leave for safety reasons.
In an email to The Washington Post, Isaacson said he “unequivocally” supports the college’s decision “in the interest of public safety,” and he apologizes to faculty members and his students for placing them at risk.
Isaacson will remain on administrative leave while school officials review the matter, Mason said.
Other law enforcement officials also weighed in.
Another Obama, Clinton donor joins Mueller's legal team investigating Trump campaign
The newest lawyer to join Special
Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Trump campaign team
collusion with Russia gained notoriety for her conduct in defending
former President Obama's immigration orders, Politico reported Saturday.
Besides her work for Obama, Kyle Freeny, now the 16th
member of Mueller’s legal team, Federal Election Commission records
show she donated in each of the past three presidential elections to
Democratic nominees, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Freeny and her colleagues came under judicial fire
while defending a lawsuit in which Texas and 25 other states contested
Obama’s executive order in 2014 on immigration. The federal judge
hearing the case, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, blasted Freeny and
her colleagues for misleading him when the litigation began by
indicating that none of the changes Obama had ordered had taken effect.
In actuality, one major change, to issue longer work permits, had
already begun.Hanen said the government lawyers had engaged in “misconduct” that was “intentional, serious and material,” according to Politico
“In fact, it is hard to imagine a more serious, more calculated plan of unethical conduct,” wrote the judge, who eventually dropped plans to impose sanctions on the government lawyers.
Freeny is one of nine attorneys on Mueller’s team who has donated to Democrats a total of nearly $65,000, according to The Daily Caller.
She had been working in the Justice Department’s money-laundering unit where she helped lead an effort to seize profits from the “The Wolf of Wall Street” film because it was allegedly financed with assets looted from Malaysia’s government. Read another report on Kyle Freeny below:
Names Of DOJ Attorneys Who 'Misled' Judge In Immigration Case Scrubbed From Court Doc
The U.S. Department of Justice won't release the names of attorneys whose conduct in a high-profile immigration case was called "unseemly and unprofessional" by a federal judge, or whether those attorneys will face internal disciplinary action.
The DOJ says it "emphatically" disagrees with Judge Andrew Hanen's May order in State of Texas, et al. v. United States of America, et al., in which he wrote that he was “disappointed” that the court even had to address the subject of lawyer behavior when it has “many more pressing matters on its docket.”Hanen concluded that DOJ attorneys “effectively misled” the plaintiff states into foregoing a request for a temporary restraining order or an earlier hearing on a motion for an injunction.
Their names, following a court order, were redacted from the department’s response to the judge's order.
Their misrepresentations, the judge said, also “misdirected” the court as to the timeline involved in the implementation of a 2014 Department of Homeland Security directive, which included amendments to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
DOJ attorneys said Obama's three-year amnesty plan wasn't being implemented, but the judge says it actually was - and more than 100,000 aliens were to be affected.
The Justice Department declined to release a complete list of all those attorneys involved, and their salaries, to Legal Newsline.
Many DOJ lawyers are listed as participating in the case. They are James Gilligan, Daniel Hu, Adam Kirschner, Jennifer Ricketts, Daniel Schwei, John Tyler, Kathleen Hartnett, Bradley Cohen and Kyle Freeny.
California lawmakers approve 'sanctuary state' bill ( Bringing Down America )
Bringing Down America |
Twenty-two out of 24 Latino legislative members are Democrats. Latinos now constitute nearly 40% of California’s population, surpassing the white, non-Latino population. |
Lawmakers in California on Saturday passed
“sanctuary state” legislation even as President Trump and his
administration have vowed to crack down on jurisdictions that do not
cooperate with federal immigration agents.
The bill approved early Saturday
limits police cooperation with federal immigration authorities and is
intended to bolster protections for illegal immigrants in the state.
But the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement on Saturday warned of “tragic consequences,” saying
the policy “will make California communities less safe.”“By passing this bill, California politicians have chosen to prioritize politics over public safety,” Thomas Homan, the acting director of ICE, said in a statement. “Disturbingly, the legislation serves to codify a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s immigration laws and shelters serious criminal alien offenders.”
Homan said ICE wants to work with local law enforcement to prevent “dangerous criminal aliens” from being released back onto the streets.
The legislation will now be considered by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who announced his support after the top state Senate leader agreed to water down the bill and preserve authority for jail and prison officials to cooperate with immigration officers in many cases.
The bill that passed Saturday prohibits law enforcement officials from asking about a person's immigration status or participating in immigration enforcement efforts.
SANCTUARY CITIES: WHAT ARE THEY?
It also prohibits law enforcement officials from being deputized as immigration agents or arresting people on civil immigration warrants.
The legislation follows Trump’s vow to crack down on sanctuary cities. Such policies limit just how much local law enforcement officials cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The debate about sanctuary cities intensified in July 2015 when Katie Steinle, 32, was killed as she strolled along the San Francisco waterfront with her father. Steinle was fatally shot by a man with a criminal record who had slipped into the U.S. multiple times illegally.
On Friday, a federal judge in Chicago has ruled Attorney General Jeff Sessions can't withhold public grant money from so-called sanctuary cities for refusing to follow federal immigration policies.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber made the ruling Friday, in which he granted Chicago's request for a temporary "nationwide" injunction.
The ruling means the Justice Department cannot deny grant money requests until Chicago's lawsuit against the agency is concluded. Leinenweber wrote that Chicago has shown a "likelihood of success" in its arguments that Sessions overstepped his authority with the requirements.
The city of Chicago sued the Trump administration in August after it threatened to withhold funds from sanctuary cities, and refused to comply with the Justice Department's demand that it allow immigration agents access to local jails and notify agents when someone in the U.S. is about to be released from custody.
At least seven cities and counties, including Seattle and San Francisco, have refused to cooperate with new federal rules regarding sanctuary cities.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher: Violence in Charlottesville Was Masterminded by Dems
Republican U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher. |
California Representative Dana Rohrabacher explained his views in an interview Thursday.
He believes it was an attempt to — quote — “put our president on the spot.”
Rohrabacher believes Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders hired Civil War re-enactors to defend the Confederate statue and pretend to be white nationalists.
The California lawmaker currently faces nine challengers in the 2018 election.
His district in the state traditionally votes Republican, but flipped for Clinton in the last election, making it a focus for Democrats trying to retake the House.
Chelsea Clinton tweets false story claiming Michigan passed bill allowing EMTs to deny gay patients treatment
Just like her mommy :-) |
Chelsea Clinton falsely tweeted Friday that the
Michigan House of Representatives had voted to allow emergency medical
providers choice in treating patients, specifically giving EMTs the
option to deny treatment to gay patients.
"Absolutely appalling," the former
First Daughter tweeted, "Michigan House Passed Bill Allowing EMTs To
Refuse Treatment To Gay People."
The story Clinton cited was from a website for the
LGBT New Now Next Awards, and was posted in 2014. When followers pointed
out the story was old, Clinton deleted her tweet.Not only was the story old, but the actual premise was deeply flawed. What the Michigan House actually passed was a garden variety Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which would have exempted religious individuals from laws that infringed on their religious beliefs.
Like most state RFRAs, the Michigan bill contained a clause that allows the state to infringe on religious beliefs when there's a "compelling government interest." The preservation of human life is widely considered to qualify, according to legal experts.
Newt Gingrich: Tax cuts for small business would change GOP trajectory
Time is running out for Republicans if they want to keep their governing majority in 2018.
After 238 days of having control of
the White House and both houses of Congress, the GOP has only one major
legislative achievement – the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court
Justice Neil Gorsuch.
This is, in part, because Republicans tried to run
before they could walk. Attempting to immediately repeal and replace
ObamaCare without an iron-clad strategy for success was a mistake driven
by post-election excitement and inexperience. Remember, many current
House Republicans have never served when there was a Republican in the
White House, and our Senate majority is still too slim to pass
transformative conservative legislation.But while early mistakes are to be expected, it is not too late to change the Republican trajectory.
Before we can fully bring our country out of the liberal, big government, dependency model, Republicans need to develop an economic-growth-focused strategy, build legislative momentum on the floor of Congress, and gain full support from the American people.
The key to achieving these goals – and growing our majority in both the House and Senate next year – is to pass simple, popular, tax cut legislation by this year’s end – preferably by Thanksgiving.
The cornerstone of this legislation must be a serious tax cut for small businesses so they can expand, create more jobs, and revive the middle class.
Small businesses represent 99 percent of our country’s employers, employing nearly half of our country’s private sector workers and creating three out of every four new jobs. However, instead of paying the corporate tax rate, more than 90 percent of these businesses report their income through their owners’ individual income tax filings.
Despite what some on the Left assert, these are not “the rich” or “the top 1 percent” – far from it. Most small businesses are truly small.
U.S. Treasury data and a report by the National Federation of Independent Business show only 2.4 percent of small businesses report incomes in excess of $250,000 a year. In fact, 88 percent of income tax returns by small business owners show adjusted gross income of less than $200,000. Seventy-one percent of such returns show adjusted income that is less than $100,000 a year.
On the high end, the Tax Foundation reports that the top earning small businesses pay marginal federal tax rates as high as 44.6 percent (when you combine the individual rate, the self-employment tax, and the net investment income tax). Adding state income taxes to the mix means these small business owners face tax rates that approach 50 percent.
This must change.
Republican lawmakers should create a graduated system that caps the tax rate on the highest small business incomes at no more than the corporate rate of 38.92 percent, drastically reduce the individual income tax rates, or both.
Relieving small businesses of this enormous tax burden will allow them to buy more equipment, expand their operations, hire more people, raise workers’ wages, and generate massive economic growth.
Despite a slow start for the Republican-led government, Gallup reported on Wednesday that 51 percent of Americans approve of the way President Trump has handled the economy. This is higher than the economic ratings Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton each received during their eighth month in office. Only George W. Bush in 2001 had a higher economic approval rating, at 72 percent.
It is not surprising that Americans approve of how President Trump has been handling the economy. Since taking office, the stock market has been booming. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 12.25 percent; The Nasdaq Composite Index is up 22.92 percent; and the S&P 500 is up 11.49 percent.
Tax cuts on small business and the middle class will provide an enormous boost to the already improving economy. This will result in even more jobs, higher take home pay, and stronger growth.
When voters head to the polls on November 6, 2018, if they have been experiencing a robust American economy that is dramatically stronger than the slow-growth economy during the previous years of Democratic leadership, then they will elect more Republicans to office.
But Republicans must pass serious tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses by Thanksgiving to make that happen. It’s that simple.
Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. A Republican, he was speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Follow him on Twitter @NewtGingrich. His latest book is "Understanding Trump."
California Assembly OKs plan for March presidential primary
The only problem Texans have with Californians moving to Texas is that they bring their stupid ideas of government with them. Look what they've done to their state, Don't mess with Texas. |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The
California Assembly has voted to move the 2020 presidential primary to
March to give the nation's most populous state more influence in
choosing nominees.
The bill approved Friday will now
go to the state Senate where it's expected to pass. Gov. Jerry Brown has
not said whether he'll sign it.
The bill would move the presidential primary to the
Tuesday after the first Monday in March -- three months earlier than the
June contest held in 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were
already the presumptive nominees.
–– ADVERTISEMENT ––
"Candidates will have to spend more time in California," said Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Mullin of San Francisco.
An earlier primary could give an edge to well-funded candidates.
California is home to 11 media markets, making it expensive to campaign.
It's easier for candidates with limited money to compete alongside financial heavy-hitters in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. In 2016, for example, John Kasich took second in New Hampshire with limited money, while Jeb Bush, who had more than $100 million, placed fourth.
"The cost of playing in California versus playing in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina is incredibly different," said Mike Biundo, Republican Rick Santorum's 2012 campaign manager who later worked for Kasich and Trump. "A Jeb Bush or a Hillary Clinton, I think, have the advantage if California is earlier."
An earlier primary, especially one held on Super Tuesday, wouldn't mean every candidate will spend more time in the state. In 2016, for example, Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia and eight other states voted that day.
And it doesn't ensure the political relevance that California lawmakers crave. The last time California voted early -- in February 2008 -- the state backed Clinton, but Barack Obama went on to win the Democratic nomination and the presidency.
California's last truly relevant presidential primary was perhaps in 1972, when George McGovern defeated Hubert Humphrey on McGovern's way to winning the Democratic nomination.
Michael Schroeder, Republican Ted Cruz's California political director in 2016, said it's too early in the political calendar to predict the impact of an earlier primary in 2020.
"Right now, California is completely irrelevant for picking presidents. We didn't pick Hillary (Clinton) and we didn't pick (President Donald) Trump," he said, referring to 2016 contests that were essentially settled before the state voted.
Changing the date "will make us at least somewhat relevant; it could make us very relevant," he said.
The Republican and Democratic national committees have not yet set rules for the 2020 contests, including the preferred primary calendar and delegates awarded to each state. Depending on rules set, other states could attempt to leapfrog ahead of California, pushing the entire primary season earlier.
California historically awards more delegates than any other state.
California may also become the first state to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state ballot. Lawmakers sent Brown a bill Friday requiring candidates to publicly share five years of returns; he hasn't said if he'll sign it.
President Donald Trump's refusal to release his tax returns during the 2016 sparked similar legislation in dozens of states from New Jersey to Hawaii. The documents reveal income sources, tax exemptions, charitable donations and potential financial conflicts of interest. Until Trump, every major presidential candidates has released his or hers for decades.
Friday, September 15, 2017
A war with North Korea -- the American people aren't ready
When it comes to North Korea, much digital ink as has been spilled by yours truly
on these very pages concerning the dangers and challenges
ahead—demonstrated by North Korea’s latest missile launch—when it comes
to dealing with and deterring the so-called “hermit kingdom.”
So, let me spare you hours of reading countless articles, op-eds, and tweets.
To be honest, there is only one thing you really need
to know: A war with North Korea—meaning a full-blown, all out conflict
where nuclear, chemical, biological and large amounts of conventional
weapons are used—would be a war like no other.Such a conflict would be nothing like the First Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Second Gulf War or Libya.
One way to achieve such a result would be a North Korean attack on South Korea’s vast civilian nuclear infrastructure. Remember Chernobyl or the nuclear tragedy in Japan a few years ago? Well Pyongyang could weaponize such a disaster with ease.Oh no, this would be an epic conflict where millions of people on the Korean Peninsula, in Japan and even in the U.S. homeland could lose their lives in the most horrific of ways.
Some might call such talk fear-mongering. But I call it reality—and we need to face up to it. Now.
Imagine large cities like Seoul, Tokyo, and perhaps Los Angeles turned to atomic ash before it’s all over. Imagine the millions of internally and externally displaced refugees whose lives would be destroyed from the sheer carnage. Then, imagine the trillions of dollars needed to put back together the economics pieces, to say nothing of the hopes and dreams of countless millions of people that would be wiped out in a nuclear nightmare that seems almost unthinkable.
Accept this nightmare is all too real.
And thanks to administration after administration—Democrat and Republican—who decided taking on North Korea was just not worth the risk, who thought patience, appeasement or bribery were better choices, we now face a crisis with no easy solution.
While I have already gone into specific detail over just how horrific just a conflict would be thanks to war games I have conducted over the years, such a war would be waged on many different fronts and have many pathways towards a humanitarian disaster that this planet has not seen in decades.
For example, North Korea does not need to launch a full-out nuclear attack on America and its allies to kill scores of people—it just needs to get a little creative.
One way to achieve such a result would be a North Korean attack on South Korea’s vast civilian nuclear infrastructure. Remember Chernobyl or the nuclear tragedy in Japan a few years ago? Well Pyongyang could weaponize such a disaster with ease.
Seoul operates 24 nuclear power plants that could all come under North Korean attack. And while these plants are relatively far from the north, Kim Jong Un does not have to be a military mastermind to conceive of a way to destroy such nuclear reactors, spreading atomic materials across the Korean Peninsula and into Northeast Asia. With many of these facilities lumped together, Pyongyang could fire a salvo of missiles at these plants with devastating impact.
Or, Kim could utilize his special forces who could infiltrate the south from tunnels or who could already be in place, launching terror attacks against such facilities. If North Korea were to destroy just a few reactors, imagine multiple Chernobyl-style nuclear disasters while South Korean and U.S. forces are trying to fight North Korea’s other forces. With millions of people trying to flee the inevitable radioactive fallout, fear might just be Kim Jong Un’s best weapon.
Considering the dangers America and its allies face, the Trump Administration needs to do all it can to contain the North Korea threat. As I have said on a few occasions here, our best strategy is to eliminate any possible funds going into North Korea, driving up the costs for Kim to deploy his military assets and develop new even more dangerous weapons of mass destruction.
Team Trump should begin by asking for a new and much more robust sanctions package at the UN—something that makes Pyongyang finally pay for its risky actions. As an oil embargo is unlikely to pass and could destabilize the regime—something that could be even worse than a war—North Korea should be stopped from exporting its slave labor that it uses to make important hard currency, currency that of course goes into funding its military machine. Such a practice is nothing but revolting, and should have never been allowed in the first place.
President Trump should also announce that any entity that is caught helping the North Koreans evade sanctions, whether it’s Chinese banks or businesses or any private firm or entity from any nation, would be immediately banned from doing any business in the U.S.
In fact, President Trump should embrace a bipartisan bill crafted by Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, called the North Korean Enablers Accountability Act. The bill, if passed, would “ban any entity that does business with North Korea or its enablers from using the United States financial system, and impose U.S. sanctions on all those participating in North Korean labor trafficking abuses.” The president should push for such legislation to be passed without delay, but include a 30-day grace period so such entities could be given a chance to halt their activities. But after that, it’s time these entities suffer for enabling a regime that has as many as 200,000 in prison camps and treats their citizens like prisoners.
But whatever the Trump Administration decides to do—they need to do it now. Letting North Korea slip off our collective national security radar once again for whatever the other challenge of the day is would be a big mistake. We could end up paying for such a mistake with countless innocent American lives—a tragedy we have the power to avoid.
Harry J. Kazianis (@grecianformula) is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, founded by former President Richard M. Nixon. Click here, for more on Mr. Kazianis.
Berkeley Republican student: Lessons from life-threatening moments as a conservative on a liberal campus
As my campus at the University of
California, Berkeley (UCB) “braces” itself for an appearance by
conservative Ben Shapiro, I am taking a step back to think about all the
moments and highlights that I have faced while being a vocal
conservative in a liberal atmosphere. Now that I am a senior I am
beginning to realize the crucial points that not every average
conservative would or should ever face in his or her lifetime. With some
of these moments being described as life-threatening, I have
experienced it all through the radicalism of UCB.
The first time my life was actually
threatened was on the evening of February 1, 2017. I still remember
sitting on the top floor of the Martin Luther King Building where Milo
Yiannopoulos was supposed to speak, thinking about how my colleagues and
I were ever going to get out of there, while outside the protestors
were throwing anything they could grab at the windows. Even the cops who
were being paid $10,000 in security fees were astounded at the sheer
chaos that had formed outside the building in the form of Antifa, BAMN
(By Any Means Necessary), student, and other civilian protestors. Even
after the cops had created a window for us to escape out of the back of
the building, I remember being followed by one shady figure who only
stopped following me after I turned around to confront him. Even then,
the stranger didn’t leave me alone until he had his fill of yelling at
me and calling me a “fascist, white supremist asshole.” I am in fact,
Chinese and Cuban if anyone was wondering.
Even then, the stranger didn’t leave me alone until he had his fill of yelling at me and calling me a “fascist, white supremist asshole.” I am in fact, Chinese and Cuban if anyone was wondering.I also remember how several members after that event advised the club that they were going to keep their heads low and avoid any attention for a little while, fearing for their personal safety. However, the rest of us decided that we were going to trudge on, determined to not give up on our commitment to providing a conservative voice at UCB no matter the costs. That was why I joined the Berkeley College Republicans (BCR) and why I chose to fight alongside the president at that time, Jose Marine Diaz, because I respected his commitment to the club and to its members.
After the moment on Feburary 1, my colleagues and I were consistently harassed and attacked at random times and places. Our signs were either destroyed or stolen, members of our club had been hit by people on bikes, our lists of new members had been stolen and the people on those lists had gotten threatening emails, along with the daily routine of spit, curse words, middle-fingers, and screaming. Nevertheless, we each looked out for one another, having each other’s backs, and making sure we all made it home safe and sound at the end of the day.
However, all good things must come to an end, unfortunately. Nowadays, the insincere attempts of UCB and the new leadership board of BCR to cooperate have made way for more extreme environments of political polarization, pushing regular people to plan controversial rallies on the weekends where they eventually physically clash with one another. BCR members who call themselves the champions of free speech act as though they are the reincarnations of Mario Salvo (a Berkeley Free Speech founding father, you might say), and that they live in constant fear of being arrested for speaking their minds. This is meant to get normal, conservative citizens upset. So upset, that in some cases they lash out against fellow Americans who believe in different political ideas.
This is the problem with groups on the left as well. Antifa and BAMN are so hopelessly set in their ways that they seem to forget that the people they are attacking are fellow American citizens. Instead, they see them as Nazis, bigots, fascists, racists, etc., all because they were told to think that way.
The hoopla that surrounds such events like the hosting of Yiannopoulos or Shapiro must be ignored. It is chaos for the sake of chaos where the only ones who benefit started the chaos, while the people stuck in the chaos destroy each other. The end result is more centrist conservatives like myself being stalked and harassed on our way home. The only way the senseless fighting at these rallies and events are going to truly end is when people start to realize how unimportant and ineffectual the fighting really is, and that the ones telling you that you should get angry and that you should riot are simply acting rash and should be called out for their destructive behaviors, not celebrated.
Jonathan Chow is a second-generation immigrant who grew up in Miami, Florida. His mother was born in Havana, Cuba and his father in Canton, China – both fled to the US as teenagers. He is a student at UC Berkeley majoring in early modern intellectual history.
Ben Shapiro speech at UC Berkeley results in arrests at protests
Idiots |
At least nine people were arrested Thursday night
related to protests at the University of California, Berkeley, over an
appearance by former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro.
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof
said the security measures could cost $600,000. Mogulof called the
speech "a successful event" and said the university was committed to
hosting speakers like Shapiro in the future.
The evening did have its share of hiccups. Police said three arrests were weapons-related. Among them:-- Hannah Benjamin, 20, was arrested for battery on a police officer and carrying a banned weapon.
-- Sarah Roark, 44, was taken into custody for carrying a banned weapon.
The arrests were announced on the police Twitter account.
The demonstrators, however, were largely peaceful. Some chanted against fascism, white supremacists and President Donald Trump. Others were holed up inside a student building, waving signs protesting the university's decision to allow Shapiro on campus.
Inside the hall, Shapiro addressed a friendly crowd. He encouraged people to hold civil discussions with people who have different opinions, saying that's what America is all about. He condemned white supremacists as "a very small select group of absolutely terrible people who believe absolutely terrible things."
The campus and surrounding Berkeley streets were under tight security after a series of previous events turned violent.
City and campus officials anticipated protests against Shapiro, and prepared for possible violence with a variety of new strategies and tightened security. It was not immediately clear whether the people arrested Thursday were protesters.
The Berkeley College Republicans invited right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to speak last February, but the event was abruptly canceled when masked left-wing anarchists rioted outside the event to shut it down.
A planned speech by author Ann Coulter was canceled in April.
Police with riot gear surrounded the plaza outside Zellerbach Hall, where Shapiro spoke.
For the first time in two decades, officers were armed with pepper spray after the city council modified a 1997 ban at an emergency meeting this week.
"We have seen extremists on the left and right in our city," said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat who backed the police request to use pepper spray. "We need to make sure violence is not allowed."
Ben Shapiro speaks at UC Berkeley despite arrests and protests
Conservative star Ben Shapiro spoke
at the University of California at Berkeley on Thursday night amid
extraordinary security measures – costing around $600,000 – prompted by
fears of an outburst by violent agitators possibly descending on the
campus.
All the precautiuons were to ensure
that the 33-year-old conservative could deliver a speech on a college
campus that was home to the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s. The scene
was a stark change from Shapiro’s 2016 UC Berkeley talk, where the
security costs were minimal.
“No violence, no nothing. And now we are spending
well into six figures so that I can say many of the same things. It's
utterly absurd,” Shapiro told the audience Thursday.Metal detectors, concrete barriers and police barricades put the campus on effective lockdown.
“Conservatives here have done something amazing. They’ve achieved something incredible,” he added. “If you look outside, there’s K-bar everywhere. They’ve built basically these structures to keep Antifa from invading the premises.
"So that means Berkeley has achieved building a wall before Donald Trump did.”
Local police officers, who were allowed to use pepper spray against violent demonstrators after receiving approval this week from the Berkeley city council, arrested at least three people armed with weapons before the event, reiterating that no weapons are allowed near campus.
But the violent protesters known as Antifa, or “anti-fascists” – spooked by the security – did not show up to shut down Shapiro’s speech in their usual fashion and instead were allegedly in the audience challenging him, the Washington Times reported.
The talk by Shapiro -- author of the bestsellers "Brainwashed," "Porn Generation" and "Project President" -- was met with resistance mostly from Berkeley students who were heard chanting, “Speech is violent, we will not be silent!” and accusing Shapiro, an observant Orthodox Jew, of being a white supremacist or neo-Nazi.
“Thanks to Antifa and the supposed anti-fascist brigade for exposing what the radical left truly is,” he told the massive audience, despite a last-minute decision by the university to reportedly seize all unclaimed tickets to prevent entry to late-ticket buyers.
“All of America is watching because you guys are so stupid. It's horrifying, I am grateful, and you can all go to hell, you pathetic, lying, stupid jackasses," he added.
He celebrated the police for ensuring the event occurred, saying “These are the folks that stand between civilization and lawlessness."
He added that “the only people who are standing between those ATMs and the Antifa are the police, and all they get from the left is a bunch of crap.”
The event remained cordial despite students’ disagreements with Shapiro, who was questioned on his views regarding abortion, economics and general politics. He was not interrupted by any protesters inside the venue.
In the speech aftermath, some more-confrontational protesters came out, shouting at the police officers and scuffling with counter-protesters.
Two more people were reportedly arrested – bringing the total number arrested to five.
Among the protesters was By All Means Necessary (BAMN) ringleader Yvette Felarca, who was recently arrested for allegedly inciting a riot, Fox News reported.
A crowd led by Felarca marched down a street, shouting “Nazi scum of our streets,” according to Berkleyside, while counter-protesters also marched down. The police had separated the two factions to ensure no large clashes occurred.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Pres. Trump Meets With Sen. Scott on Race Relations
Scott is currently the only black Republican senator, and the pair discussed race issues in the wake of Charlottesville.
The one-on-one meeting Wednesday at the White House is also an effort by the president to unify the country.
They talked about issues facing African Americans, and how the president can continue to improve the lives of all people in the country.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders commented on the meeting, calling it productive.
Jemele Hill says 'white supremacist' comments 'painted ESPN in an unfair light'
ESPN host Jemele Hill took to Twitter on Wednesday
evening “to address the elephant in the room,” after coming under fire
Monday for calling President Donald Trump a “white supremacist.”
“My comments on Twitter expressed
my personal beliefs. My regret is that my comments and the public way I
made them painted ESPN in an unfair light. My respect for the company
and my colleagues remains unconditional,” Hill tweeted.
In a series of tweets Monday, Hill claimed Trump was
“unqualified and unfit to be president,” and that “his rise is a direct
result of white supremacy.”The network responded Tuesday, saying Hill’s comments “do not represent the position of ESPN,” and that she “recognizes her actions were inappropriate."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, said Wednesday that she believes Hill’s statements about the president constituted a “fireable offense.”
“That is one of the more outrageous comments that anybody could make and certainly is something that is a fireable offense by ESPN,” Sanders told reporters at the White House daily briefing.
Hill co-hosts the 6 p.m. broadcast of “SportsCenter” alongside Michael Smith, and has been on ESPN since 2013.
As of Wednesday, the tweets have not been deleted from Hill’s account.
Schumer, Pelosi say they have deal with Trump to protect 'Dreamers'
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Democratic congressional leaders emerged from a
meeting with President Donald Trump Wednesday vowing to pursue an
agreement protecting immigrants who were brought illegally into the U.S.
as children from deportation.
In a joint statement, Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., said they and Trump had "agreed to enshrine the
protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of
border security, excluding the wall, that's acceptable to both sides."
An estimated 800,000 young immigrants are currently
covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA,
which was formed by former President Barack Obama in 2012. Earlier this
month, the Trump administration announced it was winding down the
program over the next six months, putting pressure on Congress to pass a
legislative solution.A source briefed on the meeting confirmed to Fox News that Trump and the leaders agreed to pair the DREAM Act, which provides for giving young illegal immigrants eventual citizenship, with some measures enhancing border security. The source said that those measures do not include Trump's long-promised wall across the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders issued a tweet denying that the border wall was off the table. A Democratic aide familiar with the conversations told Fox News that Trump "was clear he would continue to fight for the wall separate from this agreement."
Prior to Sanders' tweet, the White House issued a statement describing the meeting as "constructive" and "a positive step toward the President's strong commitment to bipartisan solutions for the issues most important to all Americans." The statement added that the three had discussed "policy and legislative priorities," including "tax reform, border security, DACA, infrastructure and trade."
During a White House meeting with moderate House members from both parties earlier Wednesday, Trump had urged lawmakers to come up with a bipartisan solution.
"We don't want to forget DACA," Trump told the members at the meeting. "We want to see if we can do something in a bipartisan fashion so that we can solve the DACA problem and other immigration problems."
The apparent deal is the latest example of Trump's sudden pivot to bipartisanship after months of railing against Democrats as "obstructionist." He has urged them to join him in overhauling the nation's tax code, among other priorities.
Trump, who was deeply disappointed by Republicans' failure to pass a health care overhaul, infuriated many in his party when he reached a three-month deal with Schumer and Pelosi to raise the debt ceiling, keep the government running and speed relief to states affected by recent hurricanes.
"More and more we're trying to work things out together," Trump explained Wednesday, calling the development a "positive thing" for both parties.
"If you look at some of the greatest legislation ever passed, it was done on a bipartisan manner. And so that's what we're going to give a shot," he said.
The "Kumbaya" moment now appears to extend to the thorny issue of immigration, which has been vexing lawmakers for years.
Funding for Trump's promised wall had been thought to be a major point of contention between Republicans and Democrats as they attempted to forge a deal.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who also sat down with Pelosi to talk immigration Wednesday, told the Associated Press that deporting the so-called "Dreamers" was "not in our nation's interest," and said the president had "made the right call."
"I wanted him to give us time. I didn't want this to be rescinded on Day One and create chaos," Ryan said, arguing the time would allow Congress to "come up with the right kind of consensus and compromise to fix this problem."
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