Millennial Action Project: Reform Congress and then maybe Americans – especially young people – will trust government again

Congress is too stagnant, divided and corrupted to do its job – and the American people are demanding reform. The left says “the system is rigged.” The right demands Washington “drain the swamp.” Both sides need to work together to demand change in our broken national political system that will benefit us all.

Young people have grown up in this broken system – where conflict is profitable and short-term political gain gets far more attention than concern for our future. As a result, we are disproportionately disillusioned by politics.

A survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 26 percent of millennials say politics and government is one of their top three interests, compared to 34 percent of people in Generation X and 45 percent of baby boomers. 
And a Rasmussen Reports poll released in July found that among all likely U.S. voters, only 15 percent said Congress is doing a good or excellent job, while 56 percent said Congress is doing a poor job.
There has never been a better moment since the period following President Nixon’s resignation in 1974 in the Watergate scandal for fundamental Congressional reform. We need reform that will incentivize constructive leadership and restore public faith in political institutions. Today’s levels of dysfunction and public distrust in Congress are fundamental threats to our republic.
A terrific new book released by former Republican Congressman Chris Gibson of upstate New York, titled “Rally Point,” highlights needed fixes to our political system.
Gibson, who was in the Army for 24 years and retired as a colonel, served as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress from 2011 to 2017. He left Congress after fulfilling a commitment to self-impose term limits.
Among the reforms that Gibson highlights is the need to change how we finance campaigns. This issue was a common concern of voters for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in last year’s presidential race.
The most frequent refrain I heard from Trump voters last year was their call for a president “who is not beholden to special interests.” Sanders repeatedly said the system is rigged for “millionaires and billionaires” and called for campaign finance reform as his top priority. Clinton campaigned for a comprehensive plan to achieve the same goal.
The constant need to raise cash takes up enormous amounts of time and energy from candidates for Congress. They don't have time to govern and build bipartisan relationships. As one young Republican member of Congress recently lamented to me: “I came here to govern – not to spend all my time raising money.”
In “Rally Point,” Gibson calls for “capping Congressional spending limits, full disclosure of all donations, and the prohibition of all outside spending” on campaigns, including from political action committees (business, labor, outside groups, and Super PACs).
Take Back Our Republic, a conservative group led by Virginia Republican Congressman Dave Brat’s former campaign manager, has advocated campaign finance reform including tax credits and deductions that empower small-donor contributions.
The second key area of political reform is nonpartisan redistricting. We must build a bipartisan case rejecting the practice of political parties and incumbent politicians choosing their voters, instead of voters choosing their leaders.
As Gibson mentions in “Rally Point”: “The whole point of our founding was to put the citizen at the center of government.” He proposes an independent redistricting amendment to the Constitution, with implementation left to the states.
Nonpartisan redistricting is a cornerstone of a “Bipartisan Plan to Drain the Swamp” reform agenda proposed by House members Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. They are members of the Congressional Future Caucus, the nonpartisan caucus for millennials.
Finally, to change the culture in Washington, Gibson and the Gallagher-Khanna plan call for term limits and an end to the so-called “revolving door,” where powerful federal lobbying firms employ former members of Congress to advance industries that they previously regulated.
The pressures and incentives to stay in office for a long time or go to federal lobbying paradoxically lead to costly, short-term policymaking. Simply look to our dangerous inaction on the long-term debt and climate crises as evidence.
Among the most common critiques of term limits is that professional staff will take over policymaking. To address that, we can make term limits generous enough so that elected members still drive legislating, as opposed to the staff.
Gibson and Gallagher-Khanna propose capping congressional service at 12 years, and perhaps we should consider limits as generous as 18 years. That would be long enough for a legislator to make an impact, while allowing fresh blood and new ideas to push America toward the future.
In addition, Gibson and Gallagher-Khanna propose extending the current one-year ban on members of Congress from entering federal lobbying to five years, which is currently in effect for the executive branch. The point is that we need legislators to come in with purpose and urgency to solve politically difficult, long-term problems and embrace the founders’ vision for a “citizen legislature.” 
As I have traveled across the country for the Millennial Action Project, which engages millennial lawmakers across partisan lines, I have noticed a divide on term limits and other reforms.               
Outside of Washington, I have been amazed by the tremendous support from across the spectrum for these ideas, especially from young people. The most pushback comes from people who have been influencing government in Washington for decades. But without reforms, we'll continue to witness more and more extreme disruptions of our political system, preventing sensible policy from being enacted.
These areas are a few of the many reforms our political system needs to be more functional, representative and future-focused.
The U.S. Congress is the only federal institution capable of representing our nation’s diverse views and reconciling them to advance the public interest. At the same time, members of Congress cannot effectively serve that public interest in a broken political system. Now is the time for reform. If Congress passed a bipartisan bill to “drain the swamp” and “unrig the system,” I believe President Trump would likely sign it. 

God Bless America

Hero Marine stole truck, drove Vegas shooting victims to hospital

U.S. Marine veteran Taylor Winston, 29

U.S. Marine veteran Taylor Winston, 29, reportedly stole a utility truck and used it to drive several people, injured in the Las Vegas shooting attack, to a local hospital.  (Facebook)

A U.S. Marine vet helped rescue more than a dozen people during the Las Vegas shooting attack Sunday with quick thinking he credited to his military training.

Taylor Winston, 29, stole a utility pickup truck he found on the concert grounds and transported several injured people to the hospital before ambulances could arrive on the scene, The Orange County Register reported.

Winston was reportedly at the concert with his girlfriend and friends when attacker Stephen Paddock began shooting at the crowd from his hotel room on the 32^nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., he told CBS News.
Paddock killed at least 58 people and injured more than 515 others in the shooting spree.
“The shots got louder and louder, closer to us and saw people getting hit, it was like we could be hit at any second,” Winston said. “It was a mini war zone but we couldn’t fight back.”
The vet said they ran for cover and hopped a fence to get to safety. Once he landed on the other side, he said he reportedly saw a bunch of white trucks.
“I tested my luck to see if any of them had keys in it, first one we tried opening had keys sitting right there,” he said. “I started looking for people to take to the hospital. There was just too many and it was overwhelming how much blood was everywhere.”
Winston and his friend reportedly made two trips to Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, squeezing “probably 20 to 30” victims in the backseat and in the bed of the truck, CBS News said. When they returned to the shooting scene for a third pick up, he said it looked like emergency responders had it under control, The Orange County Register reported.
The vet reportedly returned the truck, parking it a few blocks away from the venue.
Winston, who served two tours in Iraq before being honorably discharged from the Marines, said he thought his military training helped him snap into action, CBS News reported.
But he added that there were a lot of “courageous people” on the scene helping each other out and said he was “glad that I could call them my country folk.”

Professor blames Las Vegas massacre on 'Trumpism,' 'narrative of white victimization'

Drexel University professor George Ciccariello-Maher tweeted that "white people and men" will go on shooting sprees "when they don't get what they want."

Extreme "Trumpism" and "white victimization" motivated the Las Vegas shooter who killed 59 and injured at least 515 others, according to a Drexel University professor.

Associate Professor George Ciccariello-Maher tweeted just hours after the massacre “white people and men” will go on shooting sprees “when they don’t get what they want.”

Stephen Paddock used a perch inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino to rain down fire on a crowd at a country music concert Sunday night.
Drexel University told Fox News the professor’s tweets don’t represent the university’s views.
“The recent social media comments by George Ciccariello-Maher, associate professor of Politics and Global Studies at Drexel University, are his own opinion and do not represent the University’s views,” the university said in a statement. “Drexel is deeply saddened by the tragic shooting in Las Vegas. The thoughts and prayers of the Drexel community are with the families of those affected by this senseless act of violence.”
This professor has a history of controversial tweets. In 2016, he tweeted “all I want for Christmas is white genocide.”
Cicariello-Maher began a Twitter thread Monday morning with a three word message: “A White Man.”
“It’s the white supremacist patriarchy, stupid,” he tweeted.
Cicariello-Maher continued:
"But liberals will drown out all discourse with a deafening chorus screeching 'gun control.' To believe that someone who would shoot down 50 people wouldn't circumvent any gun law you pass is the height of delusion. But liberal escapism means talking about easy questions and proposing easy non-solutions rather than talking about who kills and why.
"White people and men are told that they are entitled to everything. This is what happens when they don't get what they want. The narrative of white victimization has been gradually built over the past 40 years. It is the spinal column of Trumpism, and most extreme form is the white genocide myth. Yesterday was a morbid symptom of what happens when those who believe they deserve to own the world also think it is being stolen from them."
He ended with this tweet several hours later:
“Here's a wild idea: white supremacy in the U.S. is a bipartisan project, & *both* the gun lobby *and* the anti-gun lobby are racist as f---.”

Trump on Puerto Rico's debt: 'We're going to have to wipe that out'

President Trump told Fox News Tuesday that "you can say goodbye" to Puerto Rico's debt as the island struggles to recover from the devastation left by Hurricane Maria.

Trump spoke to Fox News' Geraldo Rivera in an interview that aired exclusively on "Hannity" Tuesday evening. The president spend the day touring the damage left by Maria, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly a century.

"They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we're going to have to wipe that out," Trump told Rivera. "You can say goodbye to that."
Puerto Rico was facing a $74 billion public debt load prior to Maria and was struggling to recover from a decade-long recession that has caused hundreds of thousands of residents to leave for the U.S. mainland.
Trump also defended his administration's response to the storm, saying "we may have done our best work here, but it hasn't been appreciated."
"We’ve done a fantastic job," the president told Rivera. "This was a very tough one. You know, I say we got an A+ in Texas [and] we got an A+ in Florida [after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma]."
But actually, if you see over the last couple of days, now people are really seeing what we’ve done," Trump added. "The runways are open, the ships are pouring in and a lot of things are happening, so it’s great."

‘He was not happy’: Menendez pushed for rule change in doc's dispute, Obama officials testify

Top health officials from the Obama administration testified Tuesday that Sen. Robert Menendez pressured them to change a long-standing Medicare policy in a way that would benefit the Florida ophthalmologist at the center of the New Jersey Democrat’s corruption trial.

Menendez is accused of accepting campaign donations, gifts and vacations from his friend Dr. Salomon Melgen. In return, Menendez allegedly used his Senate powers to lobby on behalf of Melgen’s business interests.

Then-Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the highest-level Obama official to testify in the case, took the stand Tuesday to describe a meeting she had with Menendez in the office of then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Prosecutors’ previously filed brief said that meeting was held in August 2012 and alleged Menendez “personally pressured” Sebelius to intervene over a Medicare payment policy, though Sebelius balked.
Giving her side of the story, Sebelius testified Tuesday that the “gist” of the conversation involved Menendez’s “unhappiness” over the policy, which he felt was “unclear” and “unfair” to providers. The policy happened to be at the center of a billing dispute involving Melgen.

Sen. Bob Menendez, shown arriving to court in Newark in this April 2, 2015 photo, is battling corruption charges.  (Reuters)

“He felt this was a policy that needed attention and was not fair to health care providers,” Sebelius said Tuesday. “… I basically reiterated what I knew about this practice and what I knew about the policy, which was I thought the policy was clear.”
She added, “To me it was pretty simple,” and noted that she didn’t think it was a “very satisfactory meeting” for Menendez.
Sebelius also said it was “unusual” for Reid to invite her to a meeting involving another member of Congress. It was “actually the only time in five and a half years that this occurred,” she said.
But Sebelius wasn’t the only Obama health official with whom Menendez met. Two months earlier, Menendez met with then-Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Marilyn Tavenner, who also testified Tuesday.
Their meeting apparently ended on a similar note – with the health official pushing back, and Menendez allegedly dissatisfied.

Former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, shown at a Nov. 7, 2012 news conference on Capitol Hill, could be called to testify in the Menendez trial.  (AP)

Tavenner testified Tuesday that she met Menendez in his office in June 2012 to discuss the Medicare payment policy.
“What he was asking me was to take a look at the policy, and the policy went back for a few years,” Tavenner testified. “And he was questioning the clarity of the policy and [asked] if I would take a look.”
She suggested that when Menendez determined Tavenner would not be altering the policy, he seemed to want to take his request up the ranks.
“I think he was not happy. He told me he was disappointed, that he felt there should have been changes,” Tavenner testified. “And that he did not intend to let it stand. He intended to take it to the next steps.”
Tavenner, who worked for CMS for five years, explained that those “next steps” would include bringing the issue to Sebelius.
According to court documents filed in 2016, CMS in 2009 suspected Melgen had overbilled Medicare for $8.9 million from 2007-2008 by “engaging in a prohibited practice known as ‘multi-dosing.’” According to court documents, the Medicare policy required that each patient receiving the drug Lucentis be treated using a separate vial, but Melgen “routinely” used the extra solution from a single vial to treat multiple patients. CMS believed Melgen was paid for more vials of the drug than he actually used.
According to Tavenner, the changes to the Medicare payment policy Menendez allegedly proposed would have benefitted Melgen, though she did not recall Melgen’s name coming up in the June 2012 meeting.
HARRY REID EXPECTED TO BE CALLED TO TESTIFY IN MENENDEZ TRIAL, SOURCE SAYS
Menendez has proclaimed his innocence in the case. When the trial opened last month, his lawyers said the case is not about corruption or bribery but about a long-term friendship.
Reid also is expected to be called to testify in the Menendez trial. The former Senate Democratic leader’s name re-emerged weeks ago in the case, when prosecutors said he was “first enlisted” by Menendez in November 2011 to advocate for Melgen in the ongoing dispute with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS.)
Reid already has met with the Justice Department and the FBI in connection with the investigation, back in 2015.
Court documents claim that Reid reached out to the White House deputy chief of staff in 2011 about Menendez being “upset about how a Florida ophthalmologist was being treated” by CMS. Prosecutors said the White House deputy chief of staff “demurred” as it involved a “dispute between a single doctor and an administrative agency, not a policy matter.”
In June 2012, Melgen also apparently flew Reid on his company’s private plane from Washington to Boston and back, but Menendez was not present, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Reid did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Democrat Gun Control Cartoons

Comedy writer Megan Amram jokes Las Vegas shooter fits typical profile because he is a 'white man'

Comedian Megan Amram responded to a TMZ story that Las Vegas massacre gunman Stephen Paddock doesn’t fit the typical mass shooter profile by tweeting, “White man? Sure does.”

TMZ published an article making a case that Paddock is unique for a mass shooter, as he is older (64), lived in a retirement community and didn’t have a known criminal record. The comedian's tweet to her 759,000 followers resulted in a series of responses mocking white males.

Amram’s comment was retweeted over 1,000 times and favorited over 5,000 times in the first three hours after she published the tweet. She followed up her response to TMZ with a pair of jokes related to the massacre in Las Vegas in which Paddock opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 58 people and sending more than 500 others to hospitals.
“If only there was a way to have known he was going to use that rifle for assault,” Amram wrote, follow by, “Trump, please ban Americans from traveling to the United States. They are far too dangerous to let in.”
Amram’s Twitter feed is filled with anti-Trump messages, including one --“Today was the day Donald trump finally became president,” -- that she adds on an almost daily basis.
“I agree with republicans because I too want millions of people to die so that I can get revenge on Black President,” she wrote back on Sept. 21.
“There should be a dating app for people who have been fired from trump's administration,” she wrote back on July 31.
Amram was a writer for the 2011 Academy Awards and has worked on popular shows including “Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner,” "Parks and Recreation” and “Silicon Valley," according to IMDB. She is also a contributing writer for The New Yorker and recently wrote a spoof of Jared Kushner’s Harvard admissions essay.
The Boston Globe and Huffington Post have both profiled Amram’s Twitter account in the past, although it remains unverified. Amram is hardly the only person to make polarizing comments on social media on Monday, as a CBS executive said she is “not even sympathetic” to victims of the Las Vegas shooting because “country music fans often are Republican” in a Facebook message.
The New Yorker and Amran did not immediately respond to Fox News’ separate requests for comment.

White House backs bill criminalizing abortions after 20 weeks

President Donald Trump walks from Marine One across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, as he returns from Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A House bill banning abortions after 20 weeks on Monday received the official backing of the Trump administration.

The White House “strongly supports” the Republican efforts to “secure critical pro-life protections” and believes “America’s children deserve the stronger protections” that the bill would provide.

“The bill, if enacted into law, would help to facilitate the culture of life to which our Nation aspires,” the statement said. “Additionally, the bill would promote a science-based approach to unborn life, as recent advancements have revealed that the physical structures necessary to experience pain are developed within 20 weeks of fertilization”
Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is sponsoring the bill and it is scheduled to come up for a vote on Tuesday in the House.
The bill would criminalize abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, introducing fines and jail sentences - up to five years – for those who perform or attempt an abortion.
The measure would not penalize women seeking abortions after 20 weeks and would allow the procedure in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
Pro-choice groups have come out in staunch opposition to the bill, calling it “cruel” and “unconstitutional.”
"20 week abortion bans are: unpopular, unconstitutional, part of the agenda to ban ALL abortion,” tweeted Planned Parenthood.
The Guttmacher Institute's director of public policy, Heather Boonstra, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill, saying the bill’s claim that unborn children can feel pain after 20 weeks “is not supported by the preponderance of scientific evidence.”
She also slammed the bill’s "particularly callous and cruel rape and incest exceptions" that require women to wait 48 hours and have two doctor visits with two different abortion providers before being allowed an abortion.
A similar bill passed the House back in 2015 but was later blocked by Senate Democrats, The Hill reported.
The new abortion bill is likely to pass the Republican-majority House but it might face opposition in the Senate where the rules require larger majority – meaning Republicans would need to sway at least eight Democrats to pass the bill.

CBS fires vice president who said Vegas victims didn't deserve sympathy because country music fans 'often are Republican'

CBS has parted ways with one of the company’s top lawyers after she said she was “not even sympathetic” to victims of the Las Vegas shooting because “country music fans often are Republican,” when discussing the mass shooting that unfolded in Las Vegas late Sunday night. 

Monday night she issued a statement of apology. 

Hayley Geftman-Gold, the network's now-former vice president and senior counsel, said, “Earlier today I posted an indefensible post in a Facebook discussion thread concerning the tragic Las Vegas shooting, a statement I sincerely regret. I am deeply sorry for diminishing the significance of every life affected by Stephen Paddock’s terrorism last night and for the pain my words have inflicted on the loved ones of the victims. My shameful comments do not reflect the beliefs of my former employer, colleagues, family, and friends. Nor do they reflect my actual beliefs — this senseless violence warrants the deepest empathy. I understand and accept all consequences that my words have incurred.”
A CBS spokeswoman told Fox News that Geftman-Gold, “who was with us for approximately one year, violated the standards of our company and is no longer an employee of CBS. Her views as expressed on social media are deeply unacceptable to all of us at CBS. Our hearts go out to the victims in Las Vegas and their families.”
Geftman-Gold took to Facebook after a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 59 people and sending more than 510 others to hospitals.
“If they wouldn’t do anything when children were murdered I have no hope that Repugs [sic] will ever do the right thing,” Geftman-Gold wrote in a now-deleted message that was first reported and captured by The Daily Caller.
Geftman-Gold continued: “I’m actually not even sympathetic bc [sic] country music fans often are Republican gun toters [sic].”
Geftman-Gold is presumably referring to Sandy Hook, which occurred in Newtown, Conn. back in 2012. A 20-year-old gunman, Adam Lanza, killed 20 children and six adults during the tragic event that sparked intense political debates regarding gun control.
Her attorney, Carrie A. Goldberg, responded: “In the last few hours my client, her family and friends have been bombarded by online death unimaginable in quantity and detail. We beg people to show love and support to survivors and loved ones — in Las Vegas and their own lives — instead of creating more violence.”
Geftman-Gold did not work directly with the network’s news division. According to her LinkedIn bio, Geftman-Gold worked at CBS since September 2016 and graduated from the prestigious Columbia University law school in 2000.

Las Vegas tragedy: Shock, resignation, a call for unity and instant politicization

I was on Fox Business for half an hour yesterday morning, before and after President Trump spoke about the horrifying massacre in Las Vegas.

This was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, but the aftermath, I told Stuart Varney, felt uncomfortably like the new normal. Our collective shock was mixed with a sense of resignation. The journalists, local officials, the public all know the drill. The only thing that seems to vary is the death toll.

What can really be said, at this point, about stopping the carnage? We can, and have, stepped up our efforts against terrorism. But what about these lone wolf attacks carried out by deranged individuals?
I don’t understand how the shooter got 10 rifles into the Mandalay Bay Resort. Do hotels now need metal detectors? But it’s impossible to protect every public space.
After the president spoke, I said that his remarks were eloquent. He called the shooting an act of pure evil, said the FBI is investigating, but also talked about unity and love and praying for the victims. He didn’t deviate into politics. “And though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today-- and always will, forever.”
For a leader who often wanders off message, Trump said what needed to be said—and not more.
I also said that with Hillary Clinton and other Democrats issuing messages about gun control, it was too bad they couldn’t wait one day as the country absorbs the grief of a mass murder in which the death toll wasn’t even final.
This was said out of sadness, but I got savaged online by people who think this is exactly when we should be debating gun control, hours after a brutal massacre.
Sensible gun control, I made clear, is a legitimate issue. All I said was that out of sensitivity toward the mourning families and a stunned country, waiting until the next morning before scoring political points seemed like a decent interval.
I have been consistent over the years in saying both the left and right should not instantaneously politicize these tragedies. Whether it’s Columbine or Virginia Tech or Aurora or Sandy Hook or Tucson or Washington Navy Yard or San Bernardino or Orlando or a Charleston church--or a Virginia baseball field where Steve Scalise nearly died but managed to return to Congress last week--there’s a knee-jerk tendency to blame the actions and rhetoric of the other ideological side.
I said the left shouldn’t be blamed just because the man who wounded Scalise and others hated Republicans. I said Sarah Palin shouldn’t be blamed because of a political map for the gunman who wounded Gabby Giffords and killed six others. Some of these mass killers are just crazy, deranged losers.
If Trump had used his speech to say we should loosen gun laws so more people can protect themselves, he would have been vilified for politicizing the tragedy.
By all means, let’s have the debate. The reality is that a Republican Congress is not going to approve stricter gun-control measures. Barack Obama couldn’t get a bill through even after the horror in Newtown.
In a CNN poll last year after the Orlando nightclub shooting, 92 percent said they favored expanded background checks, 87 percent supported a ban for felons or people with mental health problems, and 85 percent would ban people on federal watch lists from buying guns. But the power of the NRA changes the equation on Capitol Hill.
Asking politicians to briefly hold off before resuming the partisan warfare shouldn’t be controversial. But apparently it is.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Kathy Griffin Cartoons Like Hillary she just want go away :-)

Pres. Trump Praises Work of FEMA, Military in Puerto Rico

OAN Newsroom
President Trump commends the work of FEMA and the military in Puerto Rico and takes aim at those not recognizing the efforts.
In a series of tweets Sunday, the president said people are now starting to recognize the amazing work of both groups.
He said all buildings on the hurricane stricken island have been inspected for safety.
The president also tweeted only “fake news” media outlets and “politically motivated” people are not acknowledging the government’s work on the island.
He then thanked the governor of Puerto Rico and those working with first responders.

Steve Scalise's prayer after being shot: 'God, please don't let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone'

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise thought of his daughter while he was bleeding out on a baseball field in Alexandria, Va. in June and prayed he'd be able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

"At that point, I just went into prayer. And it, it gave me a calmness. It was a weird calmness, while I'm hearing the gunfire. You know the first thing that came to mind?" Scalise said in an interview on "60 Minutes."

"I prayed, ‘God, please don't let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone.' That was the first thing that came to mind."
Scalise said he wasn't originally sure how badly he was injured because his body quickly went into shock.
"I knew I was shot. Didn't know how bad it was. You know, in a weird way, your body kind of goes numb. You know, as bad as the wounds were-- and obviously, I know now how severe it was," he said. "At the time, I guess my body had been shutting down a lot of the real pain, and I was just thinking about, what was going on at the moment."

Kathy Griffin to Colin Kaepernick: 'Proud of you' for your activism

Has anyone forgotten this crap?

Former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick (left) has a new fan as comedian Kathy Griffin (right) tweeted support for his activism on Sunday. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports, Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

Comedian Kathy Griffin, who's started to push back against the controversy over her photo showing a fake bloodied head of President Trump, said Sunday she was "proud of" another outspoken figure: the ex-quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

“Your activism has come at a price but you haven’t backed down...not even once. Thank you for leading the way,” Griffin tweeted. Now an unsigned quarterback, Kaepernick regularly took a knee during the national anthem last season. The then-49er said he was calling attention to police brutality and racial injustice.

Dozens of NFL players Sunday took a knee during the national anthem as others raised their fists before the games of Week 4, a day after President Donald Trump tweeted that it that it was “very important” for players to stand. Still, the number of kneeling players was down from last weekend.
More than 200 players kneeled or sat during the national anthem last Sunday after Trump lashed out at NFL players for not standing during the anthem in a speech in Alabama and a series of tweets.
Griffin faced backlash this summer after a photo of her posing with a bloodied Trump mask as decapitated head leaked on TMZ. CNN fired her from co-hosting its New Year’s Eve show. She said at the time, according to Fox News, the Trump family systematically “mobilized their armies” against her.
She took back her apology — and recently challenged Trump saying, “I will openly accuse the President of the United States of human rights violations.”

Texas Teens Thrown Off High School Football Team After Kneeling for Anthem

Two Texas teens were thrown off their high school football team after they knelt in protest for the national anthem.
Their coach, military veteran Ronnie Ray Mitchem, warned the boys of the consequences when they told him their plan to protest.
"There is a proper time to do something in a proper way," Mitchem told ABC's KTRK.
"I want this put on here," Mitchem told the interviewer. "I have nothing against those young men. I love them."
In the aftermath, Cedric Ingram-Lewis and Larry McCullough from Victory & Praise Christian Academy in Crosby, Texas said they were happy about the publicity their protest got.
Mitchem has stopped watching NFL games due to the players' protests of the national anthem, meant to raise awareness for what they see as systemic racism in America.
"As a veteran I have a strong view of what I feel is disrespectful."

I’m not watching NFL Games Today or maybe forever

Puerto Rico Political Cartoons

Trump delays Air Force One to call officer injured in motorcade crash

A police officer involved in an accident lies on the ground as President Trump's motorcade travels past him in Indianapolis, Sept. 27, 2017.  (Reuters)

President Donald Trump delayed Air Force One’s departure from Indianapolis on Wednesday until after he was able to talk with a motorcycle officer who crashed in the motorcade to the airport.

Initial reports said Trump called the officer during the flight back to Washington, but the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police tweeted Thursday that the president delayed the flight.

“#BREAKING: Thank you @Potus for delaying wheels up to speak with injured Officer Turner. #ThankYou,” the tweet read.

Robert Turner, a police officer from Indianapolis, broke an ankle in the fall on Interstate 70. A photographer captured the officer on the ground with his uniform ripped.
Police released a cellphone video of Turner in the hospital taking the call from the president. He was wearing a neck brace, but laughed and appeared to be in good spirits.
The White House initially said Trump called during the flight back to Washington to check on the officer's condition and thank him for his service.
Trump was in the city to push his “middle class miracle,” and sell his plan to overhaul the nation’s tax code and revive his legislative agenda.
"This is a revolutionary change and the biggest winners will be the everyday American workers as jobs start pouring into our country, as companies start competing for American labor, and as wages start going up at levels that you haven't seen in many years," Trump told supporters at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Will Trump be re-elected? | Fox News

Jonathan Adelman

With the November 2020 Presidential election over three years away, it may seem strange to be discussing the prospects for President Trump to be re-elected.

Yet, even at this early stage, some things are clear if he is around and runs again. His biggest problems are his inability, despite majorities in the House and Senate, to pass any major legislation. He has not built the famous wall, torpedoed ObamaCare or done tax reform. He has repeatedly battled senior members of the Republican Party (Mitch McConnell and John McCain), tweeted frequently at three in the morning and even spoken about consequences for those who fail to salute the American flag at NFL games.

Yet, he has also done several things that led to a rise in his public approval rating to 43 percent.  His appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, continuing growth of 3 percent in the American economy, record highs for the stock market and low unemployment have aided his image. His response to the hurricanes in Mexico, Florida and Texas and his offer to work with the Democrats after his meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer as also improved his image.  A recent poll showed him ahead of Hillary Clinton by six points, 36 percent to 30 percent
President Trump has already started campaigning for 2018 congressional elections and the 2020 presidential and congressional elections. He has visited so many red states so many times (like Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, Indiana and West Virginia) that Real Clear Politics calls him the President of the Red States.
The issues of ObamaCare could be bad or it could be good for Donald Trump. If ObamaCare straightens out and maintains its 60 percent+ popularity next year, then the Republicans will look hopeless. If it has serious problems then it could have a neutral or even positive impact on the Republicans who tried to fix it. Similarly, the tough line on North Korea could look good for the president if he backed off or could turn into a disaster in several ways.
President Trump has a reasonable chance of being reelected.  Historically, 70 percent, or twelve of seventeen 20th century incumbent presidents seeking a second term have won re-election. Fully six of seven Democratic presidents and six of ten Republican presidents have been re-elected.
The likely Democratic candidate, as reflected in the 21 people most frequently mentioned as possible nominees, have their own problems. Overwhelmingly the great majority are either lawyers (12) or billionaire business entrepreneurs (5), people whose wealth and working places are far removed from those of the average American. This is reinforced in the fact that almost half of them (9 of 21) graduated from Ivy League schools, which account for only 1 ercent of college or professional graduates. The early leaders are white and wealthy which puts them far away from the large middle and working-class elements and the powerful Democratic base in the African American, Latino and Asian American identity groups.
They are overwhelmingly male (17 of 21 people) and the early favorites for the nomination will be disproportionately elderly in 2020--California Governor Jerry Brown (82), former Vice President Joe Biden (78), Senator Bernie Sanders (78), former Senator Hillary Clinton (73) and longshots such as Bob Iger (69), Howie Schultz (67) and Oprah Winfrey (66).
Also, they are overwhelmingly from the West or East Coast, areas that any Democratic candidate is likely to carry. Only a handful come from the middle of the country’s red states and working class/middle class elements that Trump carried so well in 2016.
Many of them have moved well to the left which calls into question their ability to carry the more moderate electoral elements in society. It may work and it might not.
Right now, the outcome of the 2020 elections for Donald Trump could well go either way, being re-elected or being drubbed at the polls. Only time will turn what happens but the very early indications are that either is possible.
Jonathan Adelman is a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.  Adelman has written several books on Russia and was Condoleezza Rice's doctoral adviser.  

FEMA's Long: No time for mayor's 'spout off,' focused on Puerto Rico

FEMA Director Brock Long

FEMA Director Brock Long, leading the federal hurricane response in Puerto Rico, on Sunday slammed critics and the media for what he considers misinformation, saying “I don’t have time for that.”

“The problem is information is being misrepresented across the board,” Long told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace. “I don’t have time for that. What he have time for is being laser focused on helping the people of Puerto Rico. … You should come down here. You should see what’s up.”

Long acknowledged the difficulties, saying, “Every day we have progress. Every day we have setbacks. … Do we have a long way to go? Absolutely.”
However, he argued the response on the island of Puerto Rico is “the most logistically challenging event that the United States has ever seen.”
He also argued the financially-strapped country’s infrastructure -- including airports, roads, ports and bridges -- was “fragile” before being hit by hurricanes Irma, then Maria.
However, roughly two weeks later, 11 major highways have been reopened, 700 of roughly 1,000 gas stations now have petroleum, 300 pharmacies are now operating and 16 people so far have died, compared to about 1,800 deaths during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in New Orleans, Long said.
“I think we have to filter out the noise,” he said from FEMA headquarters. “My guys here have been busting their rears for nearly 40 days to help Americans.”
Long spoke after San Juan Mayor Yulin Cruz criticized acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for saying Friday that the federal response in Puerto Rico was a “feel good story.”
“This is not a good news story,” Cruz said. “This is a people dying story.”
Trump on Saturday responded to Cruz’s criticism, suggesting her lack of leadership has resulted in problems with the recovery effort.
“Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” Trump responded in one of the tweets. "They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
Long on Sunday also pointed to a recent Washington Examiner story in which another mayor said Cruz, a Democrat, has missed several recovery-effort meetings with U.S. military and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials.
“If the mayors decide not to be part of that, then the response is fragmented,” he said. “We can choose to look at what (Cruz) spouts off or what others spout off or we can choose to look at what’s being done.”
Long also suggested Duke’s comments had been taken out of context.
And he criticized a live report earlier on “Fox News Sunday” that pointed out fewer federal recovery-effort flights are landing at the San Juan airport.
“We are not using San Juan to the degree we were,” Long said, arguing other points-of-entry are now being used.

Trump praises 'leadership' of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands govs after slamming mayor

Puerto Rico Mayor Yulin Cruz, a Democrat

The White House says President Trump spoke early Sunday to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to reaffirm his administration’s commitment to providing an “unprecedented federal response” to widespread hurricane damage and thank Rossello for his leadership.

The call to Rossello, a Republican, and another to Independent Gov. Kenneth Mapp of the U.S. Virgin Islands, also impacted by hurricanes Irma and Maria, came after San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Yulin Cruz, a Democrat, criticized the administration’s response and Trump tweeted that her lack of leadership had caused problems in the recovery effort.

Trump on Saturday seemed furious with Cruz’s criticism, tweeting nearly a dozen times on the matter, with the last several lauding Rosselló and Mapp’s efforts.
The White House summary -- known as a “readout” -- of the Sunday phone calls twice included the word “leadership.”
“President Trump thanked the governors for their leadership in responding to and recovering from these catastrophic events,” read one line.
“President Trump pledged his administration’s continued commitment to provide an unprecedented federal response in helping the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Both governors were very appreciative and complimentary of the administration’s effort, including the president’s leadership,” the summary also stated.
The row between Trump and Cruz started Friday when Cruz criticized the president's effort to get supplies, electricity and other relief to the U.S. island and suggest residents were “dying” as a result.
“Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” Trump responded Saturday in one of the tweets. "They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
He also tweeted: "Results of recovery efforts will speak much louder than complaints by San Juan Mayor. Doing everything we can to help great people of PR!"
Cruz, in response, said later Saturday morning that she’ll “continue to do whatever I have to do” to get federal hurricane assistance.
“I will continue to do whatever I have to do, say whatever I have to say, compliment the people I need to compliment and call out the people I need to call out,” she told MSNBC. “I am not going to be distracted by small comments, by politics, by petty issues. This is one goal and it's to save lives.”
Trump later tweeted: “The Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, is a great guy and leader who is really working hard. Thank you Ricky!”
He also tweeted: “Just spoke to Governor Kenneth Mapp of the U.S. Virgin Islands who stated that #FEMA and Military are doing a GREAT job! Thank you Governor!”

National Anthem Protest Cartoons

House to Vote on Budget Next Week

Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) announces the 2018 budget blueprint during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2017. (REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/Photo)

OAN Newsroom

The House is preparing to vote on a budget for the 2018 fiscal year next week.
On Thursday, House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black said the new budget is the key for tax reform negotiations moving forward.
With spending deadlines pushed back to December, the budget’s main purpose is to unlock a tool known as reconciliation.
This requires a 51 vote majority to pass a bill instead of 60.
Republicans want to use reconciliation as a means to pass tax reform and bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, which is something Representative Black says is critical for growing the economy.
“We see the economy growing at three, four, five percent…that’s what is going to be meaningful,” Black stated. “Where there is more money in people’s pockets there’s more business growing, and more opportunities for jobs.”
The Tennessee lawmaker believes Republicans have enough votes to pass the resolution.
The Senate Budget Committee is also expected to vote on its budget resolution when it returns from recess next week.