Political I didn't Do It Cartoons

Gregg Jarrett: Lynch, the Clintons and a series of fantastic coincidences

I don’t believe in coincidences. Not when it comes to crimes. Especially when they involve political corruption.  

No such thing as a coincidence.  Doesn’t exist.  

Yet, we are led to believe it was merely a coincidence that Bill Clinton just happened to be on the tarmac of an Arizona airport at the same time as then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  We are supposed to accept that their private meeting on board Lynch’s plane had nothing whatsoever to do with the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton which the A-G was overseeing at the time. 

Right.  They just “schmoozed” about grandkids and what-not.
I guess it was also just a coincidence that a few days after the furtive tarmac meeting the decision was announced that criminal charges against Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, would not be filed, notwithstanding compelling evidence that she repeatedly violated the Espionage Act by storing highly classified documents on her private, unauthorized and unsecured email server in the basement of her home.
Sure. Makes perfect sense. To a naïve, gullible fool.
Maybe it was purely a coincidence that there was another FBI investigation going on involving Russia’s corruption-fueled purchase of U.S uranium assets and which also happened to implicate the Clintons, but was kept hidden from Congress and the American people by Lynch and her predecessor, Eric Holder. Hmm…
And perhaps it was simply an odd coincidence that the investigation of this uranium bribery, extortion, money laundering and kickback case was supervised by then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, his successor James Comey, and then-U.S Attorney Rod Rosenstein, all of whom appear to have covered it up but are now directly involved in the Trump-Russia probe.
Strange confluence of people and events, eh?
I don’t buy any of it. Not for one minute. And not entirely because I don’t believe in coincidences. It is because all the above-mentioned people are known to trifle with the law or ignore disqualifying conflicts of interest. They seem to be without principles --devoid of the kind of scruples that should guide people in service of our government.
Mueller is serving as special counsel in the Trump-Russia case.  He reports to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who appointed him.
Yet both Rosenstein and fired FBI Director James Comey are witnesses in the case, since Rosenstein recommended to President Trump that Comey be fired.
It is well established that Comey and Mueller are long-time friends, allies and former partners. How can Mueller be fair and impartial given these glaring conflicts of interest? He cannot. And he should recuse himself. Rosenstein should also step aside in overseeing the case. He cannot be prosecutor and witness simultaneously. 
Their conflicts are compounded by recent reports that all three men were involved in the Russian uranium case which was kept hidden from Congress. How can Americans have confidence in the outcome of the Trump-Russia case if they engaged in a cover-up of the Clinton-Russia case? 
Which brings us to Hillary and Bill. The Clinton name is synonymous with scandal. The sleazy Whitewater land deals, an illicit affair with a young White House intern that led to impeachment, deceptions following the Benghazi murders, Travelgate, cattle futures, suspected slush funds, evidence of perjury, the list is seemingly endless.
Through it all, the ability of the Clintons to evade indictments would make Houdini proud. They are escape artists of the highest order.
Loretta Lynch should never have presided over the Hillary Clinton email case. She owed her career to none other than Bill Clinton who nominated her to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York which nicely positioned her for elevation to Attorney General a few years later.
She should have recused herself from the Hillary probe from the outset, but did not. Only when the ethically-challenged tarmac meeting took place did she step aside. Belatedly. Supposedly. I have my doubts.
On Friday, Lynch met behind closed doors with the House Intelligence Committee. Too bad the public was deprived of witnessing an attempt to elicit the truth. But secrecy is endemic in Washington, which is precisely why it is so easy to obscure the truth when power corrupts.
Lynch was likely asked to explain the full content of the infamous tarmac conversation with Bill Clinton that lasted approximately 30 minutes. Did Clinton remind Lynch of how much she owed him?  Are we to believe that he never broached the potential indictment of his wife with the very person who could decide her fate?
It is likely Lynch was asked by the Intel Committee if she ever directed Comey to mischaracterize the Clinton email case as a “matter” instead of what it truly was, a criminal investigation. Was Lynch downplaying the case because she planned to scuttle any criminal charges? Did she assure anyone in the Clinton orbit that prosecution would never happen, incriminating evidence be damned?
Finally, why did Lynch allow Comey to usurp the power of the Attorney General in announcing that no criminal charges would be forthcoming against Clinton? It was bad enough that Comey misinterpreted the law on “intent” and “gross negligence,” but Lynch appears to have allowed her office to acquiesce in Comey’s decision. Why?
Since Friday’s hearing was secretive, we may never learn the answers to serious questions that appear to involve lawlessness and rampant corruption.
Instead, we are left to wonder whether it was all just a confluence of fantastic coincidences. 

Liz Peek: John Kelly showed us what incredible dignity, honor and truthfulness look like

On Thursday, John Kelly reminded the country what dignity looks like. In a hushed White House briefing room, President Trump’s chief of staff recounted that most painful of human experiences, the loss of a child. The former general spoke of the circumstances under which the bodies of fallen soldiers are returned to their families, how their loved ones are told of their heartbreaking loss, what it is like to deliver the most devastating news imaginable.

He solemnly described how Marine General Joseph Dunford had delivered the news that his own son had been killed in Afghanistan. And how he had recently visited Arlington Cemetery to visit the graves of Marines who died under his own watch. He said these things with grace and dignity.

It was impossible to watch the retired four-star general without feeling at once inspired but also discouraged that so much of what consumes the public these days is petty and inconsequential. Even somber personal tragedies like the death of a soldier can be hijacked by those looking to score political points. The constant back-and-forth of “gotcha” journalism – the kind of story that, in fact, inspired John Kelly’s address to the press corps – drives headlines and delivers “clicks” but also helps create today’s toxic discourse. And yes, it comes from both sides and I do not absolve myself.
It also comes from our leaders. President Trump has been derided endlessly for his lack of decorum, his inability to resist tweet-storming critics and telling whoppers about topics important and unimportant. But President Obama taking selfies at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service or jumping into a golf cart minutes after declaring himself “heartbroken” over ISIS’ savage beheading of James Foley isn’t dignified either.
Nor is Hillary Clinton yelling “At this point what difference does it make?” at the committee investigating the lies told about the deaths in Benghazi.

It was impossible to watch the retired four-star general without feeling at once inspired but also discouraged that so much of what consumes the public these days is petty and inconsequential.

Don’t even get me started linking Bill, Monica Lewinsky and the Resolute desk in the Oval Office. This piece is supposed to be about dignity.
How do we turn this around? President George W. Bush lamented the “casual cruelty” of today’s public discourse, in a recent speech widely interpreted as a rebuke to President Trump. At the same forum, President Obama piled on, saying “What we can’t have is the same old politics of division that we have seen so many times before that dates back centuries.”
It might be helpful if both those gentlemen acknowledged that they bear some responsibility for those widening political fault lines. Donald Trump was not elected by accident; Americans were angry over Obama’s aggressive identity politics and progressive agenda of the past eight years, and by the financial crisis overseen by Bush.
They were angry that their prospects had stagnated for over a decade. For years, America’s workers have been slighted as our leaders pursued global ambitions and forgot to tend the home fires. Bush can bemoan the “fading confidence in the value of free markets and international trade” but that value seems slight to an out-of-work steel maker in Pennsylvania. As Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently wrote in an oped published in the Wall Street Journal, “China’s tariffs are higher than those of the U.S. in 20 of the 22 major categories of goods. Europe imposes higher tariffs than the U.S. in 17 of 22 categories…” Our leaders have not been paying attention. It would help if Chuck Schumer, Rand Paul and so many others could stop posturing long enough to place the good of their countrymen about political one-upmanship.
There are important issues facing the country, but these folks have no sense of urgency, other than appeasing their funders and scoring political points. The battle over health care is dire for millions of Americans, but rather than work together to fix ObamaCare, which every sane person can acknowledge is deeply flawed, our politicians spend their time making sure they are not blamed for soaring premiums and ever-narrower choices.
These troubles are not new, and did not begin with President Trump. Those of us who follow current events intently do not often look up and survey a wide landscape. When we do, the horizon can appear dark.
John Kelly reminded us what dignity, honor and truthfulness looks like, and how they can illuminate that darkness. He put us in touch with what Abraham Lincoln called the “better angels of our nature,” however briefly. For that the country should thank him.

The Left has gun-toting militias of its own, Charlottesville lawsuit reveals

With a name like Redneck Revolt, one “paramilitary” group named in a lawsuit filed in the wake of the deadly Charlottesville protests sounds like the classic alt-right, gun-toting militia many blame for the August incident that sparked a national debate on race and guns.

But Redneck Revolt is a sometimes-armed militia that left-wing protesters have apparently started calling on for security, and critics say it represents a growing group of heat-packing, far-left social justice warriors who are “willing to take on personal risk to defend those in our community,” according to the group’s website.

The lawsuit, brought by The Georgetown Law Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), could shine a light on groups like Redneck Revolt by lumping them in with not only admitted fascist groups like Vanguard America, but also the conservative militias whose leaders say they came to safeguard participants in the Aug. 11 Unite the Right rally that exploded into violence.

"All it takes is one jumpy person pulling a trigger."

- Left-wing protester

Many fear the bitter climate surrounding race, free speech and politics, combined with the presence of guns, is creating a combustible situation – and the potential for deadly violence to break out at events featuring protesters, counter-protesters and self-appointed amateur armed guards.
"If you get into an arms race with a bunch of scared people who have little or no experience of gun violence—I’m talking about antifascists as well as the alt fascists, we’re scared too—you’re creating an extremely volatile situation," a counter-protester who claimed to have been at Charlottesville told the website CrimethInc. "All it takes is one jumpy person pulling a trigger."
The more prominent defendants targeted in the suit include Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler and a handful of fascist groups that attended. But ICAP is also taking aim at left-leaning paramilitary organizations that turned out that day, militias that claim their members were only on scene to keep the peace.
"Private armies" caused "irreparable and incalculable injuries" to the city as well as various local businesses and neighborhood groups, the lawsuit claims. Damages include loss of revenue and a general negative association with businesses in the city, the plaintiffs argue. The suit suggests these “unauthorized” militias undercut the local government's "authority to protect public safety,”  and aims to "prevent defendants from returning to Virginia organized as military units and engaging in paramilitary activity."
Redneck Revolt and other armed militias that were present say they were keeping the peace – regardless of who they were defending. Christian Yingling, a defendant and commanding officer of an organization called Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia, argued in a lengthy Facebook post that his group, which he said was there to provide security for Unite the Right protesters, coordinated with the Charlottesville Police Department prior to the event.

"I don't think it's ludicrous that if white supremacists are carrying guns that anti-fascists might want to carry guns, too," Mark Bray, a visiting Dartmouth professor  (Associated Press)

Not only did police know they were coming with weapons to defend participants, Yingling wrote, police “escorted us personally to the park... the Charlottesville police told us it was perfectly fine for us to be there, and perfectly legal for us to be armed." The Charlottesville Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York Light Foot militia commander George Curbelo, also named in the suit, posted a photo to Facebook that he said proves his militia was escorted by members of law enforcement, and that his group was “in Charlottesville as a neutral, non-violent group.” No one seems to be disputing that members of groups like The Light Foot militias, the Virginia Minutemen and Redneck Revolt were legally carrying firearms. The dispute is whether they made things safer, or more dangerous.
Members of Redneck Revolt have said they were sought by counter-demonstrators to provide safety. Yet, the group’s relationship to the left-wing protesters appears to be absent from ICAP’s suit.
"Just as they had anticipated and indeed desired, these [white-nationalist] groups encountered significant resistance from counter-protestors within the so-called Antifa and other movements," the lawsuit states. It goes on to suggest that those counter-protesters "fought back with comparable intensity, though without the hallmarks of private armies that characterized the Alt-Right Defendants’ contributions to the day’s violence."
While there is no evidence of any Redneck Revolt members being involved in violence, the lawsuit’s suggestion that the left was without a private army of its own - especially since Redneck Revolt is named as a defendant – seems a glaring omission.
Redneck Revolt's website describes it as "a pro-worker, anti-racist organization that focuses on working-class liberation from the oppressive systems which dominate our lives,” inspired in part by violent abolitionist John Brown.
The mission statement goes on to say, “In states where it is legal to practice armed community defense, many branches choose to become John Brown Gun Clubs, training ourselves and our communities in defense and mutual aid."
Redneck Revolt boasts more than 40 chapters nationwide, and various branches have reported membership increases since the Charlottesville incident. Attempts to reach the group’s communication arm were unsuccessful.
One member of Redneck Revolt, who was not in Charlottesville and asked not to be identified, told Fox News "we're not Antifa... we're not going to be hitting people." Yet at rallies including one in Phoenix earlier this year, members have threatened the property of people who merely attempt to video or photograph them.
Like some of their conservative counterparts, Redneck Revolt has apparently captured the attention of the FBI. According to one law enforcement source, warnings have been distributed to agencies across the country regarding their group and others.

Members of the John Brown Gun Club and Redneck Revolt protest outside the Phoenix Convention Center, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, in Phoenix. Protests were held against President Trump as he hosted a rally inside the convention center. (AP Photo/Matt York)  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In an e-mail to Fox, a spokesperson for the FBI’s national press office suggested they couldn’t comment on the existence of such a bulletin, before adding that the bureau “does not track membership in domestic extremist groups as membership in a group is not illegal… The FBI may only initiate an investigation based upon information or allegations that an activity constitutes a federal crime or a threat to national security.”
A self-described Redneck Revolt member who said he was in Charlottesville for the protests told the "Feminist Killjoys, PhD" podcast that while there may be historical parallels with organizations like the Black Panthers, the presence of “armed leftists on the streets of an American city [preserving and protecting] human life... was kind of a historical shift."
In a podcast on Redneck Revolt’s website, another alleged member who was on the ground in Charlottesville admits that the use of firearms was a point of serious debate, but that “when we came up to the day, the extremity of the situation was realized by all involved.”

"I don't think it's ludicrous that if white supremacists are carrying guns that anti-fascists might want to carry guns, too."

- Mark Bray, Dartmouth professor

“Folks realized that there needed to be armed security because the fascists were absolutely coming in swinging,” he said, adding that members were showered with gratitude by the protesters they came to defend.
Left-wing groups carrying legal guns at demonstrations have is a notion that’s seeing some support in academia.
"I don't think it's ludicrous that if white supremacists are carrying guns that anti-fascists might want to carry guns, too," Mark Bray, a visiting Dartmouth professor and author of "ANTIFA: The Anti-Fascist Handbook," told a New York gathering in September.
Dwayne Dixon, who is listed as a faculty member on the UNC Chapel Hill Asian Studies Department, is allegedly a member of Redneck Revolt, and was arrested in August for bringing a gun to a public place in anticipation of a white supremacist rally in Durham – an event that never wound up happening.
Dixon did not respond to Fox News requests for comment. But in an interview with a local newspaper, he said he acted out of "real concern” about “a kind of tone that I had never heard by citizens of this city." He added that he was not trying to "play Rambo."

Dwayne Dixon stands for a portrait at the skate park on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Durham, N.C. He is a UNC-Chapel Hill anthropology lecture and a member of the Silver Valley Redneck Revolt, an organization promoting community armed self defense. Dixon joined in 2016 and was recently charged with two misdemeanors in connection with having a semi-automatic rifle as people took to the streets in Durham to protest a rumored KKK march on Friday, Aug. 18. (Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP)

ICAP’s lawsuit doesn’t attempt to separate militia groups by their alliances, saying all of the armed groups “terrified local residents and caused attendees to mistake them for authorized military personnel.”
Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group often derided for harboring a bias for left-wing groups, reportedly also disagrees with the tactics of armed militias.
“We just don’t need volunteers with guns coming to public rallies,” Cohen said in an interview. “It’s a recipe for disaster."

Melania Trump cuts bloated first lady payroll from Michelle Obama days

Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on government payroll in the first lady’s office compared to former first lady Michelle Obama.  (Reuters)

Melania Trump is embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady – but she still runs one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history.

According to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports, Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady's office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama.

During then-President Barack Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year.
This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700.

Melania Trump staff salaries

• Lindsay B. Reynolds -- $179,700.00 -- assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady
• Stephanie A. Grisham -- $115,000.00 – special assistant to the president and director of communications for the first lady
• Timothy G. Tripepi -- $115,000.00 – special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff of operations for the first lady
• Mary‐Kathryn Fisher -- $77,000.00 – deputy director of advance for the first lady

• Source: June 2017 report to Congress on White House personnel

The details are contained in an annual report the White House sends to Congress showing the names, positions and salaries of all its personnel. Both the Obama and Trump administrations acknowledged several additional staffers beyond those listed in the report with the term “first lady” in their titles. But even counting all those employees -- 24 for Michelle Obama and nine for the current first lady -- Melania Trump's office is relatively small.
It's an approach her spokeswoman says is intentional.
“As with all things that she does, she is being very deliberate in her hiring, focusing on quality over quantity,” communications director Stephanie Grisham said in an email. “It is important to her that the team is a good fit for what she wants to accomplish as first lady, and that everyone works well together. She also wants to be mindful and responsible when it comes to taxpayer money.”

This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700.  (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

While the 2009 annual report listed 16 staffers for Michelle Obama, her press secretary said at the time the staff actually included 24 people. A 2009 FactCheck.org story said Obama’s 24 aides might have broken records.
“That may indeed be the largest of any first lady, but Hillary Clinton, with 19 staffers, and Laura Bush with at least 18 and perhaps more, weren’t far behind,” FactCheck.org said.

Michelle Obama staff salaries

• Susan S. Sher -- $172,200.00 -- assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady
• Jocelyn C. Frye -- $140,000.00 -- deputy assistant to the president and director of policy and projects for the first lady
• Camille Y. Johnston -- $102,000.00 – special assistant to the president and director of communications for the first lady
• Melissa E. Winter -- $102,000.00 – special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to the first lady
• David S. Medina -- $90,000.00 – deputy chief of staff to the first lady
• Catherine M. Lelyveld -- $84,000.00 director and press secretary to the first lady
• Frances M. Starkey -- $75,000.00 – director of scheduling and advance for the first lady
• Trooper Sanders -- $70,000.00 -- deputy director of policy and projects for the first lady
• Jennifer R. Goodman -- $62,000.00 – deputy director of scheduling and events coordinator for the first lady
• Alan Fitts -- $60,000.00 – deputy director of advance and trip director for the first lady
• Dana M. Lewis -- $60,000.00 – special assistant and personal aide to the first lady
• Semonti M. Mustaphi -- $52,500.00 – associate director and deputy press secretary to the first lady
• Kristen E. Jarvis -- $50,000.00 – special assistant for scheduling and traveling aide to the first lady
• Tyler A. Lechtenberg -- $45,000.00 – associate director of correspondence for the first lady
• Joseph J. Boswell -- $40,000.00 – executive assistant to the chief of staff to the first lady
• Deilia A. Jackson -- $36,000.00 – deputy associate director of correspondence for the first lady 

• Source: July 2009 report to Congress on White House personnel

Grisham told Fox News this week there are nine people working in the East Wing under Melania Trump, a few more than listed in the annual report.
According to those personnel reports, Melania Trump’s staffers include a chief of staff, a communications director, a deputy chief of staff and a deputy director of advance.
Michelle Obama’s staff included those same positions and a slew of others: additional press aides, a director of policy and projects, a personal aide, a traveling aide and a director of correspondence.
Michelle Obama’s office did not return a request for comment.
But the larger staff is likely due in part to Michelle Obama entering the East Wing with a more aggressive agenda and embracing initiatives like her Let's Move! child obesity campaign.
During the first few months of the Trump presidency, Melania Trump and son, Barron, remained in New York as he finished the school year.
But she has noticeably ramped up public activity in recent weeks, including hosting a roundtable discussion on the opioid crisis and traveling with her husband to tour the destruction of hurricanes and meet with the victims of the Las Vegas massacre.
“She is more like a Pat Nixon or a Bess Truman than a Hillary Clinton or a Michelle Obama,” Andrew Och, a first lady historian who was a producer for the C-SPAN's “First Ladies: Influence and Image” series, said of Melania Trump.

During then-President Barack Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Och noted that there is no formal job description for a first lady and each one defines their role. Melania Trump, he said, does not come from the world of politics and “clearly does not feel the need for the larger staffs that her predecessors have had.”
The first lady’s office isn’t the only place in the White House where the Trump administration has trimmed staff positions. When the White House personnel report was released in June, Forbes reported 110 fewer employees under Donald Trump than Barack Obama and said the projected four-year savings resulting from the cuts could be more than $22 million.

Alt-Left Cartoons

Pres. Trump Vows to Give More Support to Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico

President Donald Trump meets with Governor Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump vowed to give more support to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
During a meeting with Governor Ricardo Rosello at the White House Thursday, the president said the situation was difficult, but there are tremendous assets on the island.
He said essential supplies have been delivered, including food and generators to assist those without power.
He also praised the military, FEMA, and first responders for their rescue and recovery efforts.
Rosello thanked the president for his quick response, and talked about the short and long term needs of the island going forward.

 

 

 

 

UC Santa Cruz College Republicans meeting disrupted by leftist protesters, three arrested

Protesters disrupted a College Republicans meeting at UC Santa Cruz.  (CampusReform)

Leftist protesters interrupted a College Republicans meeting Sunday night in the library at the University of California, Santa Cruz, calling members “fascists,” “racists” and “white supremacists” during a lengthy demonstration that ended in three arrests.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

Though the College Republicans initially offered to speak to the protesters, those demonstrating refused to leave and demanded instead the Republicans end their meeting. One person in attendance, a Democrat, stood up, however, and defended his right-leaning fellow students.
“I immediately stood up and confronted them,” Phil Leonard told Fox News. “I was the only one to stand up and confront them.”
The school’s director of news and media relations, Scott Hernandez-Jason, expressed disappointment in the episode.
“It’s unfortunate and disappointing that a few students disrupted their meeting and refused repeated requests to leave,” Hernandez-Jason told Fox News in an email. “UC Santa Cruz vigorously supports our students’ rights to peacefully and lawfully assemble.”
The demonstration came about when a far left activist found out the College Republicans were meeting on the ground floor of the library – in a small rectangular room with one entrance and bad cell service – and posted the details to a UCSC Facebook group with nearly 20,000 members, Leonard said.
“They put out a dog whistle for any crazy or deranged person to stop white supremacy,” Leonard said.
A core group of three protesters, joined by a few others, showed up, shouting chants such as “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!”
Leonard said one protester looked at him and told him: “Your existence is a disturbance to every marginalized person in this country.”
“You don’t know who you’re talking to,” he said he responded. “First of all, I’m a registered Democrat. I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life, and I’m here speaking for ideas which is what you’re supposed to do at a college.”
Leonard, a fourth-year politics major, said he started going to College Republican meetings last May when he was working on a piece for his moderate campus publication, City on a Phil, and he started bringing Democrat friends along with him. Leonard said the behavior particularly affected him because he’s Jewish, and he immediately connected the actions of the protesters – seeking to shut down free speech -- with the actions of the Nazis.
“That’s literally how fascists think,” he said. “This kid is literally a fascist.”
Soon, students studying in the library began to complain. A librarian entered and, at one point, asked the College Republicans to leave in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. The group refused, however.
One protester bolted from the room and started running up and down the library stairs shouting about “Nazis” and “white supremacists.”
“I didn’t know who that nutty chick was, but her fliers were all over the school, so when I said her name, she flipped out,” Leonard said. “She flipped out even more when I told her I voted for her [for the Student Union Assembly election].”
When the librarian returned with her boss, the protesters accused her of being a white supremacist. The campus police were eventually called, but the demonstrators still refused to stop the disruption. A black officer showed up and the protesters responded by explaining racism and white supremacy to him, Leonard said.
“Almost all the people in the library, mostly liberal at this point, started getting upset with them, and laughing at them and telling them to leave,” Leonard said. “The whole school and the whole library turned against them.”
Despite attempts by the police to negotiate a peaceful conclusion, Leonard said the protesters insisted on being arrested.
They got their wish. The trio of students were arrested for disturbing the peace, failure to disperse, unlawful assembly and trespassing, Hernandez-Jason said.
Leonard posted video of the incident to the same UCSC Facebook page the protest organizer originally used to plan the demonstration. Other campus groups, many of them liberal, put out statements condemning the actions of the disrupters, Leonard said.
“If there was a social stigma against College Republicans, that stigma is gone now,” Leonard said. “Basically everything the protesters wanted, the exact opposite happened.”

What to know about Frederica Wilson, Florida Democrat who criticized Trump

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., sparked President Donald Trump’s public feud with a Gold Star family after she accused him of making an “insensitive” remark to the soldier’s widow.

Wilson said Trump told Army Sgt. La David Johnson’s pregnant widow that he “knew what he signed up for…but when it happens, it hurts anyway.” Johnson was killed earlier this month during an attack in Africa.

But Wilson has often voted against legislation that would help veterans and their families, according to a vote-tracking website.

What is the feud between Wilson and Trump?

Army Sgt. La David Johnson and three other service members died in an Oct. 4 attack in Niger. Islamic militants ambushed the soldiers.

U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson was among four special forces soldiers killed in Niger, West Africa on Oct. 4, 2017.  (Reuters/U.S. Army Special Operations Command handout)

Wilson said she was riding with Myeshia Johnson, the soldier's widow, as they went to Miami International Airport to meet his body when Trump called. The president said Johnson “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens, it hurts anyway,” Wilson said.
The congresswoman called the remark “so insensitive” during an interview with WPLG-TV.
The fallen soldier’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Associated Press Wednesday that the congresswoman’s account was correct.
Trump denied Wilson’s claims in a tweet Wednesday.
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” he tweeted.
FAMILIES OF FALLEN HAVE MIXED EXPERIENCES WITH TRUMP, IF ANY
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Wilson’s criticism “appalling and disgusting” and accused her of “politicizing” the issue. She said the call wasn’t recorded but other White House officials, including chief of staff General John Kelly, were present during the call.
But Wilson hasn’t backed away from her claim and later said that Myeshia Johnson told her Trump “didn’t even remember his name.”
"I was stunned when I came to work, when I saw what a member of Congress was doing, listened in on a phone call from the president," Kelly said Wednesday.
"It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation…I thought at least that was sacred," he said.
A spokeswoman says Wilson had no comment on Kelly's remarks about her Thursday.

What has Wilson’s voting record on veteran’s issues been?

VoteSmart.org, a site that tracks voting records, shows that Wilson hasn’t supported several measures that would have helped veterans and their families – including financially.
Specifically, she opposed a measure that would have given the families of four soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan in 2013 death and burial benefits.
TRUMP SAYS DEM REP 'FABRICATED' ACCOUNT OF CALL TO SOLDIER'S WIDOW, HAS 'PROOF'
She has also opposed measures to reform the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., greets then-President Barack Obama after he arrived in Miami in 2012.  (Reuters/Larry Downing)

And Wilson has voted against measures multiple times that would ensure veterans and their families would still receive benefits despite government shutdowns.

What else do we know about Wilson’s political career?

A former elementary school principal, Wilson was elected to Congress in 2010. She previously served in the Florida State Senate from 2002-2010 and the State House of Representatives from 1998-2002.
Her House of Representatives website lists several issues of concern, including education, gun violence, health care, immigration and jobs.
When it comes to Social Security, Wilson says that she "will vote against any measure to privatize the program, cut benefits, or increase the eligibility age."
This year, Wilson voted against the Republican health care bill.
In February 2015, she sponsored a bill that was introduced on what would have been Trayvon Martin's 20th birthday. The bill called for the House to press "any State legislature to reject or repeal Stand Your Ground legislation."

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., has stood by her claim that President Donald Trump made insensitive remarks to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of a slain soldier.  (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

What about her personal life?

Her husband, Paul Wilson, died in 1988 after their three children were born, according to a Miami Herald profile.
In addition to her three children, Wilson also has five grandchildren, her House bio says.
She’s also spoken several times about her attire, specifically her penchant for wearing unique hats.
"It all started with my grandmother, whose name was Frederica also. She wore hats and gloves. I just wanted to be like her, so I started wearing hats. I just like to dress up, I guess, and I got that from her," Wilson told Roll Call in 2012.
“I’ve never counted, but I've been wearing them almost 30 years,” Wilson told Politifact in 2010. "It's almost like a fetish. ... I have hundreds.”

Trump: Media 'going crazy' with Wilson's 'total lie' about phone call

In a tweet late Thursday, President Donald Trump accuses a Florida congresswoman of lying in her account of a phone call between Trump and the widow of a U.S. service member recently killed in Africa.

The same tweet also asserts that news organizations have been “going crazy” with U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson’s version of the story.

“The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson(D), who was SECRETLY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content!”
The president’s tweet came hours after Chief of Staff John Kelly made an emotional speech at the White House, saying he was “stunned” to learn that Wilson had been listening in when the president spoke with Myeshia Johnson, widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson -- one of four American soldiers killed in Niger nearly two weeks ago.
Wilson, a Democrat, was with Johnson's family when Trump called to offer condolences. The congresswoman said Trump had told the widow that "you know that this could happen when you signed up for it ... but it still hurts."
Johnson's aunt said Trump showed "disrespect" to the soldier's loved ones.
Wilson on Thursday said Trump disrespected Johnson’s widow with his comments during the phone call.
In comments to the White House press corps, Kelly defended Trump and said he was "stunned" by the criticism of Trump's condolence call to the sergeant's family. Kelly accused Wilson of "selfish behavior."
Kelly also told reporters that the president had expressed his condolences "in the best way that he could."
Wilson gave a cryptic response when Miami television station WSVN-TV caught up with her Thursday, repeating a phrase she said her mother told her when she was a child. Wilson said: "The dog can bark at the moon all night long but it doesn't become an issue until the moon barks back."

Kaepernick Cry Baby Cartoons

AG Sessions Testifies On Comey, Russia Probe

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying he stands by his recommendation to fire former FBI Director James Comey.
During Wednesday’s testimony, Sessions said he does not believe people fully understand the significance of the mistake Comey made during the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton.
Sessions was also grilled about the on-going Russia investigation, confirming he has not been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
He denied allegations that he met with Russian officials to discuss the president’s campaign.
Sessions also refused to answer questions regarding private conversations he has had with President Trump.
The attorney general said the DOJ will take appropriate actions to look into the Obama administration’s approval of a controversial 2010 uranium deal with a Russian firm.
This comes after reports the FBI knew as early as 2009 that a Russian nuclear firm was engaged in a racketeering scheme designed to expand Moscow’s atomic energy business on U.S. soil.
The Obama administration’s committee on foreign investments gave approval for the firm to buy Canadian mining company Uranium One, which controlled 20 percent of America’s uranium.
Members of that committee included Eric Holder and Hillary Clinton, whose husband collected millions of dollars from Russian officials interested in the deal.

Kaepernick fires back at Roger Goodell without opening his mouth

Former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick reacted via Twitter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying he believes all players “should” stand for the national anthem after teams owners got together for their annual fall meeting.  (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Colin Kaepernick hasn’t said much publicly since he stopped being employed as an NFL quarterback.
The last tweet he wrote was on Oct. 10, and it was a shout-out to Eminem for name-dropping him in a long freestyle rap that was extremely critical of President Trump. He has remained active on Twitter though, specifically by re-tweeting several posts per day.
Many of the posts he shared on Wednesday were aimed at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who addressed the media at the league’s owners meetings in New York. Goodell spoke at length about the national anthem protests, a movement that Kaepernick started last season as a member of the 49ers, saying he wants — but is not mandating — all players to stand for the song, saying he aims to put the number of protesters “at zero.”
“Goodell and his avoidance of police killing unarmed black and brown people is an extension of the coopting/erasure of Kaepernick’s cause,” came a tweet from @LeftSentThis, endorsed by Kaepernick.
“White supremacy is thinking that ending black protest is a better goal than ending the murder of black lives,” wrote @samswey, in reply to Goodell’s goal of reducing the number of protesters, which Kaepernick also retweeted.

Media playing along as liberals weaponize Gold Star families in fight against GOP

As many Democrats weaponize Gold Star families against the GOP, mainstream media outlets now seem to be approaching the families of dead soldiers one by one in an attempt to find the next controversy surrounding President Trump.  

Earlier this week, Trump said former President Obama and past presidents didn’t always call the families of soldiers who died while serving the country during a Rose Garden press conference.

“The traditional way, if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls, a lot of them didn’t make calls,” Trump said. “I like to call when it’s appropriate.”

Khizr and Ghazala Khan spoke out against President Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

These comments by Trump lit a fire under Democrats, both in the media and in Washington.
Gold Star widows and parents were all over the place on Wednesday, from CNN to The New York Times, mostly to criticize Trump. The Washington Post successfully found a Gold Star father who alleged that Trump didn’t come through on a $25,000 promise, while The Associated Press even tweeted a glorified classified ad with the hope of locating more Gold Star families willing to chat.
“Are you a member of a Gold Star family who’s had contact with the White House? Confidentially share your story here,” the AP tweeted.
A former Reuters contributor commented that the AP’s tweet “seems outside the scope” of journalism.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., took it to a new level by criticizing what she claimed Trump recently said on a call to a fallen soldier's widow. Trump fired back, tweeting that the congresswoman “totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!”
The situation has received so much attention that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was forced to address it during Wednesday’s press briefing.
“I think it's appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way she's politicized this issue and the way that she's trying to make this about something that it isn't,” she said.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan speaks to the press after being denied access to the ranch of U.S. President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas, in 2006.  (REUTERS/Jason Reed, File)

Sanders criticized the media and the way the situation has been handled, and that was before The Associated Press started soliciting grief-stricken families.
“I think it frankly is a disgrace of the media to try to portray an act of kindness like that and that gesture and to try to make it into something that it isn't,” Sanders said.
Back in 2005, Cindy Sheehan protested the Iraq war outside of President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch after her son, Spc. Casey Sheehan, died while serving in Iraq. She picked up a ton of media attention in the process, and Democrats must have taken notice.
Over a decade later, a different Gold Star family, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, were given an opportunity to speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Their son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in 2004 during the Iraq war. But the Pakistani-American Khans were there to trash then-candidate Trump as much as they were on hand to honor their son, according to some supporters of the president.
“Donald Trump, you're asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” Khizr Khan said as he waived a copy of the Constitution.
The Khans were back in the news on Tuesday, mocking Trump in a statement to The Hill.
Trump's “selfish and divisive actions have undermined the dignity of the high office of the presidency,” they said in a statement.
The families of fallen soldiers now are used as political ammunition and, sadly, there seems to be no end in sight in the current media landscape.

Florida Democrat Wilson no friend of veterans, vote record shows

The Florida Democrat who criticized President Donald Trump this week for being "insensitive" toward the widow of a U.S. soldier slain in Africa might be facing similar criticism herself.

It turns out that U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson has frequently voted against measures intended to help veterans and their families, according to VoteSmart.org, a vote-tracking site whose founding board members included former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.

The measures that Wilson opposed included a bill that could have ensured that families of four soldiers slain in Afghanistan in 2013 received death and burial benefits.
In fact, Wilson’s voting record on veterans issues may call into question the sincerity of her recent defense of U.S. service members and their families.
Despite Wilson's claim to be “committed to honoring our service members, not only with words but with deeds,” she has voted against most bills ensuring continued funding for veteran benefits, including payments to widows of fallen soldiers, the vote-tracking site shows.
She has also opposed measures designed to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In March 2013, Wilson opposed the “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act,” which prevented a government shutdown and provided funds for the U.S. military and the VA.
The bill, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by the Obama administration, provided funding to the military and the VA until the next government shutdown showdown.

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., stands by her statement that President Donald Trump was "insensitive" toward the widow of a U.S. service member who was slain in Africa. Wilson is seen in Miami Gardens, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017.  (Associated Press)

Later in the year, Wilson again voted against a resolution aimed at ensuring benefits paid to the veterans and their families would not be affected by the government shutdown in October that year.
The motion was particularly important in the wake of reports that the families of four soldiers slain in Afghanistan in 2013 had been deprived of benefits due to the shutdown in Washington.
The families of slain soldiers were denied burial benefits and up to $100,000 to each family, among other benefits, the New York Times reported. Wilson voted against the resolution ensuring that the benefits reached the families.
Defense Department spokesman Carl Woog said the department did not have “the authority to pay death gratuities and other key benefits for the survivors of service members killed in action” due to the government shutdown.
The congresswoman also opposed numerous bills aimed at improving VA services provided the veterans and their families.
Wilson's office has not responded to a Fox News request for a comment.
The former elementary school principal, who first came to Congress in 2011, has been portrayed this week as a staunch defender of the military and military families after accusing the president of being “insensitive” toward Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four service members who were killed last week in the African nation of Niger.
According to Wilson, Trump told the grieving widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway.” But Trump, in a response on Twitter, said Wilson had “totally fabricated what I said.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that Wilson’s attack on the president using the soldier’s widow was “appalling and disgusting.”
The congresswoman has stood by her account of the call.

hillary clinton and george soros cartoons

George Soros foundations now control $18 billion: reports

Investor George Soros has transferred about $18 billion, the majority of his estimated fortune, to his Open Society Foundations, making them the second largest philanthropic grant-making group in the United States, according to media reports on Tuesday.
The foundations already controlled billions of dollars, but Soros, 87, has in recent years increased the pace of transfers from his hedge fund-turned-family office, Soros Fund Management LLC, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday, citing Open Society officials.
Representatives for Open Society did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Open Society works globally to “build vibrant and tolerant democracies” and has given away nearly $14 billion since inception in 1979, according to its website.
Hungarian-born Soros, who made a huge profit betting against an overvalued British pound in 1992, is a vocal supporter of liberal causes and was a large contributor to the fund-raising Super PAC group backing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last year.
Soros early this year hired former UBS Group AG asset management executive Dawn Fitzpatrick to serve as the latest chief investment officer for New York-based Soros Fund Management, which also manages money for Open Society.
Only the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now larger than Open Society among U.S. grant-making groups, with an endowment of about $40 billion.
Soros is worth an estimated $23 billion, according to Forbes.

Anthony Weiner laptop had 2,800 gov't documents from Huma Abedin: Report

The FBI reportedly found 2,800 government documents on disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner's personal laptop computer that were related to his estranged wife's work as Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff during her tenure as secretary of state.

The conservative group Judicial Watch reported Tuesday that the State Department received the documents from the FBI after Judicial Watch sued the department when it failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The documents were sent to Weiner's computer by Huma Abedin, a revelation that came to light in the closing days of last year's presidential campaign.
"This is a disturbing development. Our experience with Abedin’s emails suggest these Weiner laptop documents will include classified and other sensitive materials," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "When will the Justice Department do a serious investigation of Hillary Clinton’s and Huma Abedin’s obvious violations of law?"
Judicial Watch initially sued the State Department in May 2015, after it failed to respond to a request to produce all official emails sent or received by Abedin using a non-government address.
In a court filing, the State Department said it expected to review and produce the entire cache of 2,800 documents by the end of this year. However, the government filing also suggests that some of the material is "duplicative" of other records that have already been made public.
Last month, Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to sending sexually explicit texts across state lines to a 15-year-old girl. Similar indiscretions, first as a congressman and then as a candidate for New York City mayor, had scuppered Weiner's political career.
Abedin filed for divorce from Weiner earlier this year.