Democrat walks out of moment of silence for Texas massacre victims

California Rep. Ted Lieu that he would not join his colleagues who were observing the moment of silence in the chambers of the House of Representatives.

A junior Democratic congressman walked out of a moment of silence Monday night for victims of this weekend's mass shooting at a Texas church.

In a video posted to Facebook Monday evening, California Rep. Ted Lieu said that he would not join his colleagues who were observing the moment of silence in the chambers of the House of Representatives.

"I can’t do this again; I’ve been to too many moments of silences," Lieu said in the video. "In just my short period in Congress, three of the worst mass shootings in us history have occurred. I will not be silent.”
"I urge us to pass reasonable gun safety legislation, including a universal background check law supported by 80 percent of Americans, a ban on assault rifles and a ban on bump stocks,” Lieu added.
Lieu has been active on social media since the shooting.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs," he posted on Twitter Sunday.
But just two hours later, after some of his followers objected to the measured nature of the tweet, Lieu unloaded on the National Rifle Association.
"I agree my prior tweet could be better," Lieu tweeted. "So here: I pray for the victims in TX. Also, screw the @NRA & can you help Dems take back the House."

Classy woman fired after flipping off Trump's motorcade

President Trump's motorcade drives through New York City during the United Nations General Assembly.

What a Classy Lady.

The woman who flipped off President Trump's motorcade last month said Monday that she was fired on Halloween for violating her employer's code of conduct policy -- but she vowed she would do it all over again if given the chance.
Juli Briskman, 50, now an ex-member of the marketing team at the government contractor Akima LLC, was on her bicycle on Oct. 28 when Trump's motorcade drove by her on a northern Virginia road.
A photo that quickly went viral showed her raising the middle finger of her left hand in defiance as the motorcade returned from the Trump National Golf Club.
"My finger said what I was feeling," Briskman, who had been on the job for just over six months, told CNN. "I'm angry and I'm frustrated."
Briskman's face was not visible in the photo, but she claimed she immediately confessed her involvement to her employer the Monday after the photo went viral.
Briskman said she was then promptly fired on Tuesday from the government contracting firm and escorted out of the building for violating the "code of conduct policy."
“They said, ‘We’re separating from you,‘” Briskman told the Huffington Post.  “Basically, you cannot have ‘lewd’ or ‘obscene’ things in your social media. So they were calling flipping him off ‘obscene.’”
Briskman, who claimed she was fired because her employer was worried about losing government contracts, said she has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union. She insisted she would flip off the president again if given the chance.
"Health care doesn't pass, but you try to dismantle it from the inside," Briskman told CNN. "Five-hundred people get shot in Las Vegas; you're doing nothing about it. You know, white supremacists have this big march and hurt a bunch of people down in Charlottesville and you call them good people."

Election Day: Trump factor looms large in Virginia, New Jersey governor's races

Virginia is one of only two states that have off-year governor's races on Election Day 2017. Here's why the Virginia race is getting national attention and how the "Trump effect" could impact the battle between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam.

Democrats have worked feverishly all year to make nearly every local election a referendum on President Trump – and Tuesday's gubernatorial races are no exception. 

The Trump factor looms large in the marquee Virginia gubernatorial race, where Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and his allies have churned out mailers and ads tying Republican rival Ed Gillespie to the Trump White House at every turn. 

The Trump-referendum strategy has not been particularly successful for Democrats in the House special elections so far this year. But this time, polls in New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races show the Democratic candidates in the lead.
In New Jersey, Democratic nominee Phil Murphy holds a substantial lead over Republican Kim Guadagno.
But the race in Virginia is considerably tighter. According to the latest Fox News Poll released Monday, Northam holds a 5-point edge over Gillespie, who says there is “no doubt” the polls are close.
In the final stretch, Gillespie questioned whether the Democrats' Trump-all-the-time strategy is a sound one.
FOX NEWS POLL: VIRGINIA GOVERNOR'S RACE REMAINS TIGHT
“They’ve known they’re in a close race for some time. They’ve been throwing the kitchen sink at us with awful and vile ads,” Gillespie said on Fox News’ “Daily Briefing” Monday.
The most controversial of those ads was run by a Democratic group, Latino Victory Fund. It showed minority children seemingly being chased by a driver in a pickup truck, decked out with a Confederate flag and a “Gillespie for governor” bumper sticker. The ad concluded with a scene of a Charlottesville-like rally, with a narrator asking: “Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the ‘American Dream?’”
The ad was removed after extensive backlash.
ELECTION DAY 2017: FULL COVERAGE
Other mailers boast that Northam is "standing up to Trump and Gillespie's politics of fear and hate."

This is one of numerous mailers from Virginia Democrats trying to link Republican candidate Ed Gillespie to President Trump.

It's a message the campaign stands by as polls are set to open.
“Independent groups are denouncing Ed Gillespie because he has run the most divisive, fear-mongering campaign in modern history,” Northam campaign spokeswoman Ofirah Yheskel said in a statement to Fox News. “It is not shocking that communities of color are scared of what his Trump-like policy positions mean for them.”
Northam has campaigned with Democratic power players like former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden and even had a fundraiser headlined by Hillary Clinton.
WHO ARE ED GILLESPIE AND RALPH NORTHAM?
Meanwhile, Gillespie has garnered Republican support, with a fundraiser hosted by former President George W. Bush. He was joined by Vice President Pence on the campaign trail—but not Trump. Trump, though, has repeatedly expressed his support for Gillespie on Twitter.
"The state of Virginia economy, under Democrat rule, has been terrible. If you vote Ed Gillespie tomorrow, it will come roaring back!" Trump tweeted Monday.
Despite Democrats' claims, Gillespie seems to be keeping a certain distance from Trump, while telling Fox News that he would work with “President Trump and Vice President Pence and the Cabinet.” He listed priorities for Virginia, like “building more ships” and “keeping Norfolk the largest base in the world.”
“In terms of working with the president and vice president, any governor of Virginia has to be able to work with the president of the United States,” Gillespie said Monday. “That’s always been our history given our proximity. I’ll be able to.”

In New Jersey, Democratic nominee Phil Murphy holds a substantial lead over Republican Kim Guadagno.  (AP, File)

In New Jersey, Lt. Gov. Guadagno is dealing not only with attempts to link her to Trump but to outgoing and controversial Gov. Chris Christie.
Murphy, a multimillionaire former Goldman Sachs executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany, said the choice for New Jersey’s next governor couldn’t be clearer.
“On the one hand more of the same, another Chris Christie four years of failed politics, of failed politices for the middle class that was hollowed out and ravaged, where public education doesn’t get funded, infrastructure is ignored, we become more unfair by the day and we are caught in this awful us vs. them vortex,” Murphy said at a recent campaign event. “Or we can turn the page and change.”
Guadagno’s response? She reminds voters that Christie is no longer on the ballot.
Murphy, like Northam, also has welcomed big names on the campaign trail, with former Presidents Obama and Bill Clinton, and Biden, at campaign events.
There is much at stake in both gubernatorial elections, but whoever takes the governor’s mansion in New Jersey could have the added responsibility of appointing a senator—if Sen. Bob Mendendez, D-N.J., is convicted in his corruption trial and resigns.
Menendez maintains his innocence. But if he were to step down, the appointment decision would have serious implications for Trump's policy agenda in a closely divided Senate.
“With the Senate so evenly divided, the outcome of the New Jersey gubernatorial election, if Senator Menendez were to be convicted, could determine the Trump agenda and if it would move forward with greater ease in the Senate," said Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.
Another race to watch Tuesday is in Utah, with the election to fill the House seat previously held by Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz who resigned from his post in June.

As kidnapped American professor's health dangerously deteriorates, pressure on Pakistan again mounts

It has been a year and three months since five gunmen disguised in Afghan military uniforms targeted an SUV on a main road near Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) — taking two foreign professors, U.S. citizen Kevin King, 60, and Australian Timothy Weeks, 48, as hostages.

But as King’s health dangerously declines, a spotlight again has been put on Pakistan and what role they can play in facilitating an urgent release. Najib Danish, the spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, told Fox News that they believe the professors are being held in the border region — on the Pakistan side.

“The terrorists do not have the power to keep hostages for such a long time in Afghanistan because the people here would have let Afghan Forces know of their location by now,” he said. “We are sure the Pakistan government wants to take advantage of these professors and at some point will release them like the other couple. This is a game by Pakistan.”
Last week, the Afghan Taliban released a statement indicating that King is seriously ill and requires urgent medical attention.
“His illness has intensified, his feet have swollen and sometimes he becomes unconscious and his condition worsens every day,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said. “We have tried to treat him time to time but we do not have medical facilities as we are in a war situation.”

Professors Kevin King and Timothy Weeks are believed to be held by Haqqani in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan

The professors are believed to be under the captive authority of the Haqqani network, which works closely with the Taliban as a kidnapping moneymaking enterprise. Haqqani also held U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl and the recently released hiker Caitlan Coleman and her family — who were located in Pakistan following a grueling five-year captivity.
A senior Afghan intel source, connected to the National Directorate of Security (NDS), also affirmed to Fox News that the professors were kidnapped by Haqqani with the help of “internal circles,” which function like criminal gangs in Kabul. According to the source, they were held initially in the Arzo district of Logar province in the Speen Jomat area, just a few miles from the tribal area of Pakistan known as Parachinar, but were later shifted deeper inside the Kurram district inside the bordering tribal areas.
The NDS source also claimed that the Haqqani network continues to demand the release of one of their top commanders, Anas Haqqani, who was captured in 2014 and sentenced to death by Afghan officials and that there are some Afghan officials pushing for this maneuver under the belief it may make foreign visitors safer.
However, a well-placed U.S. official told Fox News that they are absolutely standing by their no-concession policy, and that there will be no such trades made. Nonetheless, they do believe King’s condition to be especially dire and are calling for the immediate release of the professors on humanitarian grounds, stressing that “time is of the essence.”

Kidnapped Professors: AustralianTimothy Weeks and American Kevin King

King is thought to have developed serious heart and kidney problems since being in captivity, and the Taliban have sought to make this public now as, according to a government source, it has proven to be a “burden” on them.
The Taliban, which did not provide proof of King’s deteriorating condition, indicated in their statement last week that the U.S. is running out of time to fulfil its demands and that the “Islamic emirate will not be held responsible” if he dies.

Taliban fighters  (The Associated Press)

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, U.S. authorities closely connected to the case were not able to verify whether King and Weeks are likely inside Afghanistan or Pakistan territory. The U.S. State Department has persistently, and continues to, call for the immediate and unconditional release of the two hostages.
The Pakistan Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to a further request for comment, but Washington-based Pakistan Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry assured Fox News in September that they do not allow insurgent groups to operate in their territory, and that the government has regained full control of the country — including the oft-considered lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Chaudhry also insisted that it is the Afghan government which needs to stop sending “mixed messages” to groups like the Taliban. The two neighboring countries long have had tensions over issues of security and terrorism, and which country is to blame for its export.
DOZENS OF AWOL AFGHAN TRAINEES IN THE US REMAIN UNACCOUNTED FOR, REPORT SAYS
GETTING TOUGH ON THE TALIBAN: TRUMP ADMIN SAID TO BE URGING CLOSURE OF THE MILITANT GROUP'S QATAR OFFICE

A video released of hostages Caitlan Coleman and husband Joshua Boyle while being held in captivity

The push for a release comes at a time of rocky relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened this year to withdraw aid money to Pakistan, accusing the country of harboring militants. The pressure is said to have prompted Pakistan to conduct last month’s Coleman rescue operation — earning praise from the Trump team and avoiding another potential national embarrassment, akin to the 2011 raid in which U.S. forces killed Usama bin Laden inside Pakistani territory without the government’s authorization.
The last visual proof-of-life came in June with the release of a video by the Taliban, in which the two appeared haggard seemingly speaking into a laptop webcam with King pleading to President Trump: “Have mercy on me and get me out,” and “please do not send any commandos.”

U.S Navy SEALs successfully killed Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan in 2011

An unsuccessful rescue attempt was made by U.S. Navy SEALs in the weeks after the initial kidnapping, but the hostages had been moved just prior to their ascendance into the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan.
AUAF also is cooperating closely with authorities to push for a release, but acknowledged that efforts to have their staff members released so far have proven fruitless.
“We are really worried about their health and safety. They were here to teach the Afghan boys and girls, the future of this country and this has had bad effects on all our educational programs,” an official, who asked not to be identified, said. “We are still trying our best to release them, and we are talking to Afghan officials. No one has asked us for money yet, we just hope for their safe release.”
The students too have taken a vocal role in requesting that their professors be returned safely.
One student, Marzia, described King as someone “extremely passionate about teaching them about the world,” and another, Freshta, stressed that King and Weeks only ever wanted to see them do well.
“They came to Afghanistan as teachers, to help us. These innocent people have done nothing to harm anyone and they need to be reunited with their family, friends and colleagues,” she added. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and we will not feel good until they are safely back with us.”

Man hailed a hero for chasing Texas church gunman after massacre

Johnnie Langendorff said in a interview that he helped track down the gunman after the Texas church massacre.  (Fox San Antonio)

One of the men who said he helped tracked down the Texas church gunman on Sunday is being hailed a hero for potentially preventing more bloodshed after the deadly shooting.

Johnnie Langendorff told Fox San Antonio that he decided to track down the killer after seeing the gunman exchanging fire with a member of the community.

Multiple sources speaking to Fox News identified the gunman as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley. The mass shooting unfolded around 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. At least 26 people were killed and 20 wounded.
Langendorff said he arrived at an intersection near the church. He said he witnessed two men exchange fire and recognized one of them from the community.
“The shooter of the church had taken off, fled in his vehicle, the other gentleman came and said we need to pursue him. And that’s what I did, I just acted,” he told a local TV station Ksat.com.
Following a brief chase, the two caught up with the gunman.
“He got a little bit of a jump on us. We were doing about 95 (mph) down (Route) 539 going around traffic and everything. Eventually he came to a kind of a slowdown and after that we got within just a few feet of him and then he got off the road,” he said.
“He just lost control. That is when I put the vehicle in park and I was still on the phone to dispatch (police). The other gentleman jumped out and has his rifle drawn on him. He didn’t move after that.”
Police arrived within five to seven minutes to the location where the shooter stopped. “We led police to him,” he said, according to Ksat.com.
Langendorff said he was not aware at the time of the chase that the shooter had additional weapons in his vehicle and he might have prevented more deaths.

Trump says Texas church shooting result of 'mental health problem,' calls gunman 'deranged'

Nov. 6: President Trump issued a statement on the Texas church shooting during a news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.  (Reuters)

President Trump on Monday said the mass shooting at a Texas church is the result of a "mental health problem at the highest level" and called the gunman a “very deranged individual.”

Trump was at an even with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo and responded to questions about the shooting Sunday at a Texas church that killed at least 26 and wounded 20.

“This isn’t a guns situation,” Trump said. “This is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.”
Authorities on Monday were working to determine a motive in the shooting that occured at around 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Multiple sources told Fox News the gunman was 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley.
Kelley lived in a suburb of San Antonio and didn't appear to be linked to organized terrorist groups, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The official said investigators were looking at social media posts Kelley may have made in the days before Sunday's attack, including one that appeared to show a semiautomatic weapon.
Authorities said the gunman wore black tactical gear and a ballistic vest when he pulled into a gas station across from the church. He crossed the street and started firing a Ruger AR rifle at the church, said Freeman Martin, a regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, then continued firing after entering the white wood-frame building, where an 11 a.m. service was scheduled.
Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr., whose territory includes Sutherland Springs, said there was likely "no way" for the church congregation to escape once the shooting started.
"You've got your pews on either side. He just walked down the center aisle, turned around and my understanding was shooting on his way back out," said Tackitt, who said the shooter also carried a handgun but that he didn't know if it was fired.
Tackitt described the scene inside the church as "terrible."
"It's unbelievable to see children, men and women, laying there. Defenseless people," Tackitt said. "I guess it was seeing the children that were killed. It's one thing to see an adult, but to see a 5-year-old ..."
As he left, the shooter was confronted by an armed resident who "grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect," Martin said. A short time later, the suspect was found dead in his vehicle at the county line.
Several weapons were found inside the vehicle and Martin said it was unclear if the attacker died of a self-inflicted wound or if he was shot by the resident who confronted him. He said investigators weren't ready to discuss a possible motive. Martin said 23 of the dead were found in the church, two were found outside and one died after being taken to a hospital.
The man who confronted Kelley had help from another local resident, Johnnie Langendorff, who told KSAT TV that he was driving past the church as the shooting happened.
"I was strictly just acting on what's the right thing to do," Langendorff said.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the attack the worst mass shooting in Texas history.
Among those killed was the church pastor's 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle Pomeroy. Pastor Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri, were both out of town when the attack occurred, Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text message.
"We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends," she wrote. "Neither of us has made it back into town yet to personally see the devastation. I am at the charlotte airport trying to get home as soon as i can."
Federal agents swarmed the small rural community of a few hundred residents, including ATF investigators and the FBI's evidence collection team.
Later Sunday, two sheriff's vans were parked outside the gate of a cattle fence surrounding the address listed for Kelley on the rural, western outskirts of New Braunfels, north of San Antonio.
Ryan Albers, 16, who lives across the road, said he heard intensifying gunfire coming from that direction in recent days.

KSAT via AP  (Investigators arrive at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Tex.)

"It was definitely not just a shotgun or someone hunting," Albers said. "It was someone using automatic weapon fire."
The church has posted videos of its Sunday services on a YouTube channel, raising the possibility that the shooting was captured on video.

Shocking Donna Brazile expose drives Hillary camp into chaos, may throw crucial Virginia governor race to the GOP

Donna Brazile's scathing review of Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign sent more shock waves this weekend through the Democratic Party, with members eager to bury the Clinton era ahead of Tuesday’s key Virginia governor’s race and other upcoming elections.

“Those telling me to shut up … I tell them, 'Go to hell.' I’m gonna tell my story,” Brazile, who ran the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 White House race, on Sunday told ABC’s “This Week.”

Brazile roiled the political world on Thursday when she published excerpts in Politico of her upcoming book that detailed a 2015 money deal between the Clinton campaign and the DNC that made winning the party’s presidential nomination nearly impossible for any other Democratic candidate.
NBC News published a memorandum Saturday detailing the joint-fundraising agreement that shows the Clinton camp would have input on such key DNC decisions as hiring and spending, in exchange for helping the group with its roughly $20 million debt.
The memo also made clear that other potential candidates could enter into a similar agreement with the DNC.
But Brazile suggested Sunday that the authority the Clinton camp had under the agreement went beyond “standard” joint-fundraising agreement and that a “separate,” undisclosed deal also existed.
“I could not control the purse strings of the Democratic Party,” she said. “I become chair, and I'm trying to write a check for something that I raised money (for.) And they're like, 'You have to get that signed off on from Brooklyn.' This wasn’t a standard joint fundraising agreement. … They had separate memo of understanding.”
A review Saturday by The Washington Post of the book -- “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House” -- resulted in former Clinton campaign staffers on Saturday penning an open letter, disputing Brazile’s accusations that the campaign was tone-deaf to middle-class voters, acted with a false sense of “inevitability” and in the closing weeks had “the odor of failure.”
According to the review, Brazile, who is African-American, also said she felt the campaign treated her like a “slave” and that she considered replacing Clinton with then-Vice President Joe Biden, after Clinton passed out during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City.
“We were shocked to learn the news that Donna Brazile actively considered overturning the will of the Democratic voters by attempting to replace Hillary Clinton,” campaign members, including Robby Mook, John Podesta and Huma Abedin, in part said in the letter. “It is particularly troubling and puzzling that she would seemingly buy into false Russian-fueled propaganda, spread by both the Russians and our opponent, about our candidate’s health. … Finally, we are pretty tired of people who were not part of our campaign telling the world what it was like to be on the inside.”
To be sure, the scathing criticism of one long-standing Democrat on other members of her own party comes at a bad time -- days away from the Virginia gubernatorial race featuring Republican Ed Gillespie against Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.
The RealClearPolitics polls average shows Northam now leading by 3 percentage points, essentially a dead heat, after leading by nearly 7 points just weeks ago.
“Donna Brazile going off the reservation right now is bad for Democrats,” Republican strategist Rory McShane told Fox News on Sunday. “But we’ve seen this before in off-year elections like in Georgia and South Carolina, where Democrats believed they’d win. This is just the latest case of no message, no organization, no leadership.”
Tom Perez, the new DNC chairman, on Sunday, after The Post review of Brazile’s book, rushed to assure Democrats that he would clean up the group’s mess ahead of the next presidential election cycle.
“While we’ve made remarkable progress since last November, we still have a long way to go,” he said in a statement. “I am more committed than ever before to restoring voters’ faith in our democratic process because even the perception of impartiality or an unfair advantage undermines our ability to win. That is unacceptable. To that end, the new DNC under my leadership is committed to the task of making sure that our 2020 nominating process will be unquestionably fair and transparent.”
Liz Smith, who was a spokeswoman for Martin O’Malley, another 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, on Saturday told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters”: “I know Donald Trump and Republicans would like to use Hillary Clinton as a whipping boy. But she’s in our past. We are moving beyond her.”

Michael Goodwin: New York Times' rabid ­defense of Mueller resembles the debacle of its 2016 campaign coverage

May 14, 2014: Pedestrians wait for cabs across the street from The New York Times in New York. (AP)

A friend likens The New York Times to a 1960s adolescent who refuses to grow up.  In a perpetual state of outrage, it is a newspaper of college snowflakes who embrace all forms of diversity except thought.
It sees its liberal politics not as a point of view, but as received wisdom that cannot be legitimately disputed.
The fixation on conformity reached a new low last week when the paper rolled out a coordinated attack on those of us who believe special counsel Robert Mueller ought to resign. I say coordinated because the newsroom and the opinion page produced similar pieces on the same day, showing again how Executive Editor Dean Baquet has erased the barrier between news and opinion and turned every page into an opinion page.
In the Times’ view, there are only two reasons to question Mueller’s credibility: insanity or treason. And so we detractors stand accused of engaging in a conspiracy that will embolden adversaries like Russia and produce a “constitutional crisis.”
The animating impulse for the assault is obvious — the Times is locked into its mission of destroying President Trump, and, like Hillary Clinton, still cannot accept Trump’s election as legitimate.

Out of Control Political Correctness Cartoons

DNC gave Clinton control over campaign well before it was supposed to: docs

Both Republicans and Democrats are speaking out about Donna Brazile's allegations about Hillary Clinton. In her new book, the former interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman claims that Clinton's campaign took control of the organization's finances and operations resulting in tipping the nomination process in Clinton's favor over Bernie Sanders.

The 2015 deal between Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee in which the group effectively ceded immediate control to the Clinton campaign was supposed to take effect only if Clinton won the primary process - but in effect, they gave her control well before that, according to a copy of the agreement published this weekend.

The publishing of the agreement this weekend follows former DNC interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile’s bombshell accusation Thursday that the party’s 2016 presidential primary contest between Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders was rigged by the DNC to hand the nomination to Clinton.

Brazile, also a onetime Clinton confidante and CNN commentator, made the claims in an  article in Politico while touting a new book.
The agreement, in the form of a memo obtained by NBC News, shows the DNC gave the Clinton campaign input on hiring and spending decisions in exchange for money to help the cash-strapped group, including an initial $1.2 million payment.
Hillary for America “personnel will be consulted and have joint authority over strategic decisions over the staffing, budget, expenditures, and general election related communications, data, technology, analytics, and research," the Aug. 26, 2015, memorandum from campaign manager Robby Mook to DNC chief executive Amy Dacey states in part. “This does not include any communications related to primary debates -- which will exclusively be controlled by the DNC.”
Clinton didn’t effectively secure the party nomination until July 2016, after an unexpectedly strong challenge from Sanders, an Independent who temporarily joined the Democratic Party to run for the White House.
The memorandum also attempts to argue that nothing in the joint-fundraising agreement “shall be construed to violate the DNC’s obligation of impartiality and neutrality through the nominating process” and acknowledges the group “may enter into similar agreements with other candidates.”
President Trump and other Republicans immediately seized on the book excerpts to validate their belief that Clinton had stolen the election from Sanders. In addition, Trump has suggested the FBI and Justice Department look into the matter.
“I know Donald Trump and Republicans would like to use Hillary Clinton as a whipping boy,” Liz Smith, who was a spokeswoman for Martin O’Malley, another 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, on Saturday told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters.” But she’s in our past. We are moving beyond her.”
Smith also said new DNC Chairman Tom Perez has acknowledged problems with the 2016 campaign and has vowed to fix them.
Trump tweeted Friday: “The real story on Collusion is in Donna B's new book. Crooked Hillary bought the DNC & then stole the Democratic Primary from Crazy Bernie!,” “I always felt I would be running and winning against Bernie Sanders, not Crooked H, without cheating, I was right.”

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Brazile fired back on Twitter.
"Today’s lesson: Being quoted by Donald Trump means being MIS-quoted by Donald Trump. Stop trolling me," she tweeted with the hashtag #NeverSaidHillaryRiggedElection:
She also tweeted: "Mr President, please -- go back to attacking me. It’s better than having my own words scrambled and spewed out by you."
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Brazile also says in her upcoming book that she considered replacing Clinton with then-Vice President Joe Biden when Clinton fainted during a 9/11 memorial service in New York City.

Congressman, Native American: When political correctness runs amok -- erasing our history doesn't change it

Cherokee

Choctaw

Hemha Micco,Seminole Tribe.

Private Ephraim Kale, Catawba Tribe.

Creek Tribe

Republican Markwayne Mullin represents Oklahoma’s 2^nd congressional district.

The conversation happening in our nation in light of recent events is more about political correctness than the issue at hand. Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and terrorists are bad people.  The ideals of these groups are in opposition to everything our nation stands for and everything that holds true to our founding principles.  Their hatred of people dissimilar to them is un-American and it should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Days ago, my colleague in the Senate, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, announced that he plans to introduce legislation that would remove all of the statues in the U.S. Capitol that honored Confederate soldiers.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has also called for the elimination of such statues.  I respect their rights as elected officials to put forth legislation they believe is in the best interest of their constituents, however I simply do not agree.

As a Cherokee, I can attest to the fact that Native Americans have been on the losing side of history.  Our rights have been infringed upon, our treaties have been broken, our culture has been stolen, and our tribes have been decimated at the hands of our own United States government.  Native Americans have faced centuries of atrocities to their people, their land, and their culture – all under various presidents who took an oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

When we censor our history by disguising our scars, we belittle the struggles our ancestors fought so hard to overcome. America doesn't cower behind political correctness. It defiantly and courageously moves forward, with its history as a reminder of where we have been.

Under President Andrew Jackson in 1830, our government passed the Indian Removal Act that drove thousands of Native Americans out of their homes on the treacherous journey better known as the Trail of Tears.  Under President Franklin Pierce in 1854, parts of Indian Territory were stolen from tribes to create the Kansas and Nebraska Territories.  Under President Abraham Lincoln, the Sand Creek massacre occurred in 1864 when the U.S. Army attacked the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes unprovoked, killing about 250 Native Americans.  The Dawes Act of 1887 gave President Grover Cleveland the power to take back tribal land and redistribute the land to native people as individuals, not as tribal members.  Under President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took the lives of 150 Native Americans.  Under President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, Indian and Oklahoma territories were unified to create the state of Oklahoma after Congress refused to consider a petition to make Indian Territory a separate state.  President Roosevelt is even quoted as saying: “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are.”
Let me ask you this: Is history not an opportunity to learn from one’s mistakes?  When we fall short of the high standard we set for our nation and its citizens, we make mistakes.  What's most important is that our nation remembers and learns from them.  As soon as we forget about our history, we are bound to repeat the same errors.
Still, we have professional athletes like Colin Kaepernick who refuse to stand during the national anthem and others who stand in solidarity with him in protest of the United States.  To what end?  To protest this country, a country that I love and my friends have died to defend?  As an American, you have the right to protest me, or another individual, or a group, but I believe that protesting the United States for the mistakes it has made – when it gave you the freedom to do so in the first place – is disrespectful.  Any attempt to coerce the United States into erasing our history is disingenuous.  Especially, when our country has learned from the mistakes it has made and is determined not to repeat them.
Should we erase our history in the name of being politically correct?  Can we not all agree that it is what shaped our country to be the great nation it is today?  One that we know to be full of freedoms, liberties, and rights that other nations only dream of?
The removal of Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol doesn’t change our history.  The removal of these statues merely attempts to disguise our ugly scars by hiding these statues out of plain sight.  In an imperfect world, full of imperfect leaders, there are countless statues that may not live up to our American values.  The statues of President Jackson and President Lincoln, both fervent oppressors of Native Americans, stand tall in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.  Still, these statues tell the history of the good and the bad of our nation.
America is – and will always be – a success story.  We have African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and members of other ethnic groups elected to positions inside our governments.  The American free enterprise system is the greatest tool to lift people out of poverty ever created in human history and when applied properly, does not discriminate by race, religion, or skin color.  When we censor our history by disguising our scars, we belittle this process and the struggles our ancestors fought so hard to overcome.  America doesn't cower behind political correctness.  It defiantly and courageously moves forward, with its history as a reminder of where we have been.  Let us look boldly into our history and learn the lessons that made us the “shining city on the hill” and the example for all other peoples.
Republican Markwayne Mullin represents Oklahoma’s 2^nd congressional district. 

Brazile as DNC chair considered replacing Clinton with Biden after she fainted: report

Former DNC leader Donna Brazile says she considered replacing 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with then-Vice President Joe Biden after Clinton fainted in the closing weeks of the White House race, according to full review of Brazile’s upcoming book published Saturday.

Clinton fainted while attending an outdoor ceremony in New York City marking the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But Brazile, then the interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, had already known that Clinton has pneumonia, she writes in her upcoming book, according to The Washington Post, which received an advance copy.

The Post’s review of the book -- “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House” -- says Brazile writes in “wrenching detail” about the former first lady’s bout with pneumonia, including her seeing Clinton at a Manhattan gala two days before she collapsed.
Brazile said Clinton was already “wobbly on her feet” and had a “rattled cough,” according to the review.
Clinton's former campaign team said in an open letter posted Saturday on the blogging platform Medium that they were dismayed by Brazile's revelations.
"We were shocked to learn the news that Donna Brazile actively considered overturning the will of the Democratic voters by attempting to replace Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine as the Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees," reads the opening of the letter."It is particularly troubling and puzzling that she would seemingly buy into false Russian-fueled propaganda, spread by both the Russians and our opponent, about our candidate’s health."
The Post review was published two days after Brazile published excerpts of the book in Politico that including bombshell revelations about her taking over the DNC in the summer of 2016 with roughly $20 million in debt.
Brazile also made the startling claim Thursday that a joint fundraising agreement between the DNC and the Clinton campaign, which included Clinton’s input on hirings and spending, effectively rigged the primary contest against Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Brazile also writes, according to the Post review, that she wanted to replace Clinton and Vice Presidential Nominee Sen. Tim Kaine with a ticket of Biden and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker as his running mate. She purportedly thought they had the best potential to win over working-class voters and defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to the book review.
But “I thought of Hillary, and all the women in the country who were so proud of and excited about her. I could not do this to them,” Brazile writes.
The Post review also states that Brazile, when frustrated with Clinton aides, would remind them that the DNC charter gave her the authority to initiate the replacement of the party's presidential nominee.
She said that if a nominee became disabled, the party chairman would oversee the replacement process, though it would ultimately require a meeting of the entire DNC.
The review also details Brazile's reported wide-ranging takedown of the Clinton campaign over such matters as perceived “inevitability” and a focus on analytics over truly understanding voters.
Brazile also reportedly says she cannot remember sending an email, as a paid CNN contributor, to the Clinton campaign sharing potential topics and questions in advance of a town hall event the cable news network was hosting, nor does she have a record of sending it. However, she nevertheless apologized. The email was released by WikiLeaks.

Trump, Japan's Abe meet before start of high-stakes diplomacy

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe greet one another at Kasumigaseki Country Club outside Tokyo, Nov. 5, 2017.  (Associated Press)

President Donald Trump's five-nation Asia trip got off to a low-key start Sunday as he enjoyed a round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The two leaders hit the links not long after a lunch of American-beef hamburgers, not long after Trump's arrival from Hawaii.

But the display of friendship from Abe will soon give way to high-stakes diplomacy. Still, the two men have struck up an easy rapport.
Their formal talks are set to begin Monday in Tokyo. Abe will be looking for a united front against North Korea and reassurances that the U.S. will stand by its treaty obligations to defend Japan if falls under attack.
Eager to forge a bond with Tokyo's crucial ally, Abe was one of the first world leaders to court President-elect Trump. He was the first to call Trump after the election, and rushed to New York days later to meet the president-elect and present him with a pricey, gold Honma golf driver.
The two men also met on the sidelines of an international summit in Italy this spring and White House officials said Trump has spoken with Abe by phone more than any world leader, aside from British Prime Minister Theresa May.
That bond was clear Sunday, as Trump and Abe exchanged glowing tweets about their game. Trump dubbed Abe and pro golfer Hideki Matsuyama -- who accompanied the two leaders -- as "wonderful people," while Abe called it a "round of golf with a marvelous friend."
From the time Marine One landed on the Kasumigaseki Country Club's driving range, Abe rolled out little touches to make Trump feel welcome. He presented a hat that had a version of Trump's campaign theme, this time reading "Donald and Shinzo: Make Alliance Even Greater."
The two passed up the region's famed Kobe beef in favor of the American version, which is favored by Trump, a famed picky eater.
When Trump hosted Abe in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this year, they played at one of Trump's golf courses. For that outing, Trump brought along pro golfer Ernie Els, so this time Abe matched him by bringing along Matsuyama, whom Trump described on the plane ride to Asia as "probably the greatest player in the history of Japan."
Abe was behind the wheel of a golf cart as the two men were spotted moving from hole to hole, Trump in the passenger seat smiling and waving at those they passed.

"From the point of view of Abe administration, the personal chemistry that exists between the two leaders is seen as an asset," said Mireya Sollis, chair in Japan Studies for the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies.
She said that the Japanese believe it is already "seeing it pay off," including when Trump agreed to meet with the families of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North Korean regime, an important issue for Tokyo.
Ever since Saudi Arabia delivered a lavish welcome on Trump's first international trip, leaders have tried to outdo themselves to impress the president, who has proven susceptible to flattery.
Before the game, Trump delivered a speech in which he hailed Japan as a "crucial ally" and warned adversaries not to test America's resolve.
"Japan is a treasured partner and crucial ally of the United States and today we thank them for welcoming us and for decades of wonderful friendship between our two nations," Trump told American service members at Yokota Air Base on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Though Trump did not mention North Korea by name during the speech, the spectre of its weapons program will loom large throughout Trump's five-nation Asia trip. The president warned of the consequences of crossing what he called the "most fearsome fighting force in the history of our world."
"Together with our allies, America's warriors are prepared to defend our nation using the full range of our unmatched capabilities. No one -- no dictator, no regime and no nation -- should underestimate, ever, American resolve," he told the troops.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe display hats bearing the slogan, "Donald and Shinzo: Make Alliance Even Greater."  (Associated Press)

And while there is worry in the region about Trump's unpredictable response to the threat posed by Kim Jong Un, Trump made clear he did not intend to tone down his bellicose rhetoric -- which included dubbing Kim Jong Un as "Little Rocket Man" -- even while in an Asian capital within reach of the North Korea dictator's missiles.
"There's been 25 years of total weakness, so we are taking a very much different approach" in dealing with the renegade regime in Pyongyang, he said, speaking to reporters on Air Force One.
Trump also said it is "expected" that he'll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an upcoming summit in Vietnam.
The easy rapport with Japan could be strained if Trump takes an aggressive approach on trade or the two men disagree on the need for a diplomatic approach to the threat looming in Pyongyang. 
During his campaign, Trump suggested Japan should acquire its own nuclear weapons to defend itself, hinted the U.S. might not come to the nation's defense, and accused Japan of "killing us" on trade. He has dropped that antagonist language almost entirely since the election, but tensions remain.
Japan was a chief proponent of the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade deal Trump pulled out of.
Scott Seaman, a director for Asia of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultant organization, noted: "everything is fine with Trump until you tell him no. So far, Abe hasn't told him no."

Anti-Antifa Cartoons

Ronald Reagan has a message for AntiFA