A wide ranging commentary and dialogue on the media, politics, today's headlines and the popular culture. Always fresh and new every day! Now celebrating our second decade and more than six million page views. Nationally recognized, widely quoted, newsworthy and noteworthy.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Even MORE Important Than North Korean Visit . . .
President Trump is headed back to Washington after an historic trip. But before boarding AF1, he had one last event, too important to miss: a visit with our incredible troops at Osan Air Base. pic.twitter.com/09HEylv3A6— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 30, 2019
So-Called 'Respected' Journalists Defended Them!
Never forget how @donlemon was on NATIONAL TV at fake news CNN defending this antifa who were now physically attacking an Asian reporter @MrAndyNgo.— @RealWendyBelle (@RealWendyBelle) June 30, 2019
The INCOMPETENT mayor of Portland @tedwheeler is 100% responsible for these attacks. This beta mayor has lost all control!! pic.twitter.com/RuTYGn8ibo
So, This Is How The Left Treats Conservatives!
Even @MrAndyNgo's critics should have no trouble saying this: The assault against him was unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/VLKc4M0P05— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Does It Get Any Phonier Than This? Well, Just Wait!
Don't Miss These Up-To-The-Minute Stories!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Really? And At A CATHOLIC Church? Hmmm . . .
It might seem quite incredible to some but a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Newark is hosting its second annual Mass associated with gay pride events this Sunday.
Our Lady of Grace in Hoboken, New Jersey, along with its merged parish St. Joseph, is advertising its “2nd Annual Pride Mass in Support of Our LGBTQ Brothers and Sisters.”
Advertisements on the Out in New Jersey website and on NJ.com indicate that the parish is encouraging participants in the Mass to then attend the gay pride march in New York City later that day.
The Catholic Church holds that while same-sex attraction is not a sin, homosexual acts are sinful. Church teaching further states that “homosexual persons are called to chastity” (CCC 2359), which is also what its teaching says about all people, since sexual relations are reserved for marriage, which is between a man and woman (CCC 2360).
H/T LifeSite
Friday, June 28, 2019
Why Do 'Conservative' Justices Stray? WHY??
Most of the justices on the United States Supreme Court have been Republican appointees -- elevated to the Court by GOP Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
These include the recently deceased Justice Scalia as well as Justices, Kennedy, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts. In fact most of the justices appointed over the last several decades have been Republican appointees. So, we can add the late Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor and Justice Souter to that last.
In fact, GOP-appointees still hold a 5-4 majority on the Court.
And yet, the Court remains unpredictable. And while we do see a stream of 5-4 decisions, incredibly some really big recent ones are with a liberal majority. Imagine!
Why is this so?
It's because the Republican appointees to the Court don't always vote along conservative lines. They stray.
Chief Justice Roberts is the biggest offender. He's strayed so much from originalist thinking that some have called him the Court's new swing vote -- a dubious distinction once held by Justice Kennedy. Roberts broke rank on the landmark Obamacare decision and just did it again with a logically fractured and protracted decision on the 2020 census case.
Meanwhile, the Democrat appointees to the Court almost always vote as a block. They vote the liberal line. They don't stray. Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer almost always vote in liberal lockstep.
Though he might think otherwise, Chief Justice Roberts has not proven to be the leader and consensus-builder that many had hoped for. Roberts seems to be just another justice rather than the Chief Justice that America expected and the Court deserves.
And he often chooses to decide cases on what appear to be narrow and/or technical grounds. That's the mark of a hair-splitter, not the mark of a leader.
But here's a bigger question: Why do so-called conservative appointees stray?
The answer is simpler than it might seem.
We attribute it to two factors -- lack of backbone and the pressure brought by elites in the Washington hothouse. Washington is a notorious breeding ground for liberal groupthink, especially at the very highest levels.
When you reach the pinnacle of power, incredibly, the position you hold is often not enough. Unless you are very strong in your convictions, you begin to seek the approval, the affirmation, indeed the imprimatur of what is believed to be the intelligentsia -- the self-anointed best and brightest.
No matter that you've climbed so high, it's very airy up there, very heady stuff. The more adulation you have, the more you crave.
So, more and more you seek invitations to the right dinner parties, the sought-after events and conferences, the ever-so-exclusive lectureships and the coveted signal that you have really, really, really been accepted into the club.
This never mattered to someone like Justice Antonin Scalia or Justice Clarence Thomas. Scalia openly signaled his disdain for such considerations and Thomas continues to quietly chart a path deeply rooted in his hardscrabble upbringing and rock solid values. Justice Alito remains a mostly solid bet as well. But they are the exceptions to the rule.
The verdict is not really in yet on Justices Kavanugh and Gorsuch. We'll have to see more decisions from them.
As for Chief Justice Roberts, well -- he seems all-too-easily seduced.
If only conservatives would learn from liberals -- at least on matters such as this.
If, if, if . .
These include the recently deceased Justice Scalia as well as Justices, Kennedy, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts. In fact most of the justices appointed over the last several decades have been Republican appointees. So, we can add the late Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor and Justice Souter to that last.
In fact, GOP-appointees still hold a 5-4 majority on the Court.
And yet, the Court remains unpredictable. And while we do see a stream of 5-4 decisions, incredibly some really big recent ones are with a liberal majority. Imagine!
Why is this so?
It's because the Republican appointees to the Court don't always vote along conservative lines. They stray.
Chief Justice Roberts is the biggest offender. He's strayed so much from originalist thinking that some have called him the Court's new swing vote -- a dubious distinction once held by Justice Kennedy. Roberts broke rank on the landmark Obamacare decision and just did it again with a logically fractured and protracted decision on the 2020 census case.
Meanwhile, the Democrat appointees to the Court almost always vote as a block. They vote the liberal line. They don't stray. Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer almost always vote in liberal lockstep.
Though he might think otherwise, Chief Justice Roberts has not proven to be the leader and consensus-builder that many had hoped for. Roberts seems to be just another justice rather than the Chief Justice that America expected and the Court deserves.
And he often chooses to decide cases on what appear to be narrow and/or technical grounds. That's the mark of a hair-splitter, not the mark of a leader.
But here's a bigger question: Why do so-called conservative appointees stray?
The answer is simpler than it might seem.
We attribute it to two factors -- lack of backbone and the pressure brought by elites in the Washington hothouse. Washington is a notorious breeding ground for liberal groupthink, especially at the very highest levels.
When you reach the pinnacle of power, incredibly, the position you hold is often not enough. Unless you are very strong in your convictions, you begin to seek the approval, the affirmation, indeed the imprimatur of what is believed to be the intelligentsia -- the self-anointed best and brightest.
No matter that you've climbed so high, it's very airy up there, very heady stuff. The more adulation you have, the more you crave.
So, more and more you seek invitations to the right dinner parties, the sought-after events and conferences, the ever-so-exclusive lectureships and the coveted signal that you have really, really, really been accepted into the club.
This never mattered to someone like Justice Antonin Scalia or Justice Clarence Thomas. Scalia openly signaled his disdain for such considerations and Thomas continues to quietly chart a path deeply rooted in his hardscrabble upbringing and rock solid values. Justice Alito remains a mostly solid bet as well. But they are the exceptions to the rule.
The verdict is not really in yet on Justices Kavanugh and Gorsuch. We'll have to see more decisions from them.
As for Chief Justice Roberts, well -- he seems all-too-easily seduced.
If only conservatives would learn from liberals -- at least on matters such as this.
If, if, if . .
Dramatic Design Exhibition Coming This Fall!
Designs for Different Futures
October 22, 2019–March 8, 2020
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Important Travel, Important Week, Trump On The Go!
|
|
|
|
ACYR Chair Blasts Van Drew On Election Security
Atlantic County Young Republicans Chairman Brian T. Fitzherbert released the following statement in response to Congressman Jeff Van Drew’s (D-NJ-02) push to increase election security in the United States:
Over the past weekend, Congressman Van Drew was quoted saying, “We need to do everything in our power to assure the American people that the election system is secured and that outside forces will not interfere.”
“How ironic,” Fitzherbert said.
Fitzherbert continued, “It appears our Congressman just can’t help his own hypocrisy. He’s pushing to increase election security when he himself has used the Calloway brothers. Anyone paying attention to elections in Atlantic County doesn’t need any more information than that.”
The Calloway brothers have offered money to individuals to obtain and sign messenger ballots for voters they do not know as well as a questionable vote-by-mail operation that includes having ballots already filled out for voters.
“Congressman Van Drew welcomes support from the Calloway brothers, as he did in the 2018 election, but wants to push election security. How can his comments in Washington D.C. and actions at home in South Jersey be even remotely reconcilable? Ballot integrity and secure elections is of the utmost importance, but Congressman Van Drew’s involvement undermines the effort. South Jersey deserves better,” Fitzherbert said.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
A FAKE Crisis? NO Crisis? Oh, Now It IS A Crisis!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
These Stories Tell It Like it is!
“Democrats are finally acknowledging the border crisis they claimed didn’t exist, yet many still want to deny aid to suffering migrants. It’s beyond cruel,” the New York Posteditorial board writes.
“Humanitarian aid should be a top priority. If Dems truly care about the conditions of migrants packed in squalid facilities, they’ll back funding to address those conditions even if some of that money might go to enforcement.”
Click here to read more.
“Peace in the Middle East can only be achieved if it comes with a pathway for people to improve their lives, US President Donald Trump’s top adviser Jared Kushner said in Bahrain on Tuesday, in explaining why his team is rolling out the economic chapter of their Mideast peace vision before the political one,” Herb Keinon reports for The Jerusalem Post. “While politicians pay lip service, the world moves forward and the Palestinians continue to be left behind,” Kushner said.
“There is a crisis on the southern border of the United States. Customs and Border Patrol agents are being overwhelmed by a surge of families seeking asylum. Border facilities do not have the necessary resources to care for the immigrants in many cases and conditions are sub-standard,” the Boston Herald editorial board writes. Congressional Democrats complain—then stonewall the Administration’s push for humanitarian aid. “It is astounding that a political party so loudly aghast at US-run ‘concentration camps,’ does not feel strongly compelled to legislate them away.”
“Two US soldiers tasked with helping safeguard the US-Mexico border rescued a woman and . . . her child Thursday, saving the migrant family from drowning as they attempted to cross into the country,” Ryan Browne reports for CNN. One of those soldiers, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Mathews, “jumped into the water to rescue the woman and her child, while 1st Lt. Samuel Mueller used his shirt as a makeshift lifeline until [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] agents arrived and threw them a rescue line,” a statement from the U.S. Northern Command read.
“Humanitarian aid should be a top priority. If Dems truly care about the conditions of migrants packed in squalid facilities, they’ll back funding to address those conditions even if some of that money might go to enforcement.”
Click here to read more.
“Peace in the Middle East can only be achieved if it comes with a pathway for people to improve their lives, US President Donald Trump’s top adviser Jared Kushner said in Bahrain on Tuesday, in explaining why his team is rolling out the economic chapter of their Mideast peace vision before the political one,” Herb Keinon reports for The Jerusalem Post. “While politicians pay lip service, the world moves forward and the Palestinians continue to be left behind,” Kushner said.
“There is a crisis on the southern border of the United States. Customs and Border Patrol agents are being overwhelmed by a surge of families seeking asylum. Border facilities do not have the necessary resources to care for the immigrants in many cases and conditions are sub-standard,” the Boston Herald editorial board writes. Congressional Democrats complain—then stonewall the Administration’s push for humanitarian aid. “It is astounding that a political party so loudly aghast at US-run ‘concentration camps,’ does not feel strongly compelled to legislate them away.”
“Two US soldiers tasked with helping safeguard the US-Mexico border rescued a woman and . . . her child Thursday, saving the migrant family from drowning as they attempted to cross into the country,” Ryan Browne reports for CNN. One of those soldiers, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Mathews, “jumped into the water to rescue the woman and her child, while 1st Lt. Samuel Mueller used his shirt as a makeshift lifeline until [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] agents arrived and threw them a rescue line,” a statement from the U.S. Northern Command read.
Trump Or Obama? On Key Issues Voters Pick Trump!
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters now think Trump is doing a good or excellent job handling economic issues. That’s up from 39% in mid-2017 shortly after Trump had taken office and just short of the high of 51% last October. Thirty-three percent (33%) rate his performance as poor. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Forty-seven percent (47%) give the president good or excellent marks for his handling of national security issues. That’s up from 41% in January 2018 and a high for Trump to date. Thirty-nine percent (39%) rate him poorly in this area.
By comparison, in late June of his third year in office, Obama earned positive marks from just 34% when it came to his handling of economic issues. Forty-five percent (45%) rated his handling of national security as good or excellent at that time, down from a high of 52% earlier in the month, shortly after the death of bin Laden.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 19-20, 2019 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
Voters still give Trump the edge in next year’s election, although they’re not convinced that he’s done enough yet to make American great again.
Men and those 40 and over give Trump higher marks for both the economy and national security than women and younger voters do.
While 79% of Republicans rate Trump’s economic policies as good or excellent, just 30% of Democrats and 42% of unaffiliated voters agree.
Similarly, 77% of GOP voters give the president positive marks for his handling of national security issues. Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats rate his performance in this area as poor. Unaffiliateds are much more closely divided.
Americans continue to express near-record confidence in the economy. Fifty-three percent (53%) rate their personal finances as good or excellent in the latest Rasmussen Reports Consumer Spending Update.
Voters are more confident these days in the global power of the U.S. president, but they say Trump pushes America’s interests more than they think is necessary.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
Labels:
Obama,
poll,
Polls,
President Trump,
Rasmussen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)