Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Drag queen with demon-like horns reads to children at Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library
Via John
A drag queen, wearing five red-tipped, demon-like horns, read to children at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library in Long Beach, California, on Saturday as part of LGBTQ History Month.
Following his Drag Queen Story Hour gig, Xochi Mochi posted an Instagram photo of him reading to kids at the public library, calling it “one of the best experiences I’ve been given as a drag queen.”
A drag queen, wearing five red-tipped, demon-like horns, read to children at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library in Long Beach, California, on Saturday as part of LGBTQ History Month.
Following his Drag Queen Story Hour gig, Xochi Mochi posted an Instagram photo of him reading to kids at the public library, calling it “one of the best experiences I’ve been given as a drag queen.”
More @ The Blaze
“A Real Personage-And Not an Odd Name Merely…”
A Review of States Rights Gist: A South Carolina General of the Civil War, by Walter Brian Cisco, Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishing, 1991.
“So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”-Psalm 90:12 (KJV)
Of all types of literature, I enjoy reading biographies. As a man, I profit from biographies of men whose lives contain lessons and wisdom that I can apply to my own life.
I have greatly benefited from reading Walter Brian Cisco’s States Rights Gist: A South Carolina General of the Civil War. It has not only taught me more about my beloved South Carolina and those remarkable times that we who follow the Abbeville Institute are seeking to better understand, but it has introduced to a man in his forties a hero who lived to only thirty-three.
More @ The Abbeville Institute
The battlefield is dead
Via Ol' Remus
The image of the battlefield is one that exerts a powerful hold on our collective imagination. It immediately evokes in our minds the sight of massed troops clashing furiously with each other, culminating in a decisive outcome that determines the fate of a wider conflict. However, such military confrontations have largely vanished from the contemporary landscape of war. Infantry troops typically engage each other today at ranges of several hundred metres. Sporadic skirmishes far outweigh large-scale engagements. The projection of uncontested air power is much the favoured use of force for risk-averse Western militaries. Conflicts simmer on or peter out without any grand clash of arms deciding their outcome.
But the decline of the traditional conception of the battlefield is hardly a novel phenomenon.
Although the Napoleonic Wars were still marked by pivotal one-day battles fought with tight formations of troops in close combat, by the late 19th century the classical battlefield was already in crisis.
Requiem Aeternam -
Eternal Rest Grant unto Them
The image of the battlefield is one that exerts a powerful hold on our collective imagination. It immediately evokes in our minds the sight of massed troops clashing furiously with each other, culminating in a decisive outcome that determines the fate of a wider conflict. However, such military confrontations have largely vanished from the contemporary landscape of war. Infantry troops typically engage each other today at ranges of several hundred metres. Sporadic skirmishes far outweigh large-scale engagements. The projection of uncontested air power is much the favoured use of force for risk-averse Western militaries. Conflicts simmer on or peter out without any grand clash of arms deciding their outcome.
But the decline of the traditional conception of the battlefield is hardly a novel phenomenon.
Although the Napoleonic Wars were still marked by pivotal one-day battles fought with tight formations of troops in close combat, by the late 19th century the classical battlefield was already in crisis.
More @ Aeon
Legal Insurrection: "I don’t know if there are any uncorrupted institutions left that matter."
Via Ol' Remus
Nine years ago today Legal Insurrection published its first post, Obama is Door No. 2.
For background on how we got started and have grown over the years, see our 7th Anniversary post, or scroll through our Blog Anniversary tag.
Last year I noted that while it was a difficult year personally, I was optimistic. That’s been one of my roles over the years, keeping hope alive. But there’s no pep talk this year. Just dread.
The attempts to unwind the 2016 presidential election have changed everything.
I’ve written before how the attempts to intimidate the Electoral College electors into changing their votes was a game changer for me. That went beyond politics into attempted coup territory. It wasn’t just a matter of opposing Trump or Trump policies, which is legitimate, but an attempt to nullify an election. Criticize Trump all you want, I certainly did during the primaries, but respect the vote. If you don’t respect the vote, then you are not just political opposition, you are a danger to our system.
If the assault on the Electoral College was the game changer for me, a runner up was waking up to implications of the concentration of power in a small number of social media and internet companies who have been weaponized to shut down speech and expression. Google, Facebook, Twitter and two handfuls of other companies now completely control our ability to communicate with each other, while internet backbone companies are poised to block internet access altogether.
Nine years ago today Legal Insurrection published its first post, Obama is Door No. 2.
For background on how we got started and have grown over the years, see our 7th Anniversary post, or scroll through our Blog Anniversary tag.
Last year I noted that while it was a difficult year personally, I was optimistic. That’s been one of my roles over the years, keeping hope alive. But there’s no pep talk this year. Just dread.
The attempts to unwind the 2016 presidential election have changed everything.
I’ve written before how the attempts to intimidate the Electoral College electors into changing their votes was a game changer for me. That went beyond politics into attempted coup territory. It wasn’t just a matter of opposing Trump or Trump policies, which is legitimate, but an attempt to nullify an election. Criticize Trump all you want, I certainly did during the primaries, but respect the vote. If you don’t respect the vote, then you are not just political opposition, you are a danger to our system.
If the assault on the Electoral College was the game changer for me, a runner up was waking up to implications of the concentration of power in a small number of social media and internet companies who have been weaponized to shut down speech and expression. Google, Facebook, Twitter and two handfuls of other companies now completely control our ability to communicate with each other, while internet backbone companies are poised to block internet access altogether.
More @ Legal Insurrection
How to Choose the Perfect Survival Knife
Via Ol' Remus
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Creek Stewart of Willow Haven Outdoor.
I don’t remember my first kiss or even who it was with. I can barely recollect getting my license to drive. I vaguely remember my high school graduation and my entire time spent at college is a blur.
However, I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing, and how I felt when I got my first survival knife over 20 years ago. Just thinking about it brings back some of my fondest childhood memories. It was the RAMBO knife with the hollow handle that housed a little fishing kit along with a few other miscellaneous items. My love affair with knives began at a young age, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Movies seem to always have the coolest survival knives, but does the survival knife really have a place in the “real world?”
That was a rhetorical question. Yes, it most certainly does.
I don’t remember my first kiss or even who it was with. I can barely recollect getting my license to drive. I vaguely remember my high school graduation and my entire time spent at college is a blur.
However, I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing, and how I felt when I got my first survival knife over 20 years ago. Just thinking about it brings back some of my fondest childhood memories. It was the RAMBO knife with the hollow handle that housed a little fishing kit along with a few other miscellaneous items. My love affair with knives began at a young age, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Movies seem to always have the coolest survival knives, but does the survival knife really have a place in the “real world?”
That was a rhetorical question. Yes, it most certainly does.
More @ The Art of Manliness
Jaguars apologize to local military for anthem demonstration
Via Billy
The Jacksonville Jaguars have apologized to local military leaders for demonstrating during the national anthem in London last month.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping sent a letter to the director of military affairs and veterans in Jacksonville saying the team was "remiss in not fully comprehending the effect of the national anthem demonstration on foreign soil has had on the men and women who have or continue to serve our country." The letter was forwarded to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Monday and available via his public email.
Most of the Jaguars, including owner Shad Khan, locked arms during the anthem on Sept. 24. About a dozen players took a knee during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Wembley Stadium. Similar demonstrations happened across the NFL as players, coaches and executives responded to President Donald Trump's suggestion that teams should punish players making any sort of statements of protests during the national anthem.
The Jaguars demonstrated in unity as a team and then stood for "God Save The Queen."
The Jacksonville Jaguars have apologized to local military leaders for demonstrating during the national anthem in London last month.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping sent a letter to the director of military affairs and veterans in Jacksonville saying the team was "remiss in not fully comprehending the effect of the national anthem demonstration on foreign soil has had on the men and women who have or continue to serve our country." The letter was forwarded to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Monday and available via his public email.
Most of the Jaguars, including owner Shad Khan, locked arms during the anthem on Sept. 24. About a dozen players took a knee during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Wembley Stadium. Similar demonstrations happened across the NFL as players, coaches and executives responded to President Donald Trump's suggestion that teams should punish players making any sort of statements of protests during the national anthem.
The Jaguars demonstrated in unity as a team and then stood for "God Save The Queen."
More with videos @ Sun-Herald
NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch forced to move after getting death threats from deranged leftists
Via John
her family from their home after “repeated” death threats against her.
The syndicated talk radio host announced the unanticipated move on Sunday following threats including one to “shoot me in my front yard.”
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Loesch spoke out about the harassment by gun control advocates, using the hashtag, #MeToo which has been utilized by other women sharing their own assault experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.
her family from their home after “repeated” death threats against her.
The syndicated talk radio host announced the unanticipated move on Sunday following threats including one to “shoot me in my front yard.”
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Loesch spoke out about the harassment by gun control advocates, using the hashtag, #MeToo which has been utilized by other women sharing their own assault experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.
More @ Biz Pac Review
Economist Says Eliminating State and Local Tax Deduction Helps Lower Taxes by $1 Trillion
Via Billy
Eliminating the state and local tax deduction through President Trump's tax reform framework could help lower taxes by $1 trillion, according to economist Stephen Moore, who helped put the original tax plan together.
Moore says eliminating the state and local tax deduction will increase revenues for the government over the next decade by $1 trillion, which can be used to cut tax rates even lower.
"We do need the trillion dollars of revenue you get from eliminating the state and local tax deduction to pay for the lower tax rates on businesses and families because we want to get this to about a $2.5 trillion tax cut, and a trillion of that will come from eliminating the state and local tax deduction," Moore explained in a conference call. "This is a provision of tax code that is quite unfair to the low-tax states and I would make the case also that if you are for limited government and more private sector growth then there is absolutely no question that the fact of state and local tax deduction is to encourage more public provision of goods and services and fewer private provisions of services."
Eliminating the state and local tax deduction through President Trump's tax reform framework could help lower taxes by $1 trillion, according to economist Stephen Moore, who helped put the original tax plan together.
Moore says eliminating the state and local tax deduction will increase revenues for the government over the next decade by $1 trillion, which can be used to cut tax rates even lower.
"We do need the trillion dollars of revenue you get from eliminating the state and local tax deduction to pay for the lower tax rates on businesses and families because we want to get this to about a $2.5 trillion tax cut, and a trillion of that will come from eliminating the state and local tax deduction," Moore explained in a conference call. "This is a provision of tax code that is quite unfair to the low-tax states and I would make the case also that if you are for limited government and more private sector growth then there is absolutely no question that the fact of state and local tax deduction is to encourage more public provision of goods and services and fewer private provisions of services."
More @ The Washington Free Beacon
Empty Seats
Via comment by Anonymous on HS Marching Band Walks Off Field During National A...
More @ The Last Refuge
FBI uncovered Russian bribery plot before Obama administration approved controversial nuclear deal with Moscow
Before the Obama administration approved a controversial deal in 2010 giving Moscow control of a large swath of American uranium, the FBI had gathered substantial evidence that Russian nuclear industry officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering designed to grow Vladimir Putin’s atomic energy business inside the United States, according to government documents and interviews.
Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.
More @ The Hill
Fusion GPS to House: We'll take Fifth rather than testify on Trump dossier
Via Billy
On Oct. 4, the House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm at the center of the Trump dossier affair. On Monday, the company told the House what it can do with its subpoena. Fusion GPS chief Glenn Simpson and two others will "invoke their constitutional privileges not to testify," Simpson's lawyers told the committee in a letter. The panel shouldn't even bother to call Simpson to the hearing room, the lawyers said, because he won't answer their questions under any circumstances.
It seems unlikely the House will grant that request. If Simpson and two other GPS officials are going to assert their right against self-incrimination, lawmakers, or at least the majority Republican lawmakers on the committee, will want to hear it first-hand.
What is striking about Fusion's refusal is the form it took. Notifying the House that Simpson and the others will not testify took one paragraph. Yet Fusion sent a 17-page letter to the intelligence committee, going to great lengths to argue that Chairman Devin Nunes is not qualified to issue the subpoena.
On Oct. 4, the House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm at the center of the Trump dossier affair. On Monday, the company told the House what it can do with its subpoena. Fusion GPS chief Glenn Simpson and two others will "invoke their constitutional privileges not to testify," Simpson's lawyers told the committee in a letter. The panel shouldn't even bother to call Simpson to the hearing room, the lawyers said, because he won't answer their questions under any circumstances.
It seems unlikely the House will grant that request. If Simpson and two other GPS officials are going to assert their right against self-incrimination, lawmakers, or at least the majority Republican lawmakers on the committee, will want to hear it first-hand.
What is striking about Fusion's refusal is the form it took. Notifying the House that Simpson and the others will not testify took one paragraph. Yet Fusion sent a 17-page letter to the intelligence committee, going to great lengths to argue that Chairman Devin Nunes is not qualified to issue the subpoena.
More @ Washington Examiner
Alan Dershowitz: Trump was right to walk away from UNESCO -- for now
Via Billy
The State Department announced on Thursday that the United States would be withdrawing from the U.N. agency UNESCO.
The U.S. agency cited financial reasons, the need for reform and the body's "continuing anti-Israel bias." President Trump's decision to leave UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – as of December 31, 2018, was an appropriate foreign policy decision that will hopefully prompt a much-needed rethink of the United Nations, its purpose and practices. It will also send a strong message to the Palestinians that statehood cannot be achieved on the basis of U.N. resolutions alone, and that the only way forward is to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, during which mutual sacrifices will be required.
The State Department announced on Thursday that the United States would be withdrawing from the U.N. agency UNESCO.
The U.S. agency cited financial reasons, the need for reform and the body's "continuing anti-Israel bias." President Trump's decision to leave UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – as of December 31, 2018, was an appropriate foreign policy decision that will hopefully prompt a much-needed rethink of the United Nations, its purpose and practices. It will also send a strong message to the Palestinians that statehood cannot be achieved on the basis of U.N. resolutions alone, and that the only way forward is to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, during which mutual sacrifices will be required.
More @ Washington Examiner
Air Force punishes colonel who refused to affirm gay marriage, attorney says
Via Billy
The Air Force has punished a highly-decorated and respected colonel after he refused to publicly affirm the same-sex spouse of a retiring subordinate.
Col. Leland Bohannon, who was on the verge of being promoted to a one-star general, was suspended from command and orders were handed down recommending he not be promoted.
“His career is likely over and he will likely have to retire as a colonel instead of as a general,” First Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry told the Todd Starnes Show.
The Air Force has punished a highly-decorated and respected colonel after he refused to publicly affirm the same-sex spouse of a retiring subordinate.
Col. Leland Bohannon, who was on the verge of being promoted to a one-star general, was suspended from command and orders were handed down recommending he not be promoted.
“His career is likely over and he will likely have to retire as a colonel instead of as a general,” First Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry told the Todd Starnes Show.
More @ Todd Starnes
Orrin Hatch tears into Washington Post opioids report: It's meant to derail Trump's drug czar nominee
Via Billy
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Monday a news investigation about whether a bill he sponsored disarmed the Drug Enforcement Agency from going after drug companies was meant to smear President Trump's nominee for drug czar, who sponsored the bill on the House side.
"I think we need to be candid about what's going on here," Hatch said in floor remarks. "Opponents of the current administration are trying to derail the president's nominee to be head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Rep. Tom Marino, by mischaracterizing and trying to rewrite the history of a bill that he championed."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Monday a news investigation about whether a bill he sponsored disarmed the Drug Enforcement Agency from going after drug companies was meant to smear President Trump's nominee for drug czar, who sponsored the bill on the House side.
"I think we need to be candid about what's going on here," Hatch said in floor remarks. "Opponents of the current administration are trying to derail the president's nominee to be head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Rep. Tom Marino, by mischaracterizing and trying to rewrite the history of a bill that he championed."
More @ Washington Examiner
Las Vegas guard Jesus Campos vanished after visiting urgent-care clinic, union leader says
Via Billy
A spokesperson at the UMC Quick Care, which has eight
locations throughout the Las Vegas area, told Fox News on Monday that
they had "heard nothing" about Campos visiting them.
The Mandalay Bay security guard who disappeared
last week moments before he was scheduled to break his silence in
television interviews has not been heard from since he went to a walk-in
health clinic, his union president said.
David Hickey of the Security, Police,
and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) told reporters Friday that he
got a text the night before saying Jesus Campos was taken to a UMC
Quick Care facility, though he did not specify where or whom the text
came from.
More @ Fox
Trump warns McCain: 'At some point I fight back, and it won't be pretty'
Via Billy
President Trump warned on Tuesday that he would "fight back" after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered a blunt denunciation of nationalist forces that was seen by many as a thinly-veiled attack on the president.
"People have to careful, because at some point I fight back," Trump told WMAL radio host Chris Plante. "I'm being very nice. I'm being very, very nice. But at some point I fight back, and it won't be pretty."
President Trump warned on Tuesday that he would "fight back" after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered a blunt denunciation of nationalist forces that was seen by many as a thinly-veiled attack on the president.
"People have to careful, because at some point I fight back," Trump told WMAL radio host Chris Plante. "I'm being very nice. I'm being very, very nice. But at some point I fight back, and it won't be pretty."
More @ The Hill
Russia vs. the Confederacy
Russian-American relations over the past two and a half centuries, like the weather in Alaska, the land Russia sold to the United States in 1867 for ten dollars a square mile, have blown from very warm to extremely frigid; but its balmiest period by far was during the War Between the States. In stark contrast to America’s sixteen-year hiatus in diplomatic relations with Russia following the 1917 Revolution, the forty-four year Cold War with the Soviet Union after World War Two and the present discordant dialogues with the Russian Federation, Imperial Russia had maintained a close and cordial relationship with the United States from the moment the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776. This, unfortunately, was not to be the case nearly a century later when the eleven Southern States declared their independence from the Union.
More @ The Abbeville Institute