On his nationally syndicated radio talk show, “The Mark Levin Show,” on Monday night, radio host Mark Levin said that the phrase “government shutdown” “is a lie,” and noted that 75 percent of the government is already funded, as reported by CNSNews.com.

“They don’t even tell you – what does that mean, ‘the government shut down’?” Levin asked. “First of all, that phrase is a lie; the government doesn’t shut down. You’ll be long dead – your children and your grandchildren too – before this government shuts down, unless it shuts down from a financial and economic collapse. But, legally? No.

“‘Seventy-five percent of the government[’s] already been funded’ – are you aware of this? – as they point out at CNSNews.com,” Levin continued.

Mark Levin’s remarks came in response to warnings of a potential “government shutdown” on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018 if Congress and President Donald J. Trump cannot agree on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal departments. The delay is due, in large part, to a stalemate over proposed funding for Trump’s southern border wall. During his remarks, Levin quoted from a news story on CNSNews.com.

 

Below is a transcript of Levin’s remarks from his show on Monday:

“So, this government shutdown business: ‘Will the government shut down, or not? Friday night, midnight! Will the government shut down, or not?’

“They don’t even tell you – what does that mean, ‘the government shut down’? First of all, that phrase is a lie; the government doesn’t shut down. You’ll be long dead – your children and your grandchildren too – before this government shuts down, unless it shuts down from a financial and economic collapse. But, legally? No.

“‘Seventy-five percent of the government[’s] already been funded’ – are you aware of this? – as they point out at CNSNews.com.

“He signed a minibus appropriations bill – the president did – ‘that funded the Department of Energy; Military Construction [and] Veterans Affairs; [and] the … Legislative Branch for the entirety of fiscal [2019].’

“That doesn’t end until September 2019, the 30th. 

“‘Then, on Sept. 28, Trump signed another ‘minibus’ law funding the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health [and] Human Services [(HHS)] and Education through the end of [the] fiscal year’ again – September 30, 2019.

“And, so, 75 percent of the government’s funded. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are specifically, as a matter of statute, carved out to be protected. The United States military and federal law enforcement: specifically carved out to be protected, should there be a government shutdown.

“Now, that’s 25 percent of the government that’s subject to a shutdown – but that’s not even true – because, of that 25 percent, they have what’s called essential and nonessential employees and tasks. A significant percentage of the 25 percent is said to be essential. And as I’ve told you before, many years ago, when I had Paul Ryan on this program, when he was actually conservative – I think he was heading the appropriations committee – he said, that under the worst of circumstances, 17 percent of the government is effectively shut down when we have a full shutdown. So, we cry crocodile tears.

“Now, those of us who live in the private sector, a shutdown is a shutdown. Those of us who live in the private sector, when you’re given a pink slip, you’re not reimbursed, later, for every dollar you would’ve earned but for the fact that there was quote, unquote, a shutdown. So, even nonessential employees never lose out. They might be inconvenienced, but in the private sector, you actually lose your d— job.

“I just discussed with you, in 3 1/2 minutes, something you have never heard on a cable TV show, on a network TV show or a satellite TV show – something you have never heard on a prime-time news program.

“Moreover, since the 1976 Budget Act – excuse me, 1974 Budget Act – 20 different occasions in which the government has shut down, quote, unquote shut down. Do you remember any of them in any significant way? Were you harmed by it? Were you harmed by it? No, you weren’t harmed by it, and yet, it is the only tool available to a president to get spending under control or to force his priorities on left-wing radical kooks, like Pelosi and Schumer, who do not believe in protecting the American people from criminals, terrorists and drug lords.”

BY: Bill McMorris Follow
@FBillMcMorris

December 18, 2018 2:25 pm

The Connecticut Communist Party honored a pair of union organizers, including an official who nearly captured the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, at its annual awards ceremony.

The party presented the People’s World Amistad Awards to Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman in recognition of her upstart challenge against establishment Democrat, as well as longtime union official Shellye Davis. The party described the honorees as “fierce warriors in the forefront demanding workers’ and immigrant rights, social justice, peace and equality for a better and sustainable world” in an announcement. The award ceremony was held at a Methodist Church in New Haven on Dec. 8 to mark the 99th anniversary of the Communist Party USA.

Bermúdez Zimmerman made headlines in 2018 when she launched a long shot campaign to challenge Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ned Lamont’s lieutenant governor, former Connecticut secretary of state Susan Bysiewicz. Bermúdez Zimmerman, who is married to Connecticut SEIU state council associate director Stacey Zimmerman, took a leave of absence from her work as organizing director of the SEIU Local 2001 for the campaign. Her insurgent run garnered intense media interest as the state’s first Puerto Rican candidate for lieutenant governor and was hailed as a “fresh face” in Connecticut’s political scene. Despite being out fundraised by Bysiewicz, Zimmerman managed to capture 37 percent of votes in the the August Democratic primary. Lamont and Bysiewicz narrowly won the November election.

The state party also recognized the efforts of Shellye Davis, president of the AFL-CIO affiliated Greater Hartford Central Labor Coalition and a longtime official with the American Federation of Teachers, was also honored for her long history of labor activism. The announcement hailed her work as “leader for the rights of public sector union members and the people they serve, especially the youth.”

The Amistad Awards have often recognized union officials for their work in the Constitution State. The Yankee Institute, a pro-free market think tank in Connecticut, pointed out the recurring recognition granted to high ranking union officials, including the 2017 award to Davis’s predecessor, Peggy Buchanan, and the 2016 awards to two other union officials with SEIU and the American Federation of Teachers. The shared interests between the state Communist Party and local labor officials was a cause for concern for the institute, given the success of labor-endorsed candidates in the 2018 midterms.

“The award comes little more than a month after SEIU and other unions made a hard and largely successful push to back candidates in the Connecticut 2018 gubernatorial and legislative elections through canvassing, independent expenditures, disbursements and communications with their members,” the Yankee Institute said in its blog post.

Some unions have embraced the awards. The state chapter of the AFT posted notice of the 2015 awards ceremony on its website, despite the fact that no AFT officials were among the recipients that year.

Several phone calls placed to numbers associated with Zimmerman about the communist award ceremony went unanswered. Neither Davis nor the Coalition returned a phone message seeking comment.

Venezuelans are helpless against their brutal socialist government because of a 6-year-old gun control bill that banned the sale of firearms.

In 2012, the Venezuelan National Assembly enacted the “Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law,” under then-President Hugo Chavez, according to Fox News.

The anti-gun law, which went through with only minimal opposition, banned the sale of guns and private gun ownership, according to a BBC report from the time. After the law was enacted, only the government was allowed to purchase guns.

The government didn’t hesitate in confiscating weapons. Over 12,500 guns were confiscated by force in 2013 alone, according to Fox News.

Now, Venezuelans are unable to protect their freedoms in the face of a socialist dictatorship.

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A Venezuelan teacher of English now exiled in Ecuador, Javier Vanegas, told Fox News that an armed population could have deterred the dictatorship early on.

“Guns would have served as a vital pillar to remaining a free people, or at least able to put up a fight,” Vanegas said.

That’s a fact often overlooked by the left. Guns are great for self-defense, but they’re also great for defending freedom against dictatorships. There’s a reason the Founding Fathers made sure the right to bear arms was embedded in the Constitution. And there’s a reason dictators like to confiscate weapons.

Liberals, in their eternal yearning to be mollycoddled children of Big Government, chronically shy away from this fundamental Second Amendment truth: pic.twitter.com/So12rawhqz

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 29, 2018

“The government security forces, at the beginning of this debacle, knew they had no real opposition to their force. Once things were this bad, it was a clear declaration of war against an unarmed population,” Vanegas added.

Vanegas said his countrymen never thought that they’d have to defend themselves against their own government.

“Venezuelans didn’t care enough about it. The idea of having the means to protect your home was seen as only needed out in the fields. People never would have believed they needed to defend themselves against the government,” Vanegas said.

Venezuela’s socialist government wasn’t the only entity to benefit from the gun ban. Gangs of criminals have also taken advantage of the gun grab, causing the country’s violent crime rate to explode.

In 2015, nearly 28,00 people were murdered, compared to just under 10,000 people in 2012, according to Fox News.

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This seems to support the idea that guns make people safer, but liberals in America are still clamoring for strict gun control.

Guns allow citizens to fight back against criminals, corrupt governments, and land invasions. Without guns, citizens are helpless against all three.

Americans should pay attention to what’s happening in Venezuela.

If leftists get their way on guns here, this could be a reality in our country as well.

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If you believe the punishment should fit the crime, one Missouri judge agrees.

David Berry Jr. of Springfield was sentenced to over a year in prison after being found guilty on charges stemming from a poaching sting in early December. Unhappy with leaving it at that, Judge Robert George ordered Berry to watch “Bambi” at least once a month while behind bars, reports the Springfield News-Leader.

If that doesn’t earn Berry a catchy prison nickname, nothing will.

Berry, along with three of his family members, committed one of the worst crimes in the hunting world: Poaching. And this wasn’t just a few deer they harvested illegally — the family was involved in a massive poaching ring that took state, federal, and even Canadian law enforcement years to unravel.

The deer were not taken for their meat, either.

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The poachers would target trophy bucks for their heads and antler racks. Once a deer was downed, its head was removed and the body left to rot.

Wildlife agents speculated that hundreds of deer were illegally harvested in this manner. With deer weighing well over a hundred pounds on average, there were potential tons of wasted meat.

This appears to have been greed, pure and simple. Deer tags are easy to come by in many areas, especially in more rural states like Missouri. Hunting laws in most states also make waste of meat illegal, encouraging responsible stewardship of natural resources.

As a result of this grievous crime, Berry will also have his hunting and fishing privileges in Missouri revoked for life.

These “men” give all hunters a bad name.

Hunting has been on the decline in America. NPR reported in March that today’s hunters number at only half of what they did 50 years ago.

Draconian environmental laws, restrictive gun bans and increased license fees and taxes all chip away at the nation’s army of sportsmen. A pervasive anti-gun culture also ensures that many young Americans will reach adulthood without ever handling a firearm. Disinformation also plays a major part in the decline of hunting.

Perhaps one of the most damaging myths is the idea of hunters as bloodthirsty killers, only in the deer woods to legally kill a living creature.

In fact, just the opposite is true. Hunters contribute more to maintaining the ecological balance than most people realize.

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Recently, New York began experiencing a major upswing in rates of tick-borne disease. The outbreak was linked back to a massive deer population — something the state’s relatively few hunters have a hard time managing by themselves.

Fortunately, many state wildlife agencies understand this principle. Partnering with hunters and anglers has produced flourishing wildlife environments, free from large-scale disease and overpopulation. Hunters return the favor, keeping a watchful eye for anyone taking more than their fair share.

Operation Game Thief, a tip line to report poaching, is one result of this cooperation. The hotline is responsible for the arrest of Berry and his co-poachers, as well as a number of other wildlife thieves.

And with many states either already operating a tip line or planning to institute one, the message is clear: Poachers’ time is coming to an end.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

It is not my place to judge people for their religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs.

I know what I believe, and if someone believes something different, I can respectfully disagree with them.

However, I can offer no semblance of respect to people who take such offense to others’ beliefs that they demand mountains be moved to placate their beliefs.

Christians are never afforded such luxuries. Atheists? They typically get those mountains to be moved.

As Fox News reports, atheist parents in Canada took their war against religious beliefs straight to … a preschool.

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Gary Mangel and Mai Yasué were apparently so grossly offended by the mere prospect of their 3-year-old daughter celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah at Bowen Island Montessori School in British Columbia that they made a giant issue of it.

According to Fox News, the dispute started in November 2014, when Mangel — upset about elf ornaments — wrote that he didn’t “think it’s appropriate to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other religious/political event at preschool (including Remembrance Day).”

Mangel said his young daughter “cannot consent to being involved in decorating military wreaths or Christmas trees or lighting Hanukkah candles.”

And in perhaps the most Ebeneezer Scrooge-like moment of this ordeal, Mangel took particular offense at the mere idea of Jolly Old St. Nick.

“As a side note, I certainly hope that there will be no discussion of Santa Claus at BIMS,” Mangel wrote. “I am absolutely against anyone blatantly lying to my daughter …”

First of all, that just sounds like a lovely and fun household.

Second, as much as I disagree with virtually all of Mangel’s rhetoric, it’s his right as a father to raise his child as joylessly as he sees fit.

He could simply find another, more accommodating school, right? Wrong. Mangel sued the school for discriminating against his family “on the bases of religion, race, ancestry and family status.”

After the spat over religious observances, BIMS told Mangel that his daughter would not be allowed to re-enroll unless the parents signed a letter agreeing to the school’s curriculum. Apparently, these days, that’s discrimination.

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Even more stunningly, a British Columbia human-rights tribunal actually agreed with Mangel. It determined that the school should pay the child 2,000 Canadian dollars and the parents 5,000 each — a total of about $9,000.

It’s despicable and pathetic.

Fox News noted that Mangel also sent his idea of an “atheist” Christmas ornament to the school. It depicted New York’s World Trade Center before 9/11 with the message, “Atheists don’t fly airplanes into buildings.”

Yeah, and neither do Christians or Jews. Yet he still hates everything they stand for and their holidays.

What a loon.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

BY: Andrew Kugle Follow
@AndrewJKugle

December 18, 2018 2:33 pm

Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) introduced a resolution on Tuesday encouraging the United States to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights.

The resolution’s aim is for the U.S. Senate to recognize Israel’s 51 years of control over the contested region. Israel took control of the region in 1967, during the Six Day War in which Israel defended itself from attacks from Syria and other Arab nations in the region. In 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights. Since then, the U.S. has refused to recognize the region as sovereign territory of Jewish state.

Cotton and Cruz released a statement telling their colleagues it is now time for the U.S. to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the region.

“Israel’s northern border is threatened by Iranian forces and their proxies in Lebanon and Syria, including Hezbollah’s 150,000 rockets, armed drones, newly discovered terror tunnels, and more. Meanwhile, with the Ayatollahs’ help, Bashar al Assad’s regime is on the verge of securing victory in Syria’s civil war. He may soon turn his attention back to threatening the Jewish state.” Cotton and Cruz said. “Israel gained possession over the Golan Heights in a defensive war over 50 years ago, and has responsibly controlled the area ever since. It’s past time for the United States to recognize reality by affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives debated a similar resolution. Then-Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) introduced a resolution that would have Congress recognize the Golan Heights as fully belonging to Israel. The measure was never adopted and was killed by House leadership.

If the resolution introduced by Cruz and Cotton is adopted, the Senate would recognize six points:

(1) the United States supports the sovereign right of the Government of Israel to defend its territory and its citizens from attacks against Israel, including by Iran or its proxies;

(2) Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights is critical to Israel’s national security;

(3) Israel’s security from attack from Syria and Lebanon cannot be assured without Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights;

(4) it is in the United States’ national security interest to ensure Israel’s security;

(5) it is in the United States’ national security interest to ensure that the Assad regime faces diplomatic and geopolitical consequences for the killing of civilians, the ethnic cleansing of Syrian Sunnis, and the use of weapons of mass destruction, including by ensuring that Israel retains control of the Golan Heights; and

(6) the United States should recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The First Step Act, if signed into law by President Trump, would reduce the federal prison population by 53,000 inmates, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finds.

In a new report on Monday, the CBO revealed that the prison reform bill — supported by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats as well Trump — will “reduce the number of prisoners by about 53,000 person-years over the 2019- 2028 period” which CBO researchers say “is roughly equivalent to reducing the federal prison population by 53,000 inmates in one year.”

The prison reform bill’s early release for particular groups of federal inmates and sentencing reduction provisions will cost American taxpayers about $346 million over a decade, CBO officials say:

By accelerating the release of prisoners, CBO estimates that the legislation would increase the number of people receiving benefits from [Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and food stamps] programs. [Emphasis added]

As a result, CBO and [Joint Committee on Taxation] estimate that enacting the legislation would increase direct spending by $346 million and reduce revenues by $6 million over the 2019-2028 period. [Emphasis added]

The first two years of the prison reform bill would cost taxpayers more than $35 million and in ten years leave the federal deficit with a net increase of about $352 million.

The prison reform legislation includes an overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system by reducing mandatory minimum sentences and broadening early release credits for convicted felons who are deemed to be “non-violent criminals.”

The legislation ends the current “three-strikes rule” — which gives an automatic life sentence to three-time convicted violent felons — and instead reduces their sentences to 25 years in prison.