53percenter's Blog

Back in 2008, when he was addressing vast throngs in Berlin and Mile High Stadium, Barack Obama was, we were assured by most of the Smart Set, one of the greatest orators in history. That was but one of the many ways in which he was overrated by those anxious for the first black president to be a brilliant champion of the Democratic Party, “bending the arc of history” toward progressivism.

Those of us who paid attention to his speaking abilities when he was not reading a prepared text were already skeptical, with his stalling the completion of his thoughts with  “uh…uh” and mispronunciations (“corpse-man”) and outright errors (“57 states” speaking “Austrian” in Austria) painful evidence that this was no Winston Churchill, and not even a passably well-educated man.

But at least he had the discipline of a White House staff behind him, presumably briefing him before he opened his mouth in public.

Yesterday, in an utterly friendly venue (an Obama Foundation event) and a friendly audience, Barack went so far off the rails into incoherence that I am wondering if Obama has reverted to the habits of his choom gang days.

YouTube screen grab

Ryan Saavedra of the Daily Wire highlights the absurd things he said about skeptics of the global warming hypothesis:

“Climate change, we’re going to have to come up with some new technologies to solve the problem as much as we need to,” Obama said. “Although even on something like that, right now I could take off the shelf existing technologies, we could reduce carbon emissions by let’s say 30 percent, without any, you know it’s not like we would have to go back to caves and you know live off, you know, fire.”

I am sorry but this sounds like a stoner.

“We could have electricity and smartphones and all that stuff which would buy us probably another 20, 30 years for that technological breakthrough that’s necessary,” Obama continued. “The reason we don’t do it is because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, mommy issues.”

I am pretty sure that we already have electricity and smartphones, and I don’t see what alleged racism has to do with what was being discussed.

As for “mommy issues” coming from a guy whose mother shipped him off to be raised by grandparents, that is pure projection.

A friend with many connections claims that the pungent odor of pot has been smelled near the Obama mansion in DC. I have no way of verifying that, but that performance yesterday certainly supports that assertion.

Watch:

 

Back in 2008, when he was addressing vast throngs in Berlin and Mile High Stadium, Barack Obama was, we were assured by most of the Smart Set, one of the greatest orators in history. That was but one of the many ways in which he was overrated by those anxious for the first black president to be a brilliant champion of the Democratic Party, “bending the arc of history” toward progressivism.

Those of us who paid attention to his speaking abilities when he was not reading a prepared text were already skeptical, with his stalling the completion of his thoughts with  “uh…uh” and mispronunciations (“corpse-man”) and outright errors (“57 states” speaking “Austrian” in Austria) painful evidence that this was no Winston Churchill, and not even a passably well-educated man.

But at least he had the discipline of a White House staff behind him, presumably briefing him before he opened his mouth in public.

Yesterday, in an utterly friendly venue (an Obama Foundation event) and a friendly audience, Barack went so far off the rails into incoherence that I am wondering if Obama has reverted to the habits of his choom gang days.

YouTube screen grab

Ryan Saavedra of the Daily Wire highlights the absurd things he said about skeptics of the global warming hypothesis:

“Climate change, we’re going to have to come up with some new technologies to solve the problem as much as we need to,” Obama said. “Although even on something like that, right now I could take off the shelf existing technologies, we could reduce carbon emissions by let’s say 30 percent, without any, you know it’s not like we would have to go back to caves and you know live off, you know, fire.”

I am sorry but this sounds like a stoner.

“We could have electricity and smartphones and all that stuff which would buy us probably another 20, 30 years for that technological breakthrough that’s necessary,” Obama continued. “The reason we don’t do it is because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, mommy issues.”

I am pretty sure that we already have electricity and smartphones, and I don’t see what alleged racism has to do with what was being discussed.

As for “mommy issues” coming from a guy whose mother shipped him off to be raised by grandparents, that is pure projection.

A friend with many connections claims that the pungent odor of pot has been smelled near the Obama mansion in DC. I have no way of verifying that, but that performance yesterday certainly supports that assertion.

Watch:

 

End the revolving door.

Via Daily Mail:

A suspected illegal immigrant has been charged in the murder of a convenience store clerk during an armed robbery in Houston, authorities say.

Jose Bonilla-Ortiz, 18, was arrested on Saturday morning at an apartment about two miles north of the Metro Food Mart where he is accused of gunning down Bangladeshi immigrant Faruk Bhuiya, 48.

Surveillance footage shows two armed robbers wearing hoodies waking into the store in northwest Houston around 9pm on November 10.

They briefly look around the shop before passing out of the frame, at which point they allegedly shot and killed Bhuiya.

Houston police Detective Jason Fay said tipsters helped identify Bonilla-Ortiz in the video, while the other man has not been identified or arrested.

Bonilla-Ortiz’s bond is set at $250,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

The 18-year-old has no prior criminal history in Harris County, but jail records show Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Bonilla-Ortiz because he is not believed to be a US citizen.

He was deported from the country in 2016, prosecutors say. It was not immediately clear where he is originally from.

Keep reading…

Another black-robed social justice warrior strikes.

Via Fox News:

A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday barred the Trump administration from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally, likely prompting a legal challenge from the White House.

Trump issued a proclamation on Nov. 9 that said anyone who crossed the southern border would be ineligible for asylum.

U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar, who was nominated by President Obama in 2012 to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, issued a temporary restraining order after hearing arguments in San Francisco.

The request was made by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which quickly sued after President Trump issued the ban this month in response to the caravans of migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “Individuals are entitled to asylum if they cross between ports of entry. It couldn’t be clearer.”

Keep reading…

Snowflakes and their causes.

Via Campus Reform:

Western Michigan University students marched in protest against the removal of trees on their campus.

More than 60 WMU students gathered to protest the university’s removal of 58 trees in order to put a new residence hall and student center in their place, as reported by MLive. According to a poster for the event, the “Save the Trees Student Initiative” was hosted by the Students for a Sustainable Earth and the Western Michigan Biology Club.

Many students held signs, which included slogans like “cut a tree, cut a life,” “teach peace,” and “we speak for the trees,” while chanting “save a tree, save a life,” as shown in a video posted on Mlive’s YouTube channel.

“Join us for a march to denounce the plans to cut down 50+ trees near the Ernest Burnham Building on WMU’s campus,” the event’s Facebook page read.

“Come out and tell WMU that we, students, do care about our green spaces on campus!”

The student group also shared a Change.org petition, started by Abbie Bristol, a WMU student in the group, opposing the university’s actions on its Facebook page.

“We believe in the intrinsic value of these trees as beautiful, living components of the campus landscape, and the ecosystem services these trees offer: carbon sequestration, stormwater management, and islands of habitat for wildlife on campus,” the description says.

The petition also requests a public polling for the design plan of the new buildings and wants the polling to include a new plan that would work around the trees.

Keep reading…

The Open Society Foundations (OSF) has demanded that Facebook apologize to its founder and primary donor, George Soros, after the tech giant reportedly hired political operatives who revealed his connections to digital rights activists.

According to a recent report by the New York Times, the social media network “employed a Republican opposition-research firm to discredit” its critics in part by linking them to Soros, who donated $18 billion to his international grant-making foundation last year to drive progressive change. The Times described Soros as “a longtime boogeyman to mainstream conservatives and the target of intense anti-Semitic smears on the far right.”

“This was what one would call a black ops, false flag operation,” said OSF President Patrick Gaspard on a recent episode of NPR’s Morning Edition, referring to a term used to describe covert political tactics. “Facebook attempted to give the impression that these critics of their way of operating were somehow being orchestrated towards this criticism by the founder/chairman of the Open Society Foundations, George Soros.”

“We are demanding, insisting on a public apology from Facebook, not just to George Soros and the Open Society Foundations, but to all of those who are practicing their First Amendment rights,” he continued.

The Times report said the consulting company, Definers Public Affairs, “pressed reporters to explore the financial connections” between Soros and several organizations advocating for tighter government regulation of Facebook. It also referenced a document distributed by the firm that “cast Mr. Soros as the unacknowledged force behind what appeared to be a broad anti-Facebook movement.”

Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Jeb Bush who now works for Definers, posted on Twitter: “Definers shared a narrow document about an anti-Facebook group’s funding. It was entirely factual, as Open Markets organizers have acknowledged they get funding from Soros. I have defended Soros from smears and conspiracies that weren’t based in fact.”

Gaspard lashed out at Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in an open letter, blaming the platform for spreading “hateful blatantly false and Anti-Semitic information” that has “contributed to death threats and the delivery of a pipe bomb to Mr. Soros’ home.” However, he did not cite any specific misinformation or objectionable content attributed to Definers.

“We’re no longer working with (Definers) but at the time, they were trying to show that some of the activity against us that appeared to be grassroots also had major organizations behind them,” Sandberg posted on Facebook. “I did not know we hired them or about the work they were doing, but I should have. I have great respect for George Soros – and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories against him are abhorrent.”

Definers was also accused of using staff members to write hit pieces disguised as news coverage. Facebook officials said the company never asked Definers to write articles on its behalf or to promote fake news.

“Definers did encourage members of the press to look into the funding of ‘Freedom from Facebook,’ an anti-Facebook organization,” the social media network said in a statement. “The intention was to demonstrate that it was not simply a grassroots campaign, as it claimed, but supported by a well-known critic of our company. To suggest that was an anti-Semitic attack is reprehensible and untrue.”

Follow Jeffrey Cawood on Twitter @Near_Chaos.

The chairman of London’s Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, has said that the country’s routinely unarmed police may let violent suspects go if the public does not step in to help.

Mr Marsh suggested the police could no longer be the bulwark between order and criminality without public assistance, saying on BBC Radio 4: “We don’t come to work to get assaulted, and if we’re not going to be backed up…then what is the point?”

“We’re going to come to a point where we’re going to start pushing messages out to our colleagues: ‘Risk-assess it dynamically and, if you think you can’t detain a person, just let them go,’” he added.

The call for assistance appears to contradicts request from other forces for civilians to stay out of policing matters, including London’s neighbouring Essex Police which warned against residents patrolling their communities in “vigilante” groups following an increase in crime.

UPDATE 1700 — Metropolitan Police contradict call for aid, warns public against getting involved

Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Sir Steve House moved to distance the force from the calls for assistance from London Police Federation boss Ken Marsh on Tuesday, when he warned members of the public against getting involved in apprehending violent suspects The Guardian reports.

The senior officer said: “While officers should never expect to be attacked as part of their job, a core part of officer safety training is ensuring they know how to respond to volatile situations.”

He continued: “This training is substantial and delivered in accordance with national guidelines, and we regularly review it to make sure it is fit for purpose. Officers are also issued with personal protective equipment to help protect them and the public.

“I am mindful that members of the public do not have access to such items and, while any officer would be grateful for the public to assist them with a difficult arrest, they should only intervene if they can safely do so.”

Read the original story below:

The federation police chief made the comments after a video was circulated on social media showing the brutal attack of two police officers in Merton, south-west London, Saturday night.

The assaults happened following a routine traffic stop, with three assailants running from the vehicle.

@metpoliceuk Two Police officers assaulted in Merton on Saturday night. A member of the public wearing a motorcycle helmet helped the male officer, but several cars went past without stopping… what is #London coming to? pic.twitter.com/o7IEnwYvi1

— London Gas (@LondonGas) November 20, 2018

During the pursuit, one female police officer suffered a head injury after a suspect aimed a flying karate kick at her, while the second officer was dragged across the street while he pursued the third attacker.

The Telegraph reports that the female officer had attempted to subdue the suspects with a police-issued incapacitant spray, but to no effect.

Several cars were reported to have driven by during the violent altercations, with one motorcyclist stopping to help the unarmed police officers.

Suspect Martin Payne, 20, was arrested and charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and assaulting an officer. Two other suspects are still at large.

Mr Marsh also scolded members of the public for “mocking” police telling the public broadcaster: “If the public now think it’s OK to stand and film and mock my colleagues…then we are in very dangerous grounds.

Moped Thugs Hold Unarmed Police at Gunpoint in Sadiq Khan’s London https://t.co/lRMHCfkf3e

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 31, 2018

“I’m not asking members of the public to suddenly jump in to assist police officers because we are highly trained in what we do.

“But what I’m trying to get across is the simple fact that society has changed so much lately that it seems to be OK [to be] more interested in mocking us and filming us.”

Police forces have come under criticism from the public in recent years over the prioritisation of hate crimes over real crimes, with recent statistics revealing that one in five Britons have experienced a crime.

The Home Office recommends that police do not seek the support of the public, and if a private individual offers to assist, the officer must assess whether to ask the civilian to desist or call off the pursuit.

Following the deadly terror attack in London Bridge in the summer of 2017, a majority of Britons (72 per cent) backed routinely arming police officers such as they are in the U.S.

However, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said that officers are put off from applying to become armed, citing concerns over how they will be treated after shooting a suspect, including fearing suspension and legal repercussions.

Donald Trump’s criticism of the Federal Reserve’s plans to hike interest rates is now getting support from financial markets.

Interest rates futures now suggest that the Fed will only hike interest rates once in 2019. Just a few months ago, futures were indicating two hikes in 2019. The Federal Reserve’s own projections from September revealed that its policymakers were expecting three hikes next year.

Contracts tied to the Fed’s policy rate that are traded at CME Group’s Chicago Board of Trade have fallen in recent weeks. They now say there is just a 72 percent probability of a hike in December, down from readings close to 90 percent.

The Fed’s target interest rate for overnight loans between banks is now a range of 2.0 percent to 2.25 percent. If the Fed hikes as expected in December, that will rise to a range of 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent.

It is in the implied forecast for next year that the biggest change has occurred. A few months ago, the market had a better than even chance that rates would go up at the Fed’s meeting in March. Now the futures point toward the Fed holding steady in March, with just a 36 percent seeing the target move above 2.5 percent.

The first time a hike in 2019 is favored by the futures odds is now June, when the target is expected to rise to a range of 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent.

And after that, there are no more hikes with greater than even probability in 2019. Futures imply that there is only a 32 percent chance that the Fed’s target will be above 2.75 percent to 3.0 percent by December of 2019.

Trump has said on a number of occasions that the Fed was being too aggressive with interest rates, putting the economy’s rate of growth in danger. Now it seems that the market believes Trump is right and that the Fed will have to scale back its plans to hike rates.