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Trump’s ‘Rip-Roaring Hot’ Economy: Private Payrolls Soar In September

A new report issued from ADP and Moody’s Analytics offered more great news on the economy: in September private payrolls rose by 230,000, well ahead of the expectations raised by economists, which had posited an expansion of 185,000 in September. September also surpassed August’s gain of 168,000. The September gains meant job growth last month was the highest in seven months.

via Daily Wire

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Republican Sen. John Kennedy Seeks To Prohibit Federal Contracts To Banks That Cut Off Gunmakers


Consequences to their actions.

Via Washington Examiner:

Sen. John Kennedy R-La., introduced legislation Tuesday to prohibit federal contracts with banks that end business with other lawful businesses over social policy.

The topic became a hot button issue last spring when Bank of America and Citigroup announced that they would end banking relationships with gun manufacturers or retailers that sold certain semi-automatic weapons similar to ones used in mass shootings of civilians.

“It’s very simple, it just says that we can’t issue contracts to banks that decide they want to make social policy,” Kennedy told the Washington Examiner.

The Louisiana Republican argued that since banks receive certain benefits from the federal government, including but not limited to 2008’s bailout of the financial industry, the federal government shouldn’t contract with banks that take a position on flashpoint social issues.

“I just believe that we don’t need red banks and we don’t need blue banks, we need safe banks, and that’s what Citigroup and Bank of America need to be worrying about,” said Kennedy. “Not going belly-up in the next recession and having to come whine to the American people to bail them out. And I think that’s a full time job.”

Keep reading…

via Weasel Zippers

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Grassley Targets Ford’s Attorneys: Hand Over Ford’s Therapy Notes

On Tuesday night, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault 36 years ago, asking them to turn over notes from Ford’s therapy sessions and recordings of the lie detector test she took.

via Daily Wire

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Blasey Ford facing perjury trap?


Today may be a day to savor.  Senator Chuck Grassley and sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell took heavy criticism in some quarters over the solicitous tone and leisurely pace of the cross-examination of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it looks as though a perjury trap was being sprung.  Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire explains:


A new letter, released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), states that a former boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford says that he personally witnessed her coaching someone on how to take a polygraph test, despite the fact that she testified under oath that she had never done so.



“The full details of Dr. Ford’s polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations,” Grassley wrote.


“During some of the time we were dating, Dr. Ford lived with Monica L. McLean, who I understood to be her life-long best friend,” Ford’s ex-boyfriend wrote in the letter.  ”During that time, it was my understanding that McLean was interviewing for jobs with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.”


“I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam,” the ex-boyfriend said.  ”Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked, and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam.”


“When asked under oath in the hearing whether she’d ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, ‘Never,'” Grassley continued.  ”This statement raises specific concerns about the reliability of her polygraph examination results.”


Shannon Bream presents the letter itself, with the name redacted:



 


 



Blasey Ford testified clearly that she “never” helped anyone with a polygraph:




It seems pretty clear to me that Rachel Mitchell knew about this letter and was getting Blasey Ford to go on the record under oath.  My suspicion is that Ford was prepared for many days for her testimony, but her lawyers and handlers did not anticipate this line of questioning, so she winged it.


Combine this with reports that the FBI will complete its re-investigation and may submit its report today, and with reports that Blasey Ford has not been questioned, and the odds rise that the FBI has examined the possible perjury here.


It is a possible indicator of the depth of the doo-doo Blasey Ford stepped into that Glenn Kessler – the so-called fact-checker at the Washington Post – is trying to run interference and failing at it, Sean M. Davis calls him out:






Obviously, the key to taking the perjury trap beyond a he said, she said standoff would be the testimony of the person who allegedly received the coaching.  Kate Prengel of Heavy.com has the goods on her.  Here are the bullet points, but do read the whole thing:


1. She Went to Holton Arms, the Same High School as Ford


2. Ford Allegedly Coached McLean While She Was Interviewing for Jobs with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office


3. McLean Worked for the Department of Justice for 24 Years, Leaving Just Before Trump Took Office


4. A Man Named Geral Sosbee Says McLean Helped the FBI in a Bizarre Cover-Up


5. McLean Now Works as an Independent Consultant in Washington DC


As a presumed member of the bar, McLean understands the dangers she faces if she is not forthcoming about the coaching.  Her abrupt departure from the DOJ suggests that other issues are on her mind as well.


Just the sort of person that could be squeezed.  Pressuring Blasey Ford to sing about the people who coached her.  And maybe even the politicians who groomed her testimony.


Update: Kimberly Strassel lays out the peril in a series of tweets:











Today may be a day to savor.  Senator Chuck Grassley and sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell took heavy criticism in some quarters over the solicitous tone and leisurely pace of the cross-examination of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it looks as though a perjury trap was being sprung.  Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire explains:


A new letter, released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), states that a former boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford says that he personally witnessed her coaching someone on how to take a polygraph test, despite the fact that she testified under oath that she had never done so.


“The full details of Dr. Ford’s polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations,” Grassley wrote.


“During some of the time we were dating, Dr. Ford lived with Monica L. McLean, who I understood to be her life-long best friend,” Ford’s ex-boyfriend wrote in the letter.  ”During that time, it was my understanding that McLean was interviewing for jobs with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.”


“I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam,” the ex-boyfriend said.  ”Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked, and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam.”


“When asked under oath in the hearing whether she’d ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, ‘Never,'” Grassley continued.  ”This statement raises specific concerns about the reliability of her polygraph examination results.”


Shannon Bream presents the letter itself, with the name redacted:



 


 



Blasey Ford testified clearly that she “never” helped anyone with a polygraph:




It seems pretty clear to me that Rachel Mitchell knew about this letter and was getting Blasey Ford to go on the record under oath.  My suspicion is that Ford was prepared for many days for her testimony, but her lawyers and handlers did not anticipate this line of questioning, so she winged it.


Combine this with reports that the FBI will complete its re-investigation and may submit its report today, and with reports that Blasey Ford has not been questioned, and the odds rise that the FBI has examined the possible perjury here.


It is a possible indicator of the depth of the doo-doo Blasey Ford stepped into that Glenn Kessler – the so-called fact-checker at the Washington Post – is trying to run interference and failing at it, Sean M. Davis calls him out:






Obviously, the key to taking the perjury trap beyond a he said, she said standoff would be the testimony of the person who allegedly received the coaching.  Kate Prengel of Heavy.com has the goods on her.  Here are the bullet points, but do read the whole thing:


1. She Went to Holton Arms, the Same High School as Ford


2. Ford Allegedly Coached McLean While She Was Interviewing for Jobs with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office


3. McLean Worked for the Department of Justice for 24 Years, Leaving Just Before Trump Took Office


4. A Man Named Geral Sosbee Says McLean Helped the FBI in a Bizarre Cover-Up


5. McLean Now Works as an Independent Consultant in Washington DC


As a presumed member of the bar, McLean understands the dangers she faces if she is not forthcoming about the coaching.  Her abrupt departure from the DOJ suggests that other issues are on her mind as well.


Just the sort of person that could be squeezed.  Pressuring Blasey Ford to sing about the people who coached her.  And maybe even the politicians who groomed her testimony.


Update: Kimberly Strassel lays out the peril in a series of tweets:













via American Thinker Blog

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Grassley Calls on Ford’s Lawyers to Hand Over Polygraph Material, Cites Her Ex-Boyfriend’s Signed Statement


Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein / Getty Images

BY:

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women who have accused Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, could have potentially committed perjury last week for saying that she has “never” given tips or advice to someone planning on taking a polygraph test, according to her ex-boyfriend.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) on Tuesday sent a letter to Dr. Ford’s lawyers renewing his request for “all audio or video recordings produced during the course of Mr. Hanafin’s polygraph examination of Dr. Ford as well as all polygraph charts and other data that Mr. Hanafin relied upon in preparing his report.” Grassley said they he made these requests before and after last Thursday’s hearing, but he has yet to receive them.

Ford, a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University in California, has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly pinning her to a bed, groping her, and trying to stifle her screams at a high school party in the early 1980’s. Kavanaugh denied the allegations, as has his former classmate Mark Judge, who Ford claims was also in the room at the time of the alleged incident. Two other people that Ford alleges were at the party in question, have also denied any knowledge of the party or sexual assault.

“The full details of Dr. Ford’s polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations,” Grassley wrote. “When asked under oath in the hearing whether she’d ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, ‘Never.'”

In a letter sent to Grassley, which was obtained by Fox News, Ford’s longtime boyfriend said that she never discussed any sexual assault experiences, coached a friend on taking a polygraph test, and often flew without expressing any fear.

“I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam. Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam. Dr. Ford was able to help because of her background in psychology,” Ford’s former boyfriend wrote.

Grassley concluded his letter by saying that Ford’s “testimony hinges on evidence to which Dr. Ford has repeatedly referred– some of which has already been provided to a nationally circulated newspaper– but which you have refused to provide to the Senate.”

via Washington Free Beacon

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United Nations court “orders” U.S. to lift sanctions on Iran


Oh, dear. Whatever shall we do? The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an “order” to the United States saying that we have to drop various “humanitarian sanctions” against Iran immediately. The judges in the Hague have found that certain sanctions affecting medical supplies, food and… airplane parts (?) are all in violation of a friendship treaty we had with Iran dating back to the fifties, well before the Islamic revolution there. (Times of India)

The UN’s top court ordered the United States on Wednesday to suspend sanctions on “humanitarian” goods for Iran in a stunning setback for US President Donald Trump.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down the bombshell judgement after Iran asked it to halt economic measures that Trump reimposed after pulling out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

Judges in The Hague unanimously ruled that the sanctions on some goods breached a 1955 “friendship treaty” between Iran and the US that predates Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

The ICJ has long claimed the power to issue such orders to member nations and they hand out rulings like this on a semi-regular basis. Such decrees are defined as being “binding” and there is no process for appealing one of their rulings. But as the Times of India points out, they have absolutely no mechanism to enforce their decrees.

Particularly given Donald Trump’s attitude towards the U.N. and other global organizations when it comes to American sovereignty, what do you think the odds are that he’s going to sheepishly turn around and say, oops! My bad. I guess we’ll just cancel the sanctions now? Given the current state of relations between the United States and the UN, it’s honestly something of a miracle that we haven’t kicked them out of Turtle Bay over unpaid bills and converted their headquarters into a casino resort by now.

Also worth noting is that the ICJ is basing their ruling on a treaty we had with a government that hasn’t existed for forty years. We haven’t even had official diplomatic relations with them since around 1980 and you expect us to honor a treaty we made under Eisenhower with the government the Mullahs overthrew? Besides, sanctions are the one tool we have in our kit which at least has a chance of forcing bad actors to behave in a more civilized fashion without resorting to military force. I think the judges in the Hague would be even less happy if we were settling our differences with cruise missiles.

I’m looking forward to the official White House response, or perhaps something from Nikki Haley. While they’ll probably be a bit more polite, it should really include something about sticking the court’s decree where the sun doesn’t shine.

via Hot Air

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