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Exclusive – Brent Bozell: The Slow Death of the Republican Party

The Grand Old Party is about to commit suicide.  

All this talk about Trump this, and Trump that, masks a far bigger political controversy. The Republican Party leadership in Washington, D.C., has fundamentally betrayed its constituents and they are about to learn that they’ve been double-crossed — for years.

Every Republican candidate’s stock speech sounds the same, the thunderous roar about a government out of control, federal spending out of control (insert charts and graphs and why, if you stack hundred dollar bills, they will reach the edge of the universe), federal taxes out of control (insert comparisons to socialist countries), the federal bureaucracy out of control (insert metaphors about chains, yokes, and the like), the family shattered with federal funding of abortion a crime against humanity (watch for it — there! The heart-wrenching sob), and our military is emasculated.

Two more items were added to the menu, courtesy of Obama. Obamacare Will Be Repealed! and Illegal Immigration Will Not Stand!  

In 2009, the Democrats controlled everything, partly due to the Republicans’ cowardice on Capitol Hill, and in part because of some of the most inept candidates and campaigns America has seen in years. The Obama folks could have played it safe but went for socialist gold, using the power of the legislative and the executive branches (and later the judiciary, thank you Justice Roberts) to advance their agenda.  

That included federal spending on a level unmatched in human history resulting ultimately in a $19 trillion in debt we simply cannot pay, and with so many tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities that “infinity” is not far behind. One seventh of the economy was confiscated by the federal government with the passage of Obamacare. Our national borders were declared open and discussions over our national sovereignty closed. And to top it off, the Democrats all but declared themselves above the law.

The GOP harrumphed that this would not stand, by God! If only… if only America would vote them into the majority.

In 2009, the Tea Party was born. The Grand Old Party was rejuvenated. Happy days were here again.

Just one year later, the Republicans captured the House, and with that, the power of the purse. They now had the authority to stop the insane spending on so many obnoxious and wholly unnecessary ventures. They could end Obamacare simply by not funding it.

Instead, under the “leadership” of John Boehner, it did absolutely nothing. Why, if only we had the Senate! Then we could take on the President!

So in 2014, after spending hundreds of millions of campaign dollars running hundreds of thousands of television and radio ads pledging to end illegal immigration while repealing Obamacare “root and branch” (author: Mitch McConnell), they were given control of the Senate.

And within a month McConnell re-authorized both, along with every single other thing Harry Reid and Obama wanted for yet another year.

But that’s because we can’t do what we promised until we have the Presidency! The excuse was as predictable as summer heat in the Sahara.

In 2016, they were given that too.

They were given everything.

In January of this year, they formally controlled both houses of Congress and the executive branch. Every single thing they’d ever promised was now possible.

They now had the power to enact every single spending cut they’d ever solemnly pledged. All those wasteful programs designed to fill the liberal sandbox — PBS, NPR, Planned Parenthood, NEH and the rest of the alphabet soup; all the hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare to multi-billion-dollar corporations; all of the hundreds of billions of dollars directed toward leftist social engineering — poof! All of it could come to an end with a stroke of a pen.

They now had the power to restore fiscal tax sanity too. Remember the flat tax? The fair tax? Slashing the highest corporate taxes in the world? Giving you a tax break? All of it could be done with a snap of the fingers.

Repeal Obamacare? Check. End illegal immigration? Check. Build the wall? Check.  

Crush the Deep State? Done, by God, done!

There was not a damn thing the Democrats could do to stop them from draining the swamp.

Except the Republican leadership didn’t mean it. With the exception of the Freedom Caucus in the House, and literally a handful in the Senate, the rank-and-file didn’t either. Not one word of it.

The opportunity arose for the vote to repeal Obamacare, and after huffing and puffing, and huffing and puffing some more, the dust settled and socialized health care remains the law of the land, perhaps permanently.

The opportunity arose for tax reform, to enact the cuts America desperately needs. It was never a matter of if, it was a matter of how much. It is now mid-August and nothing, absolutely nothing has been accomplished — even attempted!

And now we face the final test: the debt ceiling. Will we or won’t we stop the spending madness? Will the Republicans enact the cuts they’ve promised, or will they now be the ones to kick the can, piling evermore trillions of dollars of debt on their own grandchildren?

By every indication that’s precisely what they plan to do. The signal has come from President Trump, from Speaker Ryan, and from Majority Leader McConnell. The debt ceiling will be raised and no fiscal sanity will be restored.

There is no difference between Republicans and Democrats. Put them together. They are the swamp.

Just as Republicans have the power to enact the agenda they’ve pledged in toto, so too do they now own the federal government, in toto. It’s no longer Obamacare. It’s GOPcare. It’s no longer crazy liberal Democratic spending. It’s crazy liberal Republican spending. It’s no longer socialist Democratic Party taxation, it’s socialist Republican Party taxation. All the legislation authorizing all these programs, all the graft, all the waste, all the obscenity, all the immorality, and where Planned Parenthood is concerned, all the killing — all of it is now formally authored by the Republican Party.

Come the Congressional elections next year, and the presidential election in 2020, the Grand Old Party will once again bellow its hallowed promises. But this time it won’t work. This time there will be no straw men to blame. This time their voters will know those hallowed promises are not even hollow promises. They are lies.

These voters are tasting betrayal. They will not vote to swallow more vomit.

We are watching the GOP systematically committing suicide.

Brent Bozell is the Chairman of ForAmerica, a national grassroots organization whose mission is to use social media to reinvigorate the public with the principles of American exceptionalism: freedom, prosperity, and virtue. ForAmerica has over 9 million members and is a non-profit 501(c)4. www.ForAmerica.org

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Merkel defends open borders refugee policy during raucous campaign appearance

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced some rowdy demonstrators at a campaign event in Quedlinburg, Germany on Saturday, in advance of the September 24 election. The demonstrators were protesting Merkel’s open borders policy from 2015 that saw nearly a million refugees, mostly from Iraq and Syria, pour into the country.

Merkel had a change of heart in 2016, closing several border crossings and denying asylum to many. The result was that only 280,000 refugees entered Germany that year, and only 108,000 so far this year.

But Merkel told a local newspaper that she does not regret her decision to allow so many potential terrorists into the country. Germany has suffered a spate of terror attacks in the last two years and many blame Merkel’s policies for the attacks.

Bloomberg:

“I would make all of the important decisions of 2015 the same way again,” Merkel was quoted as saying in a Welt am Sonntag newspaper interview published Sunday. Four weeks before Germany’s election on Sept. 24, the comments underscore her conviction that there was a humanitarian need to open the border when a record influx of refugees made their way through southern and eastern Europe to Germany that year.

Part of the problem in the buildup to the 2015 crisis is that Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy were too often left alone by other European Union countries to deal with refugees arriving from outside the bloc, Merkel was quoted as saying. She renewed her campaign pledge that Germany “should never again witness” such an emergency.

Merkel’s open-borders stance depressed her approval ratings last year and spurred the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party after a record number of 980,000 asylum seekers, many of them fleeing war in Syria, arrived in Germany in 2015. Critics included U.S. President Donald Trump, who called Merkel’s policy a “catastrophic mistake” in an interview with European media.

Merkel’s poll numbers rebounded as the influx ebbed to 280,000 last year, restricted by border closures along the so-called Balkan route and a refugee accord between the EU and Turkey. Some 106,000 asylum seekers arrived in the first seven months of 2017, led by Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, according to German Interior Ministry figures.

Support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc declined 1 percentage point to 38 percent while her main opponent, the Social Democrats led by challenger Martin Schulz, also fell 1 point to 23 percent, according to a weekly Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

At the same time, 51 percent of Germans would vote for Merkel if the chancellor were elected directly, compared with 22 percent for Schulz, according to the newspaper. That compares with a 39-38 percent edge for Merkel in January, when Schulz’s emergence as her main challenger gave the SPD a temporary poll boost.

The pro-business Free Democrats and the Alternative for Germany gained one point each in the weekly survey, polling 9 percent and 8 percent respectively, with the anti-capitalist Left party unchanged at 9 percent and the Greens declining 1 point to 7 percent.

What is going to save Merkel from defeat is the weakness of her main rival, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, whose far left platform has put off millions of voters who might otherwise vote for a viable alternative to Merkel. But the Alternative for Germany party who oppose Merkel’s refugee policies, are going to take millions of votes from Merkel’s coalition, putting her outright election as chancellor in jeapordy.

The AfD has been making their opposition felt on the campaign trail.

The Hill:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced rowdy protesters at a campaign event in Quedlinburg, Germany on Saturday, including jeers and chants of “liar, liar”. 

Reuters reported that Merkel was interrupted during a 30-minute campaign address in the city by groups of unruly demonstrators holding signs that read “Merkel must go”. Many accused Merkel of terror attacks in the nation in recent years.

Merkel, who is running for the nomination of the Christian Democratic Union party for a fourth term in office, is reportedly a favorite to win in September. 

According to Reuters, Merkel responded to the protesters by saying Germany’s problems won’t be solved by “screaming.”

“I hope you were able to understand some of that even though some of you out there kept on yelling,” Merkel told the crowd.

“Some believe the problems in Germany can be fixed by screaming – but I don’t think so and the majority of the people here don’t think so either,” she added. “Some people can’t do anything else but scream and shout – but we’re not going to let them lead us astray.” 

“Diversity makes us strong in Germany and that’s something we want to maintain,” she said Saturday. Sound familiar? It’s a statement that’s impossible to prove. In fact, the question could be asked; was Germany stronger internally when it was a homogenus, mostly Christian country? And the follow up question: In what way has Germany become “stronger” with the influx of several million aliens who are rejecting German culture and trying to impose their own?

For the present, it doesn’t matter. Unless Merkel makes a major faux pas, she is assured of a victory on election day.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced some rowdy demonstrators at a campaign event in Quedlinburg, Germany on Saturday, in advance of the September 24 election. The demonstrators were protesting Merkel’s open borders policy from 2015 that saw nearly a million refugees, mostly from Iraq and Syria, pour into the country.

Merkel had a change of heart in 2016, closing several border crossings and denying asylum to many. The result was that only 280,000 refugees entered Germany that year, and only 108,000 so far this year.

But Merkel told a local newspaper that she does not regret her decision to allow so many potential terrorists into the country. Germany has suffered a spate of terror attacks in the last two years and many blame Merkel’s policies for the attacks.

Bloomberg:

“I would make all of the important decisions of 2015 the same way again,” Merkel was quoted as saying in a Welt am Sonntag newspaper interview published Sunday. Four weeks before Germany’s election on Sept. 24, the comments underscore her conviction that there was a humanitarian need to open the border when a record influx of refugees made their way through southern and eastern Europe to Germany that year.

Part of the problem in the buildup to the 2015 crisis is that Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy were too often left alone by other European Union countries to deal with refugees arriving from outside the bloc, Merkel was quoted as saying. She renewed her campaign pledge that Germany “should never again witness” such an emergency.

Merkel’s open-borders stance depressed her approval ratings last year and spurred the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party after a record number of 980,000 asylum seekers, many of them fleeing war in Syria, arrived in Germany in 2015. Critics included U.S. President Donald Trump, who called Merkel’s policy a “catastrophic mistake” in an interview with European media.

Merkel’s poll numbers rebounded as the influx ebbed to 280,000 last year, restricted by border closures along the so-called Balkan route and a refugee accord between the EU and Turkey. Some 106,000 asylum seekers arrived in the first seven months of 2017, led by Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, according to German Interior Ministry figures.

Support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc declined 1 percentage point to 38 percent while her main opponent, the Social Democrats led by challenger Martin Schulz, also fell 1 point to 23 percent, according to a weekly Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

At the same time, 51 percent of Germans would vote for Merkel if the chancellor were elected directly, compared with 22 percent for Schulz, according to the newspaper. That compares with a 39-38 percent edge for Merkel in January, when Schulz’s emergence as her main challenger gave the SPD a temporary poll boost.

The pro-business Free Democrats and the Alternative for Germany gained one point each in the weekly survey, polling 9 percent and 8 percent respectively, with the anti-capitalist Left party unchanged at 9 percent and the Greens declining 1 point to 7 percent.

What is going to save Merkel from defeat is the weakness of her main rival, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, whose far left platform has put off millions of voters who might otherwise vote for a viable alternative to Merkel. But the Alternative for Germany party who oppose Merkel’s refugee policies, are going to take millions of votes from Merkel’s coalition, putting her outright election as chancellor in jeapordy.

The AfD has been making their opposition felt on the campaign trail.

The Hill:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced rowdy protesters at a campaign event in Quedlinburg, Germany on Saturday, including jeers and chants of “liar, liar”. 

Reuters reported that Merkel was interrupted during a 30-minute campaign address in the city by groups of unruly demonstrators holding signs that read “Merkel must go”. Many accused Merkel of terror attacks in the nation in recent years.

Merkel, who is running for the nomination of the Christian Democratic Union party for a fourth term in office, is reportedly a favorite to win in September. 

According to Reuters, Merkel responded to the protesters by saying Germany’s problems won’t be solved by “screaming.”

“I hope you were able to understand some of that even though some of you out there kept on yelling,” Merkel told the crowd.

“Some believe the problems in Germany can be fixed by screaming – but I don’t think so and the majority of the people here don’t think so either,” she added. “Some people can’t do anything else but scream and shout – but we’re not going to let them lead us astray.” 

“Diversity makes us strong in Germany and that’s something we want to maintain,” she said Saturday. Sound familiar? It’s a statement that’s impossible to prove. In fact, the question could be asked; was Germany stronger internally when it was a homogenus, mostly Christian country? And the follow up question: In what way has Germany become “stronger” with the influx of several million aliens who are rejecting German culture and trying to impose their own?

For the present, it doesn’t matter. Unless Merkel makes a major faux pas, she is assured of a victory on election day.

 

via American Thinker Blog

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Vatican starting to look hypocritical on those ‘national security concerns’

The Vatican has called an ISIS terrorist video from the Philippines threatening the life of the pope “worrying” and made vague statements about security being in ready to halt the potential attack.

Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s No. 2 official, said he has seen the video of militants desecrating Christian statues and threatening the pope by saying they’ll come to Rome, as they tear in half photos of him and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

The video was mostly filmed in the Philippines, where ISIS has been clashing with government forces for control of the city of Marawi, MailOnline reported.

Parolin said: “Obviously, one cannot help but worry, above all for the senseless hatred that it is.” But he said the Vatican has not added more measures to its already bolstered security.

It’s not their first threat against the Vatican. Terrorists launched another video with St. Peter’s Square in their crosshairs in 2015, created in the wake of their murder of a group of Egyptian Christians on a beach the same year.

The Swiss Guards recently said it is “only a matter of time” before the terrorists do their worst to strike at the Vatican.

The threat comes at a peculiar time – in the wake of words from the pope urging Europe to take all comers in great refugee inflow, without regard for “national security concerns.”

In the message, Francis demanded governments welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, saying Jesus’ message of love is rooted in welcoming the “rejected strangers of every age.”

He demanded a simplified process of granting humanitarian and temporary visas and rejected arbitrary and collective expulsions as “unsuitable.” He said the principle of ensuring each person’s dignity “obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security.”

Whose personal safety that might be was not specified. But it appeared the Holy Father placed a higher value on the right of potential terrorists to come to Europe to live the good life than the right of their intended victims to live without fear, whether Europe’s victims of Afghani rape maurauders, or Europe’s victims of the next terrorist spectacular.

It was a singularly irresponsible statement because what on earth did he think national security concerns were except for protection for the lives of the people these nations’ leaders have a sacred duty to protect? The pope’s remark about ‘obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security concerns’ makes absolutely no sense given that the personal safety of Europeans is exactly what is known as national security. Anything else is to prioritize terrorists’ lives over those of the locals.

Now he’s got some ‘worrying’ things himself with this absurd policy position. Yes, we understand he wants to ensure that Christian duties to strangers are followed, but this does not necessarily mean taking good with bad into a home country and hoping the bomb doesn’t go off. If it did, there’d be no ISIS terrorist video to find “worrying.”

There are many ways to help refugees besides extending immigration to them and witih ISIS already stating that it has infiltrated refugee streams, there is every reason to shut the door and keep them out until they can be sorted out. Refugee camps near their home country should do the job just fine.

Somehow, it’s easy to throw ordinary people off the side and declare them expendible in the great quest to fill Europe’s baby bust. But it all looks different when in the eyes of the Vatican when it’s the Holy Father’s life on the line. The Vatican should have known better, because it comes out looking hypocritical now.

 

 

The Vatican has called an ISIS terrorist video from the Philippines threatening the life of the pope “worrying” and made vague statements about security being in ready to halt the potential attack.

Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s No. 2 official, said he has seen the video of militants desecrating Christian statues and threatening the pope by saying they’ll come to Rome, as they tear in half photos of him and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.

The video was mostly filmed in the Philippines, where ISIS has been clashing with government forces for control of the city of Marawi, MailOnline reported.

Parolin said: “Obviously, one cannot help but worry, above all for the senseless hatred that it is.” But he said the Vatican has not added more measures to its already bolstered security.

It’s not their first threat against the Vatican. Terrorists launched another video with St. Peter’s Square in their crosshairs in 2015, created in the wake of their murder of a group of Egyptian Christians on a beach the same year.

The Swiss Guards recently said it is “only a matter of time” before the terrorists do their worst to strike at the Vatican.

The threat comes at a peculiar time – in the wake of words from the pope urging Europe to take all comers in great refugee inflow, without regard for “national security concerns.”

In the message, Francis demanded governments welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, saying Jesus’ message of love is rooted in welcoming the “rejected strangers of every age.”

He demanded a simplified process of granting humanitarian and temporary visas and rejected arbitrary and collective expulsions as “unsuitable.” He said the principle of ensuring each person’s dignity “obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security.”

Whose personal safety that might be was not specified. But it appeared the Holy Father placed a higher value on the right of potential terrorists to come to Europe to live the good life than the right of their intended victims to live without fear, whether Europe’s victims of Afghani rape maurauders, or Europe’s victims of the next terrorist spectacular.

It was a singularly irresponsible statement because what on earth did he think national security concerns were except for protection for the lives of the people these nations’ leaders have a sacred duty to protect? The pope’s remark about ‘obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security concerns’ makes absolutely no sense given that the personal safety of Europeans is exactly what is known as national security. Anything else is to prioritize terrorists’ lives over those of the locals.

Now he’s got some ‘worrying’ things himself with this absurd policy position. Yes, we understand he wants to ensure that Christian duties to strangers are followed, but this does not necessarily mean taking good with bad into a home country and hoping the bomb doesn’t go off. If it did, there’d be no ISIS terrorist video to find “worrying.”

There are many ways to help refugees besides extending immigration to them and witih ISIS already stating that it has infiltrated refugee streams, there is every reason to shut the door and keep them out until they can be sorted out. Refugee camps near their home country should do the job just fine.

Somehow, it’s easy to throw ordinary people off the side and declare them expendible in the great quest to fill Europe’s baby bust. But it all looks different when in the eyes of the Vatican when it’s the Holy Father’s life on the line. The Vatican should have known better, because it comes out looking hypocritical now.

 

 

via American Thinker Blog

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Venezuelan dictator takes next step in isolating his nation

Whenever dictators rise to power one of the first steps they generally take is to assert control over the media. After all, you don’t want stories circulating among the people which are critical of your various abuses. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is no exception to this rule, and he quickly moved to shut down two of the nation’s remaining radio stations which had aired stories critical of his takeover. (Associated Press)

Authorities have shut down two radio stations that aired critical coverage of President Nicolas Maduro’s government by refusing to renew their licenses, a broadcast executive announced, as the country staged military exercises in defiance of Washington and new U.S. sanctions.

Enza Carbone, president of the country’s Radio Chamber, said late Friday in a statement that the National Telecommunications Commission did not renew the stations’ permits when they expired and ordered them to cease transmitting.

The National Media Workers’ Union accused the government of taking “arbitrary” action and violating freedom of expression.

Two days earlier, Maduro ordered cable television carriers to stop offering a couple of stations from Columbia which also broadcast “wrong thinking” news. This is precisely the same pattern we saw in Turkey last year after the failed coup attempt when Recep Tayyip Erdogan began imprisoning journalists by the hundreds and closing down newspapers who printed unfavorable analysis of his regime.

The end game of a strategy such as this can be seen in North Korea today. There is no media (aside from some black market radio from across the border) except for the state operated television and radio networks. Rather than news or any sort of informed discussion, citizens who can somehow afford a television or radio (and they are few in number) are treated to a non-stop flow of approved government propaganda designed to lionize the leadership and condemn the west as enemies.

So what, if anything, will the rest of the world do about Maduro? Our United Nations Ambassador, Nikki Haley, came out this week with yet another forceful condemnation, asserting that the United States would not “tolerate” a dictatorship in Venezuela. (Reuters)

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Friday that U.S. sanctions against Venezuela were a strong message to President Nicolas Maduro that the United States would not tolerate a “dictatorship” in that country.

Haley, speaking at United Nations headquarters in New York, said she had not been asked to meet at the UN with visiting Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Arreaza.

It’s a noble message, but at this point the dictator ship has sailed, if you’ll pardon the pun. The former government is all but dissolved. Maduro’s new assembly of sycophants has usurped all the powers of the legislature and they’re just rewriting the laws of the country to reflect the President’s whims on the fly. Their Supreme Court is packed with Maduro loyalists. Armed militias roam the streets beating down and in some cases murdering protesters and members of the opposition party are quickly filling Maduro’s prisons to overflowing.

I’m not sure how many more things or people we could really sanction at this point. None of it is dissuading Maduro. We may not want to “tolerate” a dictatorship in Venezuela, but we’ve most certainly got one.

The post Venezuelan dictator takes next step in isolating his nation appeared first on Hot Air.

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The Birth of Antifa and The Lefts Roadmap To A New America

There are many Americans that refuse to believe and perhaps are on some level of denial of the fact that the left seeks to upend American culture and rewrite history.  It seems unimaginable that America has within its borders people who not only reject the very foundation and principles upon which this country came into existence but are actively seeking to alter American society toward a more historically failed socialist system.

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Arpaio Hints at Run For Office: ‘I’m Going to Be Very Active in the Political Arena’

Arpaio Hints at Run For Office: ‘I’m Going to Be Very Active in the Political Arena’

by Pam Key27 Aug 20170

27 Aug, 2017
27 Aug, 2017

Saturday on WMAL while discussing his pardon by President Donald Trump, former Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he was planning to stay “very active” in politics.

Arpaio said, “I’m going to be very active in the political arena.”

He continued, “Somebody has to speak out, and I’m going to do it. I’ll have a press conference on Monday, and I’m going to put the cards on the table what a witch hunt this was.”

When asked by host Steve Malzberg if he planned to run for office Arpaio said, “I may do that.”

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Fatah Official:  Jared Kushner’s Mideast Peace Mission Is a ‘Delusion’

TEL AVIV — Talk of any U.S.-led initiative to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is a “delusion,” charged Palestinian official Mahmoud Aloul, a Fatah deputy to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Aloul, considered one of the candidates to succeed Abbas as the head of Fatah, said in an interview with Saudi news site Elaph regarding the visit of an American delegation last week in Israel that, “These visits haven’t led to any results. We aren’t deluding ourselves; there can be no advancement in the peace process with the right-wing Israeli government under the leadership of Netanyahu.”

President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner led last week’s mission, with the delegation also including Jason Greenblatt, envoy for international negotiations, and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell.

Aloul criticized Kushner’s delegation, stating, “Judging from the latest meetings, the delegates didn’t bring anything new with them and didn’t present any initiative. The American delegates come to hear the Israeli side. They hear the lies and the claims of Israel and then they come to us to discuss these claims. This is a big problem in mindset and we won’t agree to continue down this path.”

Asked if the U.S. delegation demanded an end to the payments of the families of Palestinian terrorists and their families, Aloul answered, “Not only this, President Trump has interfered in much smaller issues like what’s published on certain sites. They talked to us about incitement. We told them, let’s make peace so there won’t be any more martyrs or any more prisoners and then we won’t need to pay them a salary.”

Aloul said that the Palestinian Authority didn’t agree to the demand to end the pay-for-slay stipends to terrorists, referring to them as payments to prisoners. “We didn’t agree to this at all,” said Aloul. “This is a humanitarian issue connected to children and women and Palestinian society and we can’t end the payments.”

Aloul claimed that the Trump administration isn’t seriously discussing the creation of a Palestinian state. “They don’t talk about the principle of two countries, they come after having adopted the claims of the Israelis,” said Aloul. “They don’t talk about stopping the settlements. In reality, nothing is happening.”

When asked if the Palestinians still place hope on the efforts of the administration and the delegates’ visits to the region, Abbas’ deputy answered, “You could say that we don’t have any more delusions regarding the fact that their (the Americans’) policies will lead to some sort of result.”

The Fatah official warned that if political stagnation continues, “The issue of a popular uprising is on the table. It is a legitimate right and we may make a decision on this issue soon.”

Aloul left out that the Palestinians have refused successive offers of a state made by Israel on numerous occasions.

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Watch: MNSBC host attempts to bait Gov. Greg Abbott over illegal aliens — his response is epic

During an MSNBC segment that focused on Hurricane Harvey on Friday, host Stephanie Ruhle decided to focus on how illegal immigrants would be impacted by Hurricane Harvey. She then used her time with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to ask him about shelter for illegal aliens and the potential for deportation.

The initial report

When MSNBC news corresponded Kerry Sanders came on air to provide an update to viewers, Ruhle interrupted him to ask about illegal immigrants.

“Can I ask, you might not know the answer but Texas, especially Southern Texas, has quite a few undocumented immigrants. Are they able to go to any of these centers that you’re being directed to by city officials? Ruhle asked Sanders.

Ruhle was worried illegal aliens would face deportation.

“Not only is it wide open, nobody checks on any of that. But interestingly one of the things that has held people up in years past is animals. People don’t want to leave because of their pets,” Sanders answered.

The Abbott interview

Later in the show, Ruhle asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) a similar set of questions.

“How about the risk of deportation for those who are undocumented immigrants that could be in the way of the storm’s path?” Ruhle asked. “Are they in the clear to go to some of these evacuation centers? Do they have to show ID?”

Abbott nodded his head as she asked the question. His response, however, was definitely not what Ruhle anticipated:

“It’s my understanding from what I saw from the border patrol instructions yesterday that it will not be an issue,” the governor responded. “What everyone is focused on right now is ensuring that we do all we can to protect life. We all have a high regard for life. We want to ensure the safety of all lives and we’re prepared to take all measures to do so.”

A wrench in the plan

Ruhle attempted to throw Abbott under the bus by making the assumption he would say illegal aliens are not protected during the hurricane. Instead, Abbott side-stepped a political grenade and provided a humanitarian response that all sides could live with.

Well done, Governor.

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Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin slap Sheriff Joe Arpaio critics with this blistering reminder

Conservative author and commentator Michelle Malkin appeared on “Hannity” on Friday to discuss President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt for defying a court order saying his department must quit detaining illegal aliens.

Upholding the law

During the interview, Sean Hannity brought up one prominent fact: Arpaio worked to secure the border when the Obama administration was actively failing to uphold federal immigration laws.

“He [Arpaio] did uphold the law of the land and he did it — as did the governor at the time, Jan Brewer — they did it in face of tremendous pressure and opposition not to enforce the laws,” Hannity said. “Now, if you want to change the laws you can change them but not enforcing them shouldn’t be an option for anybody, correct?”

“That’s exactly right,” Malkin responded. “This was on overzealous, open borders persecution and prosecution and I think people need to remember the context here because you had the Obama administration officials who have open borders as their motto, as their agenda, as their end goal.”

According to Malkin, a number of open border activists were providing illegal aliens with guides to evading the United States Border Patrol.

“These were the ideologues populating the Department of Homeland Security. Of course, they went after Joe Arpaio, because he was doing the job the Obama administration officials and the federal government refused to do,” Malkin said.

About the charges

Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, was convicted of criminal contempt for allowing his department to continue detaining illegal aliens despite a court order telling him to halt the practice.

The misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in jail but President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio’s sentence, calling the sheriff an “American Patriot.”

The actual role of government agencies

Government agencies were established to enforce our laws, not cherry pick which ones they like and which ones they don’t. Why are we, as Americans, allowing unelected officials to decide which laws are applicable?

If federal, state and/or local governments decided a law was important enough to establish — and yes, I’m giving the government the benefit of the doubt in this case — why are we sitting by as bureaucrats rewrite our laws by picking and choose what laws they shall enforce?

via TheBlaze.com – Stories

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Firearm Owners Find Loophole, Foil California’s AR-15 Registration Scheme

Firearm Owners Find Loophole, Foil California’s AR-15 Registration Scheme

by AWR Hawkins25 Aug 20170

25 Aug, 2017
25 Aug, 2017

Firearm owners in California have discovered a way around the state’s latest “assault weapons” ban, which requires registering AR-15s with bullet buttons.

Bullet buttons are a mechanism law-abiding Californians placed on their AR-15s to allow their rifles’ magazines to remain detachable, yet compliant with the state’s last “assault weapons” ban. A bullet button is a button located where the normal magazine release is located, but designed so that it can only be pressed in with pressure from a sharp object, most commonly the point of a bullet.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the updated “assault weapons” ban—signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on July 1, 2016—contains a “ban [on] the sale of semiautomatic rifles equipped with bullet buttons.” And it requires that rifles possessing such buttons be registered the state, where they are listed in a database.

The California Department of Justice just launched an online registration website to accommodate bullet button registration, and Fox News reports gun owners find the new registration scheme “more intrusive” that previous registration requirements. For example, attorney and Artemis Defense founder Steven Lieberman said, “The registration is seen by many as a trap to purge the owner since they ask for very specific information about acquisition of the original rifle that most owners don’t have or remember. As a result, [they] ‘guesstimate’ as most would…[but] are potentially committing perjury.”

But bullet button owners have discovered a way around the registration process, an option by which they can mark their guns as a “featureless” firearm on the state’s website. Assemblyman Marc Levine (D) is hinting that this option may be short-lived, but it is there now. Levine said, “By closing the bullet button loophole, it is slowing down the reloading mechanism. Lawmakers will continue to do whatever it takes to keep communities safe.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

via Breitbart News

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