A federal appeals court reinstated the securities fraud and conspiracies conviction of Hunter Biden’s former business partner on Wednesday, reversing a decision made last year by a lower-court judge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Devon Archer “knew at least the general nature and extent of the scheme and intended…
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas couldn’t help but poke fun at an online video stunt where New York Mayor Bill de Blasio portrayed himself as heroic and virtuous for wearing a mask this week. In New York, where de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are the epitome of failed governance, the second-term, worst mayor in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin favorably compared presidential candidate Joe Biden and the Democratic Party to Soviet communism in an interview with the Rossiya TV channel released Wednesday.
Putin once again denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. election and pledged to work with whomever wins the 2020 election, Newsweek reported. But he favorably remarked on the Democratic Party’s ideology, comparing it to the old Soviet Union’s Communist Party, and said those shared values may be a "basis for developing contacts" with Biden should he win the White House.
"The Democratic Party is traditionally closer to the so-called liberal values, closer to social democratic ideas," Putin said. "And it was from the social democratic environment that the Communist Party evolved."
"After all, I was a member of the Soviet Communist Party for nearly 20 years," Putin added. "I was a rank-and-file member, but it can be said that I believed in the party’s ideas. I still like many of these left-wing values. Equality and fraternity. What is bad about them? In fact, they are akin to Christian values.
"Yes, they are difficult to implement, but they are very attractive, nevertheless," he continued. "In other words, this can be seen as an ideological basis for developing contacts with the Democratic representative."
Putin also noted the Soviet Union rhetorically supported the civil rights movement for black Americans and suggested this is another common value he shares with the American left-wing in the context of Black Lives Matter protests in the United States.
Black Americans "constitute a stable electorate" for Democrats, Putin said. "The Soviet Union also supported the African Americans’ movement for their legitimate rights."
He also tied the civil rights movement to communist ideology.
"Back in the 1930s, Communist International leaders wrote that both black and white workers had a common enemy — imperialism and capitalism. They also wrote that these people could become the most effective group in the future revolutionary battle," Putin said.
"So, this is something that can be seen, to a degree, as common values, if not a unifying agent for us," he explained. "People of my generation remember a time when huge portraits of Angela Davis, a member of the U.S. Communist Party and an ardent fighter for the rights of African Americans, were on view around the Soviet Union."
Although Putin noted Biden has used "sharp anti-Russia rhetoric" against Russian election meddling and Russia’s foreign policy, he specifically identified nuclear arms control as an area he’s ready to partner with Biden, should the Democratic candidate win.
"Candidate Biden has said openly that he was ready to extend the New START or to sign a new strategic offensive reductions treaty," Putin said. "This is already a very significant element of our potential future cooperation."
He reiterated his willingness to work with Trump or Biden, whomever wins.
"I would like to repeat what I have said more than once before. We will work with any future president of the United States, the one whom the American people give their vote of confidence," Putin said.
President Trump appeared Friday on Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated talk show and declared “we have something that will cure” COVID-19. The president was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 1, and the next day was taken to Walter Reed National Medical Center, where he was treated with antibody drugs. Trump was among fewer than 10 people […]
President Trump raged at reporting about Attorney General William Barr telling Republicans not to expect more indictments or a big report from U.S. Attorney John Durham before the 2020 election.
Federal Judge Dan Aaron Polster, a Clinton appointee on Thursday struck down the Republican Ohio Secretary of State’s order which prohibited ballot drop boxes.
Ballot drop boxes increase the chances of voter fraud because there is no chain of custody which is why the Democrat party is arguing for mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes.
“The right to vote guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments is without a question one of the most important rights guaranteed by our Constitution,” Polster wrote. “The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the anxiety over whether the U.S. Postal Service will be able to handle the unprecedented number of ballots being returned by mail, is proposing unprecedented challenges to voters and boards of election.”
“The state’s procedures must be fair,” Polster continued. “They must not place any burden upon voting beyond what is necessary to ensure a fair election, and they may not impose an undue burden upon any suspect class of citizens.”
“While it may be said that the 7,903 registered voters in Noble County may find a single drop box location sufficient, the record demonstrates that the 858,041 registered voters in Cuyahoga County will likely not,” wrote Polster.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose will appeal the decision, spokeswoman Maggie Sheehan said.
“Voting has begun, and Ohio’s elections are safe, secure, and accessible,” she said. “The place to make changes in how we run our elections is the Statehouse, not the courthouse.”
BREAKING: Victory secured in Ohio over Sec’y LaRose’s unlawful and discriminatory rule BANNING counties from having more than 1 drop box. This ruling benefits voters across Ohio, esp those in Cuyahoga Cty and other population centers. We’ll keep fighting to protect #VotingRights. pic.twitter.com/7M1TwhvOyF
— Kristen Clarke 866-OUR-VOTE (@KristenClarkeJD) October 8, 2020
In a review of key U.S. Senate races this election season, the president of abortion industry watchdog Operation Rescue warned Kansans against ignoring state Sen. Barbara Bollier’s (D) “radical support” for abortion.
“Kansans are predominately pro-life, and it will be up to the pro-life supporters in Kansas to thwart this underhanded attempt to take over this seat for the pro-abortion left,” Troy Newman wrote Thursday. “Operation Rescue fully supports and endorses Roger Marshall [R] for U.S. Senate and urges Kansans to make sure they are registered and get to the polls to vote in person for President [Donald] Trump and Roger Marshall.”
Marshall and Bollier are vying for the open seat vacated by the retirement of Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.
Bollier is a retired anesthesiologist, and Marshall is a member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG).
“Despite virtually no serious polling in this race, the seat has been considered a solidly Republican one,” Operation Rescue reported. “However, [we believe] that Bollier has a dramatic funding and public relations advantage over Marshall that has placed this seat in jeopardy.”
Bollier tweeted results of a poll that showed she is leading Marshall by three points:
Operation Rescue noted Bollier, who left the Republican Party in 2018, is actually running as a “moderate” who is backed by some Republicans.
“She has boasted of being an ‘elder’ in her church and ‘leading with Christian values,’” the organization observed:
Kansans need to understand the Democratic tactic employed in this tight race. Democrat public relations firms in the past have polled Kansans to see what resonates with them on issues and language. Then they craft a campaign message that coincides with what Kansans want to hear. That deceptive tactic helped elect Democrat Laura Kelly as Kansas Governor in 2018.
“Bollier’s effort to portray herself as a ‘Christian values moderate’ is just her public relations persona,” Newman stated. “It is not who she really is. In reality, she is a leftist Democrat who will take her marching orders from [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-NY] and Planned Parenthood in Washington.”
In 2016, when still a Republican state representative, Bollier supported a bill to repeal a ban on tele-abortions, enabling more women and girls to perform their own at-home, drug-induced abortions.
However, at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, she voted against a bipartisan bill that temporarily expanded telemedicine so that more Kansans could obtain medical care.
Her reason for voting against the bill was that it would allow out-of-state physicians to treat Kansans.
According to the Kansas Health Institute, the bill allowed out-of-state physicians to practice telemedicine if they advise the Kansas Board of Healing Arts in writing, and if they hold an unrestricted license to practice medicine in another state and are not the subject of an investigation or disciplinary action.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Bollier said she was alarmed the bill would enable out-of-state health care professionals who were not overseen by the state licensure board to treat Kansans.
“This creates a tremendous safety issue for the people of Kansas,” she said.
Bollier stated she follows “science,” but, with many other states allowing expanded telemedicine services that allow physicians in good standing from other regions to treat patients during the pandemic, the Democrat’s expressed reason for voting against these services appeared to be a concern over a change in regulations.
In 2011, Bollier also voted against a popular bill that required both parents or guardians to consent to a minor’s abortion.
As Kansans for Life pointed out, the language in the bill clearly stated the consent of the mother would be sufficient if the girl has been attacked by either a father figure or legal guardian.
Nevertheless, Bollier said she voted against the bill because some girls are raped by family members, including their fathers.
“And to expect someone who has been raped to go to their rapist and get permission to deal with the issue seems cruel and unusual,” she said.
Kansans for Life said Bollier either did not read the bill or was attempting to deceive voters about the measure.
In her current race, Bollier seems focused on the Democrat strategy of identity politics, hence her recent tweet about becoming “the first woman physician in the Senate.”
Marshall has earned the endorsement of the Susan B. Anthony List’s (SBA List) Candidate Fund PAC.
“Dr. Roger Marshall is an unwavering champion for unborn children,” said the Honorable Marilyn Musgrave, SBA List’s vice president of government affairs.
“His 100% pro-life voting record in Congress stands in stark contrast to his opponent Barbara Bollier, who shamefully supports late-term abortion and is endorsed by the abortion industry,” Musgrave added. “Unlike Bollier, who is radically out of step with constituents’ values, pro-life Kansans can count on Roger Marshall to make their voices heard.”
Public advocacy on behalf of the Armenian media indicates that reality television star Kim Kardashian West may be using her relationship with President Donald Trump to urge the United States to support the country in its ongoing conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan, the Hill reported on Thursday.
Azerbaijan and Armenia both claim the other initiated unprompted military hostilities in a region known as Nagorno-Karabakh, legally part of Azerbaijan but populated, by a wide majority, by ethnic Armenians. Baku does not govern Nagorno-Karabakh, run by Armenian leaders and identifying itself as the sovereign Republic of Artsakh. The government of Armenia does not recognize the sovereignty of Artsakh, but does support Armenian self-determination there.
Artsakh has been part of Azerbaijan since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin placed it in the Azeri Soviet Socialist Republic. Armenians contend that there is no history of any significant ethnic Azeri population in the region and reject Azeri rule.
Since hostilities erupted in late September, Artsakh officials claim that over half the population of the region has been displaced. Amnesty International verified reports this week that Azerbaijan has launched cluster bombs – munitions that human rights activists have long fought to ban due to their inability to target properly, causing widespread civilian harm – into Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian officials have particularly sounded the alarm over the behavior of Turkey, an Azeri ally, against the Armenians. Yerevan has accused the government of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of flying in as many as 4,000 jihadists from the Syrian civil war theater to fight on Azerbaijan’s behalf, claims Ankara denies.
Kardashian West, who is an ethnic Armenian, has regularly updated fans on her multiple social media accounts on the situation in Artsakh, urging action to prevent civilian strife. She has relied on messaging organized by Eric Esrailian, a human rights activist and gastroenterologist in Los Angeles, for specifics. The Hillspoke to Esrailian, who explained that Armenian-Americans found the relative lack of international outrage at the Artsakh situation “frustrating.”
“What I’ve done with my friends, like Kim Kardashian, her family, her siblings, and other friends like Cher, [System of a Down frontman] Serj Tankian, [Reddit mogul] Alexis Ohanian, all of us — obviously they have a bigger platform than I do, but I have the ability to pull everybody together … and I feel honored that everybody cares and they basically say, ‘what can I do?’” Esrailian said, referring to high-profile Armenian-American celebrities who have promoted his campaign.
Kardashian West and others in her family have shared a message urging specific measures to help end the fighting in the region.
“Armenians in Artsakh have been attacked. We are praying brave men & women risking their lives to protect Artsakh & Armenia. The news is misleading & these are not ‘clashes,’” the message read. “Armenia has been the victim of unprovoked attacks by Azerbaijan & the predictable disinformation campaign that accompanies them. Azerbaijan is blocking social media except for war propaganda. We need international observers to investigate & call for international political and diplomatic measures to prevent unnecessary escalation & tragedy.”
The message also called for Washington to “cut off all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan being used against Armenians & warn Turkey to stop sending arms & fighters to Baku.”
Unlike other celebrities sharing messages of solidarity with the Armenians of Artsakh, the Hill contended that Kardashian West could have more success in shaping policy because of her history of cooperating with the Trump administration on legal reform. Kardashian and her husband, rapper Kanye West, were at the forefront of celebrity efforts to convince President Donald Trump to pardon non-violent criminals and reform criminal laws that prevent reformed American citizens from leading full lives after paying their dues to society in prison.
West himself has also expressed support for Armenia on social media.
“It’s unclear if Kardashian West has been in direct contact with the White House recently over the issue with Armenia and Azerbaijan. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill,” the publication noted.
The Trump administration signed a statement alongside France and Russia urging for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, but has otherwise not intervened. Turkey is a NATO member, so the United States is treaty-bound to protect it if Turkish soldiers get involved in the conflict and Erdogan invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. America maintains friendly relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Kardashian West has been a vocal advocate for the Armenian people consistently throughout her time as an international celebrity. She typically uses the anniversary of the 1915 Armenian genocide, in which the precursor to the modern Turkish state killed over 1.5 million Armenians, to raise awareness of the event and demand recognition. Turkey has never officially acknowledged that it happened. In 2016, Kardashian West condemned the Wall Street Journal for publishing an advertisement denying the Armenian genocide, calling it “reckless, upsetting, and dangerous.”
“It’s one thing when a crappy tabloid profits from a made-up scandal, but for a trusted publication like WSJ to profit from genocide — it’s shameful and unacceptable,” Kardashian West said.
Few celebrities outside of those with Armenian heritage have at press time expressed concern for Nagorno-Karabakh. One exception is rapper Cardi B, who posted a link to a fundraiser to help Armenian civilians this week, only to apologize after Turkish and Azeri social media users bombarded her with messages calling her a terrorist.
“I did not know that this is a war between two countries,” Cardi B explained, apologizing for her support. On social media, the rapper apologized several times, some in response to angry Azeri tweets, responding, “I don’t know wats going on !” and “I love peace … I don’t fucking know.”
