Sitting Out The Standing Ovation for Fallen Navy SEAL
During the Congressional Speech, President Donald Trump took time to honor and pay tribute to the widow of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens. It was an incredibly moving tribute which brought everyone to their feet.
Everyone that is except pouty Keith Ellision and Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who just stared at the ground.
It is an autobiography of a young man who grew up in a dysfunctional Hillbilly family and how he joined the Marines and escaped the meaningless life he was leading and made something of himself.
It is also the story of what has happened to so many Americans and what Trump is seeking to reverse; dependency, the sickness and destructiveness of government welfare etc.
I commend it to all who believe progressive solutions offered by liberal thinking is constructive and the poverty trap in which so many find themselves and cannot shake. (See 2 below.)
(I sent this portion to some fellow Marine friends and this is the comment from one: "Already read it!
Valerie Jarrett, the mother Obama never had, to lead his shadow government effort to disembowel Trump?
Jarrett was exceedingly influential while she was in The White House and generally wrong but Obama reveres her. (See 3 below.)
The Democrat Party is in the beginning stages of its death throes as the battle within the Party is taking place between leftist radicals and the less radical but still liberal main core which is aging and is under attack. It will be interesting to see how the American Jewish supporters of the Democrat Party re-act to this developing schism. Will they become like the passengers on "The Ship of Fools" or can they open their eyes , see what is happening and rid themselves of the habit of decades of contributing and supporting the party they have eagerly embraced?
It is exceedingly difficult to admit reality when you have so much invested, both financially and emotionally. They cannot embrace The Republican Party, even the one Trump is leading, because they have spent all their energy bashing and rejecting him. Their worship of FDR remains strong. Their need to support the underdog , who has been crushed by their policies, remains commanding.
I suspect their unabashed support of The Democrats will diminish somewhat but , in the end, most will remain loyal and supportive to their detriment and eventual rejection. Political cataracts cannot be easily removed.
Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans have their own problems and if they cannot come together and pass reform legislation regarding Obamacare, the government's revenue raising structure, rebuilding the military and reforming our immigration policies so that the reality of illegal immigrants who are here, working and want to become citizens then they too will feel the wrath of recent voters.
It is time to place America first, do what is best for the nation and sublimate personal pettiness. If Democrats wish to bow out, remain on the sidelines and carp so be it. There are ways of sending them a message they are no longer wanted - it is called the ballot box, not term limits which will simply increase the power of the bureaucracy.
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Dick
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1) The Democrats Abandon the Ship of State
Barack Obama is turning his new home in the posh Kalorama section of the nation's capital - just two miles away from the White House - into the nerve center of the mounting insurgency against his successor, President Donald J. Trump.
The former president has set up an office on the West End of the national's capitol, where he recently hosted an open house for his White House staff - including Joe Biden, Susan Rice, Josh Earnest and Jarrett.
After Obama left office, Jarrett moved all her White House belonging into the Kalorama mansion.
'He is going to use his immense popularity with the half of the country that identifies as liberals and progressives,' said the Obama family source. 'Millions of Americans are energized and ready to take to the streets to oppose Trump, but they need to be organized and have their anger focused and directed.
'He had hoped to write his memoirs, golf to his heart's content. and bask in the glory of his eight years in power and the progressive achievements he brought about. Instead, he is going to be leading the fight and strategy to topple Trump.' says the insider.
The friend said that Valerie and her signature enormous totes are going to be packed and ready to go for shopping sprees with Michelle from their native Chicago to Paris and the Far East, including Shanghai.
As Trump praised the sacrifices of Owens, who was killed on Jan. 29 during a military operation against al-Qaida in Yemen, a few Democrats appeared totally unmoved.
“We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy special operator, Senior Chief William ‘Ryan’ Owens. Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero — battling against terrorism and securing our nation,” Trump said.
“I just spoke to [Defense Secretary] Gen. Mattis, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, ‘Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies,’” Trump continued.
“Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity. For as the Bible teaches us, there is no greater act of love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country, and for our freedom — we will never forget him,” Trump said.
Lifezette reports,
I am reading"Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D Vance. It was recommended to me by my number two daughter who lives in Louisville. I have about 60 pages to go.Following those lines, the vast majority of the audience stood and gave the Gold Star family a long ovation. Several Democrats initially stood for the widow, but then remained seated for a majority of the tribute.House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, stood briefly after Owens’ introduction, then remained seated for nearly all of the standing ovation, according to Daily Wire.Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and former DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz (D-Fla) also remained seated and declined to clap for a majority of the standing ovation.(See 1 below.)++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is an autobiography of a young man who grew up in a dysfunctional Hillbilly family and how he joined the Marines and escaped the meaningless life he was leading and made something of himself.
It is also the story of what has happened to so many Americans and what Trump is seeking to reverse; dependency, the sickness and destructiveness of government welfare etc.
I commend it to all who believe progressive solutions offered by liberal thinking is constructive and the poverty trap in which so many find themselves and cannot shake. (See 2 below.)
(I sent this portion to some fellow Marine friends and this is the comment from one: "Already read it!
A great read!
Think you'll find many solutions to today's problems in " The fourth revolution, the race to reinvent the state". The authors, two Oxford grads and editors of "The Economist", discuss how the governments of Europe and America ended up creating Leviathan governments that are wasteful and corrupting. The authors propose solutions you'll find very interesting. M---"
++++++++++++++++++++++++Valerie Jarrett, the mother Obama never had, to lead his shadow government effort to disembowel Trump?
Jarrett was exceedingly influential while she was in The White House and generally wrong but Obama reveres her. (See 3 below.)
The Democrat Party is in the beginning stages of its death throes as the battle within the Party is taking place between leftist radicals and the less radical but still liberal main core which is aging and is under attack. It will be interesting to see how the American Jewish supporters of the Democrat Party re-act to this developing schism. Will they become like the passengers on "The Ship of Fools" or can they open their eyes , see what is happening and rid themselves of the habit of decades of contributing and supporting the party they have eagerly embraced?
It is exceedingly difficult to admit reality when you have so much invested, both financially and emotionally. They cannot embrace The Republican Party, even the one Trump is leading, because they have spent all their energy bashing and rejecting him. Their worship of FDR remains strong. Their need to support the underdog , who has been crushed by their policies, remains commanding.
I suspect their unabashed support of The Democrats will diminish somewhat but , in the end, most will remain loyal and supportive to their detriment and eventual rejection. Political cataracts cannot be easily removed.
Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans have their own problems and if they cannot come together and pass reform legislation regarding Obamacare, the government's revenue raising structure, rebuilding the military and reforming our immigration policies so that the reality of illegal immigrants who are here, working and want to become citizens then they too will feel the wrath of recent voters.
It is time to place America first, do what is best for the nation and sublimate personal pettiness. If Democrats wish to bow out, remain on the sidelines and carp so be it. There are ways of sending them a message they are no longer wanted - it is called the ballot box, not term limits which will simply increase the power of the bureaucracy.
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Dick
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1) The Democrats Abandon the Ship of State
Democrats have two options: 1) #theresistance; or 2) get in the game.
By DANIEL HENNINGER
That scene you saw at the moment President Trump ended his speech to a joint session of Congress was the Democrats abandoning the ship of state.
Like the progressive street demonstrations endured by the country the past four weeks, we may assume Congress’s Democratic delegation organized their post-speech bolt to the exits via the famous social-media hashtag #TheResistance.
During the speech’s most extraordinary moment, the tribute to Carryn Owens, wife of slain SEAL Ryan Owens, one notable Democrat who refused to stand was Rep. Keith Ellison, who just lost a close race for Democratic National Committee chairman to Obama Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, also a man of the left.
You’d have thought that at the two-thirds point, when Mr. Trump hadn’t self-destructed as expected, when instead he was looking less like Alec Baldwin and more like PresidentTrump, that Chuck Schumer might have pulled out his smartphone to tweet the troops, “Walkout maybe not a good idea.” Not this crew. En masse, they went over the side, just as they’ve refused to attend hearings for cabinet nominees and voted as a bloc against virtually all of them.
Donald Trump extended an olive branch on key legislative issues, and the Democrats gave him the you-know-what. In fact, the party might consider making you-know-what its new logo because Mr. Trump has stolen their mascot, the Democratic donkey.
The donkey was the creation of Democrat Andrew Jackson, whose portrait hangs now in Republican Donald Trump’s Oval Office. Jackson’s opponents called him a jackass, which he transformed into a badge of honor by putting the jackass on his campaign posters.
Jackson served two terms. Eight years is going to be a long slog for Democrats if indeed they plan to conduct the nation’s business with the Trump White House from various street corners.
There is one other relevant image from the moments after the speech ended: Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin standing—alone—to shake Mr. Trump’s hand.
Last week, progressive activists petitioned Minority Leader Schumer to expel Sen. Manchin from the leadership team as retribution for his vote in favor of Scott Pruitt’s nomination to run the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sen. Manchin should admit reality and move across the aisle to join the Republicans. What do the middle-finger Democrats have in common anymore with West Virginia, which Mr. Trump carried by 42 points?
We keep reading that the Democrats’ newest coalition of the ascendant—from left to far left—sees the tea party as a model. Presumably that includes the politics of mutually assured destruction.
Imperiled Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, which Mr. Trump carried by 18.5 points and 523,000 votes, expects a primary challenge from the left in 2018. Democratic Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Bill Nelson of Florida and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, all facing tough re-elections in 2018, must feel like they’ve been pulled into an alternative universe. And they have. It’s called the alt-left.
With Breitbart’s Steve Bannon in the White House, we’ve read umpteen journalistic histories of the alt-right, a phrase some reporters seem to have programmed into a user key.
Well, with established Democratic members of Congress now adopting “resistance” as their basic political model, aren’t we due for a similar media dive into the origins of the alt-left?
Keywords would include: the 1930s, the 1960s, Vietnam, Ramparts magazine, the Weather Underground. Which is to say, if the alt-right flirts with white nationalism, the alt-left always conducts politics at the edge of violence, such as the trashing last month of UC Berkeley. One sign: “Become Ungovernable.”
Become ungovernable sounds pretty close to the party’s modus operandi for Donald Trump—before he gave that speech.
Congressional Democrats have two options now. Option one is to stay the course of mass resistance. This option assumes that Tuesday evening’s President Trump will revert soon to Mr. T, the combative street-fighter.
Maybe, but Hillary Clinton thought Americans would abandon Mr. T, and that failed because too many voters were looking past the personality to get the Trump policies on economic revival. It looks now as if that’s exactly what he is going to give them.
If Mr. Trump succeeds, even with only Republican votes, Democrats alienated from the progressive capture of the party could drift further away. The Trump coalition, which is arguably a political bubble, instead could last a generation.
Option two is get out of the streets and get in the game Mr. Trump offered them in his speech.
There’s no telling what the politically eclectic Mr. Trump might concede the Democrats. He’ll insist that his tax bill include Ivanka’s child-care proposals. The Tax Foundation estimates they’d cause a revenue loss of $500 billion. Democrats might ask for a tax to pay for it, like the Obama “Medicare surcharge” on the 1%.
Not to worry. More likely is that the Schumer-Warren Democrats will spend two years listening to the resurrected voice from their past: “Hell no, we won’t go.”
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2) Will Unions Cripple Kentucky’s Belated Charter-School Effort?
Opponents of reform are pushing a weak bill that maintains the local school boards’ monopoly.
By ALLYSIA FINLEY
Kentucky is one of only seven states that doesn’t allow charter schools, making it something of an educational backwater. Republicans have been trying to pass charter-school legislation since 2009, only to be stymied by Democrats, who had a lock on the governorship and state House.
But charters’ time in the Bluegrass State may have finally arrived. In 2015 Republican Matt Bevin, a charter-school champion, was elected governor. Then last year Republicans seized control of the Kentucky House for the first time since 1921 and unseated Speaker Greg Stumbo, a staunch opponent of school choice. Republicans now hold large majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly—64 of 100 seats in the House and 27 of 38 in the Senate.
Even teachers unions and local school boards seem resigned to the inevitability of allowing charter schools. To limit the damage to their interests, they’re trying to exploit divisions among Republicans to keep charters tightly contained by conceding regulatory authority to the local boards.
Kentucky schools rank about average nationwide, though large disparities exist among districts. Last year 77% of middle-school students in the Cincinnati suburb of Fort Thomas scored “proficient” on state math tests. Four miles away in Newport, only 30% did. For Jefferson County (Louisville), the figure was 39%.
“We have a great city, a beautiful downtown, trails,” says Lynn Schaber, a Newport mom whose second-grade son attends a Montessori school. “But people aren’t happy with the school system. As they say around here, it’s trikes, no bikes. People move out of the city once their kids get older than 3 because of the poor schools.”
Like many suburban and rural districts in Kentucky, Newport has only one elementary, middle and high school. Parents in low-performing districts who can afford it send their kids to private schools or move to districts with better schools like Fort Thomas, where the median home price is about twice that of Newport. Thus, public schools and cities become segregated along socioeconomic, and in some cases racial, lines. Nearly 90% of Newport students qualify for free or discounted lunches, compared with about 15% in Fort Thomas.
Such gaping inequities are driving support for charter-school legislation that would bring Kentucky’s education system into the 21st century. Last month state Rep. Phil Moffett introduced a bill that would allow local school districts, college governing boards, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the Louisville and Lexington mayors, and the state Board of Education to authorize charters.
Multiple authorizers would enable students to travel outside their home districts to attend a charter. By contrast, district authorizers could limit enrollment to students within their bounds. This would be a huge impediment to charter growth in rural and suburban areas where there are fewer students. Newport’s system-wide enrollment is just 1,600 students—fewer than in some big-city high schools.
Mrs. Schaber has joined five other parents to devise plans for a charter school that will enroll students from six small cities across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. She notes that parents frequently move between the cities, depending on their job and housing. So it makes sense to form a regional charter.
Charter opponents are pushing a weaker bill that would vest local school boards with the sole power to authorize and regulate charters. That would let those boards, typically controlled by the unions, throw up roadblocks. While charters could appeal district decisions to the state Board of Education, the process would be cumbersome and costly. Only charters backed by well-heeled donors would have the resources to navigate and battle the education bureaucracy.
The experience of other states is instructive. Iowa, Kansas and Virginia don’t allow multiple authorizers and have few charter schools. Arizona, Minnesota and New York do, and have an abundance. Charters in the latter group of states are among the highest-performing nationwide.
The weaker bill would also require charters to participate in and contribute to the state’s insolvent public pension system, among the worst funded in the country. So they could be forced to pick up the retirement tab for union teachers in traditional public schools.
Local school boards have lobbied Republicans to reject legislation with multiple authorizers and instead back the diluted bill, which they say will hold charters more accountable. “People love their local school board,” says Mrs. Schaber. “They want to support it.”
That may be, but allowing local school boards to regulate their competition is fundamentally unfair. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled last year that a law allowing Amtrak to regulate freight trains that compete for track time could not be sustained under the Fifth Amendment: “Giving a self-interested entity regulatory authority over its competitors violates due process.” The same principle should apply when children’s futures are at stake.
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3)EXCLUSIVE: Barack Obama's close confidante, Valerie Jarrett, has moved into his new DC home, which is now the nerve center for their plan to mastermind the insurgency against President Trump
- Obama's goal is to oust Trump from the presidency either by forcing his resignation or through his impeachment, a family friend tells DailyMail.com
- Jarrett has moved into the 8,200-square-foot, $5.3-million Kaloroma mansion to work closely with the former president and Michelle Obama
- Jarrett lived in the White House, dined with the Obama's, and helped shape his domestic and foreign policies
- Obama cannot use his West End office, a post-presidency perk, for political purposes
- 'He's coming. And he's ready to roll.' former Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday about the former president's re-entry into the political scene
Barack Obama is turning his new home in the posh Kalorama section of the nation's capital - just two miles away from the White House - into the nerve center of the mounting insurgency against his successor, President Donald J. Trump.
Obama's goal, according to a close family friend, is to oust Trump from the presidency either by forcing his resignation or through his impeachment.
And Obama is being aided in his political crusade by his longtime consigliere, Valerie Jarrett, who has moved into the 8,200-square-foot, $5.3-million Kaloroma mansion with the former president and Michelle Obama, long time best friends
Jarrett played a vital - if at times low-key - role in the Obama presidency. She lived in the White House, dined with the Obamas, and help shape his domestic and foreign policies.
The former president has set up an office on the West End of the national's capitol, where he recently hosted an open house for his White House staff - including Joe Biden, Susan Rice, Josh Earnest and Jarrett.
But the office, part of his post presidency perks, cannot be used for political purposes. The rent on his home is paid by him personally.
On Tuesday, former Attorney General Eric Holder revealed that Obama is indeed getting closer to making his public reappearance in politics.
'It's coming. He's coming,' Holder said speaking to reporters. 'And he's ready to roll.'
According to the family source, Obama was at first reluctant to assume the role of leader of the opposition.
'No longer the most powerful man in the world, he was just observing Trump and not liking what he saw,' said the source.
'He was weary and burned out after eight years in office. But Valerie convinced him that he didn't have any choice if he wanted to save his legacy. And, as usual, he bowed to Valerie's political wisdom and advice.'
In his only public comment against Trump since leaving the presidency, Obama came out in support of the protests opposing President Donald Trump's executive order to restrict immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.
A spokesman said the former president thinks they're 'citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.'
After Obama left office, Jarrett moved all her White House belonging into the Kalorama mansion.
'There was never any doubt that Valerie would have a suite of rooms in the house that the Obama's are renting,' said the source. 'Obama trusts her judgment more than any other person on the planet, as does Michelle.
Obama doesn't make a decision without her.'
Spurred on by Jarrett and Michelle, the ex-president has come to embrace his role as the leader of the opposition against Trump, whose policies he loathes and whose presidency he considers illegitimate.
'He is going to use his immense popularity with the half of the country that identifies as liberals and progressives,' said the Obama family source. 'Millions of Americans are energized and ready to take to the streets to oppose Trump, but they need to be organized and have their anger focused and directed.
'Obama is dismayed at the way Trump is tearing down his legacy—ObamaCare, the social safety net and the welcome mat for refugees he put in place,' the source continued.
Trump's cabinet picks are also problematic for the former president, especially Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, whom Obama regards as too racially insensitive to be in charge of the Civil Rights division at Justice.
Leaving Jim Comey as FBI Director is another thorn in Obama's side. He blames Comey for announcing that he was reopening the FBI investigation into Hillary's emails eleven days before the election, which, in Obama's view, was an irresponsible act that helped elect Trump.
'He had hoped to write his memoirs, golf to his heart's content. and bask in the glory of his eight years in power and the progressive achievements he brought about. Instead, he is going to be leading the fight and strategy to topple Trump.' says the insider.
The Kalorama house, which the Obama's are renting from Joe Lockhart, who was Bill Clinton's press secretary, is still being refurbished and redecorated by Michelle.
'Michelle and Valerie have changed their minds many times over about colors, carpets, wall paper, furnishing and art,' said the source.
Michelle hired Los Angeles-based interior designer Michel S. Smith, who designed several rooms in The White House during their residence, to decorate the Kalorama home. Smith will also decorate the Obama's new home in Rancho Mirage, California.
According to the source, Michelle and Valerie have big plans for traveling and shopping as well as strategizing over Trump.
The friend said that Valerie and her signature enormous totes are going to be packed and ready to go for shopping sprees with Michelle from their native Chicago to Paris and the Far East, including Shanghai.
'They feel like they have had some great trips while in the White House, but were always working and being herded around,' said the source. 'Now they are planning to travel together - home to Chicago, to Paris and Shanghai, and shop to their heart's content.
'The Obamas both love the Kalorama house and are making it their own,' continued the source. 'They have plans to build a pool on the grounds. And they are almost certainly going to wind up buying the house from Lockart in the next few years.
'They are also planning to have a house in Hawaii, as well as in Chicago, where the Obama Presidential Library will be built. But Kalorama, where the Washington action takes place, is going to be home base.'
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