Fatherles. (See 1 below.)
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How bureaucrats evade.
Lynch was Obama's AG and served in his administration which he said would be the most open. If you review Obama's pronouncements, everything he did was the opposite of what he said other than he would transform America.(See 2 below.)
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If this is factuat is not healthy:
https://www.washingtontimes.
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Can Congress learn anything from Israel's Knesset? (See 3 below.)
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The Justice Department, theoretically, is independent . I assume Trump believes , therefore, he cannot dictate to AG Sesssions and uses his tweets to express his frustration.when Sessions makes a decision Trump does not favor.
That said, Trump would be wise to avoid castigating Sessions in a public manner. It is unhealthy and unproductive. In fact, it is immature.
The president has every right to express his views as long as he is not asking the AG to do something outside the law. The president has every right to discuss his view points as it relates to policy. The latter should be done in private.
Meanwhile:
I caught snatches of Trump's meeting today with members from both sides of the political spectrum regarding doing something to strengthen our gun laws and close loopholes that might exist without attacking the sanctity of the 2d Amendment.
I caught snatches of Trump's meeting today with members from both sides of the political spectrum regarding doing something to strengthen our gun laws and close loopholes that might exist without attacking the sanctity of the 2d Amendment.
Obviously, if the failure is bureaucratic in nature all the laws in the world mean nothing.
Trump made it clear he wants a comprehensive bill, if such can be accomplished, told them he would sign any bill that was sensible and urged they get busy because he did not understand why Congress had failed to do something for decades.
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If PBS is beginning a program to bring balance to its liberal bias and to allow reasoned discussion they will be doing themselves and the nation a service. (See 4 below.)
Dick
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1)Of the 27 Deadliest Mass Shooters, 26 of Them Had One Thing in Common
Suzanne Venker’s recent opinion piece on FoxNews is very, very important, because she points out that almost all of the most recent deadly mass shooters have one thing in common: fatherlessness.
2) DOJ Says Atty. Gen. Used Alias to Conduct Official Business to Protect Security, Privacy
1)Of the 27 Deadliest Mass Shooters, 26 of Them Had One Thing in Common
Suzanne Venker’s recent opinion piece on FoxNews is very, very important, because she points out that almost all of the most recent deadly mass shooters have one thing in common: fatherlessness.
She begins by pointing out a tweet after the terrible shooting in Florida last week. Actor and comedian Michael Ian Black began a series of tweets in this way, “Deeper even than the gun problem is this: boys are broken.”
Venker goes on to describe how his “tweet storm” strayed from the truth:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Unfortunately, Black quickly veered off course. “Men don’t have the language to understand masculinity as anything other than some version of a caveman because no language exists…The language of masculinity is hopelessly entwined with sexuality, and the language of sexuality in hopelessly entwined with power, agency, and self-worth…To step outside those norms is to take a risk most of us are afraid to take. As a result, a lot of guys spend their lives terrified…We’re terrified of being viewed as something other than men. We know ourselves to be men, but don’t know how to be our whole selves. A lot of us (me included) either shut off or experience deep shame or rage. Or all three. Again: men are terrified.”Mr. Black is not the first to attack masculinity and suggest it’s at the root of all evil. Indeed, the phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ has become boilerplate language in America.It’s not a hard sell, either. After all, it is boys and men who are typically to blame for violent acts of aggression. Ergo, testosterone—the defining hormone of masculinity—must be to blame. But testosterone has been around forever. School shootings have not.Mr. Black is correct that boys are broken. But they’re not broken as a result of being cavemen who haven’t “evolved” the way women have. They’re broken for another reason.They are fatherless.
2) DOJ Says Atty. Gen. Used Alias to Conduct Official Business to Protect Security, Privacy
From The Judicial Watch Blog
By Michael Levin
Illustrating how government hides information from the American public, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch used a fake name to conduct official Department of Justice (DOJ) business in agency emails obtained by Judicial Watch. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer Lynch, Barack Obama’s second attorney general, skirted public-records laws by using the alias Elizabeth Carlisle in emails she sent from her official DOJ account. In the records provided to Judicial Watch, the DOJ explains it as necessary to “protect her security and privacy and enable her to conduct Department business efficiently via email.”
This begs the question of how many other government officials use fake names and whether those aliases are searched when agencies process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Besides Lynch, we have only discovered the use of such aliases among government operatives to conduct official business at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Obama’s EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, famously used the alias Richard Windsor in a government email account to conduct official business and communicate with staff. Jackson even took required EPA computer training under the fake identity with the handle Windsor.Richard@epa.
In Lynch’s case, Judicial Watch requested the records as part of an investigation into the Obama administration’s involvement in a United Nation’s international law enforcement coalition called Strong Cities Network (SCN). The purported mission of the global coalition was to build social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism. The DOJ masterminded the agreement and Americans found out about the U.S.’s participation when Lynch announced it during a U.N. speech on September 29, 2015. Lynch referred to SCN as a “truly groundbreaking endeavor” and assured the notoriously corrupt world body that the Obama administration was deeply committed to the new initiative. “The government of the United States is fully invested in this collaborative approach and we have seen the value of empowering local communities by promoting initiatives they design and lead themselves,” Lynch said.
Following the Attorney General’s fiery U.N. delivery, a New York newspaper reported that the city was joining a new global, terror-busting network to combat homegrown extremism. Civil rights groups quickly denounced the U.S. participation, expressing concerns about law enforcement abuses against Muslims. In a letter to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio 22 civil rights groups warned that other programs created to counter violent extremism stigmatized “Muslim communities as suspicious and in need of special monitoring.” The anti-terror initiatives have also made “the relationship between Muslims and schools and social service providers into security-based engagements,” the letter states. SCN assures however, that “violent extremism and prevention efforts should not be associated with any particular religion, nationality or ethnic group.” In a statement the DOJ also guaranteed that the SCN will safeguard the rights of local citizens and communities. The State Department also put its weight behind SCN.
In its mission to educate the public about the operations and activities of government, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA request with the DOJ on October 15, 2015 for documents related to SCN. Specifically, Judicial Watch asked for legal opinions and analysis prepared by the DOJ relating to the U.S. involvement in the program, documents that form the foundation for the decision for the country to participate in SCN, all international agreements and related records involving the commitment of U.S. resources or personnel to SCN and records of communication between officials in the Office of the Attorney General relating to the initiative. The DOJ claimed to have no records related to the SCN and billed Judicial Watch a startling $50,000 to conduct the search that didn’t produce a single file.
Though the DOJ recently furnished the documents with Lynch’s fake name, the records were part of Judicial Watch’s original 2015 FOIA request. The records also show that then Assistant Attorney General John Carlin touted SCN at an event sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an extremist leftist group that helped a gunman commit an act of terrorism against a conservative organization. A year later Carlin would launch the Michael Flynn counterintelligence investigation and seek the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant now in question.
Illustrating how government hides information from the American public, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch used a fake name to conduct official Department of Justice (DOJ) business in agency emails obtained by Judicial Watch. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer Lynch, Barack Obama’s second attorney general, skirted public-records laws by using the alias Elizabeth Carlisle in emails she sent from her official DOJ account. In the records provided to Judicial Watch, the DOJ explains it as necessary to “protect her security and privacy and enable her to conduct Department business efficiently via email.”
This begs the question of how many other government officials use fake names and whether those aliases are searched when agencies process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Besides Lynch, we have only discovered the use of such aliases among government operatives to conduct official business at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Obama’s EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, famously used the alias Richard Windsor in a government email account to conduct official business and communicate with staff. Jackson even took required EPA computer training under the fake identity with the handle Windsor.Richard@epa.
In Lynch’s case, Judicial Watch requested the records as part of an investigation into the Obama administration’s involvement in a United Nation’s international law enforcement coalition called Strong Cities Network (SCN). The purported mission of the global coalition was to build social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism. The DOJ masterminded the agreement and Americans found out about the U.S.’s participation when Lynch announced it during a U.N. speech on September 29, 2015. Lynch referred to SCN as a “truly groundbreaking endeavor” and assured the notoriously corrupt world body that the Obama administration was deeply committed to the new initiative. “The government of the United States is fully invested in this collaborative approach and we have seen the value of empowering local communities by promoting initiatives they design and lead themselves,” Lynch said.
Following the Attorney General’s fiery U.N. delivery, a New York newspaper reported that the city was joining a new global, terror-busting network to combat homegrown extremism. Civil rights groups quickly denounced the U.S. participation, expressing concerns about law enforcement abuses against Muslims. In a letter to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio 22 civil rights groups warned that other programs created to counter violent extremism stigmatized “Muslim communities as suspicious and in need of special monitoring.” The anti-terror initiatives have also made “the relationship between Muslims and schools and social service providers into security-based engagements,” the letter states. SCN assures however, that “violent extremism and prevention efforts should not be associated with any particular religion, nationality or ethnic group.” In a statement the DOJ also guaranteed that the SCN will safeguard the rights of local citizens and communities. The State Department also put its weight behind SCN.
In its mission to educate the public about the operations and activities of government, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA request with the DOJ on October 15, 2015 for documents related to SCN. Specifically, Judicial Watch asked for legal opinions and analysis prepared by the DOJ relating to the U.S. involvement in the program, documents that form the foundation for the decision for the country to participate in SCN, all international agreements and related records involving the commitment of U.S. resources or personnel to SCN and records of communication between officials in the Office of the Attorney General relating to the initiative. The DOJ claimed to have no records related to the SCN and billed Judicial Watch a startling $50,000 to conduct the search that didn’t produce a single file.
Though the DOJ recently furnished the documents with Lynch’s fake name, the records were part of Judicial Watch’s original 2015 FOIA request. The records also show that then Assistant Attorney General John Carlin touted SCN at an event sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an extremist leftist group that helped a gunman commit an act of terrorism against a conservative organization. A year later Carlin would launch the Michael Flynn counterintelligence investigation and seek the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant now in question.
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3)What has ten parties, four religions, two languages, and 120 opinions, and yet still passed close to 600 new laws in its most recent term?
The Israeli Knesset, which could teach the U.S. Congress a thing or two about overcoming differences and Getting Things Done. The Knesset is the only parliamentary democracy in the Middle East, and its members include ultra-orthodox Jews, secular Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Druze.
In a country strewn with tribalism, in which the religious and secular live in an increasingly uneasy coexistence — not to mention the split between Jews and Arabs — somehow the Knesset remains a radically more effective legislative body than our Congress.
Of course, when you compare anything to Congress, you're setting a very low bar. So how exactly does a deliberative body that has actually broken out into fistfights on the floor of its chamber get such consistently high marks for actually getting meaningful legislation passed on a regular basis?
“You have to remember that we are a young country,” says Yotam Yakir, Knesset spokesperson and the head of Media and Public Relations.
“We are not quite 70 years old, so we are still young as a society. And we also have a certain improvisational spirit here.”
So how exactly does the Knesset avoid the stalemate and divisiveness of our Congress? First, the Knesset is a truly representative body in which its members are elected without any gerrymandering. It's said that American legislators pick their voters, instead of the voters picking their legislators.
By contrast, in Israel, you don't vote for an individual person; you vote for a party. And it doesn't matter where you live — from Eilat in the South to the Golan in the North, every voter gets the same choice of parties.
So there is a certain amount of fairness baked into the system that the American approach to choosing representatives lacks. Next is a level of openness unmatched not only in the Middle East but, for that matter, in the United States. In committee rooms, ordinary citizens can take seats directly behind Members of Knesset, or MKs, as bills are debated, and can even enter the conversation if they have something useful to add.
All debates are broadcast live over Israeli television and are available on the Knesset's own app, so you've got true government in the sunshine, no “if you want to see what's in the bill, you have to pass it.”
The next thing that sets the Knesset apart is its level of collegiality among members whose views are, to put it mildly, in extreme opposition to one another.
In the two Knesset dining rooms — one meat, and one dairy, in keeping with the rules of Kashrut — you'll see ultra-orthodox male MKs breaking bread with their female Arab counterparts. You'll see conservatives and liberals having coffee together.
In the U.S. Congress, this is how things used to be, when representatives from different affiliations and from different regions would share an apartment in DC to save money.
Today, there is virtually no crossing of party lines in Congress when it comes to friendship and fraternization, making it extremely difficult to get things done.
In the Knesset, by contrast, collegiality is the order of the day. Israeli politicians know that progress comes from finding common ground, not drawing lines. Another key reason for the Knesset's success at lawmaking comes from the never-ending existential threat supplied by Israel's neighbors.
While the Jewish state has made peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, they still face the threat of terrorism and war with Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Lebanon, and most dangerously, Iran. The constant cycle of peace and war has certainly taken its psychological toll on Israel, but in the nation's parliament, the unspoken bond of the need to pull together for survival often transcends short-term political debate.
Another reason for the success of the Knesset versus the U.S. Congress: its smaller size.
The Knesset, founded in 1949, a year after the state of Israel was born, has 120 members, a number derived from ancient Israel's Third Century C.E. governing body, “The Men of the Great Assembly.” – When you have just 120 members representing a nation of 9 million, it's impossible for the members not to know each other well and find human connections that can overcome political differences. There has been talk of expanding the number of Knesset members to, say, 140 or 150, simply to relieve the strain on them.
Each MK is expected to belong to four or five different committees and somehow make enough time to give vast amounts of proposed legislation their due.
Finally, there is a level of accountability in the Knesset that the American system of government is not likely to impose on itself. At various entrances to the Knesset, MKs and visitors alike can see an attendance board, on which head shots of all 120 MKs appear. MKs in the building have their head shots displayed in color. If they miss more than a certain number of days a week, their pay is docked.
Since they are not allowed any outside forms of employment, this hits them right in the pocketbook. It's not likely that Congress will impose such limitations on themselves anytime soon.
Of course, if any congresspeople reading these ideas don't cotton to them, they can always take the advice of comedian Jackie Mason: “You know why American has a deficit?” he asks audiences. “It's because all the Senators are on salary. “Put them on commission. The deficit will disappear.”
Michael Levin, a 12-time bestselling author, runs BusinessGhost.com, a provider of ghostwriting and publishing services.
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4) PBS launching new conservative political talk show
The new show, “In Principle,” will air Friday nights starting April 13. PBS will decide after an eight-week run whether to continue.
The hosts plan to interview two guests each show, hoping for an in-depth discussion on issues and their formative political experiences. No guests have been announced yet, but Gerson said he’d like to discuss issues like race, gun control and whether conservatism is the right message for the working class.
“I find when I go around the country that there is actually a hunger for serious, civil dialogue as an alternative to the bitterness of our civic discourse,” Gerson said.
Most Read Stories Unlimited Digital Access: $1 for 4 weeks Gerson is known to the PBS audience as a frequent guest on “NewsHour.” Holmes worked on MSNBC and on Glenn Beck’s media company, The Blaze.
Although the show is beginning at a time of Republican dominance in both the White House and Congress, Gerson has often found himself at odds with President Donald Trump. He said Holmes more often takes the president’s side, or acts as the “anti-anti-Trump.”
“I think the Trump era has been a very difficult time for traditional conservative discourse,” he said. “I think a lot of institutions and places have been co-opted in this era. I view conservatism not only as a belief but a state of mind, a respect for tradition but also a respect for facts.”
At the same time, Trump began to have political success because neither party was addressing the economic concerns of working class Americans, he said.
The show will originate from PBS’ WETA-TV studio outside of Washington. The chief programming executive at WETA, Dalton Delan, will be executive producer.
“We need a place where we can have thoughtful, reasonable, in-depth conversations about politics, policy, culture — you name it — where we’re really talking to each other instead of shouting at each other,” Holmes said. She said she wanted viewers to feel like they spent their time wisely and learned something in the process.
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