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June 2017

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LOUISIANA- DISTRICT 1)

Rep. Scalise, critically injured, is a strong conservative leader who upholds the Constitution, advocating for the principles of fiscal discipline, lower taxes, an all-of-the-above national energy strategy, a robust national defense, and conservative values.

As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of more than 170 conservative members in the House, he coalesced Members around a unified vision. During his time as chairman, Scalise championed a free-market, patient-centered Obamacare alternative that gained the support of 130 HouseMembers. He also introduced legislation that promotes job creation and economic growth, established an RSC national defense working group, released a conservative budget that would balance in four years, and crafted bills that protect constitutionally-guaranteed rights, like freedom of speech, from unelected Washington bureaucrats.

Passing a conservative alternative to President Obama’s “Buffett Rule” that was supported by outside groups like Americans For Tax Reform.
Banning the implementation of radical climate change regulations, saving millions of taxpayer dollars.
Defunding many of President Obama’s czars.
Eliminating redundant, costly, and time consuming trips for nearly 2 million American transportation workers by reforming the TWIC card process.
Defunding the wasteful spending of the Open World Leadership Center.
Holding the Obama Administration accountable for blocking American energy development through the moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reforming the FCC by eliminating unnecessary and burdensome mandates (link is external) on the telecommunications industry.

He is a strong and forthright critic of Obama’s negotiations with Iran, calling them naive and dangerous.He is a very strong supporter of Israel and ranked a -4 by the Arab American Institute.

May he recover swiftly from his wounds. rsk

ANDREW McCARTHY: ON REP. STEVE SCALISE

As David illustrates, it took about a nanosecond after the shooting-spree targeting congressional Republicans for slaughter for the Left to roll into its anti-gun riff. Rep. Mo Brooks capped off his demonstration of personal valor with a flawless, spirited defense of the Second Amendment and the gun regulations that already exist in law. Bravo … and prayers for Rep. Steve Scalise for a speedy recovery, and for his family and the others who’ve been injured and traumatized.

At Powerline, Paul Mirengoff adds to his observation about the Left’s “stronger gun laws” response what he sees as the similar inevitability that “conservatives will blame overheated anti-Republican rhetoric.” I’m sure that’s true of some conservatives, but I doubt it’s true of most.

To put a finer point on it, what is blameworthy is the failure of government, academia and the media both to condemn the appalling notion of violent suppression as acceptable political expression, and to take enforcement and punitive action against instances of it. That is the problem here.

Of course conservatives don’t like obnoxious and fiery expression directed at us. But we do not seek to ban such speech as long as it remains on the right side of the line between argument and incitement, a line the First Amendment has always recognized. But if we are to have ordered liberty – a free society reliant on the rule of law – then the laws have to be enforced.

We used to say proudly to those with whom we disagree that, while we object to what they say, we would fight to the death for their right to say it. Now, the danger of death envelops those who have the temerity to say things that the radical Left finds objectionable. It is time to ostracize, and where possible prosecute or otherwise discipline, people who suppress speech through violence, intimidation, and other means of shutting down rather than engaging speech they find disagreeable.

Unhinged Rhetoric About ‘Nazis’ and Trump Derangement Syndrome Lead to Bloodshed By Megan Fox

Well, it finally happened. We’ve been saying for months now that the breathless false narrative created by the media about Trump supporters was going to lead unstable people to do bad things. We’ve seen it in Berkeley, where masked Antifa thugs attacked “Nazis” (or anyone in a Trump hat). Then there was Kathy Griffin’s disgusting mock beheading of President Trump, where she put the Left’s violent fantasies on display, followed up very shortly with Shakespeare in the Park featuring the stabbing assassination of Donald Trump to wild applause and standing ovations. These people are sick in the head.

Now a Republican congressman is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound he received during a congressional softball practice. The shooter allegedly asked a Representative Ron DeSantis if there were Republicans or Democrats playing. Upon hearing they were Republicans, he opened fire. Luckily, he was a very bad shot (as we all imagine anti-gun nuts to be). Squeezing off a reported 50 to 60 rounds and only hitting one congressman in the hip in a field full of them seems hard to do. We are all grateful for bad aim and for Capitol Police who returned fire, stopping the attack. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is being treated for his injuries.
Sanders ‘Sickened’ That Alexandria Shooter Was Volunteer on His Presidential Campaign

Meanwhile, as blood still sits on the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, the Shakespeare in the Park players are getting ready for tonight’s bloody performance, where they will symbolically slay the Republican sitting president. I would like to remind you that after Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot, Sarah Palin was blamed by nearly every network for having a map with districts up for grabs shown with targets over them (one of which happened to be Giffords’ district). We were told that her map incited the shooting. These same people, however, aren’t all over CNN right now making the connection between the play featuring Donald Trump being murdered or Kathy Griffin’s bloody beheading and the shooting of Republicans playing ball.

Instead of calls for restraint and civility, Twitter is alive with celebration over evil Republicans being shot and targeted. The demonization continues. CONTINUE AT SITE

Mend, Don’t End, Mueller’s Investigation President Trump should not dismiss Mueller, but the Justice Department must revise the special counsel’s jurisdiction. By Andrew C. McCarthy

There’s law and there’s politics. When it comes to Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to conduct the so-called Russia investigation, the Justice Department did politics. That is why the public discussion of Mueller’s status — including probably farfetched suggestions that President Trump is on the cusp of firing him — has so botched the law.

At this point, unfortunately, the law must accommodate politics. The alarm bells that led to Mueller’s erroneous appointment cannot be un-rung. But legal surgery needs to be done, lest Mueller’s amorphous mandate lead to Scooter Libby 2.0, or worse, another Iran-Contra epic — a fiasco that seemed to have a longer run than Phantom of the Opera.

Bottom line: Trump should not dismiss Mueller, but the Justice Department must revise the special counsel’s jurisdiction. Maybe this time, it could be conformed to, you know, the law . . . specifically, the law that limits special counsels to criminal investigations, not counterintelligence probes.

Before we get down to business, let’s clear away the underbrush.

Mueller’s Potential Conflicts of Interest

As elaborated on in this space before, Bob Mueller is as straight an arrow as they come; he is not right all of the time (is any of us?), but he is always ethical and patriotic. Like others, I worry about the ideological bent and potential for overzealousness of the staff he has assembled. But there is no doubting their legal acumen, and with Mueller calling the shots, I believe the Trump administration and the public will get fair treatment. This situation warrants attention, but not panic.

Similarly, too much is made of Mueller’s being pals with Jim Comey, the former FBI director who succeeded Mueller’s twelve-year run in that lofty post. Mueller is a pillar of Washington’s legal and political communities, which heavily overlap. If cordial relations with people in Washington circles is disqualifying, then good luck finding a high-quality special counsel if you ever need one (which we didn’t in this case, but that ship has sailed).

Senate Panel to Probe Donald Trump’s Firing of Ex-FBI Director James Comey The Senate Judiciary Committee ‘has an obligation to fully investigate any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations,’ chairman Grassley says in a letter By Byron Tau see note please

The batrachian (toad like) Senator Grassley jumps into the swamp…..shame on him…..rsk

WASHINGTON—The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding President Donald Trump’s removal of James Comey as FBI director, a probe that could examine the thorny question of whether Mr. Trump improperly interfered in an ongoing investigation by doing so.

“The Judiciary Committee has an obligation to fully investigate any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and committee chairman, said in a letter released Wednesday. “It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Mr. Comey’s removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis.

“The American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in both our democratic processes and the impartial administration of justice,” Mr. Grassley said.
Mr. Comey was removed from his position last month by Mr. Trump. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, Mr. Comey said he had felt directed by the president to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Mr. Trump denies he gave such instructions.

The White House initially said Mr. Comey was removed for performance reasons, but Mr. Trump later suggested he was dismissed in part over the continuing Russia investigation.

Mr. Grassley’s letter came in response to a push from Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Ms. Feinstein has asked for Judiciary to conduct its own probe in addition to the other investigations unfolding on Capitol Hill. The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over federal law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CONTINUE AT SITE

A Caliphate Grows in the Philippines Can Rodrigo Duterte swallow his pride and ask for more U.S. help?

Islamic State’s occupation of the Philippine city of Marawi is in its third week with at least 58 soldiers and police killed along with 138 terrorists. With an estimated 500 fighters controlling part of the town, the siege continues to take a heavy toll on civilians. But there is some good news from the past week: U.S. troops and planes are on the scene offering “technical assistance” to the Philippine armed forces.

This is an embarrassment for President Rodrigo Duterte, who called on U.S. forces to leave Mindanao last September and proclaimed that his country would move into China’s orbit. Now he says he didn’t request U.S. help in Marawi. That leaves Filipinos to wonder who is calling the shots in their fight against terrorism.

Mr. Duterte spent his first year as President promoting extrajudicial killings of drug pushers and users, a campaign that led to more than 8,000 deaths. Meanwhile, Islamist fighters converged on the southern island of Mindanao from as far away as Chechnya. Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency reports that 40 terrorists from the Islamic State-affiliated Jamaah Ansharut Daulah are fighting in Marawi.

Islamic State has made no secret of its plan to make Mindanao a new caliphate. But Mr. Duterte boasted that he would pacify or wipe out the local separatist groups that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State. He set two deadlines for retaking Marawi, including the country’s Independence Day on Monday. Mr. Duterte was absent from the celebrations due to illness, according to his office.

The Philippine military has a history of losing fights with Abu Sayyaf, one of the groups holding Marawi. The discovery in the city of safe houses with large amounts of cash shows that the group has significant resources. In the past Abu Sayyaf bought arms from government soldiers and bribed them to slip out of encirclements.

The Marawi fighting shows the military’s familiar limitations. Ten Philippine soldiers were killed by friendly air-force fire on May 31, and on Friday 13 Philippine marines were killed in street fighting.

The U.S. is helping with battlefield surveillance, coordination and training. Even limited nonkinetic assistance will shore up morale among government troops and prevent more friendly fire losses, but more is needed. In the decade after 9/11, a larger and more active U.S. force in Mindanao turned the tide against lawless groups like Abu Sayyaf.

Defeating the terrorists quickly is important because a lengthy siege would allow Islamist groups to recruit fighters and dispatch them to start more uprisings in Mindanao. As northern Iraq shows, once Islamic State is entrenched it can destabilize the wider region. Mr. Duterte’s tacit acceptance of U.S. help is a step forward, but the Philippines’ struggle to retake Marawi and prevent similar occupations requires that he swallow his pride and ask for an international force in Mindanao.

Can the U.S. Afford Modern Nukes? Forty billion dollars a year isn’t much for America’s survival. By Matthew R. Costlow

When President Obama left the White House, he punted on a tough choice: how to modernize the U.S. nuclear force. In the coming weeks, the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release a report that estimates modernization as currently proposed would cost $1.2 trillion over 30 years, or about $40 billion a year. Congress and the Trump administration shouldn’t be intimidated by the ostensibly big number.

The plan analyzed by the CBO would replace the nuclear delivery systems of bombers, missiles and submarines with new ones that incorporate the latest safety and survival features. These changes would enable some systems to perform well into the 2080s. It’s ambitious, but this program isn’t the budget buster nuclear disarmament supporters describe.

Under the plan, spending on the nuclear arsenal would peak in the late 2020s at about 6.5% of the Defense Department budget, up from 3.2% today. Recall that military spending consumes only about 15% of the federal budget.

But determining whether modernization is affordable involves more than cost considerations. The Pentagon simultaneously has to consider its priorities and the costs of weapons systems when determining the best way to protect U.S. interests. According to the Defense Department, the two highest priorities of U.S. strategy are “the survival of the nation” and “the prevention of a catastrophic attack against U.S. territory.” The Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review lists “a secure and effective nuclear deterrent” at the top of a list describing how to achieve such priorities.

Given that the U.S. nuclear arsenal helps to deter the only existential threat to the U.S., major nuclear war, its value can’t be measured by traditional dollar metrics alone. Budgets are about trade-offs and priorities. As the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Paul Selva, testified earlier this year, “We are emphasizing the nuclear mission over other modernization programs when faced with that choice.”

Critics will cry that every dollar spent on nuclear weapons, which have not been set off in anger since World War II, is a dollar taken from those who are fighting wars right now. But as then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter explained in a speech last year, U.S. nuclear forces are the “bedrock” of American security and the “highest priority mission” of the Defense Department. They enable current war fighters to achieve their missions. CONTINUE AT SITE

London Apartment Tower Inferno Kills at Least 12 Residents of 24-story Grenfell Tower public-housing block had previously warned of the risk of fire By Wiktor Szary and Jason Douglas

LONDON—The death toll from a blaze in west London rose to at least 12 in a high-rise tower that residents had complained was a fire hazard, raising questions about maintenance and safety of low-income housing.

The fire started early Wednesday and spread rapidly through the 24-story public-housing block, which residents said lacked adequate emergency exits. Witnesses said they saw people jumping from the building to escape the flames. Dozens of residents were injured, and police said they expected the death toll to rise.

Firefighters were still battling pockets of fire Wednesday evening, but had searched most of the Grenfell Tower in the otherwise upscale North Kensington neighborhood, clambering through the ruins and also using drones, authorities said. It was too early to pinpoint the cause of the blaze, police said.

The London Fire Brigade said 65 people were rescued from the building, which a structural engineer said isn’t in danger of collapsing.

Residents said they heard few, if any, alarms. One man who got out described a chaotic race through a central staircase that was the only escape route.

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton called the blaze unprecedented, saying she hadn’t seen anything like it in her 29-year career.

Michael Paramasivan, who lived on the seventh floor, said he woke to the smell of burning plastic and heard people shouting. He, his girlfriend and their children fled down a crowded central staircase. He said he wasn’t sure if there were sprinklers, but said none had activated.

“I saw three kids near the top floor, and next thing we knew, bang, it went up in flames,” he said. “They must have perished. It was horrific.”

“It was the towering inferno, like lighting a bonfire,” said Piers Thompson, who lives in a neighboring building and said he was awakened by shouts at about 1:15 a.m. and watched fast-moving flames spread.

“I couldn’t believe it. You could see people flashing” lights in an effort to attract rescuers attention, especially on high floors, he said. “Someone was waving a blanket.”

A Replacement of Population is Taking Place in Europe by Giulio Meotti

People-smugglers bring the migrants to the NGOs’ ships, which then reach Italian seaports. Another legal enquiry has been opened about the mafia’s economic interests in managing the migrants after their arrival.

One cannot compare the migrants to the Jews fleeing Nazism. Pope Francis, for example, recently compared the migrants’ centers to Nazi “concentration camps”. Where are the gas chambers, medical “experiments,” crematoria, slave labor, forced marches and firing squads? These comparisons are spread by the media for a precise reason: shutting down the debate.

By 2065, it is expected that 14.4 million migrants will arrive. Added to the more than five million immigrants currently in Italy, 37% of the population is expected to be foreigners: more than one out of every three inhabitants.

First, it was the Hungarian route. Then it was the Balkan route. Now Italy is the epicenter of this demographic earthquake, and it has become Europe’s soft underbelly as hundreds of thousands of migrants arrive.

With nearly 10,000 arrivals in one recent three-day period, the number of migrants in 2017 exceeded 60,000 — 48% more than the same period last year, when they were 40,000. Over Easter weekend a record 8,000 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean and brought to Italy. And that is just the tip of the iceberg: during the summer, the number of arrivals from Libya will only increase.

A wooden boat carrying migrants waits to be escorted to the Topaz Responder vessel, as members of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station make a rescue at sea on November 21, 2016 in Pozzollo, Italy. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A replacement of population is under way in Italy. But if you open the mainstream newspapers, you barely find these figures. No television station has dedicated any time to what is happening. No criticism is allowed. The invasion is considered a done deal.

In 2016, 176,554 migrants landed in Italy — an eight-fold increase since 2014. In 2015, there were 103,792. In 2014, there were 66,066. In 2013, there were just 22,118. In the last four years, 427,000 migrants reached Italy. In only the first five months of this year, 2017, Italy received 10% of the total number of migrants of the last four years.

There are days when the Italian navy and coast guard rescue 1,700 migrants in 24 hours. The country is exhausted. There are Italian villages where one-tenth of the population is already made up of new migrants. We are talking about small towns of 220 residents and 40 migrants.

One of the major aspects of this demographic revolution is that it is taking place in a country which is dramatically aging. According with a new report from the Italian Office of Statistics, Italy’s population will fall to 53.7 million in half a century — a loss of seven million people. Italy, which has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, will lose between 600,000 to 800,000 citizens every year. Immigrants will number more than 14 million, about one-fourth of the total population. But in the most pessimistic scenario, the Italian population could drop to 46 million, a loss of 14 million people.

Interpreting Islamism for Peace by Saher Fares

“Today, Muslim public opinion is shaped by schools, mosques and the media. Everywhere in the Islamic world, these three channels are state-controlled. This triad is how terrorism is bred.” — Ayad Jamal Aldin, Iraqi Shiite cleric and former parliamentarian.

The Muslim Brotherhood, too, is linked to the House of Saud, which, Aldin said, “offers every kind of required support to the White House. In exchange, they enjoy the U.S.’s cover, which they use to spread Wahhabism even farther. From Minnesota, to Canada, to Latin American, to Asia, Africa, and Europe — they claim they only build mosques. Through their literature, they constitute a more lethal danger than that posed by nuclear technology proliferation.”

“Let the U.S. and others pressure the Iranians and Saudis to stop their support for extremist movements. You will be surprised how soon people will start to think and act differently.” — Ayad Jamal Aldin.

In the wake of the ISIS’s Palm Sunday bombings of Coptic churches in Egypt, Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s most revered institution, not only refused to denounce the terrorist organization as “un-Islamic,” but repeated its implausible boast of being a bulwark against extremism in the Muslim-Arab world, and accused those calling for religious reform of treason.

One such “traitor” was Egyptian TV presenter Islam Behery, a British-educated writer and Sunni Muslim who had been exposing the roots of violence within Islamic tradition itself, until he was forced off the air after protests by Al-Azhar in 2015.

According to Behery, who was later convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to a year in prison, the tradition in question

“has very little good amid a multitude of evil, least of which is the insistence by all the four schools of Sunni Islam that Christians can be killed with impunity [as] a Muslim life is ‘superior’ to that of a non-Muslim.” (Kol Youm show, ON TV with Amr Adib, 25 April).