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December 2019

The Incredible Shrinking Impeachment The Democratic grounds for ousting Trump are weak—and damaging to constitutional norms.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-incredible-shrinking-impeachment-11576109728?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

They shouldn’t get off that easy. By defining impeachment down, they are turning what should be a rare and extraordinary constitutional remedy into a routine tool of partisan warfare. They are harming constitutional norms, as the liberals like to say.Americans will decide in 11 months whether Mr. Trump deserves to remain in office. But they should also keep the impeachment vote very much in mind when they decide whether Democrats deserve to keep the House.

So that’s it? That’s all there is? After all the talk of obstruction of justice, collusion with Russia, bribery, extortion, profiting from the Presidency, and more, House Democrats have reduced their articles of impeachment against President Trump to two: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Honey, we shrunk the impeachment.

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee will vote as early as Thursday on the text of the two articles they unveiled Tuesday, and then they will rush it to the floor next week. It’s enough to suspect that Democrats understand they are offering the weakest case for impeachment since Andrew Johnson, that the public isn’t convinced, and so they simply want to get it over with.

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The security establishment will be terrified by the prospect of Prime Minister Corbyn Con Coughlin

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/12/11/security-establishment-will-terrified-prospect-prime-minister/

PM Corbyn would be a ‘useful idiot’ to the enemies of Britain

Boris Johnson and the Tories are not the only ones who will be having sleepless nights about the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn entering Downing Street. The possibility that Mr Corbyn, aided and abetted by the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Nationalists, could end up becoming Britain’s next prime minister will be viewed with deep concern by the various agencies responsible for safeguarding our national security.

Numerous warnings have been issued about Mr Corbyn’s profound unsuitability for assuming responsibility for the defence of the realm, from his well-documented history of associating with avowed enemies of the state, like the IRA and Iran, to the prospect of  Britain being excluded from the exclusive Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network in the event of the Labour leader becoming prime minister.

Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, has gone so far as to denounce Mr Corbyn as being a threat to national security, as well as being totally unfit to lead the country. Now we discover senior members of Mr Corbyn’s own Labour front bench privately entertain serious misgivings about the national security implications of him becoming prime minister, after Shadow Health Minister Jonathan Ashworth was secretly recorded giving a less-than-flattering depiction of his leader.

Asked by a friend about the risk Mr Corbyn posed, Mr Ashworth, who has personal experience of working at No 10, conceded that the Whitehall machine “will pretty quickly move to safeguard security”.

Spain’s ‘Migrant Friendly’ Border Fences by Soeren Kern

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15263/spain-migrants-border-fences

Critics say that the razor wire functions as a significant deterrent to illegal immigration and that by removing it, the Spanish government not only risks unleashing new waves of mass migration from Africa, but also gives effective control of the Spanish border to Morocco, with which Spain has a tense relationship.

The border fences in question involve those at Spain’s North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla — magnets for Africans seeking a better life in Europe.

The removal of razor wire is in line with the current Socialist government’s pro-immigration stance.

“We are not against immigration. We are not even against the illegal immigrant. It is not their fault that an irresponsible government has called them to come here illegally.” — Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, Parliamentary Spokesman for the conservative party Vox.

Spanish authorities have begun removing razor wire, known as concertina wire, from border fences along Spain’s frontier with Morocco. The Socialist government ordered their removal after migrants who tried to jump the fences to enter Europe illegally suffered injuries after coming into contact with the wire.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska justified the removal by saying that Morocco had recently installed concertina wire on fences on its side of the border, and that therefore it was no longer necessary on the Spanish side.

Critics say that the razor wire functions as a significant deterrent to illegal immigration and that by removing it, the Spanish government not only risks unleashing new waves of mass migration from Africa, but also gives effective control of the Spanish border to Morocco, with which Spain has a tense relationship. Morocco frequently dumps large numbers of illegal migrants along the Spanish border to extract concessions from the Spanish government on unrelated issues.

The border fences in question involve those at Spain’s North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla — magnets for Africans seeking a better life in Europe.

At Ceuta, two parallel fences that are six meters (20 feet) high and topped with concertina wire run eight kilometers (five miles) along the border with Morocco. At Melilla, twin fences that are four meters (13 feet) high run 12 kilometers (eight miles) along the border. The fences at Ceuta and Melilla are fortified with anti-climb mesh, video cameras, noise and motion sensors, spotlights and surveillance posts.

Turkey: Murder of Women Reaches Epidemic Proportions by Uzay Bulut

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15246/turkey-murder-of-women

The cause of 50% of the killings was not determined, but 16% of the women were killed because they wanted to make decisions about their lives, such as wanting a divorce, rejecting offers of reconciliation or even for not answering the phone when called by their men. 13% of the women were killed for “economic reasons.”

According to the Turkish women’s-rights platform, “We Will Stop Femicide,” 652 women were killed by men in the year-and-a-half period prior to November 2018 — 36 of whom were murdered in October of that year.

“One of the reasons why such a large number of women fall victim to violence is the reluctance and even prevention of relevant institutions to implement current laws.” — The Central Women’s Committee of Turkey’s Human Rights Association (HRA), “Violence against women is a result of discriminatory policies,” August 26, 2019.

“There was no finger left unbroken, no women left unbeaten for the last two seasons of a show aired on a pro-government TV channel…” — İlhan Taşcı, Republican People’s Party deputy and Radio and Television Supreme Council Member.

“In our religion, the life, dignity and rights of women are untouchable and entrusted [to men].” — Ali Erbaş, President of Diyanet, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs.

On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, thousands of Turkish women took part in demonstrations at Istanbul’s Taksim Square. The women were protesting the increasing number of murders in the country committed by men against female family members. After reading a statement to the press, the demonstrators were attacked by police with tear gas and plastic bullets.

The murder of women by male relatives — particularly spouses or former spouses — has become a dangerous trend in Turkey. The brutal murder, on August 18, of 38-year-old Emine Bulut by her ex-husband — in front of their 10-year-old daughter — is one particularly noteworthy case.

Bulut was stabbed multiple times in the neck at a café in the city of Kirikkale, where she had gone to meet the man from whom she had been divorced for several years. In a video of the attack, which went viral on social media, Bulut is seen covered in blood, shouting, “I don’t want to die,” as her terrified child screams along with her.

In response to the attack, women across Turkey held demonstrations to condemn the killing and called on the government to guarantee their protection.

‘Israel’s Enemies Are Our Enemies’: Guatemala’s New President Sends Strong Message to Israel

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2019/december/lsquo-israel-rsquo-s-enemies-

JERUSALEM, Israel – Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei affirmed his unwavering support for Israel while he met with President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem on Sunday during his first trip to the Jewish state.

Rivlin welcomed Giammattei as a “dear friend” and said, “the friendship between our countries runs deep.”

Giammmattei promised that Guatemala will stand with those who stand with Israel, and oppose those who attack Israel. 

Guatemala has had a strong relationship with Israel before the modern state even existed. Guatemala is one of several countries to vote in favor of Israel’s creation at the UN in 1947. It is a vote Rivlin said Israel “will never forget.”

Guatemala has shown its self to be a faithful ally to Israel throughout its existence. 

The Central American country became the second nation behind the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy to the Holy City. 

CBN News sat down with Guatemalan Vice President Jafeth Cabrera last year to ask him what inspired his country to follow in America’s footsteps. He said the move was long overdue and even prophetic.

“Yes, we do share that idea, that prophecy is coming to pass and we are pleased that Guatemala is contributing to having that happen and we hope that it will soon be a reality,” Cabrera said.

Cabrera explained that the decision to move the embassy did not come without plenty of prayer first.

“This was key to us making the decision to express our Christ likeness and to express our faith. We did pray,” he said.

VICTOR SHARPE: THE WILL TO FIGHT FOR AMERICA

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/sharpe/191210

As Hitler’s aggression grew ever more threatening prior to World War 2, Winston Churchill once said the following in Britain’s wavering Parliament:

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood-shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

Whenever you hear the gruesome shriek in Arabic, “Allahu Akbar”preceding yet another Muslim atrocity, be it in Europe, the UK, here in America or worldwide, it is worth remembering those words of Churchill and what it will mean to live as slaves.

Allahu Akbar does not mean “God is Great” as the liberal talking heads, multiculturalists, diversity merchants and the politicallycorrect ‘progressive’ praetorian guard never fail to tell us. No, it means Allah is Greater. In other words, Islam claims that it is infinitely superior to our Judeo-Christian faith and heritage and to all other non-Muslim beliefs in the world.

So when we hear the predictable and breathtakingly ignorant ‘progressive’ elites lecture us that the latest slaughter of Americans by Muslims here in America is just the result of a “mental health issue” or an incident of “workplace violence,” remember they are warning us that we must never put two and two together lest we come to the obvious conclusion that the evil act is simple Islamic terrorism. Evil will always win if good doesn’t fight back.

America blows past the world in oil and natural gas

https://www.axios.com/america-blows-past-the-world-in-oil-and-natural-gas-72a3fd6

Data: Oil Change International and the Global Gas and Oil Network, with data from Rystad Energy; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

America is poised to produce far more oil and natural gas over the next five years than any other country in the world, according to a new report.

Why it matters: It shows how America, already the world’s largest oil and gas producer, is poised to cement that position, with pivotal implications for geopolitics and climate change.

By the numbers: The United States could produce just over 24 billion barrels of oil equivalent over the next five years, according to a report by two advocacy groups, the Global Gas and Oil Network and Oil Change International, which analyzed projection data from research firm Rystad Energy.

This works out to be roughly 13.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a figure that includes both oil and natural gas.
For context: The U.S. currently producing about 12 million barrels of oil a day.
Much of this growth is coming from the Permian Basin across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, which the report says would account for nearly 40% of new U.S. oil and gas production in the next 30 years.

How it works: The accompanying chart, adapted from the groups’ report, is looking at projected production over this five-year time period from currently undeveloped reserves. This includes industry data, such as projects expected to receive final investment decisions.

NYC Muslim Patrol: Bullying, Gangster Tactics Reported

https://clarionproject.org/nyc-muslim-patrol-bullying-reported/?utm_source=Clarion+Project+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ab684208b5-

“Bullying” and “gangster-like” tactics have been reported by locals in New York areas where the Muslim Community Patrol & Services operates.

These tactics are beginning to create a backlash against the self-described “civilian patrol organization” among local residents.

The Muslim patrol gained international attention in the fall of 2018 after several of its patrol cars — which look like New York Police Department (NYPD) cars –were spotted in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The patrol originally said its purpose was to serve as a liaison between Muslims and the NYPD.  But after two consecutive mosque shootings in New Zealand last March, where a gunman live-streamed his murder of 51 Muslims on Facebook, the patrol publicly altered its purpose.

It now describes itself as a law enforcement organization, claiming its goal is to “protect members of the local community from escalating quality-of-life nuisance crimes.”

It’s precisely that “law enforcement” definition that is now landing the Muslim patrol into hot water with New York City residents, particularly those living in the Brooklyn area of Bedford-Stuyvesant.

“They are bullying people and getting out of their patrol cars looking like gangsters,” said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous. “The people in Bed-Stuy don’t want them there.”

What About the FISA Court? Judicial pre-authorization for our national security bureaucracies’ actions has taught them dysfunctional practices and created a secret body of law that has undermined Americans’ civil liberties. Angelo Codevilla

https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/10/what-about-the-fisa-court/

The Justice Department’s inspector general has concluded that, although officials of the FBI, the Justice Department, and the CIA made copious “mistakes” in their four requests to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency, those officials did nothing that warrants punishment. They mostly followed procedures and, after all, the court considered their motions good enough to grant them.

In so concluding, Inspector General Michael Horowitz rejected the charge that those “mistakes,” including silence about the known falsehood of the supporting evidence and the omission of exculpatory evidence, had been intentional, and hence a fraud on the court. Horowitz stated that looking at these officials’ intentions—i.e., noticing the variance between their claim and the facts behind it—was not his job.

Given that such scrutiny is quintessentially the inspector general’s job, his retreat into what we must now call the Comey-Clinton crouch—detail the misdeeds, relabel them, and decline to do anything about them—means that the deep state has closed ranks.

Hence, any remedy must come from above, and must inflict rough Roman justice.

Alas, such a remedy must now include eliminating the judiciary’s role in intelligence gathering. That means recognizing that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) was a bad idea all along, an irresistible temptation to cover abusive surveillance with the cloak of pretend-legality.

San Fran Loses $64 Mil After Convention Moves Due to “Street Conditions” Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2019/12/san-fran-loses-64-mil-after-convention-moves-due-daniel-greenfield/

I’m not up on corporate speak, but is “poor street conditions” a euphemism for wallowing in human waste while being assaulted by crazy people?

Oracle’s OpenWorld conference, one of the biggest annual technology events in San Francisco, is moving to Las Vegas in 2020 and will remain in Sin City for at least three years.

According to an email that the San Francisco Travel Association (SFTA) sent to its members on Monday, Oracle has signed a three-year agreement to bring its flagship event to the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.

“Oracle stated that their attendee feedback was that San Francisco hotel rates are too high,” the email, which was viewed by CNBC, said. “Poor street conditions was another reason why they made this difficult decision.”