THECOCONUTWHISPERER

Friday, 27 December 2019

Jason Riley: GOP Sen. Murkowski using 'Democratic talking points' on Trump impeachment trial

https://www.foxnews.com/media/lisa-murkowski-trump-impeachment-vote-mcconnell-senate-trial

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski wrongly used "Democratic talking points" when she criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's comments about how he would run President Trump's pending impeachment trial, Fox News contributor Jason Riley said Thursday.

Murkowski took exception to comments McConnell, R-Ky., made during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this month, in which he promised to be in "coordination" with the White House, should House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., submit the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.

"When I heard that, I was disturbed,” Murkowski told KTUU in an interview that aired Tuesday evening. “To me, it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense. And so, I heard what Leader McConnell had said, I happened to think that that has further confused the process."

Riley, a Wall Street Journal editorial board member, said on "Special Report" that Murkowski indeed has been known for her "independent streak" as a more-moderate GOP senator.

"Murkowski is not up for reelection. She is quirky, she does have an independent streak. We saw that in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, we saw that in the ObamaCare repeal vote," he said. Murkowski bucked her party to oppose Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court last year.

Moderate GOP Sen. Murkowski ‘disturbed’ by McConnell’s impeachment approach

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Riley continued, "I do wish she would stop using Democratic talking points to make the argument that she is making. The fact of the matter here is that the House's job is done and this idea that they should have any say in how the Senate conducts this trial just is not supported by what is written in black-and-white in the Constitution."

Riley pointed to the fact that no House Republicans voted with Democrats to impeach Trump, not even retiring lawmakers such as Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who he said had "nothing to lose" if they broke with their party.

"The idea that Mitch McConnell isn't going to be bipartisan enough or objective enough, that is not his job. I expect him to be as bipartisan as Nancy Pelosi was and as Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler were," he added, referring to the speaker and the two committee chairmen who presided over impeachment hearings in a manner widely criticized on the right.

In other remarks, Murkowski said she was "totally good" with being viewed as someone who wasn't a Republican "rubber stamp."

"For me to prejudge and say there's nothing there or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, that's wrong, in my view, that's wrong," she said. "If it means that I am viewed as one who looks openly and critically at every issue in front of me, rather than acting as a rubber stamp for my party or my president, I'm totally good with that."

However, Murkowski also criticized top Democrats for their rushed schedule, which she said appeared to be aimed at impeaching Trump before the holiday break. "Speaker Pelosi was very clear, very direct that her goal was to get this done before Christmas," Murkowski said.

Ultimately, she added, "How we will deal with witnesses remains to be seen."

On "Special Report," Charlie Hurt also reacted, saying Murkowski's comments wouldn't mean much in the big picture, and that the Democrats will still target her seat during her presumptive reelection bid in 2022.

Hurt called the Alaska lawmaker a GOP "outlier" but predicted her state will vote resoundingly to reelect Trump in 2020.

Trump appears to joke, blames Trudeau for being cut from 'Home Alone 2' in Canada

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/tongue-in-cheek-trump-blames-canadian-pm-for-being-cut-from-home-alone-2-in-canada

President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to joke about his cameo being cut from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s version of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."

“I guess Justin T doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade! The movie will never be the same! (just kidding).”
— US President Donald Trump tweet about Justin Trudeau

“I guess Justin T doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade!,” Trump tweeted, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“The movie will never be the same! (just kidding),” Trump added.

Sharp viewers blasted the state-owned broadcaster earlier Thursday after noticing Trump’s scene was missing from the 1992 sequel, which aired earlier in the month.

In the iconic holiday film, Macaulay Culkin's character, Kevin McCallister, walks into the Plaza Hotel by himself as he is separated from his family. He runs into a passerby played by Trump and asks, "Excuse me, where's the lobby?"

"Down the hall and to the left," Trump responds as he towers over a young Culkin.

The CBC said the movie wasn’t edited for political purposes, but rather to allow for commercial breaks.

“As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” Chuck Thompson, head of public affairs at the CBC, said in a statement.

Thursday, 26 December 2019

Local Moms Furious About Las Vegas Strip Club's Decision To Hand Out Tents To The Homeless

by Tyler Durden, Wed, 12/25/2019

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/local-moms-furious-about-las-vegas-strip-clubs-decision-hand-out-tents-homeless

added by CiC

Like they say: No good deed goes unpunished.

A Las Vegas strip club has created a furor in the community after it handed out tents and clothing to the homeless bearing the club's name and logo.

Club Deja Vu, which advertises itself as the "No. 1 topless strip club in the US," decided to spend $50,000 on the merchandise and hand it out to the homeless in what appears to be a kind of political statement: The city recently passed an ordinance making it illegal for people to camp out on the sidewalk if there are still beds available in city shelters.

That Vegas wants to crack down on homeless encampments is hardly surprising - just look at what's happening in San Francisco.

But it appears the club's true aim in all of this is to try and exploit the homelessness crisis in Vegas for a bit of publicity.

The club, on the other hand, tried to spin its decision to hand out tents and clothes as an act of compassion.

"While some seem to think that the solution is a camping ban, we think that the solution is one that includes decency and kindness," the club said in a statement to a local TV station.

"This just seems like the right thing to do during the holidays."

Police will start enforcing the new city ordinance on Feb. 2.

Several community members complained to KTNV Las Vegas about the inappropriate strip club merchandise. One local mother said her small children asked about the tents after driving by.

The woman said she was surprised by the sight of the "disgusting" and "immoral" tents.

Fortunately for Deja Vu, it looks like that $50,000 it spent on merchandise was marketing money well spent. Because according to another old saying: there's no such thing as bad publicity.

In fact, we imagine the club was deliberately courting this kind of controversy when it decided on the campaign.

Recommend this post and follow TCW

Happy holidays

The weirdest and most bizarre crime stories of 2019

https://www.foxnews.com/us/crime-2019-weirdest-most-bizarre

unfortunately, happen every day across America, but there are some you read about that leave you scratching your head. Ranging from dancing with lions to police pursuits involving toy trucks, here are seven of the weirdest and most bizarre crime stories of the year.

Man in reindeer slippers attempts to steal woman's wheelchair

A man in Arizona wearing reindeer slippers managed to ‘dash’ away from this scene – but law enforcement caught up to him anyway.

Austin Shurbutt, 26, was arrested in December after being seen on a surveillance video trying to take a woman’s wheelchair out from underneath her while onboard a train in Phoenix, police say.

Authorities credited “hero passengers” on the light rail for coming to the woman’s rescue and Shurbutt was nabbed after thousands shared his picture online.

"Despite his reindeer slippers, this criminal was NOT spreading holiday cheer," the Phoenix Police Department said, while also noting that Shurbutt “was still wearing the reindeer slippers when he was arrested.”

Bank robber hands teller a note with his name, address on it

Some bank robbers wear wigs. Others put on masks. This one, investigators say, apparently made little effort to conceal his identity.

Michael Harrell, 54, was arrested in August after ordering a teller to hand over cash from a U.S. Bank location in Cleveland -- using a note that had his full name and address on it, the FBI says. It reportedly was written on the back of a document from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Michael Harrell, 54, robbed a U.S. Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, in July after handing a teller a note with his name on it, the FBI says. (Cleveland Division of the FBI via WJW)

The teller referred to Harrell by his name and gave him an unknown amount of money before calling 911, according to investigators. He was taken into custody a few days later.

Unsurprisingly, an FBI agent at the time said “when you present a note that has your name already on it, and address, it helps law enforcement tremendously.”

Man caught driving stolen SUV on way to bail out brother also arrested for stealing SUV

Police working this case must have felt some serious déjà vu.

A man in Kansas was arrested in November for driving a stolen SUV to bail out his brother, who had been jailed only hours earlier for stealing a separate SUV, authorities said.

The first sibling caught was 36-year-old Eric Dean McCracken. He was arrested for driving a Chevy Trailblazer with a suspended license, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said. Police then revealed they learned the SUV had been reported stolen.

The McCracken brothers were reunited at the Jackson County Jail. (Jackson County Sheriff’s Office)

Hours later, his younger brother, 32-year-old Keith Ray McCracken, was arrested after leading deputies on a short chase in a stolen 2015 Chevy Silverado that authorities were tracking through its GPS, the sheriff’s office said.

“It is believed that the younger McCracken was en route to the Jackson County Jail to post bail on his older brother in a stolen vehicle,” it added. They since were reunited in the jail.

Woman hops into zoo enclosure, dances in front of confused lion

The lion had no idea what to think.

A New York woman went viral in September after being caught on video dancing in front of a big cat at the Bronx Zoo.

Footage taken after 32-year-old Myah Autrey breached the African Lion's enclosure shows her standing just a few feet away from the ferocious feline, who simply stares back, apparently baffled by the woman's presence.

Per the New York Post, the woman later posted videos and photos of the close encounter on Instagram -- even going so far as to taunt the NYPD, who'd sought her on two counts of criminal trespass after she broke into the lion's den and a giraffe enclosure. She eventually was tracked down and arrested in November.

Man allegedly steals from store, then comes back to ask for a job application

There are plenty of ways to try to make your job resume stand out from the pile – but this isn’t one of them.

A man who applied for a position at a sporting goods store in Wyoming in April allegedly stole from the business twice on the same day, investigators say.

The unidentified 36-year-old man first bought some items with a rewards card, but did not pay for a pair of sunglasses and ammunition while he was there, the Gillette News Record reported.

He then returned about three hours later -- this time, to ask for a job application. The man allegedly left the store after that encounter with two more pairs of sunglasses, according to the newspaper.

The suspect — whose job application status wasn’t clear — was cited for the alleged thefts. Police said they recovered the items.

Woman driving a toy truck leads police on slow speed pursuit

The quickest way to launch a pro wrestling career is to… grab a child’s motorized toy truck and get pulled over by police?

South Carolina police in June charged a woman in Walhalla with public intoxication after she allegedly was found cruising down the road in a silver Power Wheels truck not far from her home, reports said.

Police said 25-year-old Megan Holman avoided a DUI charge because her mode of transport was a toy, not a vehicle, according to BuzzFeed News.

When investigators asked Holman to explain the situation, she said she was riding the toy truck as part of a scavenger hunt and that “she wanted to be a professional wrestler like her father and this was how to do it”, The State newspaper reported.

Women swipe stroller from store, but leave one of their children behind

If you’re going to make a run for it, don’t leave anyone behind.

Three women apparently didn’t get that concept in August when they were caught on camera allegedly stealing a baby stroller from a New Jersey store – only to be busted after one of them forgot their child inside the shop.

Two of the women had distracted an employee at the Middletown store while the third woman went to the front to grab a stroller, police said. The women left the store, but one of them left behind some precious cargo — her own child.

Investigators later arrested at least two of the women and the stolen stroller was returned.

The Survivors: These Trump officials have weathered controversies from the start – and are still here

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/the-survivors-these-trump-officials-have-weathered-controversies-from-the-start-and-are-still-here

Meet the Trump administration survivors.

People like Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller and Betsy DeVos joined President Trump’s team at the beginning of his administration. They've occasionally -- or in some cases, repeatedly -- found themselves embroiled in controversies. But unlike the many other ex-Trump officials who’ve resigned, or been fired or pushed out, these stalwarts haven’t gone anywhere.

They don’t have the job security afforded to figures like Vice President Mike Pence, who was elected with Trump and whose role is enshrined in the Constitution, or senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who are family. They’ve weathered tough news cycles, been hounded in restaurants and other public places by liberal activists yet --most importantly -- have largely stayed in the president’s good graces.

Here’s a look at those who are still hanging on.

Kellyanne Conway

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Kellyanne Conway, a longtime Republican operative, became Trump’s campaign manager in August 2016 amid a campaign shakeup just months before the general election. And she’s been with Trump since, joining the White House as a counselor to the president when he took office. She has been assigned a wide portfolio of duties – serving as a frequent on-air surrogate while also leading the White House’s anti-opioids effort.

But there’s been some hiccups too: A government watchdog this year determined that she violated the Hatch Act, the federal law that limits political activities of federal employees, through her television appearances and tweets. And then there’s the issue of her husband, George Conway, who has embraced his role as a vocal Trump critic – creating awkwardness as her boss has publicly slammed her husband as "a total whack job". Still, she’s shown no sign of leaving any time soon.

Stephen Miller

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Perhaps no White House aide is reviled by liberal activists quite as much as Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration policies. Miller, a former aide to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a true believer – he joined Trump’s campaign during the 2016 primary, later becoming a senior White House aide. Miller has also endeared himself to his boss through occasional combative media appearances.

Democratic activists have targeted Miller due to his involvement in highly charged issues, including the efforts early in the administration to restrict travel to the United States from places including Muslim-majority countries, as well as the administration’s once-enforced policy of separating illegal immigrant parents from their children when detained at the border. Miller has been protested while trying to eat at D.C.-area restaurants, but he has shown no desire to depart the White House as long as Trump is president.

Ben Carson

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Ben Carson – the retired neurosurgeon and a 2016 Republican primary opponent to Trump – was tapped to join the Trump Cabinet as secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department in 2017. As head of HUD, Carson has worked to roll back Obama-era rules, like one that mandated that single-sex homeless shelters funded by his department admit residents based on their stated gender identity instead of their sex at birth.

But he’s also weathered mini-scandals, like the time The New York Times in 2018 reported that the department planned to purchase $31,561 on dining room furniture, forcing HUD to cancel the purchase. (The agency’s inspector general later cleared Carson of any misconduct.) During a humorous moment earlier this year, Democrats tore into Carson after a Democratic lawmaker during a congressional hearing asked him, “Do you know what an REO is?” Carson responded, "OREO?" The lawmaker shot back that she was talking about real estate owned properties, not cookies.

He’s indicated he’d like to stay at HUD through Trump’s first term.

Betsy DeVos

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Betsy DeVos – the billionaire school choice advocate – was narrowly confirmed in 2017 as Trump’s secretary of education amid protests from Democrats. Pence was forced to break a tie in the Senate to confirm her – the first time in history that happened for a Cabinet member. She’s rolled back a number of Obama-era policies, including guidelines for investigating allegations of sexual assault on campus, replacing them with guidelines she said would help schools “treat all students fairly.”

She has been a top target for liberal protesters and was granted a federal Marshals detail after her confirmation battle. The department has said DeVos has received repeated threats “which necessitate the security detail in the first place.” During one tense moment in 2017, protesters blocked DeVos from entering a Washington, D.C., school, shouting “shame, shame” at the secretary as she was led back into her vehicle. But despite all this, DeVos is still at the department.

Wilbur Ross

Commerce Secretary Ross under fire amid NOAA internal review

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Wilbur Ross – a billionaire investor – was confirmed as secretary of commerce in 2017 at the age of 79, which made him the oldest first-time Cabinet secretary in history. He’s played an influential role in the United States’ trade war with China, recommending the Trump administration implement tariff increases on aluminum and steel imports.

Perhaps most controversially, Ross’ department was involved in the highly charged effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. After protests and lawsuits, the Supreme Court this year blocked the question from the 2020 census. But the Democratic-controlled House voted earlier this year to hold Ross, along with Attorney General Bill Barr, in contempt of Congress for defying congressional subpoenas over the efforts to add the controversial question.

Steven Mnuchin

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin – an investment banker who also produced movies like “Entourage” before getting involved in government -- joined the Trump administration in 2017 after raising money for Trump during the campaign. He played a leading role in pushing forward the GOP tax cuts in 2017, and in placing various sanctions on Iran, China and Syria.

He’s weathered some scandals, including over the cost of the secretary's travel aboard U.S. military aircraft. And his wife, actress Louise Linton, has repeatedly been at the center of controversy, including the time she and her husband posed for an infamous photo flashing an uncut sheet of single dollars for the camera.

Mike Pompeo

Secretary Pompeo offers hope for American captives in Iran

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Mike Pompeo was a Republican congressman from Kansas before he was tapped by Trump to serve as CIA director in 2017 -- a role where he personally briefed the president every day. He later replaced Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, as the nation’s top diplomat after Trump repeatedly clashed with Tillerson.

Pompeo has become a trusted confidant of Trump’s and has largely avoided the personal scandals of other survivors, partly by being able to stay out of the fray of daily domestic politics. But recently, he has been a target of Democrats over what he knew about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine throughout the impeachment proceedings. While he’s been with Trump since the beginning of his term, Pompeo is facing pressure from top Republicans to leave the administration to run for the Senate in Kansas next year.