COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, June 10, 2017

How many other memos did Comey leak to the New York Times? But Comey, you understand, had his scruples: he made sure not to leak the news that Trump himself was not under investigation for colluding with the Russians. That was not to get out.

Comey Served at the Pleasure of Himself


Of the show trials in the Soviet Union, it was said, “Everything was true, except the facts.” One could say the same about the show trial Donald Trump is suffering at the hands of a hysterically partisan ruling class. Its frenzy over James Comey’s Senate testimony bears no relationship to reality; it is simply a reflection of its own ruthless power politics and determination to nail Trump at any cost.

Comey’s testimony was utterly unpersuasive. Though presented in high-minded terms, it amounted to little more than sour grapes over a sacking, and a wholly justified sacking at that. Comey’s directorship was an unmitigated disaster.
Trump “lied” about the reasons for my firing, whined Comey. No, he didn’t. If Trump said that Comey’s lousy judgment had caused “turmoil” at the FBI, that’s because it did.

That Comey characterized Trump’s comments about a demoralized FBI as a “lie” should discredit the rest of his testimony. It just underscored the straining, self-serving character of his appearance. He showed up not to defend an “independent” FBI but to justify his own dubious tenure at it.

And now it turns out that this great Niehburian conscience of Washington is a self-confirmed leaker. He had a “friend” pass a memo to the New York Times in an attempt to parry the president, he testified. Only a navel-gazing flake like Comey — he left Catholicism for relativistic Methodism — would be deluded enough to think that such admissions enhance his credibility. Instead, they just confirm what a self-serving operator he has always been.

How many other memos did Comey leak to the New York Times? None of the fawning, drippy senators were going to ask him that. Comey is clearly responsible for the leaks to the Times after Trump’s infamous tweets about Obamagate.
But Comey, you understand, had his scruples: he made sure not to leak the news that Trump himself was not under investigation for colluding with the Russians. That was not to get out.

Let’s cut through the nonsense: Comey, not Trump, is the villain in this idiotic saga. In all of his heavy-breathing hints and leaks, Comey let people think that the president was under investigation. The scandal is not that a guilty president asked the FBI director to treat him as innocent, but that an innocent president was treated as guilty by an FBI director drunk on his own rectitude.

One has to laugh at the audacity of an FBI director who violates the confidences of others casting himself as the arbiter of honesty and integrity. 

Trump’s instincts about Comey were absolutely correct. He is the kind of ruling-class creep who takes secret notes on presidents, then leaks them to the press, all while expecting a pat on the head from the great and good for his “independence.” 

Who elected Comey to such an exalted position? Comey claimed he understood that he served at the “pleasure” of the president. But this was BS. He served at his own pleasure, and his remarks were designed to pander to the undemocratic opportunism of the Democrats, under which the least accountable figures (Supreme Court justices, FBI directors, “career” civil servants) are increasingly deified.

Trump did not obstruct justice. How could he have? There was no investigation to obstruct, as Comey himself pathetically acknowledges. The partisan jackasses at CNN had promised that Comey was going to refute Trump’s claim that Comey told him on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation for collusion. He didn’t; he confirmed it.

So what exactly has Trump lied about? Once again, Trump is more sinned against than sinning. The media always cast him as the bully, but when the dust clears, he more often than not emerges as the victim.

Comey sees himself as a white knight, saving the republic from a vulgarian. But the American people can see that the “respectability” of a leaking, vicious, two-faced ruling class doesn’t add up to much and constitutes a much deeper vulgarity than anything Trump represents. If one can fault Trump for anything in the firing of Comey, it is that he didn’t do it sooner.

82 comments:

  1. I love this line:

    None of the fawning, drippy senators were going to ask him that. Comey is clearly responsible for the leaks to the Times after Trump’s infamous tweets about Obamagate.

    ReplyDelete
  2. REAL DIRTY COP

    Who elected Comey to such an exalted position? Comey claimed he understood that he served at the “pleasure” of the president. But this was BS. He served at his own pleasure, and his remarks were designed to pander to the undemocratic opportunism of the Democrats, under which the least accountable figures (Supreme Court justices, FBI directors, “career” civil servants) are increasingly deifi

    ReplyDelete
  3. A FILTHY DIRTYY COP BUT AN ALTAR BOY COMPARED TO THE CNNTS

    The partisan jackasses at CNN had promised that Comey was going to refute Trump’s claim that Comey told him on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation for collusion. He didn’t; he confirmed it

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  4. MORE FROM THE CNNTS

    (CNN)The President and his personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, should be careful what they wish for.

    In his aggressive defense of President Trump, Kasowitz has in substance accused the former Director of the FBI of leaking "privileged communications" and of possibly committing perjury in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

    The Kasowitz accusations, made shortly after James Comey completed the public portion of his Senate testimony, if actively pursued, would necessarily shroud the Trump administration in a complex web of investigations, congressional hearings and court proceedings that would ultimately pull it into a black hole of legal destruction.


    They wish.

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    1. "Operator". That's the word that comes to mind when you see this louche douche in action. Funny how he had such a golden reputation. And funny how so many who do turn out to be charlatans. Trump is shrewd and having survived the minefield of NYC politics and the chicanery involved with big time construction and the myriad entanglements and individuals it attracts, he knows a untrustworthy, lowdown, lying SOB when he sees one.

      The is one of the most satisfyingly succinct and trenchant columns I have read to date on this pathetic specimen. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. I thought Comey should have been fired on day one. It was politically naïve for him to allow Comey to carry on for as long as he did but the timing of his eventual firing was horrible---allowing the LSM to run wild trying their usual best to somehow, some way discredit Trump. But Comey isn't just a "dirty cop", he appears to be rather mentally unstable. And of course all he really did in this hearing was make a spectacle of himself, while not laying a finger on Trump.

      Trump is a man and he is not a perfect man, just like none of us are, but he cared enough about this country to wade off in a danger filled swamp to help us right this ship without a lot of blood shed, which may still be coming.

      Delete
  5. More of the fruit of Islam gracing Germany:

    Syrian man, 27, stabs Red Cross psychologist to death at a refugee counselling centre in Germany

    A psychologist working for the German Red Cross has been stabbed to death by a Syrian man at a counseling centre for refugees in the western state of Saarland.

    The charity said the attack took place on Wednesday in the state capital, Saarbruecken.

    The 27-year-old Syrian attacked the Red Cross psychologist following an argument, German news agency dpa reported. The suspect, who wasn't identified, was arrested shortly after the attack.

    The charity said the attack took place on Wednesday in the state capital, Saarbruecken.

    The 27-year-old Syrian attacked the Red Cross psychologist following an argument, German news agency dpa reported. The suspect, who wasn't identified, was arrested shortly after the attack.


    The Germans do not like to admit the victim was an assailant and the perl was a Muslim

    ReplyDelete
  6. THE POLES DON'T WANT THE ISLAMIC FRUIT BEING ENJOYED BY GERMANY

    In May alone, an average of 10 knife attacks per day were reported.

    Among them:

    In Cottbus, members of a Syrian gang stabbed five Germans. In Freiburg, a Turkish man stabbed another Turk sitting in the passenger seat of a car stopped at a traffic light. In Karlsruhe, a Somali asylum seeker stabbed another Somali asylum seeker. Police said the attack was an act of revenge: the stabbing victim had recently stabbed the stabber. In Aachen, a North African man pulled a knife on a security guard at a grocery store after he was caught shoplifting.

    In Schwerin, a Syrian man pulled a knife on another Syrian man in a dispute over a 15-year-old girl who is not Syrian. In Peine, an asylum seeker from Sudan stabbed and seriously wounded an asylum seeker from the Ivory Coast. In Kassel, a Syrian migrant stabbed a Turkish man during a dispute over money.

    Other reported attacks since the influx of migrants began were for alleged political or religious motives, brawls involving feuding ethnic groups and honor killings.

    Among them:

    In Hanover, a 16-year-old German-Moroccan girl stabbed a police officer in the neck with a kitchen knife. Police said the incident, which occurred at the central train station, was the first jihadist attack in Germany inspired by the Islamic State. “The perpetrator did not display any emotion,” a police spokesperson said. “Her only concern was for her headscarf. She was concerned that her headscarf be put back on properly after she was arrested. Whether the police officer survived, she did not care.”

    In Prien am Chiemsee, an Afghan man stabbed to death an Afghan woman who had converted to Christianity. The attacker ambushed the woman as she was exiting a grocery store with her two children.

    In Munich, a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “infidels must die” stabbed one person to death and slashed three others in an attack at a train station.

    In Gelsenkirchen, gangs of Syrian and Lebanese youths got into a mass knife fight in the city center. Police said that the level of violence was “brutal.”

    In Mulheim, around 80 members of two rival Lebanese clans got into a knife fight in the center of the city. It took hundreds of police, armed with machine guns, dogs and helicopters, more than three hours to restore order.

    In Mainz-Gonsenheim, several people were stabbed during a mass brawl between Syrians and Iranians.

    In Leipzig, an Iraqi man was stabbed and seriously injured during a massive brawl in front of a Kebab restaurant. When police tried to intervene, the mob attacked them with bottles and stones.

    In Bocholt, a Lebanese man stabbed to death his Moroccan wife, the mother of his three children, because he thought she wanted to divorce him.

    In Ahaus, a Nigerian asylum seeker stabbed to death a Hindu woman after she seemingly offended his honor by rejecting his romantic advances. The woman was employed at the asylum shelter where her attacker lived.

    In Hanau, a Syrian refugee stabbed to death his 30-year-old sister, who was 23 weeks pregnant and was accused of having brought shame to her family. Her unborn child also died in the attack.

    “Knives, axes and machetes have become weapons of choice for criminals in Germany, which has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe,” the Gatestone report said.

    “Merkel’s open-door migration policies appear to have set in motion a self-reinforcing cycle of violence in which more and more people are carrying knives in public — including for self-defense.”

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know the truth offends some of the more tender, easily offended Delicatants but...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Three men, 96 children: Pakistan's population booms...

    Three men who have fathered nearly 100 children among them are doing their bit for Pakistan's skyrocketing population, which is being counted for the first time in 19 years.

    But in a country where experts warn the surging populace is gouging into hard-won economic gains and social services, the three patriarchs are unconcerned. Allah, they say, will provide.

    "God has created the entire universe and all human beings, so why should I stop the natural process of a baby's birth?" asks Gulzar Khan, a father of 36, citing one of the strongest influences in the region:

    The belief that Islam prevents family planning.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/three-men-96-children-pakistan-population-booms-034308720.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm back where I was in college taking classes from Garret Hardin:

      Population control is the ONLY way for humans to enjoy a quality existence.

      ...and preserve the only place in the Universe available for mankind to live.

      Delete
    2. GarretT Hardin

      https://www.google.com/search?q=Garret+Hardin%3A&rlz=1CAACAO_enUS720US720&oq=Garret+Hardin%3A&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

      Delete
    3. He was another evil, heartless, racist xenophobe.

      Like Deuce

      Lifeboat metaphor and denial of food aid

      In September 1974, he published the article "Living on a Lifeboat" in BioScience magazine, arguing that contributing food to help the Ethiopian famine would add to overpopulation, which he considered the root of Ethiopia's problems.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Hardin#Lifeboat_metaphor_and_denial_of_food_aid

      Delete
    4. Not quite like the stick framed houses of my day:

      Monolithic Churches

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolithic_church

      Delete
    5. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1200&bih=537&q=monolithic+church&oq=monolithic+church&gs_l=img.12..0l6j0i30k1j0i5i30k1j0i24k1.2433.10245.0.15029.18.18.0.0.0.0.336.3696.0j6j10j1.17.0....0...1.1.64.img..1.17.3678.0..35i39k1.mUZe35oLQJM#imgrc=nCDSuQ989nG2lM:

      Delete
    6. But not up to lava tubes for style and safety.

      Delete
  9. Comey Was The First To Call A Private, One-On-One Meeting With Trump

    According to former FBI Director James Comey’s statement to the Senate Intelligence Committee, released Wednesday before his testimony, it was Comey himself who initiated the practice of meeting privately with Donald Trump.
    The first encounter he describes in the seven-page statement was a briefing with then President-elect Trump at Trump Tower January 6. Here are the relevant parts of the description, which is on page one of the statement:

    https://thefederalist.com/2017/06/08/comey-the-first-to-call-a-private-meeting-with-trump/

    Comey details 'inappropriate' and 'very concerning private meetings with Trump...

    blah, blah, blah,

    Not just a Dick, or a Slimy Dick, but a sleazy, fetid, walking Vagina.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "He is the kind of ruling-class creep who takes secret notes on presidents, then leaks them to the press, all while expecting a pat on the head from the great and good for his “independence.”

      Which is exactly what all of the MSM and most of Congress do.

      Delete
  10. The sordid, disreputable, nasty, shameful, sleazy, squalid, vile, abject, lying and now avaricious truth comes out about the slimy dickhead Comey.

    He's got a $10 million dollar book deal in the works....

    He desperately needs an Ash, a Quirk to arise to defend him....

    But Quirk has retired, we hope not permanently, to Sun Meadow Nudist Resort and Casino in Idaho, and Ash is in hiding from a muzzie mob in Toronto....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nay, not hope, we, at least I, pray The Quirkster has not retired permanently.

      That's as close to begging as you're ever gonna get Quirkster. You best grasp at it while you can.

      There are some lives out there into which such a sentiment never enters at all.

      Consider yourself undeservedly lucky.

      Delete
  11. It is past time for Trump to go on offense. Comey, Clintons, Susan Rice, Lauretta Lynch, Obama, et al.

    Comey intentionally misled the public into believing Trump was under investigation by the FBI and that too tall piece of shit must have invoked Muller's name 10 times in his testimony. Comey has all the smarmy vindictiveness of a closet fag.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Confirming once again this place as Politically Correct Speech Central.

      Delete
  12. If I weren't so unbelievable busy alternately reading the news and sleeping I might head to Sun Meadow myself and try to track The Quirkster down for an interview, but Toronto is just too far away for me right now and besides I don't want to feel an obligation to protect Young Prince Ash.

    ReplyDelete
  13. CASHIN' IN ON GUVMINT SERVICE'

    Comey set for $10 million book deal....DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The New York Times will stick it up there at #1 on its Best Seller List even if it only sells a hundred copies.

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    2. All purchased by Comey himself.

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  14. June 10, 2017
    Loretta Lynch, Swamp Thing
    By Daniel John Sobieski

    Arguably, the most interesting part of the testimony of James Comey, the cowardly lion of the criminal justice system, before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday is not that President Trump was cleared of even a smidgeon of corruption and obstruction of justice but that President Obama’s Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, is up to her eyeballs in both. As the Daily Caller reports:

    Loretta Lynch, the former attorney general under Barack Obama, pressured former FBI Director James Comey to downplay the Clinton email server investigation and only refer to it as a “matter,” Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

    Comey said that when he asked Lynch if she was going to authorize him to confirm the existence of the Clinton email investigation, her answer was, “Yes, but don’t call it that. Call it a matter.” When Comey asked why, he said, Lynch wouldn’t give him an explanation. “Just call it a matter,” she said….

    Earlier in his testimony, Comey said Lynch instructed Comey not to call the criminal investigation into the Clinton server a criminal investigation. Instead, Lynch told Comey to call it a “matter,” Comey said, “which confused me.”

    Comey cited that pressure from Lynch to downplay the investigation as one of the reasons he held a press conference to recommend the Department of Justice not seek to indict Clinton.

    Comey also cited Lynch’s secret tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton as a reason he chose to hold the press conference, he said, as he was concerned about preserving the independence of the FBI.

    This is far worse than President Trump asking Comey in a private conversation to wrap up the Flynn investigation after Flynn was dismissed as National Security Adviser. This was a director order by Comey’s immediate superior to align his rhetoric with the Clinton campaign spin. This is what Comey did, calling it a “matter” and not a criminal investigation, which is the only thing the FBI does. Couple this submissive compliance to an order to help the Clinton campaign with their spin with the meeting on the tarmac between Lunch and Bill Clinton, the husband of the target of that criminal investigation, and you have an obvious case for charging Lynch with obstruction of justice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If Comey was concerned about preserving the integrity of the FBI, he wouldn’t have leaked the memo of his private conversation with President Trump to the New York Times through a third party. That memo, prepared on a government computer by a government employee on government time, is the property of the U.S. government and the U.S. taxpayer. Its unauthorized dissemination is a clear violation of the Federal Records Act and executive privilege. Comey was charged to find leakers, not be the leaker-in-chief.

      Just as he didn’t have the authority to leak the memo, he didn’t have the authority to go before the American people and declare that the multiple felonies committed by Hilary Clinton while she was Secretary of State were not prosecutable due to lack of intent.....

      ....Well, isn’t that special? This is the swamp President Trump wants to drain. Let us also deal with Swamp Thing -- Loretta Lynch.

      Remember that Comey’s exoneration of Hillary came just days after Lynch met with Bill on the tarmac. Can you say “collusion” and “obstruction of justice”? The June 27, 2016 tarmac meeting on Lynch’s plane in Phoenix itself, in the light of Comey’s admission of Lynch’s pressure on him, is worthy of a special prosecutor all unto itself:, a fact not lost on Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton:

      Lynch was caught off guard when a local Phoenix reporter asked her about the meeting at a press conference. She claimed at the time the discussion with the former President, which lasted 30 minutes, was simply about golf and grandchildren. After Hillary Clinton lost the White House to Donald Trump in November, Lynch said the meeting was regrettable.

      “The infamous tarmac meeting between President Clinton and AG Lynch is a vivid example of why many Americans believe the Obama administration’s criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton was rigged,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement about the new lawsuit. “Now it will be up to Attorney General Sessions at the Trump Justice Department to finally shed some light on this subversion of justice.”

      Let’s hope so. Let’s hope this DOJ will focus on real crimes and real obstruction of justice. It may turn out that Loretta Lynch and James Comey interfered in the 2016 election more than Vladimir Putin could even have dreamed of.

      http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/06/loretta_lynch_swamp_thing.html

      Delete
  15. To understand the Comey swamp, look to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels
    June 10, 2017
    The Democrats, the deep state and the hilariously inept mainstream media look a lot like the Lilliputians in the Jonathan Swift classic.

    More

    If asked about the Lilliputians, most people call up the image of tiny people restraining Gulliver with hundreds of ropes. It's a striking image that's spawned uncountable metaphors. For me, the more interesting part of Lilliputians' society is that the highest levels of government was staffed by winners of rope dancing (tight rope walking) contests. To add spice, politicians on ropes of their own had the opportunity to knock their opponents off balance so they'd fall and lose power.

    I now find this image as funny as I did as a youngster. As a result of James Comey's congressional testimony I picture President Trump traversing the swamp on a high wire in order to reach and pull the drain plug. The troika composed of the Democrats, the deep state, and the hilariously inept national media are pelting him with bean bags called Russian collusion, and are leaking all over him. (If you haven't read Gulliver's Travels have someone who has explain the allusion to "leaking.")


    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/06/to_understand_the_swamp_look_to_jonathan_swifts_gullivers_travels.html

    ReplyDelete
  16. AUSTRIA

    “Those who are not prepared to accept Enlightenment values will have to leave our country and society,” reads the text of the law that drew thousands of protesters to the streets earlier this year, before it was passed by a centrist coalition last month.

    Women who will wear Islamic veils – either the burqa or the niqab – in public places, will face a fine of €150 ($168).

    More generally, newcomers who expect to stay in Austria, will need to enroll in a 12-month “integration course,” which includes German language lessons, if they are to receive their welfare benefits.

    They will also be expressly forbidden from distributing incendiary radical materials, and are encouraged to volunteer before they can get their work permits, so that they are better prepared for life in the workplace.

    More than 90,000 people have arrived in the Central European country since the start of the migrant crisis in 2015, most of them from Muslim-majority countries outside of Europe.

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  17. IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE BIG BIRD COMEY IN A FEDERAL JUMP SUIT:

    A bipartisan group of powerful senators is asking the man believed to have helped ex-FBI Director James Comey leak his infamous “let this go” memo to the media to produce that memo for them.
    Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-DE) — the chairs and ranking Democrats of the Senate Judiciary Committe and its National Security Subcommittee — sent a letter Thursday to Columbia Law Professor Daniel Richman demanding he provide them with the original memo he supposedly leaked to CNN on Comey’s say-so.

    The letter calls the memo, reported to describe President Donald Trump telling Comey to go easy on former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, “relevant to the Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigative efforts.”

    The letter also demanded all other memoranda Comey may have provided Richman, and gave him only until midnight Friday. Breitbart News cannot confirm or deny if Richman complied with the Senators’ demands.

    Richman confirmed to multiple news outlets Thursday that he was the “friend” whom Comey enlisted to leak the memo to the press. This ended speculation that began immediately after Comey admitted under oath he had leaked the memo containing his account of conversations between himself and President Donald Trump. Comey claimed that his hope in doing so, immediately after he was fired, was to force the appointment of a special counsel, which has now come to pass in the person of Comey’s predecessor as head of the FBI, Robert Mueller.

    Richman reportedly went into hiding after his name hit the national news and has not been seen in his Brooklyn neighborhood since. His disappearance from view as the request for the memo pends has raised questions about the memo, the validity of which Comey swore by in his Thursday tesitmony before the Senate Judiciary Committe.

    Sharyl Attkisson, reporter for Full Measure News, tweeted her skepticism in light of these developments, including Comey’s own testimony that he no longer has an original copy himself.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Richman reportedly went into hiding after his name hit the national news and has not been seen in his Brooklyn neighborhood since.

    heh hehe bwabwahahaha

    One hopes, expressing down home human kindness, that the Professor isn't found with two bullets in his back, still possessing his watch, wallet, and I-phone, in a 'botchet robbery'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I were The Professor I'd head to Sun Meadow Resort, Casino and Nudist Colony, Worley, Idaho, and hide out with Quirk.

      No one would think to look there.

      Delete
  19. THIS IS PRIME

    OPINION: The damaging case against James Comey

    BY JONATHAN TURLEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 06/09/17 03:00 PM EDT

    The testimony of James Comey proved long on atmospherics and short on ethics. While many were riveted by Comey’s discussion of his discomfort in meetings with President Trump, most seemed to miss the fact that Comey was describing his own conduct in strikingly unethical terms. The greatest irony is that Trump succeeded in baiting Comey to a degree that even Trump could not have imagined. After calling Comey a “showboat” and poor director, Comey proceeded to commit an unethical and unprofessional act in leaking damaging memos against Trump.

    Comey described a series of ethical challenges during his term as FBI director. Yet, he almost uniformly avoided taking a firm stand in support of the professional standards of the FBI. During the Obama administration, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch gave Comey a direct order to mislead the public by calling the ongoing investigation a mere “matter.” Rather than standing firm on the integrity of his department and refusing to adopt such a meaningless and misleading term, Comey yielded to Lynch while now claiming discomfort over carrying out the order.

    When Trump allegedly asked for Comey to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn or pledge loyalty, Comey did not tell the president that he was engaging in wildly inappropriate conduct. He instead wrote a memo to file and told close aides. He now says that he wishes he had the courage or foresight to have taken a stand with the president.

    {...}

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    1. {...}

      BIG BIRD LAING AN EGG

      However, the clearest violation came in the days following his termination. Comey admits that he gave the damaging memos to a friend at Columbia Law School with the full knowledge that the information would be given to the media. It was a particularly curious moment for a former director who was asked by the president to fight the leakers in the government. He proceeded in becoming one of the most consequential leakers against Trump.

      Comey said that he took these actions days after his termination, when he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and realized suddenly that the memos could be used to contradict Trump. It was a bizarrely casual treatment of material that would be viewed by many as clearly FBI information. He did not confer with the FBI or the Justice Department. He did not ask for any classification review despite one of the parties described being the president of the United States. He simply sent the memos to a law professor to serve as a conduit to the media.

      As a threshold matter, Comey asked a question with regard to Trump that he should now answer with regard to his own conduct. Comey asked why Trump would ask everyone to leave the Oval Office to speak with Comey unless he was doing something improper. Yet, Trump could ask why Comey would use a third party to leak these memos if they were his property and there was nothing improper in their public release.

      In fact, there was a great deal wrong with their release, and Comey likely knew it. These were documents prepared on an FBI computer addressing a highly sensitive investigation on facts that he considered material to that investigation. Indeed, he conveyed that information confidentially to his top aides and later said that he wanted the information to be given to the special counsel because it was important to the investigation.

      {...}

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    2. {...}

      Many in the media have tried to spin this as not a “leak” because leaks by definition only involve classified information. That is entirely untrue as shown by history. Leaks involve the release of unauthorized information — not only classified information. Many of the most important leaks historically have involved pictures and facts not classified but embarrassing to a government. More importantly, federal regulations refer to unauthorized disclosures not just classified information.

      Comey’s position would effectively gut a host of federal rules and regulations. He is suggesting that any federal employee effectively owns documents created during federal employment in relation to an ongoing investigation so long as they address the information to themselves. FBI agents routinely write such memos in investigations. They are called 302s to memorialize field interviews or fact acquisitions. They are treated as FBI information.

      The Justice Department routinely claims such memos as privileged and covered by the deliberative process privilege and other privileges. Indeed, if this information were sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) it would likely have been denied. Among other things, the Justice Department and FBI routinely claim privilege “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.”

      {...}

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    3. {...}

      Of course, Comey did not know if there was a privilege or classification claim by either the Justice Department or the White House because he never asked for review. He just woke up in the middle of night upset about Trump’s name calling and released the damaging information. In doing so, he used these memos not as a shield but a sword.

      Besides being subject to nondisclosure agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and unclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. § 641, which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey “any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.”

      There are also ethical and departmental rules against the use of material to damage a former represented person or individual or firm related to prior representation. The FBI website warns employees that “dissemination of FBI information is made strictly in accordance with provisions of the Privacy Act; Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a; FBI policy and procedures regarding discretionary release of information in accordance with the Privacy Act; and other applicable federal orders and directives.”

      One such regulation is § 2635.703, on the use of nonpublic information, which states, “An employee shall not engage in a financial transaction using nonpublic information, nor allow the improper use of nonpublic information to further his own private interest or that of another, whether through advice or recommendation, or by knowing unauthorized disclosure.”

      {...}

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  20. {...}

    I THINK COMEY IS A CROSS DRESSER


    The testimony of James Comey proved long on atmospherics and short on ethics. While many were riveted by Comey’s discussion of his discomfort in meetings with President Trump, most seemed to miss the fact that Comey was describing his own conduct in strikingly unethical terms. The greatest irony is that Trump succeeded in baiting Comey to a degree that even Trump could not have imagined. After calling Comey a “showboat” and poor director, Comey proceeded to commit an unethical and unprofessional act in leaking damaging memos against Trump.

    Comey described a series of ethical challenges during his term as FBI director. Yet, he almost uniformly avoided taking a firm stand in support of the professional standards of the FBI. During the Obama administration, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch gave Comey a direct order to mislead the public by calling the ongoing investigation a mere “matter.” Rather than standing firm on the integrity of his department and refusing to adopt such a meaningless and misleading term, Comey yielded to Lynch while now claiming discomfort over carrying out the order.

    When Trump allegedly asked for Comey to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn or pledge loyalty, Comey did not tell the president that he was engaging in wildly inappropriate conduct. He instead wrote a memo to file and told close aides. He now says that he wishes he had the courage or foresight to have taken a stand with the president.


    However, the clearest violation came in the days following his termination. Comey admits that he gave the damaging memos to a friend at Columbia Law School with the full knowledge that the information would be given to the media. It was a particularly curious moment for a former director who was asked by the president to fight the leakers in the government. He proceeded in becoming one of the most consequential leakers against Trump.

    Comey said that he took these actions days after his termination, when he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and realized suddenly that the memos could be used to contradict Trump. It was a bizarrely casual treatment of material that would be viewed by many as clearly FBI information. He did not confer with the FBI or the Justice Department. He did not ask for any classification review despite one of the parties described being the president of the United States. He simply sent the memos to a law professor to serve as a conduit to the media.

    As a threshold matter, Comey asked a question with regard to Trump that he should now answer with regard to his own conduct. Comey asked why Trump would ask everyone to leave the Oval Office to speak with Comey unless he was doing something improper. Yet, Trump could ask why Comey would use a third party to leak these memos if they were his property and there was nothing improper in their public release.


    {...}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. {...}
      In fact, there was a great deal wrong with their release, and Comey likely knew it. These were documents prepared on an FBI computer addressing a highly sensitive investigation on facts that he considered material to that investigation. Indeed, he conveyed that information confidentially to his top aides and later said that he wanted the information to be given to the special counsel because it was important to the investigation.

      Many in the media have tried to spin this as not a “leak” because leaks by definition only involve classified information. That is entirely untrue as shown by history. Leaks involve the release of unauthorized information — not only classified information. Many of the most important leaks historically have involved pictures and facts not classified but embarrassing to a government. More importantly, federal regulations refer to unauthorized disclosures not just classified information.

      Comey’s position would effectively gut a host of federal rules and regulations. He is suggesting that any federal employee effectively owns documents created during federal employment in relation to an ongoing investigation so long as they address the information to themselves. FBI agents routinely write such memos in investigations. They are called 302s to memorialize field interviews or fact acquisitions. They are treated as FBI information.

      The Justice Department routinely claims such memos as privileged and covered by the deliberative process privilege and other privileges. Indeed, if this information were sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) it would likely have been denied. Among other things, the Justice Department and FBI routinely claim privilege “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.”

      Of course, Comey did not know if there was a privilege or classification claim by either the Justice Department or the White House because he never asked for review. He just woke up in the middle of night upset about Trump’s name calling and released the damaging information. In doing so, he used these memos not as a shield but a sword.

      {...}

      Delete
    2. {...}

      Besides being subject to nondisclosure agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and unclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. § 641, which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey “any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.”

      There are also ethical and departmental rules against the use of material to damage a former represented person or individual or firm related to prior representation. The FBI website warns employees that “dissemination of FBI information is made strictly in accordance with provisions of the Privacy Act; Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a; FBI policy and procedures regarding discretionary release of information in accordance with the Privacy Act; and other applicable federal orders and directives.”

      One such regulation is § 2635.703, on the use of nonpublic information, which states, “An employee shall not engage in a financial transaction using nonpublic information, nor allow the improper use of nonpublic information to further his own private interest or that of another, whether through advice or recommendation, or by knowing unauthorized disclosure.”

      The standard FBI employment agreement bars the unauthorized disclosure of information “contained in the files, electronic or paper, of the FBI” that impact the bureau and specifically pledges that “I will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.”

      Had Comey taken the minimal step of seeking clearance, the department would likely have said that this was FBI information and not personal information. Comey instead decided to ask forgiveness rather than permission.

      Comey is also subject to bar rules on releasing information inimical to the interests of his former employer. For example, under professional rule 1.6, lawyers need to secure authority to release information that “(1) reveal a confidence or secret of the lawyer’s client; (2) use a confidence or secret of the lawyer’s client to the disadvantage of the client; [or] (3) use a confidence or secret of the lawyer’s client for the advantage of the lawyer or of a third person.”

      {...}

      Delete
    3. {...}

      Comey actually showed both how to and how not to disclose such information. When Comey released the information, he knew that he was going to be called to Congress where he could disclose this information properly after giving the White House a chance to claim privilege. Instead, he decided to release the information early. Why?

      Comey gave two equally implausible explanations. First, he suggested that he wanted to get the information to investigators. However, he knew not only that he was likely to testify but that these memos would inevitably be demanded by both congressional and federal investigators. Second, he said that he wanted to ensure the appointment of a special counsel. However on that Monday, many of us were saying that such an appointment was virtually inevitable. More importantly, he could have given the memos to investigators and properly laid the foundation for a special counsel.


      The fact is that the leaking of the memos worked to the advantage of James Comey, not Robert Mueller. Comey was able to take over the narrative and news cycle after Trump had publicly belittled him and his record. Special counsels do not like leaks of this kind. It would have been far better for the special counsel (or Comey’s own former investigatory team and congressional investigators) to have the memos confidentially.

      The greatest value of the memos would be to question Trump and other potential targets without their knowing of their existence. The memos could then have been used to establish false statements and pressure cooperation. Instead, Comey told possible targets, including Trump, about the evidence against them in the memos.

      Donald Trump continues to show a remarkable ability to bring out the worst in people — supporters and critics alike. In this case, he was able to bait Comey with his tweets and cause Comey to diminish his own credibility. If the comments of Trump were grossly inappropriate, Comey’s response to those comments were equally inappropriate.

      Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He has served as defense counsel in national security cases involving classified information and alleged leaks to the media.

      Delete
  21. What a farce.

    Comey's pecker was in Hillary's purse throughout the long sad saga.

    LBJ once famously said:

    I don't trust anyone whose pecker is not in my pocket

    At least LBJ was up front and Texan about it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. déchiré Ash, déchiré, The line is broken and Trump goes on offense -déchiré!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yeah, Ash, smooch ma derriere, mom ami, va te faire foutre!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Quote of the Day

    P.J. O’Rouke:

    “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”

    ReplyDelete
  25. June 10, 2017
    Media ignore another Trump diplomatic triumph yesterday
    By Thomas Lifson

    President Trump is delivering on his promise to end the role of America as “Uncle Sugar” for its allies, bearing the major burden of collective defense. American taxpayers and American military personnel have ponied up money and lives for more than 70 years, while allies have devoted their resources elsewhere, freed up by the generosity of the superpower created by victory in World War 2.

    Yesterday, an extraordinary thing happened: The president of Romania, the former Soviet-era puppet enslaved by Stalin’s troops, came to the White House, and stood up during Rose Garden press conference with President Trump, and stated that his country will start paying up its share of the burden for NATO – because of President Trump.

    CNS News reports:

    Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Friday that his country is increasing its contribution to NATO after hearing President Donald Trump's speech last month at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

    During a joint press conference at the White House, Trump praised Iohannis for committing to increase Romania's defense spending to NATO from 1.4 percent to two percent, as Trump called for during his speech in Brussels on May 25. Trump said other nations are also starting to "realize that it's time to pay up."

    "I was in Brussels, and I met President Trump. I listened to his speech, and I liked it, because you see NATO is based on values, but it is ultimately military alliance," the Romanian president said. A reporter asked whether Iohannis thought it was fair that Trump encouraged NATO members to pay but also countries, including Romania, who had not paid two percent in the past to make up for that difference.

    "And you know, military spendings are complicated, and you need a lot of money, because NATO is the strongest alliance the earth ever saw, and we waWatch nt to keep it that way, so we have to spend money for defense purposes," Iohannis said. "And spending money means if you're in alliance, everybody has to spend money. This is called burden-sharing, and I fully agree, Mr. President, to that.



    Most Americans resent being played for patsies by their allies. Their diplomats had been content to remain in the role of generous guarantors because that enhanced their own power and status in the ongoing Postwar framework. Their diplomatic counterparts in NATO were happy to let that arrangement continue.

    It takes genuine leadership to change a status quo that has been in place so many decades. Those who despise Trump will never admit the effectiveness of leadership, even when a foreign head of state acts on it.

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/06/media_ignore_another_trump_diplomatic_triumph_yesterday.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Here is how Trump can get Comey's and the medias attention Monday morning:

    1. Classify all conversations he had with Comey retroactively. He can do that.
    2. Have the Justice Department demand the return of all copies.
    3. Compel Comey to submit the chain of custody on the documents
    4 Furthermore, place the same demands on anyone who had custody of those documents
    5. Investigate in detail what other documents Comey leaked
    6. Rinse and Repeat

    ReplyDelete
  27. Trump should also get Justice to hire a special counsel to investigate Clinton, Obama and the other clowns involved in the unmasking and Clinton's mishandling of classified documents. That will restrict Mueller to focus on Comey and Trump before that turns into a carnival.

    ReplyDelete
  28. BRILLIANT OFFENSE

    NEW YORK CITY — An increasingly vocal anti-Muslim activist group has kicked off protests in numerous cities across the country, marching in opposition to Islamic law, which the group believes is threatening American society.

    ACT for America, a lobbyist organization with close ties to the Trump administration that has helped pass state-level bills targeting Islamic law and refugees, organized the protests as a nationwide “March Against Sharia.”

    The marches set up the potential for more public clashes between far-right activists and their far-left opposition, similar to recent violent encounters between the political extremes in Berkeley, Calif., and Portland, Ore. While demonstrators argue they are protecting free speech and defending traditional American values, counterprotesters say the marchers underscore a larger trend of intolerance that is increasingly evident across a politically divided country.


    Smooth Move. Flush out the Democrats who will come out in support of Sharia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The marches set up the potential for more public clashes between far-right activists and their far-left opposition....

      There is nothing 'far-right' about marching against sharia law.

      Rather it should be thought of as marching to protect our Constitution.

      If there were a demo within easy driving range I'd be there.

      One can think of it as marching for Women's Rights, too, when we recall sharia law defines a woman as 1/2 a man, not really an autonomous person at all.

      Even Ash ought to be able to march for this.

      Delete
    2. DEVELOPING: Marches Against 'Sharia Law' Nationwide...
      'We will not yield to Islamic exceptionalism'...
      Denounced by civil rights groups...
      TENSE: Police stand between anti-Sharia, counter protesters...DRUDGE


      Denounced by 'civil rights groups'....

      Christ Almighty, we are so ass backwards we have 'civil rights groups' denouncing marches for women's rights and the Constitution.

      Has our Nation become fucked up, or what ?

      Delete
    3. If I know Batman he'd be in there marching for the Constitution and women's rights !

      Delete
  29. I told you he was a woman 2 days ago.

    ReplyDelete
  30. CNN has a headline on their website:

    Trump's strain with Obama marks departure from presidential fraternity.

    I think those fine folks at CNN have it backwards. Obama is the one straining.

    ReplyDelete
  31. An uncle of mine had Adam West in a psychology class at Whitman College, Walla Walla (water,water) Washington back in the day.

    Said he seemed a fine decent person to him.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Three U.S. Soldiers Killed by Afghan Commando

    An Afghan commando turned his weapon on U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan, killing three American soldiers and wounding one, Afghan and coalition officials said.

    ReplyDelete
  33. President's lawyer has clients with Kremlin ties

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/President-s-lawyer-has-clients-with-Kremlin-ties-11209757.php

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Ingraham adopted a Russian Boy.

      Delete
    2. Deuce once gave a child Matryoshka dolls.

      Delete
    3. Obama promised Putin more flexibility.

      Delete
    4. oops, delete button malfunction.

      sorry

      Delete
  34. One thing Seinfeld and I have in common: Who's that?

    http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Jerry-Seinfeld-Practically-Runs-From-Kesha-as-She-11200131.php

    ReplyDelete
  35. Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Think Christians Are Fit For Public Office

    During a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders tried to impose an unconstitutional religious test, calling Christianity 'hateful.'

    While the nation’s capital was twittering with excitement on Wednesday about former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, something far more outrageous was underway in another Senate hearing: Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a blatant violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, was applying a religious test for an office of public trust.

    Specifically, Sanders doesn’t think Christians are fit to serve in government because they’re bigots. Basic Christian theology, in Sanders’s view, “is indefensible, it is hateful, it is Islamophobic, and it is an insult to over a billion Muslims throughout the world.”

    https://thefederalist.com/2017/06/09/bernie-sanders-doesnt-think-christians-fit-public-office/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope to hell Christians are Islamophobic by now, or the Christians are slow learners.

      The Hindus are Islamophobic. So are the Jews.

      They got brains.

      They learn from experience.

      I understand he is supposedly talking about 'Christian theology'.

      Of course this doesn't make a lick of sense either as Islam didn't exist at the time Christian theology first arose.

      Sanders is nuts and not fit for public office, or even fit for debate in the public square for that matter, being nuts.

      He has three or four palatial homes now, the old socialist. He should go live in them and shut up.

      Delete
    2. I have islamonausea, myself.

      Started out as an islamophobe, but it got worse with the years.

      Delete
    3. Bernie Sanders should move to Venezuela and live with the people.

      He would, at least:

      1) Lose weight
      2) Learn a second language

      Bonus to all of us, and our children:

      We wouldn't hear much of him anymore

      Delete
  36. For Captain Quirk, MIA -

    On Display In Russia Hearings, Democrats' Trump-Hatred Is Worthy Of Captain Ahab
    6/08/2017

    Trump And Russia: If there's one thing Congress' Russia hearings have shown, it's that President Trump has driven the Democratic Party and far-left media to near insanity. How else can you explain their unhealthy fixation on all things Trump and nonstop efforts to end his presidency?

    No, we're not joking. Listening to the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, when National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, National Security Director Adm. Michael Rogers, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI Director James Comey testified, was a revelation.

    In their questioning, Democrats were plainly not interested in the truth. They merely hoped for something, anything, that would be damning or damaging to Trump. In particular, they hoped for evidence of "obstruction of justice" to impeach Trump.

    But they didn't get it. Under persistent questioning Wednesday, Coats, Rogers and McCabe all emphatically denied that Trump had brought improper pressure to bear on the Russia investigation. None.

    Again, on Thursday, Comey drove that point home, saying that he did not perceive anything that Trump said to him as an attempt to obstruct "the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign."

    So in the end, as the current saying goes, it was a big nothing-burger, with cheese. And instead of a grand inquisition, it turned into rather pathetic political theater.

    Is this how the Democrats hope to regain power?

    Meanwhile, the left-leaning, Trump-despising media had already established the journalistic narrative that Trump was likely guilty of "obstruction of justice," or possibly of colluding with a foreign power during an election. Their impeachment hopes soared.

    As Comey's testimony neared, CNN launched near-nonstop coverage. Other media jumped in, wondering what nasty revelations the fired former FBI director might spill. The week started out promising: CNN reported on Tuesday that Comey would "refute Trump's assertion that Trump was told he was not under investigation." So did ABC.

    Unfortunately, Comey made it clear that he told Trump he was not under investigation, multiple times. CNN and ABC were forced to retract their phony reports.

    They weren't the only media with egg on their faces. Citing four "current and former" intelligence officials, the New York Times reported earlier this year that key Trump campaign officials "had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election."

    It was a blockbuster revelation, one that potentially could have ended Trump's presidency.

    Care to comment, Mr. Comey? "In the main, it was not true," he said Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The media focused for weeks on these lines of inquiry. Yet, as Sen. Marco Rubio noted Thursday, the only thing from the entire investigation that didn't get leaked by Comey and others to the media was the essential fact that Donald Trump himself was not under investigation at all by the FBI.

      Even so, don't expect this to end soon. The Democrats now stand on the prow of their party like a mad, enraged Captain Ahab, scanning the horizon for the sign of their hated White Whale – Donald Trump.

      Just like the fabled captain of literature, they have endangered their whole party in their quest to get Trump. As they do, very quietly, Trump is going about undoing eight years of bad governance by President Obama.

      Over the past couple of weeks, as the media and congressional Democrats have focused on Comey and the Washington impeachment circus, Trump has been on a roll.

      He named 12 new well-regarded federal judges to the bench, rolled back one of the EPA's "most expensive regulations ever," put an end to Obama's corrupt policy of using public money to enrich far-left activist groups, pulled the U.S. out of the laughably bad but absurdly costly Paris Climate Change Agreement, and continued a far-reaching reversal of regulations that the American Action Forum called a "profound" shift in policy that will have a major impact on the U.S. economy.

      And on Thursday, while Comey spoke and Democrats fumed, the House passed a bill that would undo some of the most pernicious elements of the Dodd-Frank law — another promise Trump made and is now on the verge of keeping.

      Not bad for two weeks' work.

      As for the Trump-haters in the Democratic Party and the media, the June IBD/TIPP Poll, taken from May 30 to June 6, holds some bad news: Some 47% of Americans agree that "the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia is a political 'witch hunt' aimed at getting the president impeached."

      The nonstop efforts to get Trump are failing. Piece by piece, Trump's putting his agenda in place — just in time to watch the Democratic Party's ship go down.

      http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/on-display-in-russia-hearings-democrats-trump-hatred-is-worthy-of-captain-ahab/

      Delete
  37. Has ALAN DERSHOWITZ Lost His Mind ?

    Or does eveeryone deserve a defense ?

    Or is Alan just wanting headlines again ?


    Yerushalmi and Muise Respond to Dershowitz: Religious Liberty Does Not Legitimate Female Genital Mutilation

    By Pamela Geller - on June 10, 2017

    FGM: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CLITORIDECTOMY

    The illustrious David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise of the American Freedom Law Center, who have won numerous AFDI free speech lawsuits in our fight against Leftist and Islamic authoritarianism, are tireless warriors in the fight against shariah in America. Here they pen a response to the Harvard Law Professor.

    OPEN LETTER TO ALAN DERSHOWITZ
    June 9, 2017
    American Freedom Law Center

    Dear Professor Dershowitz:

    We write as attorneys who have, like you, litigated in support of fundamental constitutional freedoms, in particular one of the most foundational: religious liberty. According to published reports, you will be offering a freedom of religion defense for three individuals in Michigan recently charged with violating federal law prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). We respectfully disagree that this barbaric practice must be permitted under the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
    To begin, the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the right of free exercise does not relieve individuals of the obligation to comply with a valid or neutral law of general applicability on the ground that the law proscribes conduct that is required by his or her religious practice. The laws banning FGM are such laws.
    Nonetheless, even if laws banning FGM might not be considered neutral laws of general applicability, that does not necessarily mean that the government cannot proscribe this brutal practice. Indeed, this is a situation where it is more likely than not that the government would satisfy the highest level of scrutiny. That is, a law banning this barbaric practice would be in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With this as a background, there is, as you know, case law that bars in this country behavior that some religions consider sacred. For example, laws barring polygamy and the religious use of peyote have been upheld in America. We can find no basis for believing that a federal statute or a state law designed to protect young girls from having their genitalia involuntarily and permanently disfigured would be considered unconstitutional or in violation of RFRA or any state law counterpart to RFRA. That is especially true when, in addition to the life-long denial of sexual pleasure such a procedure imposes, the short- and long-term medical problems frequently associated with it are factored in.

      We also believe that it is simply physiologically inaccurate to portray the mutilation of female genitals as akin to male circumcision, and therefore permissible. In fact, such mutilation is more akin to male castration than it is to the removal of a baby boy’s foreskin.

      Finally, although various Islamic communities believe that Sharia law either permits female genital mutilation, condones it and/or makes it obligatory, author Nonie Darwish – a former Muslim whose mother was subjected to FGM in her native Egypt – notes that the justification is strategic, not religious. Ms. Darwish observes that by mutilating a woman, and thus denying her the ability to experience sexual pleasure, the authorities of Islam render her less likely to feel an attachment to her husband and thus less likely to object when he is called to jihad.

      For all these reasons, we expect that the federal judiciary will properly reject claims that there is a protected religious right to FGM.

      Sincerely,

      Robert J. Muise, Esq. David Yerushalmi, Esq.
      Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Co-Founder and Senior Counsel

      ***NEWS RELEASE***
      For Immediate Release
      June 9, 2017
      RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DOES NOT LEGITIMATE FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
      TWO PROMINENT FREEDOM OF RELIGION LITIGATORS ISSUE OPEN LETTER TO ALAN DERSHOWITZ, CHALLENGE IDEA THAT F.G.M. IS CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED
      Washington, D.C. – Two of the most effective advocates in American jurisprudence on behalf of constitutional religious liberty protections, David Yeruslami, Esq. and Robert Muise, Esq. of the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), today weighed in on a momentous question: Do those who believe they must, in the practice of their faith, mutilate the genitals of young girls, have a right to do so in the United States?
      Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise argued forcefully that religious freedom does not negate prohibitions on female genital mutilation (FGM) at the federal level and in twenty-four states in an open letter to another distinguished litigator, Professor Alan Dershowitz, released today. Mr. Dershowitz has recently been enlisted to help in the defense of three individuals charged with violating such laws in Michigan.
      In their letter, the AFLC leaders explained that the government has a “compelling interest” in protecting females in this country from FGM. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are approximately half-a-million women and girls in this country who have either already been subjected to such mutilation or are at risk of it in the future. In their open letter, Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise stated that:
      “We can find no basis for believing that a federal statute or a state law designed to protect young girls from having their genitalia involuntarily and permanently disfigured would be considered unconstitutional or in violation of Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) or any state law counterpart to RFRA. That is especially true when, in addition to the life-long denial of sexual pleasure such a procedure imposes, the short- and long-term medical problems frequently associated with it are factored in.”

      http://pamelageller.com/2017/06/yerushalmi-muisYerushalmi and Muise Respond to Dershowitz: Religious Liberty Does Not Legitimate Female Genital Mutilation

      Delete
    2. Up In Michigan


      Muslims in Michigan and New York plotted jihad massacres in U.S. for Hizballah

      JUNE 10, 2017 1:15 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

      Thomas Fuentes, the FBI’s special agent in charge of International Operations, noted in 2007 that Hizballah is reluctant to launch violent attacks on U.S. soil because it would hinder their overall operations: “They want to maintain a low profile by engaging in criminal activity [but] not direct attacks….They’ve not been enthusiastic about doing it on US soil because of the attention and reaction that would occur.”

      That may be changing now.



      One week after the FBI raided a Dearborn home in the middle of the night, a new terrorism case surfaced in New York on Thursday involving two men: a Dearborn man who allegedly received bomb-making training from a terror group and another man who allegedly plotted attacks on New York.

      Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn and Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx were arrested a week ago and charged with training and working on behalf of Hizballah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization based in Lebanon.

      “FBI bomb technicians have assessed that el Debek received extensive training as a bomb-maker,” the Justice Department stated.

      The charges were unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, one week after federal agents raided a Dearborn home in what they described as an operation involving national security. Sources familiar with the case tell the Free Press the raid involved el Debek, who was arrested in Livonia that same day and subsequently charged with numerous crimes — though none involved plotting attacks in New York.

      In December, another Dearborn man was sentenced to five years in prison for seeking to join Hizballah in Lebanon. Also, in 2014 in a separate case, a former Dearborn resident was killed in Syria while fighting for Hizballah.

      According to criminal complaints unsealed Thursday in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court, el Debek and Kourani were recruited as Hizballah operatives and received military-style training, including in the use of rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns, in support of the group’s terrorist mission.

      Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in the U.S., including military and law enforcement facilities in New York, authorities said….

      El Debek, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was first recruited by Hizballah in late 2007 or early 2008. Shortly before being recruited, he expressed his support for the terror group’s leader in an e-mail and eventually received a salary from Hizballah through 2015.

      For years, authorities said, el Debek received military training from Hizballah in Lebanon. From 2008 through 2104, the terror group taught him how to make bombs, handle weapons and conduct surveillance and countersurveillance.

      According to the government, el Debek was trained in techniques and methods similar to those used to build the bomb that in 2012 blew up a bus in Bulgaria that was transporting Israeli tourists, killing six and injuring 32. That terror attack, the government said, was carried out by one of el Debek’s relatives.

      While working for Hizballah, el Debek conducted missions in Thailand and Panama. One of his missions was to clean up explosive materials in a house in Bangkok that others had left because they were under surveillance, the government said. At the direction of Hizballah, el Debek used his U.S. passport to enter and leave Thailand so that he could travel from Malaysia to Thailand without obtaining a visa.

      El Debek’s missions in Panama included locating U.S. and Israeli Embassies, casing security procedures at the Panama Canal and the Israeli Embassy and locating hardware stores where explosive materials could be purchased. After returning from a 2012 trip to Panama, el Debek’s handlers asked him for photographs of the U.S. Embassy and details about its security procedures….

      https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/06/muslims-in-michigan-and-new-york-plotted-jihad-massacres-in-u-s-for-hizballah

      Delete
  38. Are We Living in a Giant Cosmic Void?

    A team of researchers says the Milky Way resides in one of the observable universe’s darkest regions, but some experts aren't so sure.

    JPL / NASA
    MARINA KOREN JUN 8, 2017 SCIENCE



    Don’t panic. Cosmic voids are actually all around us.

    Imagine an especially hole-y block of Swiss cheese, and you have a pretty good visual for the leading theory for the structure of the universe. Voids, vast expanses of nearly empty space, account for about 80 percent of the observable universe. The other stuff, like dust and stars and galaxies like the Milky Way, exists in thread-like filaments between these voids. As the universe expanded, gravity drew matter into clumps, leaving behind cavernous spheres. These empty regions, which can measure hundreds of millions of light years across, do contain some galaxies, but they’re dark caverns compared to the dense, bright bands of millions of galaxies ringing their edges.

    According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, our very own Milky Way galaxy may float near the center of one of these voids.

    Using data from large-scale telescope surveys that count galaxies, the researchers concluded that the Milky Way exists near the center of a region that has fewer galaxies than other parts of the universe. They estimated the size of this void to have a radius of about 1 billion light-years. If they’re right, humans are living in the middle of the largest known void in the observable universe......

    https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/home-sweet-void/529623/

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  39. I sewed up my two month old granddaughter's vagina, and had a


    "DO NOT ENTER !"

    Tattoo applied to her abdomen.

    Alahu Akbar !

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