Yes, the ‘Prison Reform’ Bill Lets out High-Risk Inmates and Sex Offenders

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The criminal justice reform bill, oops, I mean “prison reform,” was crafted precisely with the intent of reducing the federal prison population, even though it has already declined from the 1990s levels. Now that the public has gotten wind of the odious nature of this bill and are appalled by the philosophy propelling it, suddenly the leading voices for it are claiming that nobody gets early release, including sex offenders. The text of the bill and the opinion of the Department of Justice prove otherwise.

First, when supporters say nobody is released early from prison under this bill (aside from the drug traffickers who get sentencing reduction on the front end), they are saying that home confinement and halfway houses are not early release. Before we get into the fact that this bill does offer complete early release, let’s not forget the consequences of mass home confinement of convicted criminals. While the system already has a process for good time credits and home confinement, this bill would offer such an arrangement for tens of thousands of prisoners for as much as one-third of their sentences. As I’ve noted before, the security apparatus for home confinement is already a joke, and nobody has explained how law enforcement would have the resources to deal with this in such large numbers. The bill doesn’t appropriate enough funding to deal with this, because proponents want to preserve the talking point of saving money, even though the Bureau of Prisons has confirmed that home confinement costs almost three times more per diem than a federal prison.

But it’s worse than that. This bill allows these convicts to leave home confinement for numerous activities, including ridiculously vague “job-seeking activities.” Indeed, these people, many of whom are irremediable gangbangers, will continue their trade of drug trafficking.

It gets worse still. Turn to page 12 of the bill and you will see that the Senate bill added a clever trick over the original version.

Notice how the Senate bill adds a second option for the outcome of time credits: “supervised release.” That is straight-up early parole, not even in a less secure home confinement.

Now, let’s turn back to those eligible for such credits, which are earned simply by doing what they do now and Orwellianly defined “productive activities.” A number of federal sex offense convictions are not included in the exceptions from early release credits. Here are at least 4 of them:

18 U.S.C. 2250 – failure to register as a sex offender

8 U.S.C. 1328 – importing aliens for prostitution

18 U.S.C. 116 – female genital mutilation assault with intent to commit rape, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, and other offenses. This offense is listed among the exclusion list, but only “if the offender has a previous conviction, for which the offender served a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year.”

Remember, anything not on the list of exclusions is eligible for early release, including many of those currently convicted of drug trafficking who will also receive front-end sentencing reductions.

Proponents of Soros’ jailbreak maintain that these people will never be designated as “lower-level” threats in the risk assessment, and therefore, will not be eligible for early release.

This is simply not true. The Bureau of Prisons sent data to Sen. John Kennedy’s office showing that 72 percent of sex offenders are currently classified as “low security.” An email from a top DOJ official given to CR by Sen. Kennedy’s office explains that “of the 15,526 inmates currently serving a sentence for a sex offense in federal prison (approximately 10% of all current federal inmates), 11,283 (approximately 72%) are currently classified as low security inmates. 3,132 (approximately 20%) are classified as medium security inmates. 1,106 (approximately 7%) are classified as high security inmates.”

One can only imagine how many more will be designated as low-risk once liberals reclaim control of the DOJ and have a statutory weapon with which to release as many prisoners as possible.

The lie of this bill gets even worse than that. It turns out that the problem is not only the liberal classification of “low-risk,” but that even prisoners who might be designated as high- or medium-risk will be eligible for early-release credits, which include either home confinement or parole. A careful reading of the bill shows that bill sponsors lied when they repeatedly said hat “only prisoners classified as minimum or low risk may redeem these time credits to reduce their sentence.” This was a point made quite clear in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s official fact-sheet of the bill.

Now, turn to page 41-42 of the bill, and you will see, again, a dual track for eligibility, just like we saw with home confinement or supervised release. Either they are designated as low-risk, or the prison warden can sign off on release, which means even if they are designated as higher-risk.

This is important considering that on page 39, the bill explicitly allows high-risk individuals to participate in this early-release program. If you put these two provisions together, it’s clear they will get early release, and it’s all subject to administrative fiat.

The liars who are promoting this bill, once they are caught, tend to demur by suggesting that a good warden will never sign off on such a thing. But the joke is that these same proponents are the very pressure groups that will give the BOP hell down the road and agitate on behalf of every single prisoner for release.

Even proponents of the bill admit on their website that this is not just about low-level criminals.

Availability of prerelease custody by requiring the BOP to transfer low and minimum risk prisoners to prerelease custody—either a half-way house or home confinement. Because the bill provides that BOP shall do this, BOP will in effect be required to improve contracting with residential re-entry centers, and improve current policies. Even for those who are not designated as low or minimum risk, the FIRST STEP Act provides a pathway to petition for prerelease custody.

These clever provisions in the bill all stem from one point. Most people in federal prison are really bad, and in order to get them released, proponents need to lie about their bill because they know the public doesn’t support their insidious goals. The question is how many other talking points have been fabricated in order to grease the skids of this runaway jailbreak? (For more from the author of “Yes, the ‘Prison Reform’ Bill Lets out High-Risk Inmates and Sex Offenders” please click HERE)

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Want to Defund Planned Parenthood? Shut down the Government — or Lose

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With the news that congressional Republicans are giving up on defunding Planned Parenthood, pro-life conservatives must face reality: Planned Parenthood is not going to be defunded under President Trump’s administration, or any Republican administration, even with full control of the House, the Senate, and the presidency.

Individual conservative lawmakers may continue the fight for protect unborn life, but a principled opposition by itself is not victory. A vote on a bill is not victory. Policy is victory, and to achieve policy leadership in Congress, the pro-life movement must be willing to adopt the means necessary to advance it. As of now, it is not.

As was demonstrated repeatedly this year, Republicans in Congress were not willing to attach language defunding Planned Parenthood to any of the must-pass spending bills advanced in Congress with full Republican control of government. According to Politico, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been urging his Republican colleagues to make one more attempt at defunding Planned Parenthood and advancing other conservative priorities in the lame-duck session of Congress, but GOP Senate leadership refuses to risk a government shutdown, even now that the election is over. Some pro-life leaders are complicit in this surrender. Politico reports that in a meeting with the White House, when Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins urged President Trump to veto any spending bill that does not keep Republican promises to pro-lifers, a representative of an unnamed organization objected. “A shutdown strategy doesn’t work,” this individual reportedly said, calling for “a longer term vision for incremental progress.”

With Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., set to resume the speakership, the expectation from Republicans is that conservatives will permit them to move on from this fight until some future election.

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s top provider of abortions, literally rips apart babies in the womb and sells their body parts for profit. American taxpayers are subsidizing that evil right now through the U.S. Congress. And pro-life conservatives are expected to tolerate and fund that abominable organization because shutting down 17 percent of the federal government’s operations might be politically risky?

In reality, a government shutdown is the only means of actually defunding Planned Parenthood. The Democrats and two openly pro-abortion Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, must be forced to choose between surrendering on this policy or keeping the federal government shut down indefinitely, and they must be forced to go to voters with their choice. Short of having that fight, there is nothing Republicans can do without a majority in the House of Representatives and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to enact conservative policy.

An “incremental progress” strategy is not actually achieving anything. President Trump’s administration may succeed in cutting Title X funding for Planned Parenthood via administrative action, but a federal court will issue an injunction blocking the move swiftly, as federal courts have done for many of President Trump’s policies. Then the next Democratic president will overturn that rule. States like Alabama and West Virginia may advance state constitutional amendments to strip Planned Parenthood of funding when Roe v. Wade is overturned, but those state policies are moot until the Supreme Court actually overturns the precedent. There is no indication whatsoever that there are five votes on the court to overturn Roe, even if Chief Justice Roberts agreed to hear a case that could have that outcome. In the meantime, courts are overturning state abortion restrictions, and Republican governors like John Kasich, R-Ohio, are threatening to veto pro-life bills.

“Incremental progress” is an excuse for inaction on policy. Inaction on policy in Congress permits lawmakers to avoid taking risks that might cost them their seats. Inaction on policy lets pro-life groups continue to fundraise on fighting abortion without ever winning the fight.

No Republican administration will successfully defund Planned Parenthood or advance any conservative policy until GOP leadership and the conservative movement are willing to do what it takes, even shut down the government, to force action in Congress. (For more from the author of “Want to Defund Planned Parenthood? Shut down the Government — or Lose” please click HERE)

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School Requires High Schoolers to Perform KKK Christmas Song

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By ABC News. A class assignment went awry after high school students in New Hampshire ended up re-writing “Jingle Bells” to be a racist tune as part of an assignment about the Reconstruction period.

An investigation is now underway after video of the 11th graders singing their Ku Klux Klan-themed version of the song surfaced online.

Dover High School superintendent Bill Harbron confirmed to ABC News that the song included the lines “KKK, KKK, Let’s kill all the blacks” and “White masks on our heads, blood beneath our feet, laughing till they’re dead — ha, ha, ha.” . . .

The incident took place in a U.S. history class last Friday as part of an assignment about the post-Civil War period.

“The teacher was not aware – nor were the students – that it was being videotaped by another student,” Harbron said. He noted that the video was subsequently posted on social media over the weekend. (Read more from “School Requires High Schoolers to Perform KKK Christmas Song” HERE)

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‘Kkk, Kkk, Let’s Kill All the Blacks,’ HS Students Sing Racist Rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’ for Class Project

By Live5News. New Hampshire school officials are investigating after a racist video showing students singing a Ku Klux Klan-themed song in class showed up on social media.

The video began circulating Friday and appears to show two students standing in front of a Dover High School classroom. “KKK, KKK lets kill all the Blacks … burn the cross on their front yard and hope they don’t come back,” the students sang to the tune of “Jingle Bells.”

School officials say the song was created for a U.S. history classroom project.

“From our understanding, the students were only doing the assignment they were asked to do,” district Superintendent William Harbron told the Washington Post. . .

“We are deeply concerned that an event such as this could occur and understand the emotion and concern that this event will create for our students, families and staff,” the letter posted to Facebook read. “Administration from Dover High School and the District are working with students and the school community to respond immediately and effectively to this racial insensitivity. (Read more from “‘Kkk, Kkk, Let’s Kill All the Blacks,’ HS Students Sing Racist Rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’ for Class Project” HERE)

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PETA Wants People to Stop Using Language ‘Offensive’ to Animals

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On Tuesday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a tweet calling for human beings to stop using “anti-animal language” and using “speciesism” in conversations. . .

But then, PETA may have better things to do, such as freeing animal crackers from their cages. In August, Peta wrote in a letter to the makers of Barnum’s animal crackers, “Given the egregious cruelty inherent in circuses that use animals and the public’s swelling opposition to the exploitation of animals used for entertainment, we urge Nabisco to update its packaging in order to show animals who are free to roam in their natural habitats.”

Or arguing that cheese is sexist, as they did in August 2017, stating, “Contrary to popular belief, female cows produce milk only when they’re pregnant or nursing. They make milk for the same reason that human women do: to feed their babies. Cows who are imprisoned on dairy farms are forcibly impregnated through artificial insemination again and again on rape racks. Rape racks. All for your milk, cheese, and yogurt.” . . .

There may not be enough time for PETA to address all of those statements regarding animals, with everything else on their plate. (Read more from “PETA Wants People to Stop Using Language ‘Offensive’ to Animals” HERE)

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Planet of the Apes? African Island Houses ‘Monster’ Chimps Released from Lab

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While there may not be a “Planet of the Apes” any time soon, there indeed exists an island of the apes, or, to be more precise, an island of “monster” apes that were released from a U.S. testing laboratory.

According to The Sun, the “monster” chimps were all infected with contagious diseases before being “abandoned on the Liberian river island after being released by their captors.”

“The jungle wilderness – known to locals as ‘Monkey Island’ – is now home to more than 60 chimps who are notoriously protective of its shores,” reports the outlet. “Many of the animals are said to be ‘super aggressive’ and those living nearby are terrified to go there for fear of being attacked.”

The apes are occasionally visited by a few brave locals who bring the 60 chimps food, though they rarely exit the boat and even then they are not entirely free of ape violence. In fact, tourists who pay local fisherman to drive them past the island — on the Farmington River — are typically “pelted with mangoes by the territorial chimps.” The apes have earned an almost mythical reputation among the locals, who say the chimps will eat and attack those who set foot on their land. . .

The apes began to starve in 2014 after the Ebola epidemic, which prevented caretakers from visiting the island. The Humane Society then stepped in to take care of the chimps in 2015. By 2017, the NYBC pledged “£5million to pay for their future food and medical needs.” (Read more from “Planet of the Apes? African Island Houses ‘Monster’ Chimps Released from Lab” HERE)

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Ninth Circuit: Law Barring People from Encouraging Illegal Aliens to Enter U.S. Is Unconstitutional

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday struck down a law that makes it a crime to “encourage or induce” someone to come to the United States illegally.

According to the Court, the law violates people’s First Amendment rights because “it criminalizes a substantial amount of protected expression in relation to its narrow band of legitimacy prohibited conduct and unprotected expression.”

“We do not think that any reasonable reading of the statute can exclude speech. To conclude otherwise, we would have to say that ‘encourage’ does not mean encourage, and that a person cannot ‘induce’ another with words,” Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in the Court’s opinion. “At the very least, it is clear that the statue potentially criminalize the simple words – spoken to a son, a wife, a parent, a friend, a neighbor, a coworker, a student, a client – ‘I encourage you to stay here.'” . . .

The case, United States of America v. Evelyn Sineneng-Smith, was brought about when Sineneng-Smith, a former immigration attorney in San Jose, California, told her clients in the U.S. on visas that they would apply for permanent residence by applying for labor certification from Department of Labor. (Read more from “Ninth Circuit: Law Barring People from Encouraging Illegal Aliens to Enter U.S. Is Unconstitutional” HERE)

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Michael Flynn Provided ‘Substantial’ Information for Mueller Probe. This Is His Recommended Sentence.

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By Townhall. In a memo released Tuesday, Robert Mueller recommended a lenient sentence, with no jail time, for former national security advisor Michael Flynn because of the “substantial” help he’s provided investigators.

“Given the defendant’s substantial assistance and other considerations set forth below, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration – is appropriate and warranted,” the memo states, Fox News reported. . .

The memo doesn’t provide any insights into what Flynn told Mueller. It did, however, note that Flynn provided “communications and documents” about his time in the Trump administration. (Read more from “Michael Flynn Provided ‘Substantial’ Information for Mueller Probe. This Is His Recommended Sentence.” HERE)

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Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says

By New York Times. Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, helped substantially with the special counsel’s investigation and should receive little to no prison time for lying to federal investigators, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Mr. Flynn was a key cooperator who helped the Justice Department with several investigations, prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said. He sat for 19 interviews with Mr. Mueller’s office and other prosecutors and handed over documents and communications, they said.

“His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight” into the subject of Mr. Mueller’s investigation — Russia’s election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing recommendation memorandum and an addendum that was heavily blacked out. (Read more from “Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says” HERE)

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Jeb Bush Says It’s a Time to ‘Celebrate’ His Father and the Trump Family Has Been ‘Gracious’

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Jeb Bush, son of the late former President George H.W. Bush, told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday that his family was celebrating the legacy of his father and praised the Trumps for being “gracious.” . . .

“What people want to talk about is: Well why isn’t the president giving the eulogy? And it’s because we have a unique circumstance here,” he explained. “My brother was president. It’s like, I’m sorry. First dibs, as we used to say. I don’t know how to explain it other than that.” . . .

Bush described his father as “the most generous, kind person you’d ever meet,” and said he hoped his father’s “kindler, gentler” approach would prevail over the more combative style of politics.

“My dad will be surrounded by friends inside the National Cathedral and many that couldn’t get in. The guy has built a network that is pretty amazing,” he said. “People want to share their love for him, and it’s just a great time to be his son.”

“This is a time to celebrate George H.W. Bush, not to grieve his loss, and that’s what we’re doing as a family right now,” he emphasized. (Read more from “Jeb Bush Says It’s a Time to ‘Celebrate’ His Father and the Trump Family Has Been ‘Gracious'” HERE)

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Dr. Frankenstein of CRISPR Gene-Editing Infamy, Now Missing After Opening Pandora’s Box

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A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, has allegedly created the first gene edited twin babies (born this past month) using the fairly new technology: CRISPR-Cas9. If reports are true, he has brought science a giant leap closer to “designer babies.”

Creepy CRISPR’s History

CRISPR-Cas9, commonly known as “CRISPR,” was largely created in 2012 by Jennifer Doudna, a University of California-Berkeley scientist, and Emmanuelle Charpentier. This technology makes gene editing much easier with greater precision. The changes made are also passed on through many generations of the cells.

CRISPR is currently being used in adult cells as well as embryos. Previously, all human experimentation with this technology used donated embryos not “designated” for pregnancy. Sadly, during these experiments, numerous human embryos were destroyed until Jiankui eventually implanted a few into their mothers.

Jiankui’s initial objective in using CRISPR was to find a way to give HIV-positive fathers a chance to have babies resistant to HIV. He thought this was important, at least partially because of the stigma associated with people with HIV in China. But other scientists have pointed out that using CRISPR for such purposes was wholly unnecessary and reckless, as there are many other ways to protect against HIV, and CRISPR remains experimental.

Unintended Consequences

With respect to potential problems with CRISPR, studies suggest that the gene editing technique creates “off-target DNA damage” much more frequently than once thought. Two studies have also shown that this technology may increase cancer risk. Since CRISPR is also still relatively new, other side effects will likely be discovered with time.

As to ethics of using this new tech on humans, Jiankui has posted a video in which he specifically discusses gene-edited “designer babies.” He says that is an unethical use of CRISPR and is not what he is using it for. In yet another video, he attempts to devise moral boundaries for CRISPR with “five principles.” Curiously, his recent use of CRISPR squarely violates these principles.

For example, Jiankui’s second principle only allows CRISPR gene editing “when the risks of the procedure are outweighed by a serious medical need.” Today, HIV-positive fathers are already at low risk to pass on the virus to their babies. Moreover, other methods such as “sperm washing” can prevent the father from passing HIV onto his child. Finally, Jiankui’s last principle decrees that “[e]veryone deserves freedom from genetic disease.” Of course, HIV is not a genetic disease; it’s viral, not hereditary. For Jiankui to equate HIV with a genetic disease is troubling.

Nevertheless, He Jiankui’s research has had one benefit: it has accelerated the question of whether and/or how this technology should be used in the future. Many scientists (including Jennifer Doudna) have warned that Jiankui’s research was irresponsible, even atrocious. This mirrored the scientific community’s consensus as early as 2015 that genetic tampering with human embryos intended for pregnancy should never occur without far more research.

Not 100% Bad

On the brighter side, there’s hope that CRISPR can be used in humans to treat genetic diseases “such as sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes or Alzheimer’s.” It may even be used to eliminate HIV in adult cells. It is also being used in agriculture, and there are potentially thousands of other ways it may be used.

But who should be the arbiter as to how CRISPR ought be employed in the future? Should it be the scientific community? Probably not. As we have already seen in the case of Jiankui, the scientific community is pretty much unable to guide itself on how to use this technology. So do we leave it to lawmakers and the courts to decide CRISPR’s fate? As we can readily see from legalized abortion and assisted suicide, the Supreme Court does not always rule in a way that promotes life. In reality, neither science nor politics may be competent to determine the ethics of this technology.

We are already seeing how CRISPR is being used for ethically questionable projects. In China they are using the technology to enable two female mice (or two male mice) to create offspring. A leader in biohacking, Dr. Josiah Zayner, has created a website exclusively for the purpose of teaching others and selling inexpensive DIY kits on how to use CRISPR at home. He believes that “consumer genetic design” will be a big part of the future of this technology.

CRISPR Scientist “Disappeared”

Frightening stuff, even for the godless communists. In fact, on December 3rd, the official Chinese press reported that Jiankui “disappeared.” This was just a day after he apparently had been placed under house arrest for his troubling work.

But whatever the immediate outcome of Jiankui’s Frankenstein-like experiments, there seems to be little question that Pandora’s box has been opened. Eventually, designer babies will be ubiquitous.

And a new caste system will arise: super, genetically modified humans versus the rest of us. Like the Tower of Babel, the Creator’s intervention is the only wildcard; man, left to his own devices, will never stop playing god.

Whoa: Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Forklift He Intended to Use to Assassinate Trump

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By Townhall. Who is Gregory Lee Leingang? Well, he’s the North Dakota man who just pled guilty to stealing forklift he intended to use to kill President Trump last year. Leingang had intended to use the forklift to ram the president’s motorcade. It got stuck in the gate on the day of Trump’s visit to Andeaver Mandan Refinery. Leingang fled, but was later apprehended by local police (via Grand Forks Herald):

Leingang reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, entering a guilty plea on Friday for attempting to enter or remain in a restricted building and on grounds while using a dangerous weapon, that is, a forklift.

U.S. Assistant State’s Attorney Brandi Sasse Russell said Leingang was aware that the president was coming to town on Sept. 6, 2017, to give his speech at the Andeavor Mandan Refinery, an area which had been cordoned off for the motorcade route.

Prior to the president’s arrival at around 2 p.m., Leingang had stolen a forklift in Mandan and entered the motorcade route, according to Sasse Russell.

“The intent was to basically try to get to the limo, flip the limo and get to the president and he wanted to kill the president,” Sasse said.

(Read more from “Whoa: Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Forklift He Intended to Use to Assassinate Trump” HERE)

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Inside One Man’s Failed Plan to Use a Stolen Forklift to Assassinate Trump

By The Washington Post. . .The arrest capped off a string of crimes Leingang committed in the region that day, according to Mandan Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten.

Earlier that morning, Leingang had set two fires in Bismarck, on the other side of the Missouri River, and had stolen a truck from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, Flaten said.

Leingang later abandoned the truck, then crossed the river over to Mandan and made his way to a sports complex under construction near the Mandan oil refinery — “which is where he got the forklift,” Flaten said. (Read more from “Inside One Man’s Failed Plan to Use a Stolen Forklift to Assassinate Trump” HERE)

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