No, Senate Apportionment Is Not White Supremacy

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This week the Atlantic ran an article by Eric Orts, arguing for a major change in how seats to the U.S. Senate are apportioned. Like many others, he believes that small states have too much power in our legislative upper body. This idea floats around a lot, especially when Republicans control the Senate. Instead, he would give every state one senator to start with, then apportion the rest based on population. California, for example, would have 12, while Rhode Island would have 1.

Let’s set aside the broad arguments about this issue, such as the fact that limiting the power of the larger, more powerful states was a feature, not a bug of the U.S. Constitution, and that in all likelihood the plan Orts lays out violates that document. Charles Cooke has a good takedown in National Review Online that is worth reading. . .

I’d like to investigate just one of the claims Orts makes. In the essay, he contends that the Senate’s two per state apportionment is a “vehicle entrenching white supremacy.” His argument is that because most small states are predominantly white, white voters are being overrepresented. He views this not only as an example of white supremacy, but one that works to ensure the permanence of white supremacy. But is that true? . . .

Unfortunately, the assumption underlying Orts’ argument is an ugly one. His claim only works if it is true that, either consciously or unconsciously, white voters favor politicians and programs that are better for white people and that this preference for white supremacy is an essential element in how they vote. If this were true, however, wouldn’t we see white voters overwhelmingly flock to the political party that best supported these supposedly white supremacist policies?

In fact, we see exactly the opposite. According to Pew, 33 percent of whites are Republicans, 26 percent are Democrats, and 37 percent are Independents. If white people really are voting based on the interests of their racial group, they certainly can’t seem to agree what positions and policies best advance them. Apparently white voters in tiny Delaware, who elected Democrats Chris Coons and Tom Carper, have very different ideas about what is best for white people than do those in Wyoming, who elected Republicans John Barrasso and Mike Enzi. (Read more from “No, Senate Apportionment Is Not White Supremacy” HERE)

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Warren’s First Week on the Stump Filled With Missteps

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Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren kicked off her 2020 presidential campaign with a series of awkward gaffes and lingering questions about her alleged Native American ancestry.

The day Warren announced she was launching an exploratory committee for a 2020 bid, she appeared on Instagram Live with her husband, Bruce Mann. In the video, Warren attempts to appear folksy as she tells viewers, “Hold on a sec, I’m gonna get me, um, a beer.” . . .

Warren’s first week on the campaign trail has also been plagued with fallout from her decision in October to release a DNA test showing she is somewhere between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American. The Cherokee Nation immediately slammed Warren for releasing the test, stating, “Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong.”

The DNA test was supposed to put to rest the rumors that Warren had embellished her Native American ancestry or somehow used it to get ahead in her career. It was also meant to silence the president’s favorite nickname for the Harvard Law professor — “Pocahontas.” Instead, months later, Warren is still answering questions about her perceived connection to tribal ancestry. . .

Despite the website’s insistence that Warren’s claims to Native American ancestry are not problematic, the senator spent her first week on the campaign trail seemingly making amends to tribal nations. On Thursday night, Warren attended a special reception ceremony for the first Native American women to be elected to Congress. (Read more from “Warren’s First Week on the Stump Filled With Missteps” HERE)

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Trump Ponders ‘Emergency’ Powers to Build Border Wall

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By Washington Times. President Trump said Friday he could declare a national emergency on the border and order his government to build fencing without needing to go to Congress for additional funding.

“I can do it if I want,” he said, adding, “I may do it.”

He said he’s still interested in trying to get a deal done with Congress on funding his border wall plans, but he made clear he hasn’t foreclosed other options for erecting the barrier he promised voters in 2016 would be built and paid for by Mexico.

Mr. Trump last month had raised the prospect of declaring an emergency and asking the Defense Department to construct barriers outside of the normal congressional appropriations process.

The Pentagon at the time said it had not developed those plans, but said it did have legal authority to build a wall if it were deemed part of a counter-drug operation or part of a national emergency. (Read more from “Trump Ponders ‘Emergency’ Powers to Build Border Wall” HERE)

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Will Troops Help Build Trump’s Border Wall? No Additional Deployments Planned Yet

By AZ Central. As a partial federal government shutdown nears its third week, President Donald Trump has refused to budge on the central issue in his dispute with congressional Democrats, funding for his proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

With the debate at a stalemate — Democrats continue to oppose additional money — reports surfaced this week about the possibility of the Trump administration requesting the deployment of additional troops to the border to help build infrastructure.

The troops would help build or upgrade 160 miles of barriers along the Arizona and California borders and would be paid by the Department of Defense, which is unaffected by the shutdown, according to NPR, which cited military sources.

Capt. Bill Speaks, a spokesman for Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, told The Arizona Republic that “no decisions have been made on additional troops to support the Customs and Border Protection mission at the Southwest border.”

However, he added that the “additional support for CBP is something we continue to discuss with (the Department of Homeland Security),” which is directly impacted by the shutdown. But because it is a law-enforcement agency, many of the front-line agents and officers continue working, without pay. (Read more from “Will Troops Help Build Trump’s Border Wall? No Additional Deployments Planned Yet” HERE)

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Judge Extends Mueller Grand Jury

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By The Daily Caller. A federal grand jury being used by special counsel Robert Mueller received an extension on Friday, signaling that the Russia probe may be further from ending than previously thought. . .

Grand juries are initially impaneled for up to 18 months and can be extended six additional months if doing so is in the public interest.

The length of the extension is unclear, but reports have circulated that Mueller is close to ending his investigation, which focuses on possible collusion between the Russian government and Trump campaign, as well as possible obstruction of justice on the part of President Donald Trump. (Read more from “Judge Extends Mueller Grand Jury” HERE)

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Federal Grand Jury Working in Mueller Probe Is Extended

By The Washington Post. A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., working with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has been extended, officials said, but it is not clear for how long.

The grand jury, empaneled July 5, 2017, had been set to end Saturday after an 18-month term. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of D.C., who oversees grand jury activities, said she approved the extension.

Howell declined to comment on how much longer the grand jury could sit. Under federal rules of criminal procedure, a grand jury may serve more than 18 months only if a judge finds an extension is in the public interest, and then generally for no more than six additional months. . .

Five aides to now-President Trump have pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from the wide-ranging probe, most recently his former personal att orney Michael Cohen in November. The others include former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his deputy, Rick Gates, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign aide George Papadopoulos. (Read more from “Federal Grand Jury Working in Mueller Probe Is Extended” HERE)

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‘TransKids’ Site Sells Fake Penises for Girls Who Identify as Boys

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The website is called “TransKids,” and it’s “dedicated to providing young folks with gender expression gear and resources,” according to its homepage. . .

[Warning: explicit content]

For starters, there’s the “Masho,” which the site says is “a much requested prosthetic from Japan that we are able to offer in limited quantities.” In addition, the Masho “is angled downward for a more realistic and less ‘outstanding’ package. While designed for adults, this is one of the smaller packers on the market.” . . .

The Model E is “designed especially for younger folks (aprox. 8-13 years old)” and “are discreet enough that they can be worn all day under clothes. We offer a harness that can be used with this and this also comes with instructions on how to make your own harness out of a pair of underpants.” The site adds that “if your child was assigned female at birth but wants to stand up while urinating, [the Model E] just might work great for them.” . . .

Here’s what the site has to say about the extra small packer:

While most trans boys don’t start packing until they are teens or older, sometimes young kids want to have a prosthetic and what is on the market is really just too big for most folks under 10 years old. So our friends who make our Silicone Packers, came up with a mini version for young and/or smaller kids. Now these may look “too” tiny to some, but we have done a lot of research and think these are pretty accurate in their overall size. That said they are a scaled down version of a larger Packer, so the proportion is not what you might see attached to an AMAB [assigned male at birth] kid.

(Read more from “‘TransKids’ Site Sells Fake Penises for Girls Who Identify as Boys” HERE)

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The Border Invasion Intensifies, While Congressional Republicans Sleep

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There’s nothing as righteous as a Republican Party out of power and in the minority. Yet even in their newfound minority status, seven Republicans managed to join the Democrats in passing a budget bill continuing to fund the invasion at our southern border rather than stopping it. Every single Democrat without exception – including those from more conservative districts who promised to work across the aisle – voted for the Democrat budget bill, which funds international abortions but not border security.

How is it that we have an invasion at our border that single-handedly fueled the drug crisis, created gang and cartel violence in our communities, and burdened us with the crushing fiscal costs, yet Republicans won’t effectively force a national discussion on this issue? Increasingly, drugs are connecting to terrorism, and they are all being pushed into our communities by the most violent gangs and cartels. Then there is the problem of the public health crisis. Illegal immigration sits at the nexus of everything that is dangerous and everything against which the federal government was created to protect us. Why is there no leading voice in either body of Congress on this issue?

The answer, very simply put, is that the party doesn’t care. The GOP hates its base. That is why Trump is going to need to step up his game and give televised addresses to the nation every few days while traveling the country giving speeches, not just at the border, but in cities inside our country that have been devastated by illegal immigration.

Last night, Breitbart reported that ICE and Border Patrol were forced to release another 2,000 illegal aliens into our country because there is no more detention space thanks to the intensity of the invasion. The danger to our country is unfathomable when you consider that the last major surge in 2014 unleashed the worst drug and gang crisis in our history on our country.

As the Texas Department of Public Safety reported, “The increase of illegal alien gang members crossing the border into Texas among unaccompanied minors the previous year… positioned the gang as one of the state’s most significant gang threats.” According to both the DEA and the Texas DPS, these aliens smuggled in by the cartels expanded the transnational street gangs in our city that serve as the retail distributors for various cartels.

Every wonder why Chicago is experiencing more violence than usual since Obama’s second-term immigration policies? Most of the extra violence there is not the result of the domestic gangs, but the transnational gangs working for the cartels and nourished by our border and sanctuary policies. “The Mexican cartels provide a steady stream of drugs to the Chicago area. Though the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG are the city’s most notable sources of supply, other Mexican cartels that deliver drugs to the area include BLO, the Gulf Cartel, La Familia Michoacán (LFM), and Los Guerreros Unidos (LGU),” wrote DEA officials in their brand-new threat assessment report. “Chicago is home to several street gangs that are heavily involved in drug distribution, and collectively these gangs serve as the primary mid-level and retail-level drug distributors for the cartels.”

What else? “These gangs are also responsible for a substantial portion of the city’s violent crime.”

The type of crime we are now seeing across the country is a sign that the most brutal cartel violence has already crept into America. Derek Maltz, former head of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, told me that he was seeing this trend already toward the end of his career during the Obama era, and the violence from the cartels was as “ruthless” as anything he saw. “Mexican cartels have exported their evil, violent, and radical tactics into the communities of America. They have no concern for innocent citizens when they are trying to carry out their drug operations,” said the veteran DEA agent in an exclusive interview with CR. “We have seen incredible cartel-on-cartel violence in cities all over America. Humans are burned, shot, stabbed, and tortured, and there is no regard for human life.”

But there is no passion from Republicans on this issue. Where are the op-eds, speeches on the Senate floor, bills being proposed? Why, to this day, are Senate Republicans refusing to force votes on the Senate floor on cutting off magnets for criminal aliens, identity fraud, sanctuary cities, and asylum fraud? Why are they not forcing Democrats to hold the floor and sustain a talking filibuster?

Unfortunately, we have negative energy among Republicans. Sens. Susan Collins and Cory Gardner have already complained about the partial fake shutdown of the bureaucracy, not the shutdown of our nation-state. Lamar Alexander is trying to revive the Gang of Eight amnesty. Lindsey Graham and Joe Manchin are trying to work on a “dream” amnesty deal, the very amnesty that spawned this invasion to begin with!

In addition, the following seven House Republicans voted for the Democrat budget bill: Brian Fitzpatrick, Penn.; Will Hurd, Texas; John Katko, N.Y.; Peter King, N.Y.; Elise Stefanik, N.Y.; Fred Upton, Mich.; and Greg Walden, Ore. Walden recently ran the very GOP organ responsible for recruiting other Republicans, and Stefanik is being tapped to recruit more women candidates.

Then there is the donor class. Time magazine reports that the Kochs are making amnesty their biggest priority this year. Last year, their biggest priority was jailbreak, and they succeeded in getting Jared Kushner to convince President Trump to break his lifelong views on that issue. The overwhelming majority of federal drug traffickers these days, who will now be eligible for early release and reduced sentencing, are those tied to the very transnational cartels and gangs that have been empowered by the same immigration policies promoted by the Kochs. Yet the Kochs fund most of the “conservative” think tanks and many of the activist groups.

There is nobody who stands for the forgotten American taxpayer who is the victim of this insanity. All of the money, power, and fame are on the side of the invaders.

Which brings us to President Trump. He is the only voice for this issue, but he needs to step up his game. Yesterday’s press conference with border agents was a good start. He should follow up with a series of televised addresses to the nation laying out the history of the lies and betrayals against the American people on the immigration issue. He should deliver a presentation on how this particular iteration of illegal immigration is fueling the worst drug and gang crisis ever and is responsible for much of the violence in cities like Chicago. He should educate the public on the cost to our schools, health care, welfare, and criminal justice system and the number of Americans who pay the ultimate price for the betrayal of our border.

This is Trump’s time to shine. As Reagan once said, if not now, when? If not us, who? (For more from the author of “The Border Invasion Intensifies, While Congressional Republicans Sleep” please click HERE)

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Disgraceful: Seven House Republicans Vote for Democrat Bill Funding Abortions Overseas

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On Thursday, the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives voted to fund the government and end the partial government shutdown without funding a border wall and with funding for abortions overseas. Seven House Republicans joined the Democrats to vote for that bill.

Those seven Republicans are:

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn.

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas

Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.

Here’s why this vote was inexcusable from a pro-life perspective.

The Democrats added language into their funding bill that would repeal the Mexico City Policy, which requires foreign nongovernmental organizations to certify that they will not perform or promote abortions before receiving U.S. aid. As one of his first acts as president, President Donald Trump reinstated the policy after President Barack Obama had ended it. The policy keeps U.S. taxpayers from paying for abortions overseas, and Democrats want it to end.

The Democratic bill also increased spending by an additional $5 million for the United Nations Population Fund, which supports coercive abortions and involuntary sterilization in China.

Pro-life groups came out in strong opposition to the bill.

“A strong majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. She added that reversing the Mexico City policy would make “taxpayers complicit in the exportation of abortion and destruction of countless unborn children around the world. This is unconscionable and we oppose the bill in the strongest terms.”

The House bill passed 241 – 190 and now heads to the Senate, where Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has promised any bill that President Trump does not support is dead on arrival. So it remains to be seen if the final compromise bill that funds the government includes these morally bankrupt abortion policies.

There’s an important point to be made about those seven House Republicans who voted for the Democrat bill. This is why the Democratic Party is so successful at defeating conservative policies while the Republican party is dysfunctional. Even in the minority, Democrats were uniformly opposed to Trump’s immigration policies. Even after he won the 2016 election, not one “moderate” Democrat crossed party lines to support the wall or increased border security — even though Democrats once supported those policies. But Republicans can’t even rally around the conservative parts of Trump’s agenda completely.

It’s disgraceful. (For more from the author of “Disgraceful: Seven House Republicans Vote for Democrat Bill Funding Abortions Overseas” please click HERE)

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Kansas Senator Not Seeking Reelection

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. . .[Sen. Pat] Roberts, 82, has served four terms in the Senate and last won reelection in 2014 after facing a bruising Republican primary. His retirement has already sparked interest in his seat from a number of other Kansas Republicans, heralding a potentially crowded 2020 primary — though Democrats hope they can make the race competitive after winning the governorship in 2018. . .

Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, touted his work championing the issue for his state, including the farm bill that was signed into law late last year, which was the eighth he’d worked on. Roberts also touted his 24-0 record winning elections, saying he was “damned proud of that undefeated record.”

In an interview with POLITICO following his announcement, Roberts said he would not follow in the footsteps of Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, two former senators who did not run for reelection last year and were publicly critical of President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think you get anywhere criticizing the president,” Roberts said in the telephone interview. “I’m not the conscience of the president. It appears some of the Senate, apparently that was their role. But I had things to do that fell within my committee jurisdiction as chairman.” (Read more from “Kansas Senator Not Seeking Reelection” HERE)

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First on Nancy Pelosi’s Agenda: Attacking Free Expression

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. . .One of Nancy Pelosi’s first projects as new speaker of the House will be passing a government overhaul of campaign-finance and ethics rules that will, among other things, “expand voting rights.” One of the new bills — specifics are still cloudy — reportedly allocates a pool of taxpayer money to match small-dollar donations 6-to-1, as a way of encouraging “grass-roots campaigning,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

The package, fortunately, won’t pass the Senate. But government-financed campaigns — empowering the state to allocate money to preferred donors and dissuading non-preferred donors — has been something of a hobbyhorse in progressive circles. Setting aside the many constitutional concerns, the recent abuses by the Internal Revenue Service when tasked with regulating political speech demonstrate just how easy it is for bureaucrats to manipulate rules meant to govern speech. These are rules that shouldn’t exist, period.

Some big cities have already begun handing out tax-funded “democracy vouchers.” In other words, politicians have passed legislation that subsidizes the speech of people who will, for the most part, support them. It’s quite the racket. Pelosi wants to take this corruption national.

Reducing the power of “special interests” in Washington is always a popular issue with voters. The problem, of course, is that every voter considers another group a special interest. While as a political notion campaign-finance reform remains popular with Americans, specific campaign-finance reform legislation is always about inhibiting someone’s speech.

What many Americans don’t seem to accept, particularly partisans, is that not voting or participating in our political process is also a matter of free expression. There’s nothing, after all, in the Constitution about the state encouraging “grass-roots activism.” There is no amendment that calls on us to treat the First Amendment rights of Michael Bloomberg any differently than we do the grandmother who foolishly sends her Social Security check to Bernie Sanders. The word “fairness” isn’t mentioned a single time in the entire document. (Read more from “First on Nancy Pelosi’s Agenda: Attacking Free Expression” HERE)

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Did She Blow the Big Surprise? Why Are Democrats ‘Livid’ at Rashida Tlaib?

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Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) went on the warpath last night. Concerning President Trump, she was quite clear what she wants to do. She wants to go in and “impeach the motherf**ker.” The media tried to ask her questions today about the remarks, she declined. From her social media posts, it looks like she has zero intention of apologizing. And why should she? She’s part of the progressive left, they want Trump gone, and she was honest about it. It’s absurd. It’s crude. It’s not going to happen. It’s all of those things, but at least someone was honest about what they wanted to do. Well, apparently, House Democrats are “livid” at Tlaib (via Politico):

House Democrats are furious that an incoming freshman’s expletive-riddled statement about impeaching Donald Trump has suddenly upended their carefully crafted rhetoric on their plans to take on the president.

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Rank-and-file Democrats, immediately fearful of the damage the comment could cause, unloaded on their new colleague Friday morning. Republicans, they argued, would hold it up as proof that Democrats are playing politics rather than pursuing genuine oversight of the president — even if the GOP never showed interest in investigating Trump scandals while it was in power.

“Mueller hasn’t even produced his report yet!” said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. “People should cool their jets a little bit, let the prosecutors do their job and finish the investigation.”

“Inappropriate,” added Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.). “As elected officials I think we should be expected to set a high bar… It’s not helpful.”

(Read more from “Did She Blow the Big Surprise? Why Are Democrats ‘Livid’ at Rashida Tlaib?” HERE)

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