A recent blunder with a Sunday school manual for use by all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could set back progress the Utah-based faith has made on the issue of racism in the past few years — and alienate people of color.
Last year, the church produced a new manual for its 2020 curriculum, which will be a study of the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, which Latter-day Saints believe tells the religious history of peoples in the ancient Americas.
Several passages describe a “dark skin” descending on one of the clans, and for much of the faith’s history that has been seen as a racial “curse.” These days, though, that interpretation is no longer part of church teaching.
That is why several early readers of the 2020 “Come, Follow Me” manual were troubled to see a note in one lesson that is a throwback to previous thinking.
“The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so that they could be distinguished from the Nephites and to keep the two peoples from mixing,” the book explains, citing a statement made some 60 years ago by then-apostle and future church President Joseph Fielding Smith. “The dark skin was the sign of the curse. The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord. … Dark skin … is no longer to be considered a sign of the curse.” (Read more from “Churchwide Sunday School Manual Revives Mormon Racial Concerns” HERE)
Nearly half of Israeli youth do not start or finish their military service, with at least a third of males getting exemptions for mental health reasons.
The alarming figure based on IDF data, first published by Yediot Aharonot, shows that 32.9% of men will receive an exemption from the army. With an average of 15% dropping out during their service, nearly half of men (47.9%) do not complete their military service. . .
According to the report in Yediot, the figures show a clear downward trend in IDF enlistment among both sexes. For example, in 2007 a quarter of males did not enlist in the IDF, and in 2015 the figure rose to 26.9% for men and 30% last year.
In addition to the skyrocketing increase in medical exemptions for mental health reasons, the general recruitment figures for combat units have also seen a general decline over the past decade, to less than two-thirds (65%) in 2018 from four-fifths (81%) in 2011. (Read more from “A Third of Israeli Males Are Mentally Unfit for Service” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/14538979668_867c24a83c_b.jpg5171023Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-19 18:25:362020-01-19 18:23:14A Third of Israeli Males Are Mentally Unfit for Service
By Daily Caller. Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday that removing President Donald Trump from office remains urgent and that’s why Democrats did not force witnesses to testify during the impeachment inquiry through court orders.
“We subpoenaed many of these witnesses and because of the president’s obstruction, they ignore those lawful subpoenas,” Schiff told ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” “If you argue that, well, the House needed to go through endless months or even years of litigation before bringing about an impeachment, you effectively nullify the impeachment clause.” . . .
He raised the issue of enforcing subpoenas when told that Democrats have not been able to shake lose any Republican senators who might vote against party lines or are even willing to introduce witnesses to the Senate impeachment trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that he has the votes to proceed with a trial on his own terms.
“The reality is, because what the president is threatening to do is cheat in the next election, you cannot wait months and years to be able to remove that threat from office,” Schiff said, even though for the past month Pelosi was not indicating any urgency in delivering the articles of impeachment to the Senate. McConnell has said that Pelsoi’s “one-woman blockade” of the impeachment process “produced absolutely nothing.” (Read more from “WATCH: Schiff Says It’s Urgent to Remove Trump From Office” HERE)
Schiff and Dershowitz Spar Over Whether Abuse of Power Is Impeachable Offense
By Fox News. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead impeachment manager, and Alan Dershowitz, a member of President Trump’s legal team, clashed in opposing interviews on Sunday over whether the president can be impeached for abuse of power.
Dershowitz, a retired professor at Harvard Law School who was a late arrival to Trump’s legal team, said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” that there is a “strong” argument to be made that a president cannot be impeached for abuse of power.
To support his argument, Dershowitz referenced the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, where Justice Benjamin Curtis – who defended the president – said that proof of a crime was necessary to remove a sitting president from office. Johnson was eventually acquitted during his Senate trial.
“I am making an argument much like the argument made by the great Justice Curtis,” Dershowitz said. “The argument is a strong one. The Senate should hear it.”
Dershowitz went on to argue that the Founding Fathers were concerned about giving Congress too much power and that impeachment could be used as a political tool in the partisan infighting of politics. (Read more from “Schiff and Dershowitz Spar Over Whether Abuse of Power Is Impeachable Offense” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/41830009975_197cbb83b3_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-19 18:15:492020-01-19 18:13:38WATCH: Schiff Says It’s Urgent to Remove Trump From Office; Schiff and Dershowitz Spar Over Whether Abuse of Power Is Impeachable Offense
A security operative and ex-Green Beret was reportedly part of an audacious plan to smuggle auto executive Carlos Ghosn out of Japan where prosecutors charged him with numerous financial crimes.
Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret who has etched out a long career arranging high-risk rescue missions, took part in the caper, which entailed Ghosn hiding in a box transported into a private jet before being flown to Turkey, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Taylor’s decision to help Ghosn was borne out of his own experiences in the U.S. judicial system. He pleaded guilty in 2015 on charges that he bribed a Pentagon official to obtain bidding information that helped him fraudulently win $54 million in government contracts, WSJ noted. Taylor said his 14-month stint in a Utah county jail awaiting trial was torturous. . .
The flight took the corporate titan to Istanbul, where Ghosn boarded another private jet for a flight to Lebanon — he arrived in Beirut in December, just before New Year’s Day. Ghosn is a citizen of Brazil, France and Lebanon, none of which have extradition treaty agreements with Japan.
Japanese authorities believe that Taylor, who speaks some Arabic, and an associate wheeled Ghosn in the chest through the lobby of the Osaka airport. Taylor, 59, has worked in the past freeing other people stuck in tight spots. He once helped rescue a New York Times reporter from the Taliban and freed children who were kidnapped overseas, WSJ reported, citing a memo Taylor’s lawyers produced. (Read more from “Here’s the Ex-Green Beret Who Allegedly Smuggled an Imprisoned Auto Exec out of Japan in a Box” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/plane-flight-airplane-airport-aircraft-aviation.jpg607910Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-19 18:05:222020-01-19 18:03:19Here’s the Ex-Green Beret Who Allegedly Smuggled an Imprisoned Auto Exec out of Japan in a Box
Politicians are known for their lack of self-awareness, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s absence of mindfulness may have reached new heights.
At a campaign event in Iowa Sunday afternoon, CBS News reporter Zak Hudak asked the presidential hopeful if it’s disqualifying for a presidential candidate to lie to the American people about anything. Warren’s response was priceless.
“How could the American people want someone who lies to them?” @ewarren says after I asked if it’s disqualifying for a presidential candidate to lie to the American people about anything pic.twitter.com/b4AxH5Bq1m
“How could the American people want someone who lies to them?” Warren said, seemingly unaware of her own fibbing. Based on a video posted on Twitter, it does not appear that Zudak asked Warren any follow-up questions. . .
Of course, it’s also entirely possible that Warren is also lying about her exchange with Sen. Bernie Sanders where she claimed the Vermont socialist told her a woman could not be elected president—something that’s difficult to believe since Sanders publicly said in 1980s that a woman could be president. (Read more from “Embarrassing: Elizabeth Warren Asks ‘How Could the American People Want Someone Who Lies to Them?'” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/47752077341_61dcb606bd_b-2.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-19 17:49:592020-01-19 17:47:59Embarrassing: Elizabeth Warren Asks ‘How Could the American People Want Someone Who Lies to Them?’ (VIDEO)
By Daily Wire. New York City mayor-turned-President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, says he’d “love” to testify at Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, which starts this week — if he also gets to run down what he’s discovered about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, whom Giuliani says he investigated thoroughy on a recent trip to Ukraine.
Giuliani appeared on “The Cats Roundtable” Sunday morning in New York, according to the New York Post, where he made his declaration.
“I would love to see a trial. I’d love to be a witness – because I’m a potential witness in the trial – and explain to everyone the corruption that I found in Ukraine, that far out-surpasses any that I’ve ever seen before, involving Joe Biden and a lot of other Democrats,” he said.
Giuliani went to Ukraine late last year to conduct what he called an in-depth investigation into Democrats’ connections to the Eastern European nation, including whether the Democratic National Committee conspired with Ukrainian officials to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and whether former Vice President Joe Biden pressured Ukrainian investigators to abandon a probe into an oil and gas company called Burisma that had his son, Hunter, on its board of directors.
Giuliani portrayed the trip as a “crime-fighting” endeavor, meant to root out corruption in the Ukrainian government, but what he discovered, he said back in December of last year, could have an impact on Trump’s impeachment trial. (Read more from “Giuliani Wants to Testify at Impeachment Trial” HERE)
Trump Impeachment Trial: Schumer Vows to “Force Votes” on Witnesses
By Axios. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed Sunday evening to “force votes on witnesses and documents” in the impeachment trial against President Trump that starts this week. And he questioned why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was “being so secretive about his proposal.” (Read more from “Trump Impeachment Trial: Schumer Vows to “Force Votes” on Witnesses” HERE)
The fourth annual Women’s March took place on Saturday, but attendance was way down, according to reports, as interest in the march has flagged and the Women’s March organization is dogged with problems.
Carmen Perez, the only Women’s March “co-founder” left at the group after a purge of organizers earlier this year stemming from allegations of anti-Semitism within the Women’s March’s ranks, told USA Today that she hoped to see a re-energized group of marchers, but it doesn’t seem her hopes materialized.
“There was a moment in 2016, 2017, and I think that moment is here again,’’ Perez said. “One, we are in an election year. Two, we are in potential war conversations, with the fact the U.S. has struck another country. I personally feel we’re going to see an increase in numbers because people are wanting to come together again. People are going to show up to the Women’s March with their anti-war messaging because they want to be out in the streets working.”
In 2019, attandance was at an all time low. ‘The crowd estimator pegged nationwide participation in the 650-plus sister marches that day at 3.3 million-5.3 million, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Those figures dwindled to 1.9 million-2.6 million in 2018 and 676,000-747,000 in 2019.”
Although crowd estimates aren’t out yet for 2020’s march, it seems even fewer managed to pull on their pink-eared hats and take to the streets to protest President Donald Trump. A few thousand turned out in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles, but otherwise, the Women’s March seemed to rely on local organizers to draw out groups of 50 or 60 in small towns and progressive enclaves.
By NBC News. President Donald Trump’s defense team for his Senate impeachment trial will include former independent counsel Ken Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton, and famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, sources familiar with the president’s legal strategy told NBC News Friday.
Also joining the team is Robert Ray, who succeeded Starr as Clinton special counsel, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who joined the White House in November to help manage the messaging around impeachment, the sources said.
The addition of the high-profile names, who have regularly appeared on Fox News defending the president, will add some star power to the team that will publicly argue Trump’s case in the well of the Senate in a historic moment that will play out on live television.
Leading the legal team will be White House counsel Pat Cipollone, a Trump ally who has been steeped in the details of the case since the inquiry began but lacks experience as a public trial lawyer or television personality. Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, who has argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court and guided the president through Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, will also play a leading role. (Read more from “Trump Impeachment Defense Team Expected to Include Epstein Lawyers” HERE)
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WATCH: Jerry Nadler Says the Impeachment Is No Longer Just About the President
By Daily Caller. Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler claimed that the Senate would be on trial along with President Donald Trump.
Nadler made the comment during House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Wednesday morning press conference, where he was named as one of seven impeachment managers. . .
“The Senate is on trial as well as the president,” he insisted. “Does the Senate conduct a trial according to the Constitution, to vindicate the republic? Or does the Senate participate in the president’s crimes by covering them up?” (Read more from “WATCH: Jerry Nadler Says the Impeachment Is No Longer Just About the President” HERE)
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Lawyer Alan Dershowitz Draws Line on His Role in Trump Impeachment Defense
By NPR. When President Trump’s defense team delivers its opening statement in the Senate impeachment trial next week, famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz will have a starring role.
But in an interview with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly on Friday, he sought to make clear that his involvement is limited to arguing that the two articles of impeachment do not satisfy the constitutional criteria for removing the president from office.
“I will not be involved in arguing the facts, nor will I be part of the defense team in the sense of strategy on the facts. My role is limited. I am doing precisely the same thing I would be doing had Hillary Clinton — who I voted for — been elected president and had the Republicans try to impeach her,” Dershowitz told All Things Considered. . .
Dershowitz, who consulted with former President Bill Clinton’s defense during his impeachment trial, said he would not weigh in on the issue of whether witnesses should be allowed in the Senate trial — an issue being pushed by Democrats and so far resisted by Republicans. (Read more from “Lawyer Alan Dershowitz Draws Line on His Role in Trump Impeachment Defense” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Julianne_Moore_Jerrold_Nadler_and_Cynthia_Nixon-2.jpg6811024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-17 21:43:132020-01-18 19:21:07Trump Impeachment Defense Team Expected to Include Epstein Lawyers; Nadler Says the Impeachment Is No Longer Just About the President; Dershowitz Draws Line on His Role in Trump Impeachment Defense (VIDEO)
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney lost support from Republicans and independents in his home state during the weeks after he called for witnesses in President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, a new poll shows.
The Morning Consult survey found support for Romney, 72, going down after he called for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify at Trump’s impeachment trial, which began on Thursday.
The poll shows the senator’s approval rating falling among Utah Republicans from September through December 2019, and independents also shifted to disapproving of Romney over the quarter.
In the prior quarter, 65% of Utah Republicans supported Romney, and while a majority still do presently, that number sank to 57%.
The numbers are particularly striking for Utah, one of the most Republican states in the country. Romney romped to victory in his 2018 Senate bid and has been considered a local hero of sorts among his fellow Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constituents and others. (Read more from “Romney Loses GOP Support After Challenging Trump on Impeachment” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/6468740405_221557e349_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-17 21:42:362020-01-18 19:09:46Romney Loses GOP Support After Challenging Trump on Impeachment
Twenty U.S. Army soldiers died in training accidents over the last year, while another 70 were seriously injured, according to statistics obtained by the Washington Examiner. . .
“Military training is inherently dangerous and while any loss of life is tragic, it is difficult to reduce the numbers to zero,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, who directs the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, told the Washington Examiner. “Military aviation, operating vehicles over open terrain at night, weapons firing with live ammunition are among the military skills that must be practiced but carry high risks. A rise from 18 to 20 training deaths in a year, while unfortunate, is not a statistically significant rise.”
The slight increase coincides with the Army’s efforts to improve combat readiness across the force. The Pentagon placed an emphasis on combat capability after the Trump administration published its national defense strategy, which aims to counter conventional adversaries like Russia and China.
Rigorous training is necessary in order to confront U.S. adversaries, according to former Army pilot Bradley Bowman, who runs the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. . .
The 20 soldiers killed in the past year died in a variety of accidents. West Point cadet Christopher Morgan, 22, died and 22 others were injured when their truck crashed in June. Army Staff Sgt. David Gallagher, 51, was killed and three others were injured when their M1 Abrams tank rolled over earlier that month. Staff Sgt. Jacob Hess, 34, was killed in a similar accident when his Humvee rolled over in May. (Read more from “20 U.S. Army Soldiers Died in Training Accidents Last Year” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/1280px-Flickr_-_The_U.S._Army_-_www.Army_.mil_262.jpg8481280Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2020-01-17 21:41:412020-01-17 21:38:2820 U.S. Army Soldiers Died in Training Accidents Last Year
