Watch: Kanye West Stuns Audience on ‘SNL’ Over Pro-Trump Speech

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Kanye West, who recently changed his name to “Ye,” showed up to “Saturday Night Live” this weekend with a Make America Great Again hat. It was a preview of what was to come.

Ye performed three songs, “I Love It” and “K.T.S.E.,” and “Ghost Town,” before grabbing the mic once more at the end of the show and telling the audience about his love for President Trump. His speech did not make it on to the television broadcast, but some viewers found it online. . .

“So many times I talk to a white person and [they] say, ‘How could you like Trump, he’s racist?’ Well, if I was concerned about racism I would have moved out of America a long time ago,” West said. . .

Kanye went on to bash the Democrats who he says take “fathers out the home and promote welfare.” As you can see above, it made the cast pretty uncomfortable. Other social media users who had been following Chris Rock’s Instagram found the comedian laughing at West throughout the speech.

West first revealed his love for Trump in April on Twitter. He called the president his brother and tweeted a picture of him of wearing a MAGA hat. It angered plenty of people in Hollywood, but the artist did not back down, even when pressed by late night host Jimmy Kimmel. (Read more from “Watch: Kanye West Stuns Audience on ‘SNL’ Over Pro-Trump Speech” HERE)

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An Important Revelation From Dr. Ford’s Testimony

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By Townhall. Conventional wisdom, as dictated by a preponderance of television pundits, says there were no new facts that came out during the testimony of Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh this week. Many also said Rachel Mitchell, the sex crimes prosecutor that questioned Ford, didn’t achieve much. I disagree.

There was at least one revelation that was shocking and the repercussions from it could be quite substantial. During Dr. Ford’s testimony, she said she didn’t know the Judiciary Committee had offered many, many times for her to testify in private and in California. It was shocking that she didn’t know this because it was widely reported. References to it appeared in numerous news reports. But this is what Ford said during her testimony:

Mitchell: Was it communicated to you by your counsel or someone else that the committee had asked to interview you, and that they offered to come out to California to do so?

Ford Attorney: I’m going to object, Mr. Chairman, to any call for privileged conversation between counsel and Dr. Ford.

. . .

Ford: Can I say something to you? Do you mind if I say something to you directly? I just appreciate that you did offer that. I wasn’t clear on what the offer was. If you were going to come out to see me, I would have happily hosted you and been happy to speak with you out there. I just did not – it was not clear to me that that was the case.

(Read more from “An Important Revelation From Dr. Ford’s Testimony” HERE)

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Cory Booker’s 1992 Column Detailing ‘Groping’ of High School Friend Resurfaces

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A 1992 column by now-Sen. Cory Booker detailing his “groping” of a high school friend has resurfaced as he pushes to delay Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings over a sexual assault allegation.

In the 1992 column for The Stanford Daily, then-Stanford University grad student Mr. Booker wrote about the New Year’s Eve incident in 1984 that he will “never forget.” In the column, titled, “So much for stealing second,” Mr. Booker said he was 15 when he fondled an intoxicated female friend.

“With the ‘Top Gun’ slogan ringing in my head, I slowly reached for her breast,” he wrote. “After having my hand pushed away once, I reached my ‘mark.’ Our groping ended soon and while no ‘relationship’ ensued, a friendship did. You see, the next week in school she told me that she was drunk that night and didn’t really know what she was doing.”

Mr. Booker said he was conditioned to believe that sex was “a game,” and that hooking up was best achieved through “luck, guile, strategy or coercion,” and lots of alcohol. He wrote about how his attitude toward sex dramatically changed after just a couple years at Stanford, and how his work as a peer counselor listening to the “raw truth from men and women discussing rape” was a real “wake-up call” for the future senator. . .

Mr. Booker, who said this week that it would be “irresponsible” for him to not consider a 2020 presidential run, has been recently ridiculed by conservatives after he appeared to dub himself “Spartacus” by revealing confidential records during the Judge Kavanaugh hearing. The senator now wants the FBI to investigate a claim by a woman who accused Judge Kavanaugh of trying to rape her more than 35 years ago before the hearings continue. (Read more from “Cory Booker’s 1992 Column Detailing ‘Groping’ of High School Friend Resurfaces” HERE)

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Senator to Vote ‘Yes’ on Kavanaugh Unless ‘Bombshell’ Emerges

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By Washington Times. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he plans to vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court absent some unknown “bombshell,” saying the judge’s life has been “ruined” by recent accusations of sexual assault and misconduct when the judge was in high school and college.

“He’s not a stumbling, bumbling drunk. I don’t believe that you could have accomplished what he’s accomplished to have been a serial rapist in high school and stop it for the rest of your life,” Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

“Not one person who he’s been in charge of during his legal career has ever said he did anything inappropriate,” Mr. Graham said.

“I think he’s highly qualified. I think he’s a capable man. I think his life was ruined here,” he said. “I’m going to vote for him unless some bombshell comes out that I don’t know about.”

The FBI has re-opened a limited background investigation into Judge Kavanaugh, who forcefully denied during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week that he ever engaged in sexual assault. (Read more from “Senator to Vote ‘Yes’ on Kavanaugh Unless ‘Bombshell’ Emerges” HERE)

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Lindsey Graham Wants to Investigate Democrats for Kavanaugh Leak

By The Atlantic. As the FBI starts interviewing people who could have witnessed the alleged sexual misconduct by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Republicans are calling for an investigation to hold Democrats accountable for what they say has become a divisive and unnecessary public debate over sexual misconduct allegations leveled against Kavanaugh.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican on the Judiciary Committee who has become the voice of GOP outrage over Kavanaugh’s treatment, called for a probe of who leaked a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s ranking Democrat, from California psychologist Christine Blasey Ford. Ford alleged in the letter that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were in high school but asked that her complaint be kept confidential.

Ford stated again during her gripping testimony Thursday before the committee that she had not wanted to go public with her account, adding that she only went on the record after reporters from numerous news organizatons, tipped off to her letter, had visited her home and workplace.

“Somebody betrayed her trust for a political purpose,” Graham said Sunday morning on ABC’s This Week. “We’re going to do a wholesale, full-scale investigation of what I think was a despicable process to deter it from happening again.” (Read more from “Lindsey Graham Wants to Investigate Democrats for Kavanaugh Leak” HERE)

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Democrat Taking a ‘Hard Look’ at Presidential Run

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By Washington Times. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she’ll take a “hard look at running for president” after the November elections.

The Boston Globe reports the Massachusetts Democrat spoke about her future during a town hall in western Massachusetts Saturday.

Warren, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, is running for re-election in November against GOP state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was co-chairman of Trump’s 2016 Massachusetts campaign. (Read more from “Democrat Taking a ‘Hard Look’ at Presidential Run” HERE)

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For Warren, ‘Engaged and Enraged’ Democratic Women Strong Base for Potential Presidential Run

By Boston Globe. When Senator Elizabeth Warren told a town hall audience in Holyoke on Saturday that she’d “take a hard look” at running for president after next month’s midterm election, she further stoked talk of her national ambitions.

Political observers on both sides of the spectrum who have long speculated about the liberal Democrat’s future on Sunday had a mixed response to Warren’s surprising statement, which came in response to a question from the audience.

A favorite of progressives and the party faithful, Warren has appeared emboldened by the growing anger toward President Trump and his conservative base. That anger, particularly among women, was never more apparent than on Thursday, when Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was questioned about sexual assault allegations before a Senate panel. . .

Noting the record number of women running for Congress this year, Rachael Cobb, chairwoman of the political science department at Suffolk University, said Warren appears to be putting up a “trial balloon,” ahead of what will likely be a crowded field for Democrats running for president in 2020. (Read more from “For Warren, ‘Engaged and Enraged’ Democratic Women Strong Base for Potential Presidential Run” HERE)

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Leftist Group Claims Jeff Flake Is Suing Sexual Assault Survivors. But Here’s the Truth.

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By The Blaze. Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (R) twice rattled feathers Friday: Once when he announced he would vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, then again after he called for a week delay of Kavanaugh’s confirmation to allow for an FBI investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct.

But Flake went viral for a third, separate reason: When a sexual assault survivor confronted him as he entered an elevator.

“You’re telling all women that they don’t matter. Look at me when I’m talking to you!” the woman shouted as news cameras captured the encounter. “You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter.”

. . .

Elizabeth Jones, a Flake spokeswoman, said the Arizona lawmaker never considered pressing charges against the protesters.

“Sen. Flake is not pressing charges, nor did he ever consider pressing charges,” she said, according to USA Today. (Read more from “Leftist Group Claims Jeff Flake Is Suing Sexual Assault Survivors. but Here’s the Truth.” HERE)

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Kavanaugh Sounded Like He Was ‘Wrongly Accused’ at Hearing, Flake Says

By Fox News. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said Sunday that Brett Kavanaugh’s fiery opening statement at Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing made him sound like a man who had been “wrongly accused” of sexual misconduct.

However, Flake also told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that some of Kavanaugh’s exchanges with Democratic members of the committee were “a little too sharp.”

Flake was one of six members of the judiciary committee who appeared on “60 Minutes” Sunday, along with Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and John Kennedy, R-La. They spoke three days after Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, gave conflicting accounts about Ford’s claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a party while they were in high school outside Washington D.C., in the early 1980s.

At one point, an emotional Kavanaugh called the confirmation process “a national disgrace” and said the furor had “destroyed my family and my good name.”

“When I heard him, I heard someone who I hope I would sound like, if I had been unjustly accused,” Flake said. “If I was unjustly accused, that’s how I would feel, as well.” (Read more from “Kavanaugh Sounded Like He Was ‘Wrongly Accused’ at Hearing, Flake Says” HERE)

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Senators Vow ‘Full Scale’ Investigation to Determine Who Leaked Kavanaugh Accuser’s Letter

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By The Blaze. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) charged Sunday that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, will face an investigation over her office’s handling of a letter from Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who initially accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Weeks after President Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh’s nomination, Ford wrote Feinstein an anonymous letter outlining her allegations. She demanded she remain anonymous. But sometime after the media learned of the allegations, Ford’s letter was leaked to the press. The only people who reportedly had access to the letter were Feinstein’s office, the office of Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), and Ford’s attorneys.

How the letter leaked has been a huge source of contention, as it could prove a level of coordination to undermine Kavanaugh’s confirmation. . .

Speaking on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” Cotton also revealed that Ford’s attorneys will face a Washington, D.C., bar investigation for allegedly withholding from their client the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee offered to take her testimony in a confidential manner by flying staffers to interview her in California. (Read more from “Senators Vow ‘Full Scale’ Investigation to Determine Who Leaked Kavanaugh Accuser’s Letter” HERE)

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Limits to FBI’s Kavanaugh Investigation Have Not Changed, Despite Trump’s Comments

By NBC News. The FBI has received no new instructions from the White House about how to proceed with its weeklong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a senior U.S. official and another source familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

According to the sources, the president’s Saturday night tweet saying he wants the FBI to interview whoever agents deem appropriate has not changed the limits imposed by the White House counsel’s office on the FBI investigation — including a specific witness list that does not include Julie Swetnick, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in high school.

Also not on the list, the sources say, are former classmates who have contradicted Kavanaugh’s account of his college alcohol consumption, instead describing him as a frequent, heavy drinker. The FBI is also not authorized to interview high school classmates who could shed light on what some people have called untruths in Kavanaugh’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony about alleged sexual references in his high school yearbook.

The sources said nothing would preclude the FBI from asking Kavanaugh’s high school friend Mark Judge, who is on the witness list, about Swetnick’s allegations, but the sources stressed that this is not a top priority. (Read more from “Limits to FBI’s Kavanaugh Investigation Have Not Changed, Despite Trump’s Comments” HERE)

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Committee Votes to Confirm Kavanaugh – Flake, Murkowski Demand Delay on Final Vote

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By Townhall. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Friday morning 11-10 to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. All Republicans voted for Kavanaugh and all Democrats voted against.

A procedural vote will be taken by the full Senate on Saturday afternoon. A final and full Senate confirmation vote has been scheduled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for Tuesday, October 2.

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced Friday morning he will vote for Kavanaugh, solidifying his ability to make it past Committee. Friday afternoon, he called for a one week delay of the full Senate vote for an FBI investigation. He also said he is not comfortable supporting a full vote of Kavanaugh until the investigation is complete.

(Read more from “Committee Votes to Confirm Kavanaugh – Flake, Murkowski Demand Delay on Final Vote” HERE)

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Murkowski Sides With Flake on Delaying Kavanaugh Vote for Investigation

By Townhall. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told reporters Friday that she agrees with fellow moderate Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (AZ) in his call for an FBI investigation that would delay the Senate floor vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for up to one week.

Murkowski believes there should be an investigation that is “limited in time and scope.”

During the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to move Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate, Sen. Flake insisted that he did not think they should have a full vote on Kavanaugh until there has been a week-long FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh. (Read more from “Murkowski Sides With Flake on Delaying Kavanaugh Vote for Investigation” HERE)

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U.S. Mid-Terms: Hackers Expose ‘Staggering’ Voter Machine Flaws

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By BBC. Voting machines pose “serious risks” to US security, hackers are warning.

A report outlines major flaws in voting hardware, weeks before US mid-term elections.

One ballot machine, used in 23 US states, carries a cybersecurity flaw that was reported over a decade ago, the hackers claim. . .

In August, the Def Con conference in Las Vegas ran a “Voting Village”, where participants were encouraged to uncover flaws in US election infrastructure by hacking into various computer systems.

More than 30 voting machines and other pieces of equipment were made available to attendees of the conference, including the M650 electronic ballot scanner, which is currently used by 23 US states. (Read more from “U.S. Mid-Terms: Hackers Expose ‘Staggering’ Voter Machine Flaws” HERE)

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Voting Machines Are Still Absurdly Vulnerable to Attacks

By WIRED. WHILE RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE operations in the 2016 US presidential elections focused on misinformation and targeted hacking, officials have scrambled ever since to shore up the nation’s vulnerable election infrastructure. New research, though, shows they haven’t done nearly enough, particularly when it comes to voting machines.

The report details vulnerabilities in seven models of voting machines and vote counters, found during the DefCon security conference’s Voting Village event. All of the models are in active use around the US, and the vulnerabilities—from weak password protections to elaborate avenues for remote access—number in the dozens. The findings also connect to larger efforts to safeguard US elections, including initiatives to expand oversight of voting machine vendors and efforts to fund state and local election security upgrades.

“We didn’t discover a lot of new vulnerabilities,” says Matt Blaze, a computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the organizers of the Voting Village, who has been analyzing voting machine security for more than 10 years. “What we discovered was vulnerabilities that we know about are easy to find, easy to reengineer, and have not been fixed over the course of more than a decade of knowing about them. And to me that is both the unsurprising and terribly disturbing lesson that came out of the Voting Village.” (Read more from “Voting Machines Are Still Absurdly Vulnerable to Attacks” HERE)

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Here’s What Is Making Michelle Obama Depressed and Frustrated

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. . .The former first lady told the audience that she understood how many felt that there was not enough progress in politics, or worse, that the vote was “rigged” and not worth putting effort into.

“Is there any wonder why we’re so frustrated and tuned out of our politics?” she said. “When a huge chunk of the population sits out of the process, why are we surprised when our politics don’t reflect our values?” . . .

“I am tired of the daily chaos, the pettiness, the meanness that too often dominates the political discourse,” she continued.

“We all are,” she said. “It is exhausting and honestly it is depressing.”

Obama told the audience that they needed to vote because it was the “only” avenue open to them to have an effect on those on in power. She also said that if they didn’t vote that others who wanted to leave them behind would take power. (Read more from “Here’s What Is Making Michelle Obama Depressed and Frustrated” HERE)

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