High School Removes Students’ Pro-Trump Slogans From Pictures

/0 Comments/in , /by

A New Jersey high school scrubbed pro-Trump slogans displayed on clothing students wore for their yearbook photos.

Multiple Wall Township High School students came forward to express outrage after they noticed their clothes had been altered in the photos, reported CNN Monday.

“TRUMP: Make America Great Again” was removed from junior Grant Berardo’s shirt while student Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago had the word “Trump” taken off his vest. Another student claims that a quote she included under her picture from President Donald Trump was taken out.

A New Jersey high school scrubbed pro-Trump slogans displayed on clothing students wore for their yearbook photos.

The superintendent for Wall Township Public Schools plans to investigate the censorship. (Read more from “High School Removes Students’ Pro-Trump Slogans From Pictures” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Hopeful Feminism of ‘Wonder Woman’

/0 Comments/in , /by

“Wonder Woman” is a feminist movie conservatives can embrace.

It’s a fun movie that truly embraces the “girl” in “girl power.” Yes, the heroine Diana is a powerful fighter—and she’s raised on an island of Amazons, all of whom seem to excel at hand-to-hand combat and shooting arrows.

But she’s also a woman who is thrilled when she catches sight of a baby. And while she’s not a mom herself, her genuine sorrow and pity when she realizes the plight of women and children living through World War I makes her as much of a “mama grizzly” as Sarah Palin. In fact, she starts fighting—ignoring the men who urge her to wait—precisely because she is unwilling to tolerate losing the civilians she sees suffering.

Nor does “Wonder Woman” contain any of the anti-men sentiments so many feminists seem to feel a need to embrace. Thanks to being a superhero, Diana Prince is, quite simply, a better fighter than the men she encounters—but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate their company or their own skills. (And yes, Diana fights—but no other woman in the movie is seen on the battlefield. There’s no attempt here to push a male-female army.)

In fact, in the ultimate crisis of the movie, Diana is roused to action because she’s inspired by a man.

The climactic scene of “Wonder Woman” comes when Diana, who discovers she is actually a goddess, is urged by her brother Ares, another god, to allow war to continue.

Ares, who was the Greek god of war, urges her to see all the evilness and ill will in humanity and pushes her to realize that man doesn’t deserve peace and happiness. Humans, he essentially says, are so evil they merit the discord and horror of war.

Diana, who was not raised among humans, is certainly tempted by Ares’ argument. Her short time in the real world, a saga begun when a spy makes a crash landing in the ocean near the Amazons’ island, has been dispiriting. She’s realized that humans, far from being the wonderful creatures she originally thought they were, are decidedly a mixed bag—and sometimes not good at all.

In a way, Ares’ argument echoes some of the liberal themes we see in our modern conversation. Just consider the concern about humans’ impact on the environment touted regularly in climate change arguments, or the fears about overpopulation. Ares’ pessimism about whether humans contribute anything significantly positive to the earth seems to be a real mindset among some.

Yet Diana ultimately rejects it—because of the spy she met. That spy, Steve Trevor, is Diana’s love interest—but he’s also her introduction to the complicated emotional dynamics of the “good guys.”

Steve is not the starry-eyed idealist Diana is, and when she first is devastated by humans’ decisions, Steve ultimately concedes that she’s right: Some people may not deserve to be rescued or saved. But that doesn’t mean he won’t do it, anyway—and not long after, Steve knowingly and willingly gives up his own life to protect the lives of many others.

And is that sacrifice which makes Diana, even with her new understanding of mankind’s very real flaws, willing to fight Ares—and not settle for a world where humans are pushed into war and destruction.

I had my doubts about “Wonder Woman” going into the movie theater—especially since I’d read that the original Wonder Woman character was inspired in part by the niece of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

I don’t know about the original comic-book character of the 1940s, but this version is instead someone who embraces life, including cherishing babies. In her horror at the destruction of war and her willingness to sacrifice for the lives of others, this Wonder Woman is very much a woman who shows, even at the cost of great sacrifices, that the lives of men and women are worth saving. (For more from the author of “The Hopeful Feminism of ‘Wonder Woman'” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

With Army Stretched Too Thin, Military Buildup Should Begin Right Now

/0 Comments/in , /by

Testifying in front of the Senate Appropriations’ defense subcommittee last Wednesday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley was characteristically blunt.

When asked, he told the assembled senators that in his opinion, the Army does not have enough soldiers to accomplish the missions it has been assigned.

Acknowledging that Secretary of Defense James Mattis is currently conducting a defense strategy review, Milley gave his assessment that to accomplish the Army’s portion of the defense strategy, the active component size of the Army should be between 540,000 and 550,000, the National Guard between 350,000 and 355,000, and the Army Reserve between 205,000 and 209,000.

In the active component, after enduring four years of debilitating Obama-era force reductions, the active Army now stands at 476,000, the National Guard at 343,000, and the Army Reserve at 199,000.

To regrow the Army to the level recommended by Milley in the active component alone will require an addition of a minimum of 64,000 soldiers, which will be costly, difficult, but in his judgment, necessary.

In making his assessment, Milley and acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer reminded the committee that the U.S. faces a much more dangerous international situation than it did five years ago.

They highlighted the growing capabilities of Russia, characterizing it as “formidable;” an “increasingly dangerous” North Korea; China’s “assertive actions;” and a host of challenges in the Middle East ranging from Iran’s missile threat to the terrorist threat from the Islamic State and its ilk.

Milley’s recommendation on Army force structure generally aligns with statements made by President Donald Trump, who has pledged to regrow the Army back to 540,000.

But to the surprise of many, Trump’s 2018 defense budget request unveiled last month did not include a request for any additional soldiers for the Army. Instead, it seeks to maintain the levels authorized in 2017.

Administration representatives endeavored to explain that the rebuilding of the military’s size and equipment will await the completion of Mattis’ strategy review that is now underway, but which is not expected before the fall of 2017.

The Army’s list of unfunded priorities, submitted at the end of May to meet a new requirement in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, does however include a requirement to increase the strength of the Army, with a request for 10,000 active, 4,000 National Guard, and 3,000 in the Army Reserve.

The Congress acted correctly and courageously in 2017 to begin to regrow the Army by adding 17,000 active-duty soldiers to President Barack Obama’s proposed request for 460,000. There is near consensus that the last four years of strength cuts have reduced the Army’s ability to execute its missions and significantly raised strategic risk to the country.

Now faced with a similar situation for fiscal year 2018, Congress should act again to incrementally increase the size of the Army and authorize the prudent growth requested in the Army’s unfunded requirements list.

Mattis’ strategy review is a necessary assessment, but there is no danger of “over-growing” the Army. The addition of the requested 10,000 soldiers on the Army’s list would bring them to 486,000, still well below what the chief of staff of the Army believes is needed.

The Army today is too small. Milley and Speer related that today soldiers and units are being deployed at a grueling and relentless pace, stressing service members and their families.

Congress should not allow a “pause” in the rebuilding of the Army. It should instead continue to reverse Obama’s ill-advised cuts to the Army. (For more from the author of “With Army Stretched Too Thin, Military Buildup Should Begin Right Now” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Trump on Course to Achieve Conservative Policy Victories, His Legislative Point Man Says

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Trump administration has made good progress on issues of importance to conservatives, despite pushback from the left, the president’s legislative point man told a gathering of Christian conservatives.

“It’s been like a calm ocean, right? No challenges whatsoever,” Paul Teller said to a laughing audience at the Road to Majority conference, referring to the Trump administration’s first four and a half months.

Teller, special assistant to the president for legislative affairs, spoke Friday as part of a panel on the legislative agenda for the next year and a half.

Teller, a former chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who previously was executive director of the House’s Republican Study Committee, reaffirmed the assembled activists’ apparent consensus that the Trump administration’s first 140 days have been positive for conservatives.

Teller’s job is to coordinate conservative messaging between Congress and the White House.

“Basically, my role is liaisoning directly with some of the more conservative House members, some of the more conservative senators,” Teller said. “I think that’s really smart for the president to want to create that kind of position.”

He said that from his perspective in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, conservatives have made significant advances on their agenda in a short time.

“The first few months have been fantastic from a legislative standpoint,” Teller said. “Do we have all the major things we wanted to get done, done? No. Are they all in process? Yes.”

His examples included Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination and confirmation for the Supreme Court and the president’s use of the Congressional Review Act, which Teller said “makes it really easy to peel back regulation” imposed during the Obama administration.

Teller also discussed the House’s recently passed legislation to replace Obamacare, the American Health Care Act, as an example:

The president wants this bill to show up on his desk, not for the sake of checking a box, but for the sake of relieving suffering. People of America are hurting. They’re losing their health insurance [under Obamacare]. Premiums are increasing. They move from full time to part time … they have no real choice. … That’s real suffering.

Teller pointed to better communication as an aid to conservative victories:

I like to say that I’m a ‘chief communicator’ as well, because I get to translate conservative-speak into the White House, and White House-speak out to the Hill and the larger conservative movement. Sometimes that translation makes all the difference.

The Faith & Freedom Coalition organized the conference, held Thursday through Saturday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. (For more from the author of “Trump on Course to Achieve Conservative Policy Victories, His Legislative Point Man Says” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Christian Soccer Player Withdraws From Friendlies as US Team Is Set to Wear Gay Pride Jerseys

/0 Comments/in , /by

A release from U.S. Soccer said [Jaelene] Hinkle, 24, who is a defender for the North Carolina Courage, was called into the national camp to play international friendlies against Sweden and Norway this month. She was not replaced on the roster after her withdrawal.

It is unclear if U.S. Soccer’s celebration of gay pride this month is related to Hinkle’s withdrawal but she wears her faith proudly on social media.

She proudly boasts Colossians 3:23 on Twitter which says: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

“If you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejection,” the tagline also notes.

She also converted a gay pride logo into a celebration of the cross on Instagram the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in 2015 while sharing her thoughts on the decision. (Read more from “Christian Soccer Player Withdraws From Friendlies as US Team Is Set to Wear Gay Pride Jerseys” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Large Anti-Sharia Rallies at San Bernardino Terror Site, LAX

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Assemblyman Tim Donnelly. On Saturday, hundreds gathered to protest against Islam’s sharia law at the site of the December 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino, California, and elsewhere throughout the state.

Protest rallies sponsored by ACT for America — Bridgette Gabriel’s anti-jihadist group — were held nationwide.

As the Los Angeles Times noted, a diverse group of over 500 demonstrators gathered at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino to protest what they described as the spread of sharia law in the United States.

They were met by smaller groups of counter-demonstrators, many from so-called “Antifa” groups. San Bernardino Police Officers handled security without any major incidents, except a few scuffles on the Anitfa side.

The San Bernardino protest was organized by Latinos for Trump co-founders Marco Gutierrez and Denise Ruiz. (Read more from “Large Anti-Sharia Rallies at San Bernardino Terror Site, LAX” HERE)

_________________________________________

Anti-Sharia Protest, Counter-Demonstrations Held in Chicago Saturday

By Ash-Har Quraishi. It was supposed to be a rally against Sharia law, but those demonstrators were quickly outnumbered by counter-protestors in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.

The rally, part of a nationwide series of demonstrations organized by the conservative group ACT for America, saw some heated back and forth exchanges, but was largely a peaceful affair as the two sides each held sides and chanted slogans during their respective rallies.

“I have a fundamental human right to oppose an ideology that defines me – a non-Muslim woman- as an inhuman slave,” anti-Sharia protestor Mary Magdalene Moser said. (Read more from “Anti-Sharia Protest, Counter-Demonstrations Held in Chicago Saturday” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

US Senators: Christian Beliefs Make You Unfit for Public Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

Earlier this week, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Van Hollen attacked Trump’s nominee for the White House Office of Budget and Management, Russ Vought. I met Russ when he and Sen. Mia Costello (R-Anchorage) and I went through the Claremont Institute’s Lincoln Fellowship together, back in 2011. His wife is from the Mat-Su. She worked for Vice President Mike Pence when he served in Congress, and had the audacity as a woman to defend him—and in the Washington Post no less.

In short, Russ is exactly the kind of person you would expect to see appointed by a Republican President to a White House staff position, and therefore the kind of person that progressive politicians love to hate. So what do they do when faced with a man with impeccable conservative credentials? They attack him for being a Christian.

Now, wait, you say: “We live in America. We have the U.S. Constitution, which forbids public officials from attacking a presidential appointee for their religious beliefs.” Yes, of course we do. And for 229 years, at least this portion of that Constitution, was largely respected.

But we live in different times today. In 2017, no portion of that Constitution is sacrosanct from attack by progressive politicians, not even the portion that guarantees Americans the right to hold whatever religious belief they choose. As Albert Einstein predicted long ago:

“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”

And if progressive Democrats and their friends could prevent Trump from nominating 41% of Americans to office simply because of their Christian beliefs, that would certainly be a political victory that would move forward their progressive agenda. In Sanders’ America, there is no need for religious freedom. Progressives in government will let you know what you are permitted to believe, by attacking those who hold any religious beliefs that don’t support their agenda.

If criticizing Christian or Jewish beliefs supports the progressive agenda, loyal progressives will be there to defend the right to criticize. If criticizing Islamic dogmas hurts the progressive agenda, loyal progressives will condemn the “haters” for their “hate speech”. Just remember, hate speech is whatever opposes their agenda. And whatever supports their agenda is wildflowers and rainbows—I mean, “worthy of tolerance.”

Let’s not kid ourselves about what the world just saw this week in the Vought confirmation hearing. A man was told that he has a disease, that he is “Islamophobic” and unworthy of holding public office; that Senator Sanders would vote to reject his appointment to the White House, because he actually believes what Jesus said, and supported the right of the Christian college that he graduated from to continue to teach that Christianity is true. It’s the “Christianity is true” part that has the progressives in a tizzy. It’s not PC to believe in truth. It’s not PC to believe what’s in the Bible. And even if it was, it’s certainly not PC to admit to it in public. Silence is what is demanded. And if you aren’t silent, you will be attacked, just like Russ Vought.

Which leads me to conclude that Albert Einstein is right, and that we each have an important part to play in doing our share to defend the constitutional rights of Americans. Letting politicians and judges do it for us was never an option. Letting progressives do it for us is simply suicidal.

Rep. David Eastman is a conservative legislator in Alaska, representing the rural Mat-Su Valley (House District 10); He ran on a platform of fighting for genuine conservative reform, fiscally and socially, and remains committed to delivering on that promise.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Feds Bust Hezbollah Sleeper Cell Charged With Plotting NYC Attack

/0 Comments/in , /by

The FBI and NYPD announced Thursday that two suspected Hezbollah sleeper cell operatives they recently arrested have been charged with plotting terrorist activities for the Iranian proxy group.

Hezbollah, a Shiite terrorist organization, takes direction from the regime in Tehran. The jihadi outfit was founded in 1985 in Lebanon as a military arm to expand Iran’s caliphatist ideology, and also to conduct attacks against the state of Israel. Since then, the group has expanded to operate as a worldwide terrorist network and has heavily involved itself in the Latin American drug trade.

The two alleged Hezbollah operatives, Ali Kourani, 32, of New York City, and Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Mich., “received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist mission,” acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a statement Thursday.

According to the FBI complaint, Kourani was tasked with conducting surveillance on military targets in New York City and then delivering that intelligence to his handlers in Lebanon. On behalf of the terrorist group, Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance on an FBI office, a U.S. Army National Guard facility, and a U.S. Army Armory facility. Kourani also cased several overseas diplomatic facilities belonging to the United States and Israel, the complaint says.

El Debek was reportedly trained as a bomb-maker for the terror group. The FBI said he “received extensive training as a bomb maker, has a high degree of technical sophistication in the area, and was trained in techniques and methods similar to those used to construct the improvised explosive device used in Hezbollah’s 2012 Burgas, Bulgaria, bus bombing.”

American intelligence has long been concerned about the presence of Hezbollah sleeper cells in America. The group uses its extensive drug network in Latin America to clandestinely move throughout the Western hemisphere.

Analysts have long feared that the weakness of the U.S. border with Mexico, coupled with Hezbollah’s relationship with the Mexican cartels, could allow for the easy smuggling of people and weapons into the United States.

Hezbollah is currently heavily engaged in the Syrian Civil War in support of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. On Thursday, U.S. forces in Syria shot down an armed drone and bombed militants aligned with the Iran/Hezbollah/Assad regime axis. The pro-regime drone reportedly fired on coalition forces in the area, but missed its target. (For more from the author of “Feds Bust Hezbollah Sleeper Cell Charged With Plotting NYC Attack” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Kansas Republicans Ditch All Pretense of Limited Government

/0 Comments/in , /by

In our times, Republican majorities aren’t worth the paper voters cast their ballots on. That’s the lesson out of Kansas this week, and it can easily happen in D.C.

In one swift blow, the signature achievement of a conservative administration was undone by liberal Republican lawmakers who valued increased government spending over small government and individual liberty and who wanted to distance themselves from an unpopular chief executive.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in Kansas passed a $1.2 billion tax increase that would raise income taxes and end a tax exemption on small businesses, affecting 330,000 farmers and business owners. The tax increase was a rebuke of Governor Sam Brownback’s 2012 tax cuts, which lowered income taxes and reduced some business taxes to zero in a successful effort to spur business growth.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, R, promised to veto the legislation, and he followed through on that promise. Tuesday evening, his veto was overridden.

“Senate Bill 30 is a $1.2 billion tax hike, making it the largest in state history,” Brownback warned the legislature the night before the vote. “This is bad for Kansas and bad for the many Kansans who would have more of their hard-earned money taken from them.”’

Brownback’s prognostications were not enough. Kansas faces a $900 million budget deficit, and the local media in Kansas has been on a crusade to blame the state’s budget problems on Brownback’s tax cuts – rather than the recalcitrant legislature’s refusal to cut spending and the Kansas Supreme Court’s mandates for increased spending. A sagging local economy is the result of external commodity markets beyond the government’s control. The governor’s approval rating is the worst in the country, and his political capital has been all but extinguished, as he is term-limited and rumors circulate that he will leave office for a federal position.

Legislatures respond to political incentives. The state Senate and House voted 27-13 and 88-31, respectively, to override Brownback’s veto.

“I look at this as bittersweet. I don’t like the bill. I hate the bill. But we have to move forward as a state,” said Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita.

“We have to move forward.” There, in a nutshell, is the mentality of a squish. “It doesn’t matter if the policy is harmful; the government needs to appear to do something.” “Doing something” always results in bigger government – in Kansas, that means a $1.2 billion tax increase.

Washington, D.C., has a similarly dismal political environment spurred by an unpopular chief executive. President Trump has accurately described the alleged Russia-collusion controversy surrounding his administration as a “cloud” that is emboldening Democrats to obstruct his agenda. Republicans, meanwhile, are looking for areas to compromise the conservative aspects of Trump’s agenda.

Take tax reform. Where President Trump promised big tax cuts on the campaign trail, Republicans in Congress are talking about raising some taxes to keep the plan “revenue neutral.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has made “revenue neutral” tax reform a condition of any tax bill package to come up for a vote in the Senate. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, has previously said President Trump may sign on to calls for revenue-neutral tax reform. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has floated the creation of a new border-adjustment tax to meet that condition.

“As far as I’m concerned, virtually any potential [offset] for reduced tax rates should be on the table, and that includes the so-called border-adjustment tax,” Hatch said Wednesday.

Raising taxes in any form would be a retreat from President Trump’s campaign agenda. But Republicans have already retreated from the Trump agenda in budget negotiations and on repealing Obamacare.

The lesson to be learned from Kansas is these retreats and betrayals will become worse if the president continues to hemorrhage his approval rating and if he lets distractions like the Russia controversy take the administration off-message. President Trump needs to reset on the issues that helped him win the presidency. He should come out strong, with a consistent message on terror, on Obamacare, on taxes. He should use his bully pulpit to put the legislature on the hot seat, demanding that they get to work to make his agenda become law.

Legislative accomplishment and good governance are the only things that can save Trump’s approval rating. The trains need to run on time for the political environment to improve. Failing this, Republicans will turn on the president as they turned on Gov. Brownback, and the American people will suffer under bad policy. (For more from the author of “Kansas Republicans Ditch All Pretense of Limited Government” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

NYT Offers Totally Inadequate Defense of Story Comey Says Is False

/0 Comments/in , /by

There’s something odd about the explanation The New York Times offered for standing by a blockbuster report that former FBI Director James Comey characterized as “almost entirely wrong” in testimony before Congress Thursday.

“Would it be fair to characterize that story as almost entirely wrong?” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton asked Comey during the hearing. “Yes,” Comey replied. And at another point in the hearing he said of the report, “in the main it was not true.”

The paper of record reported Feb. 14 that U.S. intelligence officials had intercepted repeated communications between the Trump campaign and senior Russian intelligence officials in the year leading up to the election, based on accounts from four former and current U.S. officials. The news firmly planted the as yet totally unsubstantiated narrative that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to sway the election in his favor.

Despite Comey’s strongly worded statements, The NYT announced Friday it had completed a review of the facts and would stand by the report in its entirety. The three reporters behind the story offered a dubiously reasoned explanation as to why in a separate piece that includes an odd admission about the review process — no one was able to get in touch with the original sources.

“The original sources could not immediately be reached after Mr. Comey’s remarks, but in the months since the article was published, they have indicated that they believed the account was solid,” the reporters wrote. (Read more from “NYT Offers Totally Inadequate Defense of Story Comey Says Is False” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.