Senator Took Money From Democrat Who Admitted to Hitting Wife

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Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono (D.) has stepped into the spotlight this week following sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, blaming “men in this country” for perpetuating sexual assault and telling them all to “just shut up.”

Hirono’s Democratic colleague in the Senate, Tom Carper (Del.), who has admitted to punching his wife hard enough to give her a black eye, appears to be getting a pass from Hirono, who, even since his admission was revealed last January, has taken campaign money from him.

Neither Hirono nor any of her Democratic colleagues have commented on the record since the Free Beacon uncovered a 1998 interview, in which Carper said, “Did I slap my wife 20 years ago? Yes.” . . .

Hirono’s campaign took $1,000 from Carper’s First State PAC in June of this year, according to Federal Election Commission records. . .

Also taking money from Carper since his admission was revealed last December: Democratic senators Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), John Tester (Mont.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), and Joe Manchin (W.V.). (Read more from “Senator Took Money From Democrat Who Admitted to Hitting Wife” HERE)

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Ben and Jerry Targets Seven Congressional Districts With a Spoonful of Sugar

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Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, launched a new campaign aimed at flipping seven Congressional districts across the country. The effort, known as “Ben and Jerry (the people, not the corporation) Take Back Congress, Flavor by Flavor,” is a contest the two launched on MoveOn.org.

“We’re teaming up with MoveOn to help 7 of the best progressive candidates running for Congress. We need a Democratic majority to check President Trump’s unrestrained power,” the contest on MoveOn.org said. “And we also need to send progressive champions to Congress who will fix our health care system with Medicare for All, protect clean air and water, and get big money out of politics.”

Average Americans have the opportunity to create seven flavors and names that “capture the essence of what each candidate stands for.”

The duo plans to make a limited, homemade batch of the winning flavors and raffle off the pints to supporters, similar to what they did for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election, POLITICO reported.

The seven chosen candidates include:
• Jess King who’s challenging Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11)
• Ammar Campa-Najjar, who’s challenging Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-50)
• Lauren Underwood, who’s challenging Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14)
• Aftab Pureval, who’s challenging Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01)
• J.D. Scholten, who’s challenging Rep. Steve King in (IA-04)
• James Thompson, who’s challenging Rep. Ron Estes (KS-04)
• Stephany Rose Spaulding, who’s challenging Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05)

(Read more from “Ben and Jerry Targets Seven Congressional Districts With a Spoonful of Sugar” HERE)

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Here’s How Much Miami’s New Restroom for the Homeless Cost – Complete With Needle Exchange

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By The Blaze. Homeless advocates are praising Miami for the installation of the first public restroom in the downtown area – complete with a needle exchange. . .

The $300,000 project was spearheaded by the Downtown Development Authority, a “semi-autonomous tax-funded agency.” . . .

The restroom will be open 12 hours a day, and will have attendants during those hours hired from a Miami homeless shelter.

The city is gearing up to end an agreement to protect the homeless from law enforcement, and the bathroom is one way to manage the homeless population as they pursue the new policy.

The agreement came as a result from a lawsuit by the ACLU that accused police of acting unconstitutionally when arresting homeless people for “life-sustaining” activities like urinating in public or sleeping on a sidewalk. (Read more from “Here’s How Much Miami’s New Restroom for the Homeless Cost – Complete With Needle Exchange” HERE)

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Seattle Homeless-Services Providers See Mixed Results, Some to Face Penalties

By The Seattle Times. eattle homeless-service providers are helping more homeless people off the streets this year than last, but 35 percent fell short of new performance targets in their contracts, according to data released on Friday.

City officials said Friday that Seattle would impose financial penalties for missing contracted goals intended to boost the number of people who found “permanent exits” from homelessness, ending months of speculation among service providers, some of which have previously asked city officials to reconsider how performance figures are calculated. . .

Earlier this year, the city announced $34 million in new contract awards, marking the first time homeless-services contracts were competitively rebid in a decade. In another important development, the city tied pay to performance and set an ambitious goal to double the number of people who would be moved out of homelessness and into permanent housing. All told, Seattle has planned to spend more than $86 million on more than a dozen departments to address the homelessness crisis this year. (Read more from “Seattle Homeless-Services Providers See Mixed Results, Some to Face Penalties” HERE)

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White Male Dem Calls on House Females to Protest ‘White Men Senators’

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Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat with white skin, went on a curious rant against his congressional white male colleagues, calling out the senators in charge of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination proceedings as — what, racism against Christine Blasey Ford? Misogyny? . . .

“Women for decades have faced this situation,” Garamendi said, Breitbart reported. “They have always when they come forward with an accusation of assault or rape. They become the victim in the hearing. And we have to put a stop to that. Women across this nation should be outraged at what these white men senators are doing to this woman. This woman needs a fair hearing, as every woman does who brings forth a charge such as professor Ford is bringing forth.”

Joy Behar, co-host of “The View,” made a similar charge against the senators on the Judiciary Committee, calling them out for being “white men, old by the way,” protecting a man, Kavanaugh, who’s “probably guilty,” she said.

But Garamendi is a white guy — taking political potshots at his fellow white guys. Odd argument to make, it would seem. Moreover, he’s calling on his female House mates — ostensibly, the white ones, too — to mount a sort of rebellion against these white senators. (So perhaps it is misogyny, not racism, that he’s alerting to here?) . . .

His words: “I would expect to see the women representatives in the House of Representatives rise up in anger and disgust at what the Senate Republican men are doing. Ramming through this hearing without an adequate opportunity for professor Ford to gather together the witnesses that she may need, that the public needs, that the Senate needs, and the investigation that can be done by the FBI. I would expect the female members of the House … joined in by members such as myself to march over to the Senate and to protest loudly and clearly on behalf not only of professor Ford, but on behalf of the women of America.” (Read more from “White Male Dem Calls on House Females to Protest ‘White Men Senators'” HERE)

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March for Our Lives Co-Founder Quits, Has Regrets About Things He Said

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March For Our Lives co-founder Cameron Kasky told Fox News radio on Wednesday that he has left the organization that he helped create and that he has regrets about some of the things that he has said since he entered the public spotlight.

Kasky told Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson and Marie Harf: “I’m very regretful of a lot of the mistakes that I’ve made along the way.”

“One of the things I never really did was watch myself,” Kasky said. “If I was on a screen I kind of tried to run away from it. I’m not entirely sure why. But, looking back on that it’s like you said, you touched off on this very well in the intro, I’m not going to kick myself for it because I’m 17. Despite the fact that I thought I did at the time, I don’t know everything.” . . .

Kasky said he would redo the conversation that he had with Rubio and that he has plans to meet with him next month where he’ll bring up how he spoke to him during the town hall event.

“This summer when March For Our Lives went on the summer tour that we embarked on, I met that person in Texas who’s got that semi-automatic weapon because that’s how they like to protect their family,” Kasky continued. “I met the 50-some-odd-percent of woman who are pro-life, even though I thought it was preposterous that a woman could be pro-life and not pro-choice at the time. I learned that a lot of our issues politically come from a lack of understanding of other perspectives and also the fact that so often young conservatives and young liberals will go into debate, like I said earlier, trying to beat the other one as opposed to come to an agreement.” (Read more from “March for Our Lives Co-Founder Quits, Has Regrets About Things He Said” HERE)

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Sesame Street Creators Answer Question About Bert and Ernie Being Gay. The Left Isn’t Happy

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A decades-old controversy received additional fuel this week when a former “Sesame Street” writer confirmed he felt Bert and Ernie represented a same-sex couple on the children’s puppet show when he wrote them.

After Mark Saltzman’s remarks were published by Queerty, the show’s production company issued a statement once again asserting that the show’s puppet characters “do not have a sexual orientation” and were intended to represent a platonic relationship.

“As we have always said, Bert and Ernie are best friends,” Sesame Workshop wrote. “They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.”

Frank Oz, an early collaborator on the show and a creator of Bert and Ernie, also weighed in to deny the puppets were meant to be gay.

“It seems Mr. Mark Saltzman was asked if Bert & Ernie are gay,” he tweeted. “It’s fine that he feels they are. They’re not, of course. But why that question? Does it really matter? Why the need to define people as only gay? There’s much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness.”

The comment earned widespread criticism among those who felt an identifiable same-sex couple on the show would be an important step toward inclusion.

Oz responded directly to many of those critics, offering his defense of maintaining the friendship Bert and Ernie were originally created to reflect.

As of Tuesday evening, the tweet containing Sesame Workshop’s original statement had been replaced by an update.

“Sesame Street has always stood for inclusion and acceptance,” the company wrote. “It’s a place where people of all cultures and backgrounds are welcome. Bert and Ernie were created to be best friends, and to teach young children that people can get along with those who are very different from themselves.”

That statement earned some praise from those who felt the original statement was insufficiently inclusive.

Oz has continued to tweet on the topic, offering some additional context and revealing that he has learned some important lessons after hearing from those offended by his tone.

“Although it doesn’t matter to me if someone is gay or viewed as gay, I learned it does matter to a great many people who feel they are not represented enough,” Oz wrote. “The Tweet discussion was worth it for me to just learn that.” (For more from the author of “Sesame Street Creators Answer Question About Bert and Ernie Being Gay. The Left Isn’t Happy” please click HERE)

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Mom Shares Post About Near-Abduction Involving Son. After Tearful Interviews, She’s Arrested.

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By The Blaze. Police arrested a Louisville, Kentucky, mother after she wrote a harrowing Facebook post about a near-abduction in a Walmart parking lot involving her son. After she gave tearful interviews to the media, police revealed that the woman faked the entire story — and only found out after they’d reviewed surveillance footage. . .

In her post, [Emily] Lyons said that she was loading groceries into her car in the retailer’s parking lot when a woman approached her to tell her how cute her 10-month-old son Jaxson was.

Lyons said that in that moment, a man came up and attempted to steal her son from the grocery cart, and was only unsuccessful because her child’s thighs were chubby, and the man had trouble extricating the child from the cart. . .

The department reviewed surveillance footage of Lyons’ experience in the parking lot, and determined that no one — male or female — had tried to take Lyons’ son that day or any other day.

According to WAVE-TV, Lyons has an October court date in connection with the incident. The station also reported that Lyons “agreed that the incident did not occur,” according to her citation, and faces a charge of filing a false police report. Lyons may also face a mental health evaluation in connection with the false report. (Read more from “Mom Shares Post About Near-Abduction Involving Son. After Tearful Interviews, She’s Arrested.” HERE)

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Police: Woman Files False Abduction Report

By WHAS 11.

(This video originally appeared HERE)

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‘The Middle’ Star Reveals How He Has Kept His Faith While Working in Hollywood

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Atticus Shaffer, star of ABC’s “The Middle,” a popular sitcom that went off the air earlier this year after a nine-year run, is an outspoken Christian who has openly shared his perspective on faith, Hollywood and the harrowing journey he has faced to overcome the side effects of osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle-bone disease.

Shaffer, 20, recently took audience questions during an appearance on PureFlix.com’s “Pure Talk,” revealing, among other issues, how he has navigated the complex world of Hollywood without compromising his faith.

“You keep your focus on Him,” he said of God. “You talk with Him about everything.”

Shaffer also shared his two favorite books of the Bible: John and Isaiah. He noted that he and his mother do a daily Bible study, bouncing back and forth between the Old and New Testaments in an effort to more deeply understand the unity of the Scriptures. . .

On a personal and professional level, Shaffer said he finds joy in getting to be a storyteller in Hollywood — and said that he’s hoping to be able to tell powerful stories through his production company, while also continuing to perform in new projects. (Read more from “‘The Middle’ Star Reveals How He Has Kept His Faith While Working in Hollywood” HERE)

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Emmy Host: ‘the Only White People That Thank Jesus Are Republicans and Ex-Crackheads’

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Emmy co-host Michael Che drew laughs and complaints for a joke he made about only Republicans and ex-crackheads being willing to thank Jesus at awards shows.

During the 70th Annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday night, Che and fellow Saturday Night Life star Colin Jost kicked off the program with jokes mostly poking fun at the entertainment industry.

“We just want to say a quick hello to the thousands of you here in the audience tonight and to the hundreds watching at home,” said Jost.

“My mother is not watching,” Che noted. “She says she doesn’t like watching white award shows because you guys don’t thank Jesus enough.”

He continued, “That’s true. The only white people that thank Jesus are Republicans and ex-crackheads.”

The joke seemed to not go over particularly well in the room and drew some negative responses online.

One woman tweeted, “Michael Che – do not knock JC – Jesus is just all right with me.”

Another woman wrote, “Very poor taste and not funny at all! By the way Michael Che, I am white, I thank Jesus all day, I am not republican and I have never done crack in my life.”

Stil another commented, “Hollywood may have laughed when Emmys host Michael Che said the only white people who thank Jesus are ‘Republicans and ex-crackheads,’ but Tinseltown’s latest middle finger to Middle America fell flat in flyover country.”

Evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted that Che’s mother has a point: “We don’t thank Jesus enough — all people, all races.”

Actress Chrissy Teigen said, “Thank you, Jesus” to her husband John Legend during the Emmys, joking that one was for Che.

Legend received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal in the title role in the television adaptation of the play “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

During the Emmy’s opening song, actor Sterling Brown, star of NBC’s “This Is Us” also made light of Hollywood’s lack of political diversity.

“This room is so diverse from Democrat to liberal Democrat,” he sang. (For more from the author of “Emmy Host: ‘the Only White People That Thank Jesus Are Republicans and Ex-Crackheads’” please click HERE)

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Disturbing: Roseanne Comes Forward to Reveal How Network Plans to ‘Kill Her off’ on Show

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By Conservative Tribune. Will Roseanne Barr’s character be killed off by an opioid overdose on the spin-off of her ABC show? That’s at least what Barr is telling one YouTube host. . .

At first, it looked like the show itself was finished, but instead of ABC killing off the effort entirely, he newly Roseanne-less program got christened “The Conners.” It’ll debut this October and will almost certainly be full of on-the-nose moments of boilerplate liberalism so obvious it’ll be like an after-school special for the pink knit-hat set . . .

“Oh ya, they killed her,” Roseanne told Brandon Straka on his YouTube show “Walk Away.” (Click here for the hour-long interview. The discussion about the television show starts about the half-hour mark.)

“They have her die of an opioid overdose.” . . .

I’m halfway surprised her character didn’t overdose in the street where her body was run over by a campaign bus ferrying Ted Cruz to a campaign event. And yes, I’m aware the show is set near Chicago and not anywhere near Texas. That’s just how bad I expect this soft reboot to be. (Read more from “Disturbing: Roseanne Comes Forward to Reveal How Network Plans to ‘Kill Her off’ on Show” HERE)

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Roseanne Barr Says African-American Comics Called Her After Tweet: ‘They’re the Most Forgiving People in the World’

By Yahoo. On Tuesday, Roseanne Barr gave an exclusive interview to Dr. Oz, in yet another attempt to explain and apologize for her racist tweet.

In May, she compared former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape. However, she says that tweet was meant to critique the Iran nuclear deal — which Jarrett assisted with and which Barr claims threatens Israel and therefore is anti-Semitic.

“Anti-Semitism is what the tweet was about,” said Barr. “And the whole Iran deal is the most anti-Semitic thing that I personally have ever witnessed in my lifetime.” . . .

“The first people who called me were my African-American family members and comics,” she said. “They thought it was a joke and were defending free speech when they called me.” . . .

“My experience with African-Americans is they’re the most forgiving people in the world,” she said. “Their whole culture is very forgiving … they forgave … they continue to improve in this country after the history of this country.” (Read more from “Roseanne Barr Says African-American Comics Called Her After Tweet: ‘They’re the Most Forgiving People in the World'” HERE)

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