Bolton: U.S. Withdrawal From Syria Will Happen Under One Condition

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On Sunday, White House national security advisor John Bolton made it clear the United States’ withdrawal from Syria is conditional. America needs to know Turkey will not target the U.S.’s Kurdish allies once our troops are removed, the Wall Street Journal reported.

From WSJ:

President Trump’s order to withdraw U.S. troops is a “cause-and-effect mission” that requires certain assurances from various players in the region before it can be executed, said Mr. Bolton, the first administration official to outline the conditions for withdrawal.

His comments marked the first public acknowledgment from the White House that the safety of Kurdish allies is being considered as part of its pending withdrawal plan, but it also indicates that a quick withdrawal was unlikely given challenging regional dynamics.

. . .

“Timetables or the timing of the withdrawal occurs as a result of the fulfillment of the conditions and the establishment of the circumstances that we want to see,” Bolton said. “It’s not the establishment of an arbitrary point for the withdrawal to take place as President Obama did in the Afghan situation…the timetable flows from the policy decisions that we need to implement.” (Read more from “Bolton: U.S. Withdrawal From Syria Will Happen Under One Condition” HERE)

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National Park Service Makes an Unprecedented Move During the Ongoing Government Shutdown

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With the government shutdown going into its third week, the National Park Service has had to get creative with how to continue managing various landmarks nationwide. In an unprecedented move, NPS will utilize entrance fees to pay for operations.

Interior Department’s acting secretary David Bernhardt on Saturday released a memo detailing what park managers are allowed to spend the funds on. Additional staff can be hired with the fees to clean restrooms, haul trash, patrol the parks and open areas that have been closed while politicians in Washington continue budget negotiations. Typically, when shutdowns happen, the National Park Service resorts to having a skeleton staff, something that has become unmanageable at popular parks and monuments.

“As the lapse in appropriations continues, it has become clear that highly visited parks with limited staff have urgent needs that cannot be addressed solely through the generosity of our partners,” National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith told The Washington Post. “We are taking this extraordinary step to ensure that parks are protected, and that visitors can continue to access parks with limited basic services.”

Some are questioning the legality of the move. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act says park entrance fees are expressly designated to support visitor services instead of operations and basic maintenance. Bernhardt’s Saturday memo made it clear that parks with available funds can use them on operations, like trash collection and sanitation, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations, and entrance staff “as necessary to provide critical safety operations.” . . .

“The Department of Interior is very likely violating appropriations law. I want to see our parks open, but I want to see our entire government open the right way, following the law,” McCollum told the Post. “We are certainly going to be doing oversight as the acting secretary moves forward with this, and he will be hearing from me directly. This will not open up the parks in any safe, effective manner for tourists to have a safe and enjoyable experience.” (Read more from “National Park Service Makes an Unprecedented Move During the Ongoing Government Shutdown” HERE)

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Jihadist Beheader in Oklahoma Cleared for Execution

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This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially cemented the execution of America’s least known Islamic terrorist. Jihadist convert Alton Nolen is now set to be put to death in Oklahoma, likely by nitrogen gas inhalation.

The Supreme Court’s October 1, 2018 rejection of Nolen’s final death penalty appeal went unremarked upon by news media so, partly as a result, I missed it. But the Nolen case is very much worth remembering, along with all terror attacks that occur on U.S. soil, if not just for the victims and their survivors but for lessons that can and must be learned.

The September 24, 2014 attack in Oklahoma is somewhat notable in the annals of many officially uncalled terrorist strikes in that Nolen emulated a favorite ISIS death tactic no doubt learned online: he fully beheaded a co-worker—the beloved wife, mother, and grandmother Colleen Hufford—inside the Moore, Oklahoma food processing plant where they both worked. Shouting “Alluah Akbar” throughout the attack, Nolen used the same oversized butcher knife on the neck of a second co-worker, Tracy Johnson, when the company’s chief operations officer, a reserve law enforcement officer named Mark Vaughn, burst in with an AR-15 rifle. He shot and wounded Nolen as Nolen disengaged from his second victim and charged at him with the bloody knife.

Such an attack must generate a particular horror in its witnesses and, when Nolen is finally put to death, one should keep in mind what Hufford must have experienced in her last moments. . .

This attack and its repercussions warrants our full national attention and should be properly memorialized until all related matters are finally resolved, not least for any comfort this can still bring the victim, survivors, and witnesses. Terrorism acknowledgement and media treatment can encourage the nation to comfort those who were there and help them close the emotionally important loop of knowing why loved ones and innocents died, who did it, and for what cause. (Read more from “Jihadist Beheader in Oklahoma Cleared for Execution” 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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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.

[…]

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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