Americans Warming to What Some Call ‘Mark of the Beast’

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When Patrick McMullan wants a Diet Dr Pepper while he’s at work, he pays for it with a wave of his hand. McMullan has a microchip implanted between his thumb and forefinger, and the vending machine immediately deducts money from his account. At his office, he’s one of dozens of employees who have been doing likewise for a year now.

McMullan is the president of Three Square Market, a technology company that provides self-service mini-markets to hospitals, hotels, and company break rooms. Last August, he became one of roughly 50 employees at its headquarters in River Falls, Wisconsin, who volunteered to have a chip injected into their hand.

The idea came about in early 2017, he says, when he was on a business trip to Sweden—a country where some people are getting subcutaneous microchips to do things like enter secure buildings or book train tickets. It’s one of very few places where chip implants, which have been around for quite a while, have taken off in some fashion.

The chips he and his employees got are about the size of a very large grain of rice. They’re intended to make it a little easier to do things like get into the office, log on to computers, and buy food and drinks in the company cafeteria. Like many RFID chips, they are passive—they don’t have batteries, and instead get their power from an RFID reader when it requests data from the chip (McMullan’s chip includes identifying information to grant him access to the building, as well as some basic medical information, for instance).

A year into their experiment, McMullan and a few employees say they are still using the chips regularly at work for all the activities they started out with last summer. Since then, an additional 30 employees have gotten the chips, which means that roughly 80 of the company’s now 250 employees, or nearly a third, are walking, talking cyborgs. (Read more from “Americans Warming to What Some Call ‘Mark of the Beast'” HERE)

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These Papers Wouldn’t Join in on the Anti-Trump Editorial ‘Collusion’

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“Encourage that kind of conspiracy”… Yesterday over 300 newspapers took part in a coordinated effort started by the Boston Globe to attack President Trump for his antagonistic attitude towards the press. The usual subjects in the blue-check mafia like CNN media critic/cheerleader Brian Stelter, Jim Acosta, et al. loved the coordinated effort. Some in the media – including some surprises – thought the effort would hurt, not help their standing with the public.

Geez, ya think?

Two left-wing California newspapers, the L.A. Times and the San Fransisco Chronicle, both decided against participating in the effort. Not because they support President Trump, but because they cherish a free and independent press.

Here’s what the L.A. Times had to say:

The Los Angeles Times editorial board does not speak for the New York Times or for the Boston Globe or the Chicago Tribune or the Denver Post. We share certain opinions with those newspapers; we disagree on other things. Even when we do agree with another editorial page — on the death penalty or climate change or war in Afghanistan, say — we reach our own decisions and positions after careful consultation and deliberation among ourselves, and then we write our own editorials. We would not want to leave the impression that we take our lead from others, or that we engage in groupthink.

The president himself already treats the media as a cabal — “enemies of the people,” he has called us, suggesting over and over that we’re in cahoots to do damage to the country. The idea of joining together to protest him seems almost to encourage that kind of conspiracy thinking by the president and his loyalists. Why give them ammunition to scream about “collusion”?

We mean no disrespect to those who have decided to write on this important subject today. But we will continue to write about the issue on our own schedule.

The San Francisco Chronicle echoed similar themes.

These two newspapers and the others who didn’t join the “groupthink,” as the Times called it, did more for their integrity and to increase the public trust in their outlets than the hundreds of papers who decided to take collective action against the president.

These outlets hit it right on the head. To a large number of Americans, the action taken by these newspapers smelled of collusion, looked like collusion, and was in fact collusion. The way to fight the perception that your industry is one big “cabal” is not to act like one big “cabal.” (For more from the author of “These Papers Wouldn’t Join in on the Anti-Trump Editorial ‘Collusion’” please click HERE)

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Scientist Rips Into Story Blaming Wildfires on Global Warming

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The Associated Press is out with a new analysis claiming that “science says” the amount of western U.S. land scorched by wildfires every year increases as temperatures go up.

However, while those things are true, simply correlating two data trends is not “science” as AP writer Seth Borenstein claims. And one expert says the simple correlation is meant to suggest a strong relationship between global warming and western wildfires that may not be there.

“This is not science,” University of Washington climate scientist Cliff Mass told The Daily Caller News Foundation. . .

However, the simple correlation between temperature and wildfires is meant to play into a broader media narrative that global warming is the main driver of fires, but Mass noted that other factors, including land management, play an important role.

“Correlation is not causation,” Mass said. “Temperatures are warming, that is true. Wildfire area in increasing in parts of the west, also true. But one does not necessarily cause another.” (Read more from “Scientist Rips Into Story Blaming Wildfires on Global Warming” HERE)

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Lawyer Who Defended Illegals Could Face Her Own Deportation

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After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2015, Esperanza Franco headed south to the border, where she worked defending immigrants who faced deportation. . .

Franco says her former employer’s mishandling of a work-visa application — she came here from Spain five years ago — has put her in danger of losing her legal status. She fears that in less than a month, she could end up being jailed in the same Arizona detention center where she has gone to visit clients. . .

The paradox of her situation is not lost on Franco, 28, who put her legal knowledge and Spanish-language skills to work in Tucson at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. . .

“We were all disappointed, but the organization wasn’t at fault,” said executive director Lauren Dasse, who questioned whether Franco was making “false accusations” to hurt the agency.

“It’s really bizarre,” said Domenic Powell, a second-year Penn Law student and friend of Franco’s. “She’s really worried she’s going to be pulled away from the place where she can practice law, and from the mission she’s been on to get people out of detention.” (Read more from “Lawyer Who Defended Illegals Could Face Her Own Deportation” HERE)

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Wait–This Is Why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Shut Down the Press at a Town Hall Event?

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a rising star in the Democratic Party, but also its far left flank. Some have called her the future. You can take that as a bad thing, given that her agenda will cost us tens of trillions of dollars over the next decade; the three-decade projection soar into hundreds of trillions ($218 trillion to be exact), or view that as a sign of GOP wins for the next decade due to voters suffering from the sticker shock. Her inability to grasp basic economics also doesn’t work in her favor. Still, she gained prominence to clipping incumbent Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY). She’s earned her time in the sun. But like Icarus, she may already be flying too close to the sun. She recently shut out the press at recent town hall events. The reason her campaign gave was that they wanted to create a “safe space” (via Queens Chronicle) [emphasis mine]:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Monday that stops on her “listening tour” throughout the district, like the one held a day earlier in Corona, are “intended for lively, compassionate discourse with a diversity of viewpoints.”

According to the Democratic nominee in the 14th Congressional District, she and the dozens of area residents who attended the event “talked about race, immigration, healthcare, disability rights and housing.”

But unless you were in the room on Sunday, you won’t know what specific community problems were mentioned or how Ocasio-Cortez planned to address them once she is sworn in. . .

“We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press. These were the first set of events where the press has been excluded,” Trent said. “This is an outlier and will not be the norm. We’re still adjusting our logistics to fit Alexandria’s national profile.”

(Read more from “Wait–This Is Why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Shut Down the Press at a Town Hall Event?” HERE)

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Uncovered DOJ Texts Reveal Secret Fear of Anti-Trump Collusion Conspiracy Being ‘Exposed’

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Communication between Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and Christopher Steele reveals Ohr’s deep involvement with the unverified dossier and the alleged surveillance of Trump campaign officials.

Fox News reviewed emails, texts and handwritten notes exchanged by the two men. Steele is the author of the dossier, which Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid Fusion GPS to create, and was used to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Steele, according to Ohr’s documents, was “very concerned about (former FBI Director James) Comey’s firing — afraid they will be exposed.”

According to Fox News, Steele had also asked Ohr to help with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska after rumors of U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia started circulating. They reportedly communicated even after Steele was cut as a source for giving confidential information to the media.

During his congressional testimony, former FBI agent Peter Strzok said that “the FBI received documents and material from Mr. Ohr.”

“Bruce Ohr, the fourth-ranking official at the Department of Justice, his wife works for Fusion GPS in the summer. He gets information and passed it to the FBI. That becomes the basis to spy on the Trump campaign, plain and simple,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity after Strzok’s testimony.

“This is the first time to my knowledge the FBI has admitted that, and it was good that we got some of that information out today.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced on Wednesday that Trump revoked former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance.

“First, at this point in my administration, any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Brennan are now outweighed by the risks posed by his erratic conduct and behavior,” he said. “Second, the conduct and behavior far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due him.”

In addition to Brennan, according to The Hill, Sanders announced that Trump is reviewing security clearances for former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Administration Director Michael Hayden, and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, among others.

On Friday, Trump said that he suspects he will “very quickly” revoke Ohr’s security clearance for his involvement in the dossier.

Ohr will testify before members of the Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Aug. 28, the Washington Examiner reported.

The Justice Department official will have to “answer why he had 60+ contacts with dossier author, Chris Steele, as far back as January 2016,” Rep. Mark Meadows said. “He owes the American public the full truth.”

House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy added, “We are going to be back and we are going to interview Bruce Ohr. Not in a public circus setting but in a deposition with no time limits and we are going to get to the bottom of what he did, why he did it, who he did it in concert with, whether he had the permission of the supervisors at the Department of Justice.” (For more from the author of “Uncovered DOJ Texts Reveal Secret Fear of Being ‘Exposed’” please click HERE)

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Demand for Concealed Carry Permits Is Skyrocketing

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The number of concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits is soaring to new levels despite the rabid anti-gun activism following a slew of school shootings over the past year.

Issued CCW permits increased approximately 275 percent over a ten-year period, from 4.6 million permits in 2007 to over 17.25 permits in 2018, according to a study released Friday by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC). The number has been increasing year over year and is forecast to continue trending upwards.

The most notable demographic increase was found to be among women and minorities. During the aforementioned time period, CCW issuance jumped 111 percent faster for women than for men. Moreover, compared to white individuals, permits for Asian and black individuals spiked 29 percent and 20 percent quicker, respectively.

“That increase in women and minorities mirrors their changing views on guns,” John Lott, the founder of the CPRC, told Fox News. “A poll by [the] Pew [Research Center] helps to explain why there has been such a large increase in concealed handgun permits among blacks and women. The poll shows a 25 percentage point increase in the proportion of blacks with a favorable view of gun ownership. This is the largest increase of any group.” (Read more from “Demand for Concealed Carry Permits Is Skyrocketing” HERE)

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Judge Says Government Does Not Have to Accept New DACA Requests

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By The Daily Caller. U.S. District Judge John Bates said the government does not have to accept new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) requests, on Friday, going back on his initial order from Aug. 3.

Illegal immigrants who were brought over as children, known as “Dreamers,” can renew their DACA applications, but no new requests will be processed, The Associated Press reported.

Bates initially ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to restart DACA by Aug. 23. USCIS warned restarting the program would force the agency to look at the uptick of roughly 50,000 new DACA applications instead of focusing on legal immigrant and guest worker applications, The Washington Times reported on Aug. 15.

The judge also delayed on providing special protections to DACA recipients. One of those protections is advance parole, where recipients can travel outside the U.S. and reenter the country, which can sometimes lead to citizenship.

Government officials said more than 100,000 new DACA applications and 30,000 advance parole requests would occur if DACA were completely rebooted and cause strain on USCIS, The Washington Times reported Saturday. Bates also feared confusion by restarting DACA even though he said illegal immigrant children were having their rights withheld, according to an opinion. (Read more from “Judge Says Government Does Not Have to Accept New DACA Requests” HERE)

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Federal Court Cases Could Decide Future of DACA

By The Boston Globe. Nearly a year after the Trump administration tried to kill an Obama-era program shielding young undocumented immigrants from deportation, dueling lawsuits will probably determine the future of hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the country as children.

On Friday, US District Judge John D. Bates ruled that the Trump administration does not have to accept new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program but must continue processing renewals while the future of the program is under appeal. . .

Judges in the District of Columbia, California, and New York have kept DACA alive for months, issuing injunctions and ordering the government to keep processing renewal applications. (Read more from “Federal Court Cases Could Decide Future of DACA” HERE)

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President Trump LASHES OUT at New York Times for Report on White House Counsel’s Mueller Connections

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President Donald Trump lashed out at The New York Times for a Saturday report indicating that White House Counsel Don McGahn has cooperated “extensively” with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, calling the scoop a “fake story,” and claiming that members of the media have called the president’s office to “complain and apologize.”

The Times reported Saturday that McGahn has provided more than 30 hours of interviews to Mueller’s team, “sharing detailed accounts of the episodes at the heart of” Mueller’s inquiry, which the Times seems to claim has now moved on to whether President Trump obstructed justice.

McGahn reportedly provided Mueller’s team with evidence about Trump’s firing of James Comey, his conversations with Attorney General Jeff Sessions about Comey’s replacement, and internal White House discussions about potentially dismissing Mueller altogether.

But the NYT doesn’t divulge the contents of McGahn’s conversations, just that the lawyer has already participated in more than 30 hours of questioning. Without that necessary context, it’s impossible to know whether McGahn provided any valuable information — or whether that information hurts or helps the White House.

(Read more from “President Trump Lashes out at New York Times for Report on White House Counsel’s Mueller Connections” HERE)

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Another Social Media Website Takes a Stand Against 3-D Printed Guns

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Since Cody Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, settled a lawsuit with the State Department over distributing blueprints for printing 3-D guns, Americans across the nation have been weighing in on whether or not those blueprints should be made readily available. Big Tech companies, particularly social media platforms, are having to decide whether or not they should get involved in this issue.

A couple weeks ago Facebook updated their community standards to prohibit blueprints from being shared via their social media platform. They decided to block access to CodeIsFreeSpeech.com, where a coalition of pro-gun groups shared Wilson’s blueprints.

Now, Reddit has also updated their prohibited goods and services: . . .

You may not use Reddit to solicit or facilitate any transaction or gift involving certain goods and services, including

Firearms, ammunition, explosives, or 3D printing files to produce firearms.

(Read more from “Another Social Media Website Takes a Stand Against 3-D Printed Guns” HERE)

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