One Good Thing in Omnibus Bill, and It Has to Do With the Jailed Doctor Who Helped Us Kill Bin Laden

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By Bizpac Review. . .The $1.3 trillion spending bill signed by the president on Friday withholds $33 million in foreign aid to Pakistan until the release of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA locate and kill terror leader Osama bin Laden, Fox News reports.

Afridi assisted American intelligence by running a fake hepatitis vaccine program that allowed the CIA to confirm bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, Pakistan via comparison of DNA samples.

Lt. Col. Michael Waltz, a counter-terrorism adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, called Afridi’s role in the bin Laden capture-or-kill mission “critical.”

While hailed as a hero in America, the physician was imprisoned on charges of treason in his home country and reportedly tortured by Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency, including being burned with cigarettes and electrocuted. (Read more from “One Good Thing in Omnibus Bill, and It Has to Do With the Jailed Doctor Who Helped Us Kill Bin Laden” HERE)

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What’s Included (and What’s Not) in the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Bill

By Forbes. Tax Administration. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finally gets funding. After years of cuts, the bill allocates $11.4 billion to IRS, $196 million more than last year. The money is to be used to improve customer service and fund a “business systems modernization program” meant to bring IRS systems into the 21st century. Also included in that number is an extra $320 million “to be used solely for carrying out” the new tax law passed in December.

Border Security. The bill provides $1.6 billion in funding for border security. However, don’t start mixing up the plaster just yet: The funding can’t be used for “the wall.” Language in the bill only allows fencing similar to what’s already in place.

Opioid Crisis. The bill includes $500 million to fund research on opioid addiction and billions more in other programming and studies (including those related to opioid alternatives). Lest you doubt the impact of the crisis on the economy, the word “opioid” appears 24 times in the bill. Yes, a federal government spending bill.

Elections. The bill includes $380 million for states to shore up voting systems, including electronic enhancements.

Military. Medical care for veterans, including Medical and Prosthetic Research, gets a bump under the bill. There is also more money for troops (including a 2.4% pay raise, the largest since 2010).

(Read more from “What’s Included (and What’s Not) in the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Bill” HERE)

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This Is the Comment Joe Biden ‘Regrets’ Saying About Trump

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By The Daily Wire. Former Vice President Joe Biden says he regrets suggesting that he could have beaten up a teenaged Donald Trump had the pair attended high school together.

Speaking to the podcast, Pod Save America, Biden said that he’s concerned with the coarsening of political discourse, and is sorry that he contributed to the decline.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said because I don’t want to get down in the mosh pit with this guy,” Biden said.

Last week, Biden told an audience in Florida that “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.” Biden was talking about how he might have handled a hypothetical teen-aged Donald Trump’s “locker room talk,” which Biden said was offensive to women. (Read more from “This Is the Comment Joe Biden ‘Regrets’ Saying About Trump” HERE)

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Biden Supporters Are Thrilled Over His Fight With Trump

By The Hill. . .It’s only heightened speculation that Biden, 75, is serious about challenging Trump.

The former vice president sat out the 2016 presidential race, and has heard supporters say he would have defeated Trump if he’d been in the running. Trump triumphed over Democrat Hillary Clinton by winning the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — states Biden sees as practically his political base . . .

In each case, a Trump insult or taunt was turned into a fundraiser pitch to Democrats eager to resist the president.

“The fundraising email practically writes itself,” the Biden World source said.

Even Republicans saw the comments as a positive for Biden. (Read more from “Biden Supporters Are Thrilled Over His Fight With Trump” HERE)

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‘Blasphemous’ Ice Cream Chain Coming to U.S.

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Sundaes will never be the same, say Christian activists troubled by the invasion of the U.S. market by a Canadian ice-cream chain called “Sweet Jesus” that seems hell-bent on a marketing plan centered around soft-serve blasphemy.

The Toronto-based company founded by Andrew Richmond and Amin Todai in 2015 now has 19 locations in Canada, and one at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. It has plans to open in other U.S. locations, such as Mall of America.

One ad on the company’s website shows a Nativity Scene, but instead of Baby Jesus, there’s an ice-cream cone. Many of their ads are replete with cherished Christian and Catholic symbols that are used to mock faith, including a rosary beads, a crucifix with a corpus, and angels.

And there’ something just downright creepy about the Mad Magazine-style imagery of children in the company’s ads. Some of the children have bruises and appear to be abused. Some say the ads sexualize children and have accused the company of pandering to pedophiles . . .

There are also Satanic symbols interspersed throughout the ads, such as upside-down crosses, lightning bolts, skulls, roaring wildcats, and images that suggest vampires and blood. (Read more from “‘Blasphemous’ Ice Cream Chain Coming to U.S.” HERE)

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Trump Issues Major Decision on Transgender Members in the Military

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By The Blaze. In a late Friday evening announcement, the White House announced that transgender persons would be banned from the military, with a few exceptions . . .

“Today the President rescinded his previous memorandum on transgender service in the military in order to allow Secretary Mattis new policy developed through extensive study by senior uniformed and civilian leaders including combat veterans,” the statement read.

“The experts’ study set forth a policy to enhance our military’s readiness, lethality, and and effectiveness,” it continued. “On the advice of these experts the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security have concluded that the accession or retention of individuals with a history of diagnosis of gender dysphoria – those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery – presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality.”

“This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards – including those regarding the use of medical drugs – equally to all individuals who want to join and five for the best military force the world has ever seen,” the statement concluded. “The Secretary of Defense’s memorandum and accompanying report have been made public today.” . . .

Gender dysphoria is the technical term for transgender persons, those who don’t consider themselves to have a gender that fits into traditional, normal categories. Previously the condition was considered to be an abnormal psychiatric condition, but it is now gaining acceptance as merely another “state” of gender existence, especially among the left. (Read more from “Trump Issues Major Decision on Transgender Members in the Military” HERE)

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White House Announces Ban on Most Transgender Service Members

By CBS News. President Trump announced Friday a new transgender policy for the military that would ban most transgendered people from military service. He revoked the blanket ban announced last summer and said in a memorandum that he would defer to the recommendations of Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Mattis, according to a court filing Friday, stated that transgendered people with gender dysphoria — that is, who feel their emotional and psychological identity to be the opposite of their biological sex — will be disqualified from military service, except in specific circumstances.

The White House said retaining troops with a history or diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” — those who may require substantial medical treatment — “presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality.”

The announcement was expected, since it was part of President Trump’s executive memo in August 2017 reinstating a pre-2016 ban on transgender military service. . .

The ban does not go into effect immediately because the ban is the subject of several ongoing lawsuits. (Read more from “White House Announces Ban on Most Transgender Service Members” HERE)

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President Trump Signs the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus That NO ONE READ

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On Friday, President Donald Trump signed the 2,232-page, $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress less than 48 hours after it was introduced.

The president held a press conference, declaring that although he was unhappy with several provisions of the bill, he would sign it.

“There are a lot of things I’m unhappy about, but we were forced to sign,” the president said, making a new promise: “I will never sign a bill like this again.”

The president touted the importance of military funding in the omnibus, citing national security concerns as one of the reasons he signed the bill.

“My highest duty is to keep America safe, nothing more important,” Trump said.

Criticizing several spending measures shoehorned into the bill, Trump called on Congress to grant the president a line-item veto power for spending bills. He also demanded that the Senate repeal the filibuster rule, which Democrats have abused to require a 60-vote threshold on nearly every piece of legislation considered by Congress during the Trump presidency.

Earlier, the president fueled speculation that he would veto the bill, issuing a tweet expressing frustration that Congress did not come to a deal on DACA, codifying amnesty for so-called “Dreamer” illegal aliens, and lamenting that a wall on the southern border was not funded.

But ultimately, the president surrendered his constitutional check on Congress and buckled to the swamp. The federal budget deficit was just increased by $1 trillion under a Republican president and with Republican control of Congress. (For more from the author of “President Trump Signs the $1.3 Trillion Omnibus That NO ONE READ” please click HERE)

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Craigslist Pulls Personal Ads Section After Congress Passes New Sex-Trafficking Law

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By The Blaze. Craigslist removed its personal ads section in the wake of a bill to stop online sex-trafficking was passed in Congress this week, the New York Post reported . . .

The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act holds website owners criminally liable for content users post, according to the report. That includes prostitution ads and sex-trafficking content.

Visitors to the personal ads section on Craigslist now receive a message that states:

US Congress just passed HR 1865, “FOSTA”, seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully.

Any tool or service can be misused. We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day.

To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!

(Read more from “Craigslist Pulls Personal Ads Section After Congress Passes New Sex-Trafficking Law” HERE)

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Craigslist Drops Personal Ads Due to Bill

By The New York Post. Craigslist has yanked its personal ads section in the wake of an anti-online sex trafficking bill that passed in Congress this week . . .

Reddit also banned sex-worker subreddits, including Escorts, Male Escorts, Hookers and SugarDaddy, shortly after the bill was passed.

Previously, websites like Craigslist and Backpage faced broad protections from legal liability for user-posted content.

FOSTA has been criticized by some lawmakers and sex workers for making it harder to combat sex trafficking. (Read more from “Craigslist Drops Personal Ads Due to Bill” HERE)

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Trump Announces His Plan for Bump Stocks

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By The Blaze. . .President Trump tweeted about the ban of bump stocks, for which he appeared to blame former President Obama.

“Obama Administration legalized bump stocks. BAD IDEA,” the president tweeted. “As I promised, today the Department of Justice will issue the rule banning BUMP STOCKS with a mandated comment period.”

“We will BAN all devices that turn legal weapons into illegal machine guns,” he concluded . . .

Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a statement in support of the president’s announcement about the controversial gun accessory.

The statement read, “today the Department of Justice is publishing for public comment a proposed rulemaking that would define ‘machinegun’ to include bump stock-type devices under federal law—effectively banning them.” (Read more from “Trump Announces His Plan for Bump Stocks” HERE)

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Trump Moves Closer to Banning Bump Fire Stocks

By CNN. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration will issue a new rule banning bump fire stocks, a gun accessory that makes it easier to fire rounds quickly from a semi-automatic weapon, mimicking automatic fire.

The announcement comes a day before large numbers of protesters are expected to descend on Washington, DC for “March for Our Lives,” a rally organized to push for stricter gun laws in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month.

“Obama Administration legalized bump stocks. BAD IDEA. As I promised, today the Department of Justice will issue the rule banning BUMP STOCKS with a mandated comment period,” Trump wrote. “We will BAN all devices that turn legal weapons into illegal machine guns.”

Shortly after Trump’s tweet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department would clarify rules that define bump stocks within the definition of “machine gun” under federal law, a move that would ban the sale of such accessories. (Read more from “Trump Moves Closer to Banning Bump Fire Stocks” HERE)

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Virginia Man Threatens to Murder GOP Congressman – Here’s Why

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By The Daily Caller. A Virginia man was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to murder U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor and two of his staffers.

Wallace Grove Godwin, a 69-year-old Virginia Beach resident, made the threats during a visit to Taylor’s office on Thursday.

According to court documents filed in federal court on Friday, Godwin became upset during a discussion about marijuana policy. Taylor, a 39-year-old Republican, supports legalizing marijuana. He co-sponsored a 2017 bill that would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.

“Scott is having an event this Saturday. I am going to get my shotgun and do something about this. I will just handle this myself,” Godwin said, before pointing to two staffers and saying: “You two are next.”

Taylor was not at the office at the time, according to court documents. (Read more from “Virginia Man Threatens to Murder GOP Congressman – Here’s Why” HERE)

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Man Arrested for Threatening to Murder Virginia Congressman

By Politico. A Virginia Beach man was charged Friday with threatening to murder his local congressman, Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Friday.

According to court documents, Wallace Grove Godwin, 69, visited Taylor’s office on Thursday and threatened to shoot him and two staffers at a Saturday event. The dispute arose, according to the District Attorney’s office, over a discussion about marijuana policy.

“Scott is having an event this Saturday. I am going to get my shotgun and do something about this. I will just handle this myself,” Godwin allegedly said to a Taylor staffer. He then pointed to two staffers in the room and said, “You two are next,” authorities said.

Gowdin is expected to appear in a federal courthouse in Norfolk, Va. on Friday afternoon. The maximum penalty for threatening a member of Congress is 10 years in prison.

Lawmakers have clamored for more funding for personal security over the last year amid increased hostility at local events — and especially after last year’s baseball practice shooting that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) gravely wounded. (Read more from “Man Arrested for Threatening to Murder Virginia Congressman” HERE)

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Motion Filed Against Judge Who Jailed Kim Davis for Christian Beliefs

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Lawyers for Kentucky Christian county clerk Kim Davis are appealing a decision by Judge David Bunning, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning’s son, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for lawyers defending same-sex duos.

The same-sex couples, who sued Davis for not issuing them marriage licenses in violation of her religious beliefs, won a temporary order from Bunning. But in a brief filed with the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Liberty Counsel argues that no fees are owed because the case was dismissed when the state changed the law so that Davis’ name would not be required to appear on marriage licenses, the outcome she originally sought . . .

The brief points out that Bunning was so anxious to rule in favor of the homosexual duos that he didn’t wait until he had jurisdiction in the case before holding a hearing . . .

Liberty Counsel noted the litigation was an attempt to “force an ‘all or nothing’ choice between same-sex marriage on one hand, and religious liberties on the other, with no regard whatsoever for any reasonable accommodation.”

The legal team pointed out that some of the plaintiffs traveled through jurisdictions where they could have gotten licenses in order to reach Davis’ jurisdiction, where they demanded she comply. (Read more from “Motion Filed Against Judge Who Jailed Kim Davis for Christian Beliefs” HERE)

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Hannity Digs up Dirt on Mueller’s Past and Finds He’s Not So Clean After All

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Fox News host Sean Hannity devoted time on his Tuesday show to examining the past of special counsel Robert Mueller and his findings were intriguing.

Hannity referred to a report from Fox News’ Sarah Carter citing Mueller’s career as a prosecutor in the 1980s. When Mueller was serving as assistant U.S. attorney, four men were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for a crime they did not commit and the special counsel was in charge of the case when it happened.

“Robert Mueller’s career has been anything but impeccable,” Hannity said. “One of the worst stains on his record comes from his time Boston, where he served as assistant U.S. attorney and acting U.S. attorney in the ’80s. During this time notorious Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger, he was actively engaged by the FBI as an informant. The relationship between Bulger and the bureau was wrought with nothing but corruption and criminal collusion.”

“Bulger’s FBI handler, guy by the name of John Connolly covered up for many of the horrific crimes that were committed by Bulger and his associates, including one instance where four men were wrongfully framed and convicted and imprisoned for decades — all for a murder it turns out they did not commit,” Hannity continued. “The men were ultimately exonerated. A judge awarded $101 million in damages, but not before two of the men actually died in prison. Robert Mueller was the U.S. attorney in charge while these men were rotting in prison while certain agents in the FBI under Mueller covered up the truth.” (Read more from “Hannity Digs up Dirt on Mueller’s Past and Finds He’s Not So Clean After All” HERE)

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