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"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
George Washington
WWW.MOEISSUESOFTHEDAY
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Friday, May 3, 2019
All Gave Some~Some Gave All
*****
Grandma having a lot of fun
Don’t let grandma decide where to go to have fun on your vacation otherwise, she will decide to go to a strip club and have her photo taken surrounded by many young and virile men. What makes this photo more awkward was that grandma was sitting on the lap of one of the men. This is one awkward photo that will also definitely embarrass her grandchildren. But it will also give them a good laugh knowing that grandma had a good sense of humor.
Read more: http://livestly.com/awkward-vacation-photos/24/#ixzz5mnrl4FBf
Phoenix’s St. Joseph Catholic Church Destroyed by Fire on Feast of St. Joseph
By Craig Bannister 
Fire destroys St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Phoenix, Ariz. (Screenshot)
As parishioners prepared to celebrate their church’s 50th anniversary, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona, was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday - the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
No one was injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation, the Diocese of Phoenix reported in a statement Wednesday:
“This morning we awoke to the tragic news of the fire at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Phoenix. The Phoenix Fire Department is investigating the fire. The church building was destroyed and there were no injuries. We will have more to share as it becomes available.
“We are heartbroken for the St. Joseph Catholic community and we are grateful for the bravery of the firefighters and first responders.
“There are tentative plans to celebrate Masses somewhere on the church property this weekend.
“Today on this feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, we ask the community to join us in prayer.”
“The church was going to celebrate its 50th anniversary jubilee in just a few months,” local Fox 10 news reports. “St. Joseph Parish was established by Bishop Francis Green of Tucson on August 18, 1969. Fr. John Cullinan was appointed as the first pastor,” the church’s website says. “Sunday masses were first held in the cafeteria of Paradise Valley High School for about 300 families.”
In an interview with Fox 10, Fr. Fred Adamson expressed gratitude to the other local Christian communities that have offered their support:
“It just goes to show you in the midst of tragedy how people pull together and how our faith carries us through.”
Catholics celebrate the annual Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1.
AG Barr Is ‘Reviewing’ Whether Steele Dossier Was Russian Disinformation
By JACK CROWE
Attorney General William Barr testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2019.(Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)
Attorney General William Barr said during his Wednesday congressional testimony that he is “reviewing” the question of whether the infamous Steele dossier was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Barr was asked about the origins of the opposition-research file compiled on then-candidate Donald Trump by former British spy Christopher Steele during his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Can we state with confidence that the Steele dossier was not part of the Russian disinformation campaign?” asked Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas).
“No, I can’t state that with confidence and that is one of the areas that I’m reviewing. I’m concerned about it, and I don’t think it’s entirely speculative,” Barr replied.
The Steele dossier, which was initially commissioned by the Clinton campaign, alleged in part that then-candidate Trump had been compromised by Russian intelligence agents who obtained a recording of him engaged in lewd acts with prostitutes. Mueller’s investigation, which failed to establish any coordination between Trump campaign associates and Russia, disproved many of the claims in the dossier, including the allegation that Michael Cohen traveled to Prague to meet with Kremlin agents who were orchestrating payments to hackers.
The FBI agents investigating the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia relied on information contained in the dossier in determining the trajectory of their probe. The agents’ reliance on the dossier was made clear in their use of the unverified opposition research to obtain a FISA warrant to surveil Trump campaign national-security adviser Carter Page, as well as their lengthy description of the dossier in a 2017 draft counterintelligence report.
Steele, who worked in Russia and Eastern Europe during his time as a British intelligence officer, relied on Russian sources, who, he admitted in court, may have fed him disinformation.
Democrat Ilhan Omar Blames US for Failure of Democratic Socialism in Venezuela
by John Gage
Rep. Ilhan Omar is criticizing the bipartisan support in Congress for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, blaming U.S. policy rather than dictator Nicolás Maduro for the "devastation" facing the country.
“You know, I mean, a lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela. And we’ve sort of set the stage for where we’re arriving today,” the Minnesota Democrat said Wednesday in an interview with "Democracy Now!."
“This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States,” Omar said on the progressive television program.
Omar’s opposition to “regime change” comes after the United States and dozens of other Western nations declared Guaidó the legitimate leader of Venezuela following irregularities in the election Maduro oversaw.
National security adviser John Bolton said yesterday the United States is keeping “all options” on the table as the administration considers its next steps in responding to the political crisis.
Guaidó announced Tuesday morning that the final phase of “Operation Freedom” to oust Maduro and restore democracy to the country had begun.
In February, Omar attacked Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, accusing him of supporting violence against civilians as U.S. policy.
"I suppose there is a question in there, and the answer is that the entire thrust of American policy in Venezuela is to support the Venezuelan people's effort to restore democracy to their country. That's our policy," Elliott responded at the hearing.
Nellie Ohr's 'Hi Honey' emails to DOJ about Russia collusion should alarm us all
BY JOHN SOLOMON,
First came the text messages between FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, which gave us a painful glimpse at potential political bias inside America’s most famous crime-fighting bureau.
Now, a series of “Hi Honey” emails from Nellie Ohr to her high-ranking federal prosecutor husband and his colleagues raise the prospect that Hillary Clinton-funded opposition research was being funneled into the Justice Department during the 2016 election through a backdoor marital channel. It's a tale that raises questions of both conflict of interest and possible false testimony.
Ohr has admitted to Congress that, during the 2016 presidential election, she worked for Fusion GPS — the firm hired by Democratic nominee Clinton and the Democratic National Committee to perform political opposition research — on a project specifically trying to connect Donald Trump and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to Russian organized crime.
Now, 339 pages of emails from her private account to Department of Justice (DOJ) email accounts, have been released under a Freedom of Information Act request by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch. And they are raising concerns among Republicans in Congress, who filed a criminal referral with the Justice Department on Wednesday night.
They clearly show that Ohr sent reams of open-source intelligence to her husband, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, and on some occasions to at least three DOJ prosecutors: Lisa Holtyn, Ivana Nizich and Joseph Wheatley.
The contents tracked corruption developments in Russia and Ukraine, including intelligence affecting Russian figures she told Congress she had tried to connect to Trump or Manafort.
“Hi Honey, if you ever get a moment you might find the penultimate article interesting — especially the summary in the final paragraph,” Nellie Ohr emailed her husband on July 6, 2016, in one typical communication. The article and paragraph she flagged suggested that Trump was a Putin stooge: “If Putin wanted to concoct the ideal candidate to service his purposes, his laboratory creation would look like Donald Trump.” Nellie Ohr bolded that key sentence for apparent emphasis.
Such overt political content flowing into the email accounts of a DOJ charged with the nonpartisan mission of prosecuting crimes is jarring enough. It raises additional questions about potential conflicts of interest when it is being injected by a spouse working as a Democratic contractor trying to defeat Trump, and she is forwarding her own research to her husband's department and co-workers.
For instance, the same July 6, 2016, email that forwarded the anti-Trump screed also included research on an oligarch named Rinat Akhmetov, a Ukrainian that Nellie Ohr told Congress she was researching for Fusion for possible ties to Trump.
“Rinat Akhmetov is someone who also was associated with Manafort. Now, he’s Ukrainian, and right now, I can't remember whether people explicitly, you know, pointed to particular organized crime activity that he’s suspected of,” she testified.
Other emails that Nellie Ohr forwarded to her husband and the other DOJ officials contained links to open-source information, such as news articles and academic research, that would later surface as evidence of alleged collusion between Trump and Russia. They included that:
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then-Russian ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak attended an April 2016 foreign policy speech by Trump. Former Attorney General Jeff Session eventually was forced to recuse himself from the Russia investigation as attorney general in part because he met Kislyak at that speech;
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then-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page gave a July 2016 speech in Moscow. Nellie Ohr bolded a passage in the article noting Page’s company “continues to work with Russian investments” and included someone tied to the Russian energy giant GazProm.
House GOP investigators who reviewed Nellie Ohr’s emails believe that their timing may be essential to understanding how the false Russian narrative — special counsel Robert Mueller's report did not establish there was Trump-Putin collusion — may have gotten such credence inside DOJ and intelligence circles despite its overtly political origins.
For instance, just 24 days after the anti-Trump screed was emailed, both Ohrs met in Washington with British intelligence operative Christopher Steele. Nellie Ohr testified that she had known Steele from past encounters and learned at that July 31, 2016, meeting at the Mayflower Hotel that Steele, like herself, was working for Fusion GPS on Trump-Russia research. She said she learned that Steele had concerns that he hoped the DOJ or FBI would investigate, with help from her husband.
The next day, Bruce Ohr used his official DOJ position to go to then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe with Steele’s allegations (later to become known as the Steele dossier), and the bureau opened its first investigation into Russia collusion.
When asked by House lawyers during her deposition last year, Nellie Ohr testified that she did not discuss her Fusion GPS research before fall 2016 with anyone except possibly her husband (which she refused to answer, citing marital privilege) and Steele at the hotel meeting.
Bruce Ohr testified that his wife gave him a thumb drive of research to provide to the FBI during the 2016 election.
“At any point prior to fall of 2016, did you discuss your research on organized crime and Donald Trump with individuals outside of Fusion GPS, outside of this Mayflower breakfast meeting?” Nellie Ohr was asked during her congressional testimony last fall. “No,” she testified.
But the DOJ emails show that Nellie Ohr frequently forwarded open-source research on Russian organized crime figures, Trump, Manafort and developments in Ukraine with implications for the Trump campaign.
For instance, she directly alerted her husband and two DOJ prosecutors specializing in international crime on May 30, 2016, to the discovery of “black ledger” documents in Ukraine. “Reported Trove of documents on Ukrainian Party of Regions’ Black Cashbox,” Nellie Ohr wrote her husband, Holtyn and Wheatley, attaching a news article on the announcement of the Ukrainian release of the documents.
Those documents eventually led Manafort to resign from the Trump campaign and face criminal prosecution by Mueller’s team for improper foreign lobbying.
Two months earlier, in March 2016, Holtyn asked Bruce Ohr for permission for Wheatley and another DOJ prosecutor to speak to Nellie Ohr. “Do you think she would be comfortable with talking to them, and would it present any conflict of interest issues for her or for you?” Holtyn wrote.
Bruce Ohr forwarded the request to his wife: “Hi honey! I trust you are okay with this? Love, B.” She wrote back two consecutive emails with the words “Sure!” and “Cool.”
There is no indication in the emails about what the three discussed. But Holtyn and Wheatley were among those who received some of Nellie Ohr’s Russia/Ukraine research. Holtyn sent a second email suggesting Nellie Ohr had "impressive knowledge" on a topic that was redacted from the released email chain and could be "of assistance" to the DOJ. Officials told me they believe the topic was Russian oligarchs, a subject her husband was working on in his official role.
“Thanks so much Nellie. I’m back in country and will touch base soon on the email you sent us yesterday,” Wheatley wrote on May 4, 2016, after Nellie Ohr forwarded information on a Spanish arrest warrant against Russian crime figures.
On more than one occasion, Nellie Ohr forwarded articles about Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminum magnate and former Manafort business partner. She testified that Deripaska was one of the focal points of her research.
As it turns out, the Russian also was being targeted by her husband and Steele. Emails, text messages and handwritten notes show that, during the 2016 campaign, they repeatedly discussed approaching Deripaska about delivering dirt on Manafort. The FBI eventually did so in fall 2016.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of those who questioned Nellie Ohr last fall, said he is reviewing the accuracy of her testimony given the recent emergence of the emails.
“If Ms. Ohr used her time at the opposition research firm to place information directly in the hands of investigators, it would be a severe conflict of interest,” Meadows told me. “Contrary to Ms. Ohr’s congressional testimony, it appears that she funneled research gathered during her time at Fusion GPS directly to the DOJ. A draft of a criminal referral for giving false testimony to Congress is currently being reviewed.”
Joshua Berman, a lawyer for Nellie Ohr, did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment.
Tom Fitton, head of Judicial Watch, said the memos raise serious questions of a conflict of interest hidden behind a marriage: “The documents show that Nellie Ohr had extraordinary access to the Justice Department. Nellie Ohr may as well as have had a desk at DOJ."
Whatever transpires, it is clear Nellie Ohr was no ordinary spouse during the 2016 election. She was a robust source of Russia information for her husband and his colleagues inside the DOJ, at the same time her employer was trying to smear Trump.
And that should concern us all.
John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work over the years has exposed U.S. and FBI intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal scientists’ misuse of foster children and veterans in drug experiments, and numerous cases of political corruption. He serves as an investigative columnist and executive vice president for video at The Hill. Follow him on Twitter @jsolomonReports.
Barr Calls for the End of Using the DOJ as a ‘Political Weapon’ Amid Rage over Mueller’s Report
Attorney General William Barr called for the stoppage of using the “criminal justice process” as a “political weapon” during the Wednesday Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
During a line of questioning from Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Barr — who released the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian election interference last month — was asked if he had “exonerated or cleared” President Donald Trump from obstruction of justice charges.
Barr responded by saying he “didn’t exonerate” the president and that he “did not believe there was sufficient evidence” to charge Trump with obstruction of justice. He then stated that establishing whether or not the president would be charged with obstruction “was the job of the Justice Department.”
The attorney general then proclaimed that “the job of the Justice Department” was done and that the “American people” could decide in the next election whether Trump would remain in office.
“The job of the Justice Department is now over; that determines whether or not there was a crime. The report is now in the hands of the American people. Everyone can decide for themselves — there’s an election in 18 months, that’s a very democratic process.”
Barr on the Mueller Report:
"The job of the justice department is now over ... the report is now in the hands of the American people. Everyone can decide for themselves, there's an election in 18 months, we're out of it, we have to stop using the DOJ as a political weapon."
“But we’re out of it,” continued Barr, before he called for the cessation of “using the criminal justice process as a political weapon.”
Barr’s comments came as he was grilled by senators on Wednesday over Mueller’s 448-page report into Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election as well as the alleged conspiracy between the Trump presidential campaign and the Kremlin to win the race.
The attorney general is expected to face another round of tough questioning by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) held a vote in the committee on Wednesday to allow party committee counsels to question Barr, which passed along party lines.
As IJR Red previously reported, House Judiciary Republican Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) pushed back on Nadler’s idea on Tuesday, bringing up that the last time “staff” were allowed to question a congressional witness was during “the Iran-Contra Affair.”
Trump DOJ Killing Cronyism… Democrats MIA
Why should the burden of tempering Hollywood’s anti-free market antics fall squarely on the shoulders of Republicans in the legislative and executive branches?
By Michael PappasWhy should the burden of tempering Hollywood’s anti-free market antics fall squarely on the shoulders of Republicans in the legislative and executive branches?
Democrats are quick to call out unsubstantiated allegations of cronyism when it comes to members of the Trump administration, but it appears that when one is a poster boy for their causes they either look the other way or assist them in their anti-competitive efforts.
Spielberg climbed to the top of the Hollywood ladder and now wants to prevent up-and-comers from doing the same.
To understand the scope of the problem, look no further than Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg, who, according to reports, wanted to impose protectionism for the Old Guard with a plan that would have crippled the providers of 21st-century mediums of viewing, like Netflix.
A member of the board of governors for the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Spielberg seemingly resented the fact that independent films like Roma won Oscars, including for Best Director, this year. The success of his competitors bothered him so much that he reportedly suggested imposing a minimum time limit films had to appear in theaters to qualify for awards.
Translation: Spielberg climbed to the top of the Hollywood ladder and now wants to prevent up-and-comers from doing the same.
Steven Spielberg
Thankfully, the Trump administration responded with lightning speed. Makan Delrahim, the Antitrust Division czar under William Barr’s Department of Justice, sent a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences warning the institution that if “the Academy – an association that includes multiple competitors in its membership – establishes certain eligibility requirements for the Oscars that eliminate competition without pro-competitive justification, such conduct may raise antitrust concerns.”
While the Trump White House’s action was enough to stop Spielberg’s anti-competitive idea from receiving a formal place in AMPAS’ rule-making last week, why didn’t anyone on the left call it out, and why does the left go out of its way to assist the Hollywood elite in its quests to circumvent the competitive marketplace?
Repudiating cronyism should have no political boundaries but Democrats seem incapable of doing so when the culprit is a fellow team member. Spielberg, who through his Amblin Television is working on a high-brow project with Hillary Clinton and who received a visit from Joe Biden for a $5,000 campaign check, is certainly no exception to this rule.
Democrats do not just look the other way at Hollywood cronyism; they help fuel it.
Democrats do not just look the other way at Hollywood cronyism; they help fuel it.
As CNBC noted, this has been seen with everything from New York mayor Bill de Blasio endorsing the city’s subsidies for big studio productions to Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti proposing doubling their government incentives in the city, despite both of them initially promising to end big business tax breaks.
While the left continues to advance special favors for the entertainment industry, the Trump Justice Department – through its work against Spielberg and others – continues to make marketable progress in stopping its cronyism, and there are still a number of outstanding fights that it can and should win.
For example, Barr’s DOJ is reviewing the antitrust settlement agreements, known as consent decrees, that have for over 70 years stopped two of the entertainment industry’s biggest, most powerful monopolies – the American Society of Composers and Songwriters (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) – from turning the industry’s free marketplace into a Hollywood wasteland.
Like Spielberg’s AMPAS in the movie industry, ASCAP and BMI are institutions composed of competitors – in this case, music publishers – that work in concert to advance their own financial interests. This unholy alliance between the rivals has locked approximately 90 percent of music’s performing rights marketplace under ASCAP and BMI’s control, potentially opening the door for price-gouging.
For years, the consent decrees as implemented by the DOJ have blocked the vast majority of ASCAP and BMI’s anticompetitive behavior by mandating the issuance of music licenses at fair market rates – protecting small business by restoring free market forces to the otherwise anti-competitive industry.
Democrats need to wake up and remain consistent with their principles
While ASCAP and BMI are begging for more favors, the music monopolies are just as predatory as Spielberg and the rest of Big Hollywood and must remain under close watch. Thanks to the investigative work of Republicans such as Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), William Barr and the rest of the Trump DOJ should have no problem realizing this reality. Would this be the case if a modern-day Democrat was currently stationed on Pennsylvania Avenue? The answer appears to be no.
While the Trump administration and its Republican allies in the Senate certainly deserve applause for their efforts in combating the cartels of Hollywood, this should not be a battle fought alone. And that’s what it has been for quite some time.
Democrats need to wake up and remain consistent with their principles, even when they conflict with the interests of their most significant campaign contributors. Until then, the anti-free market tactics of Hollywood will never fully be squelched.
G’day…Ciao…
Helen and Moe Lauzier
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