Tom Faranda's Folly

Text of Cardinal Dolan public letter today

UPDATE: The Archdiocese sent around a PS -  Findings and Recommendations

This was sent around this morning by email.

Dear Member of the Family of the Archdiocese:

Last September, I asked Judge Barbara Jones, a much-respected former Federal Judge and prosecutor, to review, evaluate, and recommend improvements to the Archdiocese of New York’s response to the sexual abuse crisis that has been confronting our Church.

Now, after an intense year in which Judge Jones and her team have conducted an exhaustive examination of our policies, procedures, and protocols, a complete review of every priest file, and held countless hours of interviews with archdiocesan staff, including me, Judge Jones has provided me with a summary of her findings and recommendations.  These were released during a press conference today, and, true to my promise to you for transparency, accountability, and action, I share her summary of findings and recommendations with you.  They are posted at archny.org/JudgeJones.

As you will see, Judge Jones states that, “the Archdiocese has complied with the Charter in all material respects.  It has faithfully followed its policies and procedures and responded appropriately to abuse complaints, and is committed to supporting victim-survivors of abuse.” and that she has “confirmed that no Archdiocesan priest or deacon against whom there is a substantiated complaint of abuse of a minor is in ministry today.”

Judge Jones also makes some thoughtful recommendations, including that we expand our formal reporting protocol with the ten New York-area District Attorneys to cover allegations of sexual abuse of non-consenting adults, that we conduct annual child protection training, that we continue to compensate victim-survivors through the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, and that we undertake a number of technological enhancements to ensure protocols are always followed.  A number of these recommendations are already in the process of being implemented, and I can assure you that the others will soon be as well.

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude not only to Judge Jones and her team for the weeks and months of hard work they have devoted to this important task, but also to you, God’s people of this Archdiocese, for your willingness to allow me to work to regain your trust.  It is my hope and prayer that the release of these findings and recommendations will be a big step forward in that process.

With prayerful best wishes, I am,

Faithfully in Christ,

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan

Archbishop of New York

NY Times editorial: "Why the Trump Impeachment Inquiry Is the Only Option"

No surprise - the surprise would be if they didn't support overturning the 2016 election. Booming economy, negotiations (not shooting) with N. Korea and China... BUT it's the social issues that count ... and the Supreme Court... And for many people we all know "My Party right or wrong, but right or wrong my Party."

President Trump may have finished second in the popular vote, but he is the legitimate president. In the normal course of events, his mismanagement of the nation’s affairs would be left for the electorate to repudiate, through support of a challenger in a primary race or, failing that, in the general election. But the course of events is not normal. Mr. Trump campaigned as an iconoclast, but it became clear early in his administration that his disruptiveness was aimed less at bringing fresh thinking to bear on stale policymaking than at assaulting the vital institutions of governance themselves. He has attacked the legitimacy of law enforcement, of intelligence agencies, of Congress and of the courts — of anyone he judges to threaten him politically.

You lend $$$, expecting to get back less than your lent? How negative yields work...

There are no negative yield situations (that I know of anyway) regarding US bonds or intraday lending between banks or the fed. However elsewhere in the world ...

Finally ate at Croton's 105-twenty

The Restaurant on Grand St. that replaced Tangine's and is pretty popular. I think it's been open about nine months; maybe longer. Here is a review in Westchester Magazine from this past February.  105-Twenty Brings a Cool New Vibe to Croton-on-Hudson . One thing I'd heard from several people is that it is noisy. It is, BUT we ate on the back porch which was very nice and quiet.

I thought the food was quite good. We split a Filet Mignon taco as an appetizer and Brigid had some sort of cheese and lobster sandwich on thick bread while I had the house burger. We each had a drink - Brigid a souped up Old Fashioned and I a Captain Lawrence Octoberfest beer (which I wouldn't have again, but the Old Fashioned was nice)  and the total bill was $75 before tip.

We will definitely go back and ask to be seated on the porch.

Note Old Fashioned in the foreground ...

The Impeachment Team has assembled

With thanks to ... you know who you are ...

"The Sanders plan to abolish American billionaires."

From the WSJ, Best of the Web afternoon email (yesterday). I especially like the point about Sanders not updating his ideas since the 70's. I've often thought that decade was the last time he read a book.

Yes Bernie Can!*

“Billionaires should not exist,” says Sen. Bernie Sanders (Socialist, Vt.). This week he sketched out a tax plan to ensure they won’t, at least in the United States.

According to the Sanders presidential campaign website:

It would start with a 1 percent tax on net worth above $32 million for a married couple. That means a married couple with $32.5 million would pay a wealth tax of just $5,000.

The tax rate would increase to 2 percent on net worth from $50 to $250 million, 3 percent from $250 to $500 million, 4 percent from $500 million to $1 billion, 5 percent from $1 to $2.5 billion, 6 percent from $2.5 to $5 billion, 7 percent from $5 to $10 billion, and 8 percent on wealth over $10 billion. These brackets are halved for singles.

Mr. Sanders often falsely claims that Scandinavia demonstrates the success of his socialist schemes, even though Scandinavian countries are home to some of the freest economies in the world. The confusion arises because many Sanders talking points haven’t been updated since the 1970s, when these countries were conducting disastrous experiments in government expansion. News of several decades of reform and revival hasn’t yet reached Sanders campaign headquarters.

When it comes to wealth taxes, once again we can thank our Scandinavian friends for showing why a Sanders scheme presented as a way to plunder the rich would also make the average citizen poorer. The Scandinavian experience also suggests that if Mr. Sanders ever does manage to enact a wealth tax, he really could achieve his goal of abolishing American billionaires.

Sweden abolished its wealth tax in 2007. In March of that year, as the government was preparing for repeal, Karl Ritter of the Associated Press reported:

The tax, which a handful of developed countries retain, was designed to keep the rich from getting richer -- but is increasingly seen as harming primarily the not-quite-rich upper middle classes.

The move, expected to be approved by Parliament later this year, underscores the country’s efforts to keep successful Swedes and their capital at home by reforming its fabled but costly welfare state.

“It’s not sustainable to keep taxes that radically diverge from other countries,” Finance Minister Anders Borg told the A.P. “Not if you want the money to stay in the country.”

The A.P. further noted the impact of one of the world’s heaviest tax burdens:

Not surprisingly, the wealthiest Swedes have fled the country, including IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, No. 4 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people. He lives in Switzerland.

Five-time Wimbledon winner Bjorn Borg moved to tax-haven Monaco in the late 1970s... The government says more than 500 billion kronor ($70 billion) of Swedish capital is outside of the country’s borders.

“This is money that if it was brought home could be invested to create jobs and welfare in Sweden,” the four coalition leaders said in a joint statement this week.

Denmark had already abolished its wealth tax years earlier. Nordic neighbor Finland axed its wealth tax shortly before Sweden. And while Norway still taxes wealth, it has been reducing the burden in recent years while also cutting rates on corporate income.

Back here in the U.S., Vermont’s most famous Marxist aims to stem the ocean of money flowing out of the U.S. in the event he succeeds. As part of his plunder plan, Sen. Sanders is promising exit taxes at rates up to 60% of wealth to discourage billionaires from fleeing the U.S. and taking up residence in capitalist countries.

This might allow Mr. Sanders to hold many existing billionaires captive for a time. But his plan surely provides enough incentive for the next generation of entrepreneurs to find other locales to build their fortunes.

Thank goodness there’s a giant asterisk on the Sanders plan to achieve his dream of a country without billionaires. The Sanders plan is not constitutional, for the same reason that Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax is unconstitutional. The founders banned such direct taxes and the 16th Amendment only authorized the taxation of incomes, not balance sheets.

******************

Perhaps the moderators at October’s Democratic presidential debate will ask Mr. Sanders to comment on his unconstitutional wealth grab—not to mention the success of Scandinavian tax reform.

Full text of the whistleblower complaint

It's here. Draw your own conclusions. Name of the whistleblower not given.

Whistleblower complaint - full text with minimal redactions

UPDATE: Well you certainly are welcome to read it - took me 12 minutes - but to save you the trouble, there is no "there" there. Lots of "Officials have informed me", "I do not know", "I was not a direct witness", and quotes from Bloomberg and The Hill websites. Also from Rudy Giuliani's twitter feed. So I just saved you 12 minutes.

Much more useful to read is the actual phone call transcript - CBS News Unclassified Ukraine transcript 

The middle class economic boom

This from Sentier Research - "provides access, interpretation, evaluation, and analysis of data on American households." Incredible rise in household income (average household 2.5 persons) in the last two and a half years vs. the prior two eight year administrations. 10X the gain of the Bush years and 4X that of the Obama years.

The Trump Ukraine Transcript - here it is

Takes six or seven minutes to read. Draw your own conclusion.

Unclassified Ukraine transcript

And in case that link doesn't work, here's another -

CBS News Unclassified Ukraine transcript

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-ukraine-unredacted-call-transcript-read-ukraine-president-released-by-white-house-today-2019-09-25-live-updates/

 

 

Saudi Arabia closes down new Chick-Fil-A for lack of homophobia

RIYADH—Chick-fil-A executives were delighted when Riyadh development authorities invited the restaurant to open a new location in the city. They love serving delicious chicken sandwiches and spreading Chick-fil-A cheer wherever they're invited, even if they disagree with the worldviews, religions, and lifestyles of certain areas.

Unknown to them, however, Saudi Arabia only asked Chick-fil-A to come because they thought they were supposed to be homophobic, anti-LGBT, spreading hate and fear of gay people wherever they went.

"When we heard how homophobic Chick-fil-A was, we thought it was a perfect fit," said King Salman. "But they ran their restaurant for a solid three months here and never once did they stone a gay person, throw a gay person off a roof, or even use anti-LGBT slurs against them."

"In fact, all they would ever say was 'My pleasure!'" he said, clearly exasperated. "It was infuriating."

The last straw came when anti-Chick-fil-A protesters arrived in the city to protest Chick-fil-A. Gay people were seen kissing each other and chanting gay slogans outside the restaurant. But Chick-fil-A didn't shoot them, imprison them, or torture them. They simply went out front and offered them free chicken sandwiches.

"Chick-fil-A does not adequately reflect the anti-LGBT values we hold dear in Saudi Arabia," Salman said. "They are canceled."

Rudy Giuliani rages against (1) impeachment inquiry & (2) the Bidens

Wow.  Almost apoplectic. If he has half of what he says he has on Biden and his son ...well we'll see. The first video is 50 seconds as a commentator on CNN says, yes Biden has a problem. The second one is Giuliani, on with Laura Ingraham. Be fun to see what happens when he's interviewed by Chris Cuomo.

And here's Giuliani in berserker mode-

Trump at the UN, speaks out for Religious Freedom

UPDATE: See the prior posting I put up; Greta Thunberg also at the UN.

This is off the PBS channel. 11 minutes long. You'd think a speech about tolerance and universal acceptance would go down well with a PBS audience. Guess not - just read the comments. Haters out in force. 

The Biden-Clinton method of making $$$ overseas.

From the WSJ Best of the Web column Tuesday.

How was Vice President Joe Biden ’s son able to hold a lucrative job with a Ukrainian company while Mr. Biden was successfully pressuring the government of Ukraine to fire a prosecutor investigating the company?

Readers have had plenty to say about the issue. In a comment posted under yesterday’s column, William Turner questions why the Ukrainian company would pay Hunter Biden $50,000 per month. “They could have gotten one of the Clintons for $49,000,” opines Mr. Turner.

Another reader, Sandra Greenheck, reasonably notes that Joe Biden’s claim that he manages potential conflicts of interest by avoiding discussion of the business activities of his family members is wholly inadequate. Says Ms. Greenheck:

Joe could claim he has no control over his wayward son. But Joe was in control of his own actions in Ukraine. He could have easily told Barack to get someone else for the anti-corruption work in Ukraine because of the appearance of a conflict of interest. Would have been a no-brainer under normal conflict-of-interest governance rules. But he chose not to go that route.

This raises the question of exactly which rules applied in this case. Former President Bill Clinton has often thrived in parts of the world with legal and governance systems which are very different from those in the U.S. Yesterday’s column noted:

... while the sums collected by Hunter Biden were not fully Clintonian, the former vice president’s son seems to have benefited from doing business outside the United States. Given the different legal systems, Burisma probably had more leeway to hire a Biden than a U.S. company would have if it wanted to hire the son of a high-ranking official in a foreign government.

Readers might reasonably demand a more precise answer than “probably” and so this column contacted attorney Alex Frishberg of the Frishberg & Partners firm in Kiev, Ukraine. He responds via email:

You are right: the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could prove problematic for a US firm to hire the son of a high-ranking Ukrainian official if there is evidence that such employment amounts to giving a bribe to the parent related to a particular transaction.

On the other hand, Ukraine has no restrictions whatsoever (legal or ethical) on Ukrainian company hiring a son of a high-ranking US official. This is perfectly legal due to the absence of any applicable Ukrainian laws.

The absence of any applicable laws obviously makes for a nice operating environment for Americans who carry well-known political brand names and show up to do “business” in a foreign locale. The environment seems particularly welcoming if the father of such an American happens to be the sitting Vice President of the United States and has been specifically tasked with leading U.S. policy in the foreign locale.

************

Speaking of cleaner politics here at home—and U.S. governance—shouldn’t Joe Biden have recused himself instead of demanding the firing of a prosecutor investigating his son’s company?

Young climate activist Greta Thunberg calls us all out at the UN.

It's worth mentioning (it's not very often mentioned) that Greta has a mild form of autism and should not be put into stressful situations. FULL DISCLOSURE - a close relation of mine has the same mild form - I know what I'm talking about.

WSJ: The (Real) Cure for Income Inequality

Right again.

Income gains are now rising faster for low-wage workers.

The left’s apocalyptic economic predictions for the Trump Presidency haven’t panned out. With jobs plentiful and wages rising at the fastest rate in a decade, liberals are doubling down on alarms about inequality. The inconvenient evidence is that low- and middle-income folks are reaping more economic benefits than during the Obama years.

Democrats flogged last week’s Census report that showed health coverage and Medicaid enrollment declined in 2018. But they ignored the other side of that story: Worker earnings increased by 3.4% while the poverty rate declined 0.5 percentage points to 11.8%, the lowest level since 2001. Benefit rolls are shrinking as low-income workers earn more.

*****************

As a result, real median earnings for female households with no spouse present jumped 7.6% last year. The poverty rate among female households declined 2.7 percentage points for blacks, four percentage points for Hispanics and 7.1 percentage points for their children. Remember this the next time Senator Kamala Harris complains that Mr. Trump’s policies are harming women and minorities.

These findings reinforce Labor Department monthly reports that have shown stronger employment and earnings gains in industries dominated by women such as health care and hospitality. The jobless rate for black women last month fell to a historic low of 4.4% and neared a nadir for Hispanic women at 4.2%.

Democrats also keep saying the middle class is shrinking, but income gains are being distributed more evenly. The share of households making less than $35,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars has fallen 1.2 percentage points since 2016 while those earning between $50,000 and $150,000 and more than $200,000 have both increased by 0.8 percentage points.

More Americans are making more across the income spectrum, which has kicked some in the middle class into the ranks of the affluent.

**************

Democrats focus on income inequality in part because it will always exist to some extent, and some statistic can always be found to show that some people are much richer than others. What really matters for a healthy democratic society, however, are economic opportunity and income mobility.

By that measure the faster growth and tight labor markets of the Trump years are finally lifting incomes for folks at the bottom after the slow-growth Obama years. The Obama policy mix, which Democrats want to return to only more so, put a priority on reducing inequality rather than increasing economic growth. But higher taxes, hyper-regulation and income redistribution resulted in slower growth and more inequality during the Obama Presidency.

With the major exception of misguided trade policy, the Trump economic policy mix has been targeted at increasing the pace of growth. The gains to workers that have resulted underscore that the best way to reduce inequality are faster growth and job creation that require employers to compete for employees.

Column from Fr. Rutler; pretty good

I occasionally post the author and speaker (and Catholic convert) Fr. George Rutler's weekly email column. He's also the pastor of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Manhattan.

This is the latest; takes under three minutes to read -

As with quotations that are variously attributed, journalists including Charles Anderson Dana of the “New York Tribune” and John B. Bogart of the “New York Sun” are said to have coined the aphorism: “‘Dog bites man’ does not make the news, but ‘Man bites dog’ does.” Human nature is fascinated by what is exceptional and scandalous. But “skandalon” really means more than that. It is a “stumbling block” that trips up the way mere mortals think things are supposed to be.  

   Theologically, there is the “Scandal of Particularity.” It has two aspects. First is the doctrine that the Creator of the universe has solicitude for every minute detail of it, even every sparrow and each hair on your head (cf. Matt. 10:29). This has ramifications even in mathematics where the “Chaos Theory” proposes a “Butterfly Effect,” meaning that something as slight as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in New Delhi might cause a hurricane in New York. So too it is with people.

   Every human action can have consequences beyond fathoming. There is the prime example of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, that started a domino effect leading to the First World War. His chauffeur spoke only Czech and did not understand the orders of German security officers to follow a route safe from assassins. So he drove according to the original plan and came within feet of a radical Bosnian who had not expected such luck. It might be said that 17 million people eventually died because one man took a wrong turn.

   The second part of the Scandal of Particularity is the acknowledgement that Christ, whose divine nature has no beginning or end, came to our small planet with a human nature as the unique savior from sin and death. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2a). His divine nature enables him to see “the big picture” while his human nature involves him in the minutest details of ordinary life. If this is scandalous, it is because presently we are limited to categories of time and space, and we find it hard to think of importance without being overwhelmed by size and power.

   In another quotation variously attributed, Stalin is said to have remarked: “The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million men is a statistic.” The same dictator mockingly asked, “How many divisions does the Pope have?” He knows now – though a bit too late. But the biggest scandal of all to the limited mind, and so bold that it is refreshing when it expands the mind, is the Lord’s declaration: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father apart from me” (John 14:6).

 

The Croton Climate Strike - pictures

The event was held outside of the Blue Pig Ice Cream parlor, which is literally 60 yards from my offices. So I got these pictures at the height of the Rally, around 12:15. A well behaved crowd from what I could see with nothing outlandish said, at least while I was there. Seemed to be a couple of hundred people, perhaps a few more when you take into account the coming and going of some. Big song while I was there and leaving - and I could even hear it back in my office - was "This Land is Your Land"(Link is to Woody Guthrie, not whoever was at the Blue Pig.

In Canada, Catholic hospital being pushed to provide euthanasia

For reasons stated in the linked article, this particular hospital was considered an easy target, with the ultimate goal of pushing all Catholic hospitals and nursing homes to provide...

The Global News article stated that the euthanasia lobby sees the St Martha's hospital policy as the first of many euthanasia policies that they intend to impose upon Catholic or religious healthcare institutions.

The reason that the euthanasia lobby focused on St Martha's hospital is that the sisters had signed an agreement in 1996 where the hospital would maintain Catholic beliefs but be administered by a secular board.  SSt Martha's was considered an easier target. 

"All The Other States Beg California To Add Them To Travel Ban"

It's a wave!

U.S.—After California added Iowa to its growing list of states to which the government will not fund trips, all the other states began clamoring to get added to this ban list.

"Wait---there's a way to get Californian politicians banned from traveling here? Where do we sign up?" said one state legislator in Georgia. "Is there a waiting list? ...

While just eleven states are currently on the list, dozens more are applying. Soon, almost every state except Oregon and New York will be on the list, and peace and utopia will break out across the nation as CA politicians will no longer be able to go there and say weird things and do even dumber things.

The states were disappointed to learn that the ban didn't include all Californians, but they said banning just the politicians was a good start, since they're the ones who ruined the state to begin with.

Forbes - Article on the homelss crisis in California from an environmental activist

A three part article with links to the 2nd and 3rd parts. The author is Michael Shellenberger who says "I write about energy and the environment."

Why California Must Declare A State Of Emergency On Homelessness -- Or Get A Governor Who Will

Allowing large numbers of people to sleep, eat, and defecate outside of designated campgrounds is not safe and robs them of their dignity. Homeless encampments overflow with dirty needles, feces, and rats, making them breeding grounds for diseases including typhus, tuberculosis, and hepatitis A. 

The crisis is worsening. The number of homeless people in LA increased from 52,765 in 2018 to 58,936. Homelessness increased by 43% in Alameda County, which includes Oakland, and 17% in San Francisco. Deaths on the street rose 76% in LA and 75% in Sacramento over the last five years. Murders and rapes involving the homeless increased by 13% and 61% between 2017 and 2018. And 2019 data show that both deaths and homicides are continuing to rise rapidly.

In 2018, the people of California elected Gavin Newsom governor with 62% of the vote and a mandate to take radical action to significantly increase both temporary and permanent housing. He promised 3.5 million new units by 2025, which is 580,000 units per year. And he promised to create a homelessness czar with the power of a cabinet secretary to “focus on prevention, rapid rehousing, mental health and more permanent supportive housing.”

49 years ago today: "Get Smart" premiered!

Yes silly. But a staple in Faranda household!

Everything Croton: 1965 Get Smart Premiered

And here's the wiki - Get Smart

WSJ important Editorial: "The Assault on the Supreme Court. The revival of smears against Kavanaugh is part of a campaign."

Totally 1,000% right.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will apparently receive continuing education in the politics of personal destruction, and this weekend came another round of rumor-mill accusations over his conduct in college. It’s important to understand that this assault on the Justice is part of the left’s larger campaign against the legitimacy of the current Supreme Court and an independent judiciary.

**************

The attacks on Justice Kavanaugh are an attempt at intimidation to influence his opinions. But if Democrats fail in that, they want to portray conservative opinions of the current Court as illegitimate. Even Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota now says the Judiciary confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh was “a sham.” She knows better but so much for her self-styling as a “moderate.”

First a word about the latest smear. The allegations against Justice Kavanaugh arrived in a New York Times piece based on a forthcoming book. The news—this is a generous term—is about a lawyer named Max Stier who allegedly may have seen Justice Kavanaugh expose himself to a woman at a party while a student at Yale.

Except Mr. Stier wouldn’t speak publicly. An editors’ note appended after publication adds the previously omitted detail that the woman involved “declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident.” Oh.

The rest is largely a rehash of allegations from Deborah Ramirez, the subject of a New Yorker story during Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation ordeal last year. The point is to insinuate that Ms. Ramirez’s accusations were credible and not thoroughly investigated. This is a brazen rewriting of history.

Check out the 414-page report on the various allegations against Justice Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee, then led by GOP Senator Chuck Grassley. ...

“Despite the refusal of Ramirez’s legal team to assist the Committee in its investigation,” the Senate report notes, “Committee investigators attempted to investigate her claims to the greatest extent possible, and interviewed seven witnesses regarding the allegation.” In the end, the committee found “no verifiable evidence to support Ramirez’s allegations.”

The Times piece laments that the FBI in a supplemental background check didn’t interview a list of individuals supplied by Ms. Ramirez’s legal team who “may” have had corroborating evidence. But the FBI interviewed Ms. Ramirez, two alleged eyewitnesses and a friend of Ms. Ramirez’s from college, and also turned up no substantiating evidence. A third alleged eyewitness declined an interview.

This episode is part of the campaign that Democrats are running against the High Court now that it may have (we don’t yet really know) a center-right majority. This includes regular campaigns lecturing Chief Justice John Roberts about “legitimacy” whenever a case with political implications is heard.

We’ve reported on Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse ’s attempts to tar amicus briefs from sources he doesn’t like. Mr. Whitehouse and other Democrats recently filed an amicus brief threatening the Court with legislative changes if the Justices don’t follow their orders in a gun-control case. Presidential candidates vow to pack the Court with more Justices if they take power.

This is the most radical attack on the judiciary in decades. These aren’t crank voices like those posting “Impeach Earl Warren ” billboards in the 1950s. This campaign is led by the power center of the Democratic Party, including Members of the Judiciary Committee such as Ms. Harris who vet judicial nominations. Their attack on a core democratic institution is exactly what they claim President Trump is doing, but Mr. Trump is mostly bluster.

************

The partisan relitigation of Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation is an embarrassment to the country, but it is useful in putting the 2020 election stakes in sharp relief. The future of the Supreme Court is on the ballot in Senate races as much as in the presidential race.

Belated Happy Constitution Day

Which was yesterday, which is why this is belated.

Go here for a great resource. -

Interactive Constitution: Learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.

If you're an abortionist, why not store the fetal remains at your house, like "Dr." Klopfer did?

Makes sense to me - it's just medical waste, right? Some may view it as tacky though. So no pictures...

Klopfer died on Sept. 3. Nine days later, an attorney representing his family contacted the Will County Coroner’s Office, reporting that “medically preserved fetal remains” had been discovered on the property and requesting proper removal. It was discovered 2,246 fetal remains were on the property.

It is unknown what the approximate gestational ages of the fetal remains are, how old the remains were, or where the abortions took place. It is not legal to transport fetal remains over state lines, and abortion in Indiana is not legal past the 22nd week of pregnancy. If the abortions were found to have been performed on older fetuses, Klopfer also would have been guilty of this crime, as well.

Klopfer’s medical license was suspended in 2016 following numerous safety and legal violations in the state of Indiana.

Before losing his medical license, Klopfer was believed to be one of the most prolific abortionists in Indiana. Over his four-decade career, he is estimated to have aborted more than 30,000 children. He worked at three facilities, which he owned, with locations in South Bend, Fort Wayne and Gary. Klopfer only reported performing first-trimester abortions, raising further questions about the nature and developmental age of the fetal remains.

BB: "Local Protestant Thanks God That He’s Not Like Those Messed Up Catholics"

“God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this Catholic man over here. Especially him—thank you so much that I am not like those messed-up Catholics,” he prayed, his face lifted to heaven, one eye open to see if those around him were watching. “I am deeply grateful that you have saved me from the Catholic Church, which has tons of problems, and delivered me into the Protestant church, which has none.”

He spent the remainder of the prayer telling God how amazing his religion was, and just how smart he was for choosing Jesus. His prayer didn’t include a single heartfelt plea for the Lord to cleanse and reform the Catholic Church to have a more biblical understanding of salvation, nor did he once pray for the victims of Catholic abuses to find healing, hope, and peace.

At publishing time, a nearby Catholic man, devastated by the scandals tearing through his church and trying to seek the Lord’s will as to whether he should leave the Church or not, had lowered his head and asked God to have mercy on him, a sinner.

The Kavanaugh smear campaign, 2.0 - orchestrated by the NYT

Good point - the goal is to intimidate Kavanaugh - and anyone else who might be nominated for the Supreme Court.

Surely, if a piece had causally smeared anyone with whom the Times has a natural affinity, say, Rachel Maddow or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there would have been editorial due diligence before publishing it. But Kavanaugh, as a privileged white male who might vote against Roe, is a hate figure who is presumed guilty, even of an offense that it turns out his alleged victim isn’t accusing him of.

As for Roe, Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyer, Debra Katz, made it explicit: “He will always have an asterisk next to his name,” Katz explained in remarks claiming moral victory from the Senate hearings. “When he takes a scalpel to Roe v. Wade, we will know who he is, we know his character and we know what motivates him.”

In other words, the talking point is all cued up if Kavanaugh votes against Roe: He’s a misogynist showing his disdain for women yet again.

Top Democrats understand the play. They immediately began calling for Kavanaugh’s impeachment.

“His place on the Court,” according to Kamala Harris, “is an insult to the pursuit of justice.” Top-tier presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren joined the calls, as did a number of the single-digit candidates.

NY Times: posts - deletes - apologizes - retracts apology - then everything vanishes...

UPDATE: The stuff below is already out of date. Go here - NYT 'Corrects' Their Kavanaugh 'Bombshell' After Internet Explodes  and here - The authors omitted the fact that the alleged victim had no memory of the incident.

The newspaper that couldn't shoot straight.

In a bizarre series of tweets and retractions on @nytopinion on Saturday, The New York Times cringingly opined on its latest Brett Kavanaugh story, then retracted the tweet, then retracted the retraction, then posted an apology.

Great interview - with Condeleeza Rice

I watched this yesterday afternoon - she was interviewed by Margaret Hoover on the new version of Firing Line (which is nothing like the old version).

Very insightful, although of course plenty of people would take issue with her point of view.

No youtubevideo, but the whole interview is here - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/condoleezza-rice-quqmnn/

 

 

Hook Mountain Hawk Watch is upon us!

Thanks to Maria for sending us this link - AWESOME!

It is hawk watch season! and the Broadwings are about to descend on us. We always hope for more than last year, and always enjoy those we see. The wonder of migration captures our imagination as we watch the hawks flying overhead on their way to South America. Last spring at the NEHW conference one of the talks was about following the Broadwings along their flyway to their winter destinations on a bicycle! But, no bikes for me! I will follow my norm and head for the Hook. Come up and join me. The Broadwing season starts tomorrow!

New York's economic incompetence!?

Good short video. Parenthetically, Tim competed through his whole high school career at Icahn Stadium, part of the refurbishment that Carl Icahn paid for on Randall's Island. Varney is partially wrong though, when he says wealthy people are being chased out of NY - on the contrary since NY City's tax base depends heavily on about 5,000 families (who pay about 40% of NYC's taxes) there's been a huge giveaway in terms tax breaks and subsidies to build the enclave for wealthy people -  Hudson Yards.

 

WSJ on Dem. debates: " A rough night for socialism"

How many Scandinavians have to tell Bernie Sanders they don’t live in socialist countries before he stops claiming they do? At Thursday’s Democratic debate, Sen. Sanders tried to avoid acknowledging the misery inflicted by socialist governments by once again pretending that Nordic economies are built on his Sandernista model.

The trouble for Vermont’s most famous Marxist began when Univision’s Jorge Ramos wisely questioned Mr. Sanders on his strange reluctance to condemn the socialist regime in Venezuela:

Mr. Ramos: ...A recent U.N. fact-finding mission found that thousands have been disappeared, tortured and killed by government forces in Venezuela. You admit that Venezuela does not have free elections, but still you refuse to call Nicolas Maduro un dictador — a dictator. Can you explain why? And what are the main differences between your kind of socialism and the one being imposed in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua?

Mr. Sanders: Well, first of all, let me be very clear. Anybody who does what Maduro does is a vicious tyrant. What we need now is international and regional cooperation for free elections in Venezuela so that the people of that country can make — can create their own future. In terms of democratic socialism, to equate what goes on in Venezuela with what I believe is extremely unfair. I’ll tell you what I believe in terms of democratic socialism. I agree with what goes on in Canada and in Scandinavia, guaranteeing health care to all people as a human right.

In fact the Venezuelan regime did make such a guarantee, and describes its miserable health care system in language that is strikingly similar to the way Mr. Sanders describes the system he intends for the United States.

Last night Mr. Sanders went on to describe various other areas where he sees a need for heavy government intervention. But Canada and Scandinavia are hardly following the Sanders agenda.

Mr. Sanders rails against the Trump cuts in business tax rates, but the Canadians and Scandinavians have gone even further. Even after the 2017 Trump reforms, the combined state and federal corporate income tax rate in the United States is still higher than the rates in Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranks Canada as the eighth freest economy in the world—with more economic liberty than the United States, which ranks twelfth. The Scandinavian countries are all in the top 30. Whatever social services they are able to provide are possible because they rejected the Sanders anti-market agenda and allowed businesses to grow.

New app allows spouse to control the car with voice commands from passenger seat!

Yes! I need this for when Brigid is in the driver's seat.

Whenever your spouse says things like, "Why don't you take Fifth, it's a lot faster?" or "This way's a lot slower than my way," the car will instantly respond to their commands.

"There was a ton of demand for this app," said Backseat Driver CEO Matthew Kyle. "Spouses everywhere love making passive-aggressive suggestions the entire time their husband or wife is driving around town. But despite their constant comments on your driving, the car doesn't respond to their helpful suggestions and advice. Well, no longer. Now their comments are just as effective as if they themselves were in the driver seat."

Specific voice commands programmed into the app include the following:

• • "You're driving too fast" - immediately makes the car slow to a crawl
  • "You're driving too slow" - causes the car to go as fast as physically possible
  • "Take this other street, it's a shortcut only I know about" - makes the car take their strange route that's almost definitely not any faster
  • "Everyone knows parking's a lot better around back" - makes the car skip all the perfectly good parking and drive around to their secret parking
  • "MERGE, HONEY! MERGE!" - merges even if that means you slam into a semi truck

 

Kennedy v. Sanders - Ain't it the truth!

Liberty University criticized for new Trump stained glass window

The window is featured prominently in the chapel, allowing students and faculty to pray to their lord and savior Donald Trump as they escape the pressures and worries of campus life for a few minutes.

"We wanted the renovated prayer chapel to really help students think about what's important: President Trump and His anointed agenda to make America great again," said school president Jerry Falwell, Jr. "It's important to remain focused and anchored. Now our students can take some time to reorient their hearts and spirits around Trump whenever they want."

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While Trump's stained glass window occupies the place of honor in the prayer chapel, the spot right in the center where the cross used to be, several other stained glass windows were installed along the walls of the chapel. These windows honor lesser icons of the Christian faith, such as the Republican elephant, the NRA, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Mike Pence. One particularly powerful piece beautifully depicts Trump's Playboy magazine cover in exquisite colors.

Critics have questioned whether the move was appropriate.

"It seems like they may have gone a little too far here," said one political pundit. "I mean, I get maybe having a small Trump statue or plaque in your place of worship, but a big stained glass window? It seems like that should be reserved for an American flag or something."

In context: Rep. Ilhan Omar's "Some people did something" - off Washington Post channel

It would have been nice if she knew when the group she was addressing - CAIR - was founded. 1994, not "after 9/11". I think this is a weak defense by the WaPo factchecker. "Isn't for us to judge what Omar meant by her speech."? How about "Some people did something at Pearl Harbor".

 

Neanderthal footprints - an insight into our humanity

Wonderful. We humans today have anywhere from 2-5% (depending on the individual) Neanderthal DNA. I love the idea of being part Neanderthal!

Scientists have found hundreds of perfectly preserved footprints, providing evidence that Neanderthals walked the Normandy coast in France. The prints suggest a group of 10-13 individuals, mostly children and adolescents, were on the shoreline 80,000 years ago. Neanderthals, the closest evolutionary cousins to present-day humans and primates, have long been thought to have lived in social groups, but details have been hard to establish.

The 257 footprints discovered at Le Rozel in western France give a snapshot of how Neanderthals lived and suggest they may have been taller than previously thought.

Jérémy Duveau, a co-author of a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the prints were left in muddy soil and quickly preserved by wind-driven sand.

“It was incredible to observe these tracks, which represent moments in the lives of individuals, sometimes very young, who lived 80,000 years ago,” said Duveau, of the French National Museum of Natural History.

**********************.

The footprints were found among what the team called “abundant archaeological material” revealing evidence of animal butchery and tool-making. They date back to a time when only Neanderthals lived in western Europe.

Neanderthals’ feet were broader than those of modern humans. From the size of the footprints at Le Rozel, the researchers estimated the size of the individuals who made them and then inferred their age.

Some of the prints appear to have been made by a taller individual. Remains of skeletons previously suggested Neanderthals were around 150–160cm tall, but this individual may have measured 175cm (5ft 9in).

 

At Trade Center Ceremony: Rep. Omar gets blasted - "Some people did something?"

This is off C-Span and all over the internet. Will be all over the news tonight. Righteous anger?

9/11 - 18 years ago. My friend Tommy Knox

I hate today. Below is a posting I first put up in 2006. Tommy should be 48. The comments on his Legacy Tribute page have now gone to 100+ pages. 

I knew seven people killed on 9/11. But I only knew one of them real well.

I knew Tom Knox ("Tommy") because I coached him for five years at the North Jersey Rugby Club. He was a great kid. Funny, quick witted, really sparkling personality. The sort of fellow you enjoy hanging around with; you're glad he's your friend.

He was an intense rugby player and wonderfully coachable guy.

  Tom was married to Nancy for less than a year. He was thirty years old. The youngest of six children. He worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. No trace of him has been found. 1,000 people attended his funeral Mass. It is still painful to even write about this.

If you have time, go here  Guest Book - Thomas Patrick Knox and read some of the 21 pages of tributes Tommy's friends wrote.

2020: "How much would it cost to fire Trump?"

Great analysis here. Off the WSJ "Best of the Web" column yesterday.

The few television viewers willing to subject themselves to CNN’s “Climate Crisis Town Hall” now understand Democrats’ ambition to dismantle U.S. energy production. Many consumers also know their health plans would be outlawed under a bill authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. But voters and investors may still struggle to tabulate the full cost of a potential new activism in Washington—including a reversal of President Donald Trump ’s drive to cut federal red tape.

Andy Laperriere of Cornerstone Macro writes in a note to clients that “the cost of new regulations is down more than 80% since Trump took office, which amounts to close to $100 billion less — each year — in the cost to the private sector of new government rules.”

Citing the work of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, Mr. Laperriere adds that “the number of economically significant rules, those estimated to impose $100 million or more in costs to the private sector, are down about 75% under Trump. The number of pages in the Federal Register, another measure of the burden of complying with new government rules, has seen the biggest two-year decline since records have been kept.”

Democrats have promised a Green New Deal potentially costing tens of trillions of dollars. Mr. Laperriere notes: “What may be less appreciated by investors is just how universal the reach of the Democratic regulatory agenda would be. The Democratic presidential candidates are calling for a more aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement. The major tech companies are in the crosshairs, but tough antitrust enforcement will by no means be limited to them. Many of the Democratic candidates are calling for criminal prosecutions of companies and top corporate leaders. They are promising federal agencies will be much quicker to file lawsuits against business and impose stiffer heavier fines.”

Next year voters will decide whether the costs of replacing Mr. Trump are too heavy for the economy to bear.

What 1500 calories (hi protein option) looks like

And there is a dessert. This is off a website called myfitnesspal where I keep track of my calorie intake and exercise calorie burn. Been using it for over seven years.

What 1,500 Calories Looks Like (High-Protein Edition)

Here's dessert - something called "Frozen Yogurt Bark"

Trump is more popular in Hong Kong then in Croton, where I live!

 Huge demonstration in Hong Kong yesterday, pro-American and pro-Trump, as they ask for USA and Trump support. From the Guardian (UK), a paper that is no friend of America.

 

Interesting column by Fr. Rutler on the 38th anniversary of his ordination.

Fr. George Rutler was a Anglican priest who converted. An author and columnist, he is currently the pastor at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel at 424 West 34th Street

It is gratifying each week to hear from many friends of the parish across our country and abroad, bringing to mind the words of John Wesley: “The whole world is my parish.” That can be said ever more fervently by any pastor, for each parish is a microcosm of the ecclesiastical presence of the Body of Christ on every continent, as it bears witness to the Universal Faith that makes the Church “katholikos.”

   So distant readers will indulge some reflections on our local parish scene, as the summer draws to a close. These past months were something of a surprise in that there seemed to be no significant slowdown in parish life. While many of our own people did travel outside the city, which is no little adventure for Manhattanites, we had many national and international visitors. Because the social media have made our world a “global village,” it seemed that most visitors were not strangers, and many were already familiar with life here. We have an increasing number of tourists stopping in at the church—almost constantly—and this may in part be due to the renovations and installations of art completed during the summer. We must make an effort to welcome our visitors and help them to learn more about the parish.

   Our church already has one foot in the Heavenly City, where there are no seasons, at least in the sense that we have no air conditioning. (Our heating system is not always reliable either, and I have occasionally warmed my hands over the thurible on winter days when there was no heat at all.) This summer we had some brutal hot spells, and one Sunday the city issued a health advisory cautioning the frail and elderly against going outdoors. That was the first time in memory that we eliminated the homily at the Masses, and I had the impression that no one objected. But I was impressed as well at the numbers of people who came stoically on humid days and indeed in good spirits—just as in past winters there was patience when heavy clothing was needed. Here in “Hell’s Kitchen” we are a durable people.

   This Sunday, September 8, is the 38th anniversary of my priestly ordination. It was a simple ceremony in the cathedral’s Lady Chapel. The three prelates who were at the altar with me on that day, including Cardinal Cooke, are no longer in this world, but they are invoked at each Mass, along with all those who since the middle of the nineteenth century have been part of this parish, which now enters challenging and promising times. “Memento, Domine, famulorum, famularumque tuarum et omnium circumstantium, quorum tibi fides cognita est et nota devotio . . . Remember, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaids and all here present, whose faith and devotion are known to Thee.”

Nice work if you can get it department: Leona Helmsley's executors awarded $100 million in fees for settling her estate

"The Queen of Mean." It took quite a while to settle - she ided in 2007. Her estate was worth $5 billion. See the last paragraph - had the executors taken the statutory commission it would have been $215 million fee.

In a recent New York surrogate court decision, according to documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the court awarded the executors of Leona Helmsley’s estate $100 million in fees, to be split equally.

Helmsley, a New York City hotel operator and real estate investor famously dubbed “the Queen of Mean,” passed away in 2007. She left an estate in excess of $5 billion, nominating her brother, her grandsons David Panzirer and Walter Panzirer, her attorney Sandor Frankel, and her longtime friend and business advisor John Codey as executors. In her will, Helmsley specifically stipulated that her executors are “entitled to receive reasonable compensation” for their services in lieu of following the statutory commissions scheme. ...

In June 2014, in accordance with Helmsley’s instructions, the remaining four executors asked the court to fix their final compensation at $100 million (plus the $6.25 million for Alvin’s estate). The New York State Attorney General’s office (AG) objected to the amount, arguing that it’s excessive and that the determination of compensation should consider only the reasonable amount spent multiplied by an appropriate hourly rate. Additionally, the AG urged the court to appoint a neutral expert to advise on the reasonable value of each executor’s services.

In its decision, the court agreed with the executors’ position that a multifactor approach should be used, finding that “a single hourly rate [cannot] accurately reflect the many varied services executors perform and the inevitable risk they incur in performing them.” The court went on to point out the particular “magnitude and complexity” of Helmsley’s estate and the myriad difficulties the executors faced. It highlighted the fact that the executors were able to increase the value of the estate by approximately $400 million during a challenging economic environment brought on by the financial crisis. The court also took into consideration the fact that the executors decided to forgo insurance coverage, choosing to bear the brunt of financial risk, because they reasoned that the costs to the estate would have been “prohibitive.”

The court also didn’t take kindly to the AG’s call for an expert, reminding her that it’s “uniquely qualified to determine compensation to be paid from an estate or trust based upon a reasonableness standard.” It further noted that the process of using an expert would be time-consuming and costly for both the executors and the estate.

Lastly, the court pointed out that had Helmsley called for the statutory commissions scheme to be applied, as is often the norm, the appropriate compensation for an estate of this size would exceed $215 million, more than double the fees that Helmsley’s executors are seeking.

 

Trump holds up map suggesting hurricane may hit Middle Earth

Of course you have to have heard of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings to get it...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Trump has drawn some criticism after holding up what appeared to be a map of Middle-earth, doctored to show Hurricane Dorian devastating the coast of Gondor and Eriador.

An official video released by the White House showed Trump holding up the map and showing the path of the storm, though instead of having the storm slowly move up the coast, the president's version had the map moving up across the grasslands of Enedwaith and threatening Isengard and the Gap of Rohan.

"Some have been saying the hurricane won't threaten the Rohirrim or those in the Mines of Moria," said Trump. "But this is wrong. Totally wrong. You need to get out of there. Maybe go to Minas Tirith, there's a very good wall there. One of the best. Seven walls, actually. Tremendous country, Gondor."

Sources in the White House also claim Trump has offered to buy Middle-earth in the past but never received an official response as it is not a real place.

Bernie Sanders on saving the planet - pour abortion into the Third World - get rid of those Brown Babies.

Yes that's the gist of this. And lots of people agree. Yup - babies who would grow up to look a lot like my two grown children.  A truly evil man.

 

NR: Gun used in Texas shooting was illegally manufactured and sold

Terrible. Unfortunately proves the point that if someone wants to get a gun, they can. Regardless of laws. However - the law is a moral teacher and I do believe that certain legislation can help.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is currently investigating a man who they believe illegally manufactured and sold the AR-15-style rifle that Seth Ator used to kill seven people and injure 22 more on Saturday, before he was shot and killed by police.

Ator, 36, had previously attempted to purchase a gun from a licensed seller in January 2014, but failed the requisite background check because he’d been declared mentally unfit by a local court. A nationwide criminal-background check identified the court order and prevented the purchase, according to local authorities.

If Ator did in fact purchase the weapon through a private transaction, its seller was under no obligation to conduct a background check, but could be held criminally liable if evidence emerges that he knew his prospective customer came to him due to a previous background-check failure.

Authorities intercepted Ator outside of a movie theater, killing him only after he rampaged down a highway that links Midland and Odessa shooting indiscriminately.

 

Federal Judge - The FBI’s terrorism watch list is unconstitutional

From the Washington Post - I guess if you look hard enough you can find a Judge to make any ruling you wish.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that an FBI watch list of more than 1 million “known or suspected terrorists” violates the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens in the database.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia in favor of 23 Muslim Americans who sued over their inclusion in the Terrorist Screening Database found that the watch list infringes on their constitutional right to due process. Trenga noted that the list restricts their ability to fly and engage in everyday activities and backed the plaintiffs’ concerns that they were flagged secretly and without a clear methodology.

“There is no evidence, or contention, that any of these plaintiffs satisfy the definition of a ‘known terrorist,’ ” wrote Trenga, adding that even harmless conduct could result in someone being labeled as a “suspected terrorist” on the watch list.

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The watch list is a different, less restrictive database than the No Fly List, which bars people from boarding U.S. airplanes or flying through the nation’s airspace. In 2014, a federal judge in Oregon ruled the No Fly List was unconstitutional, forcing the Department of Homeland Security to modify its procedures. Abbas told the Associated Press that Wednesday’s ruling was the first to specifically target the watch list.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday. The AP reported that the FBI’s lawyers argued in court that the government’s efforts to combat terrorism outweighed the difficulties alleged by the nearly two dozen Muslim American citizens on the list.

Dem candidate Marianne Williamson: ‘I Didn’t Think the Left Lied like This’

Well I guess she's naive. Isn't she the New Age Lady presidential candidate? After the quotes from the article I've put in some quotes from her that I quickly found when googling her name.

“I know this sounds naive. I didn’t think the left was so mean. I didn’t think the left lied like this,” Williamson told the New Yorker’s David Remnick in an interview. “I thought the right did that. I thought we were better.”

Williamson accused the left of lying about her use of crystals and “crystal gazing,” telling Remnick that there has “never been a crystal on stage” at any of her events and “there is no crystal” in her home.

She accused those on the left of also falsely accusing her of having told AIDS patients not to take their medicines or implying that “lovelessness” causes diseases and “love” is “enough to cure their diseases.”

“I’m Jewish, I go to the doctor,” Williamson said, ripping those on the left for labeling her as an anti-science candidate who does not believe in modern medicine.

Williamson has in recent weeks criticized the “political-media industrial complex” and warned Democrats that nominating a conventional or establishment candidate to go up against President Donald Trump in 2020 could be disastrous.

Here are some of her famous musings -

Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.

 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.

 

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.

 

Elephant - the real King - shows who's boss - 82 seconds long

The money quote - "He doesn't have to explain himself."

Flashback: "Jesse Jackson Praises Trump for Helping Blacks - "Lifetime of Service""

That's right. Long before he was President, at which time the media discovered he was a racist! How could they have overlooked that back when he was being honored? Not mentioned - when Trump bought Mar A Lago in the 90's he insisted on accepting Jews and blacks even though other clubs in Palm Beach to this day discriminate against blacks and Jews.