Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Attorney General Bill Barr for appointing U.S. Attorney John Dunham to look into how the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe started and that all sides of the 2016 allegations will get investigated. They also shudder as Rep. Rashida Tlaib doubles down on her suggestion that Palestinians willingly sacrificed to accommodate the modern state of Israel after World War II and then accuses her critics of being “racist idiots.” And they note the presidential campaign of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and how this supposed moderate vetoed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act just days before jumping in the race.
Booker vs. Buttigieg, Code Pink Sides with Maduro, Feminist Sex Strike
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Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America grab some popcorn as supporters of Sen. Cory Booker blast the media for giving far more attention to Pete Buttigieg, calling the coverage gap the epitome of privilege. They also slam Code Pink for commandeering the Venezuelan embassy in Washington in solidarity with dictator Nicholas Maduro and but get a kick out of Code Pink howling in protest when the water and power are cut off – some of the very same conditionsMaduro is inflicting on the people of Venezuela. And Alexandra highly enjoys the irony as Alyssa Milano and other modern feminists protest state laws banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected by refusing to have sex so they don’t get pregnant.
How The Tariffs Impact Your Wallet
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On Friday, President Trump announced tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move he says will help push China to a freer, fairer trade relationship but which a leading taxpayer advocate says will make life more expensive for all Americans.
The trade partnership estimates that tariffs implemented in 2018 costs families an average of $767 per year. Another estimate suggests an additional $500 per year in costs from the new tariffs.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say that a household could face several hundred dollars if not a thousand dollars worth of increased prices for goods or services over a year, depending on what they buy,” said National Taxpayers Union President Pete Sepp.
Sepp also points to research from the Tax Foundation suggesting that if the U.S. implemented all of the tariffs Trump has threatened to impose, the U.S. economy would lose a quarter of one percent in gross domestic product and lose half of the long-term impact of the 2017 tax cuts.
“Unfortunately, U.S. taxpayers are the ones who are immediately feeling the pain here. If the president successfully negotiates a better deal with China, in the long run we may all be better off, but right now it’s almost unquestionable that citizens here in the United States are the ones feeling the most economic pain,” said Sepp.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Sepp explain what other approaches could protect taxpayers while forging a more balanced trade deal with China.
Crenshaw’s Clarity, The Ninja Bomb, Bad Numbers for Beto
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw for exhibiting the rare ability to make lots of good points in a short period of time in language anyone can understand. Crenshaw took to social media to explain why he opposes a bill from House Democrats and what ideas he prefers, and Jim and Greg hope more conservatives follow Crenshaw’s lead. They also marvel at the new Ninja Bomb, which packs six lethal blades instead of explosives, allowing terrorists and other enemies to be targeted while greatly reducing the risk of collateral damage. And they enjoy watching Beto O’Rourke’s poll numbers crater in New Hampshire now that the media are no longer fawning over him.
‘Absolute Rubbish’ that Climate Threatens One Million Species
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The United Nations reports that human-caused climate change now threatens one million plant and animal species in the coming years if urgent global action is not taken, but a scientist who frequently butts heads with the UN says that conclusion is “absolute rubbish.”
The report on biodiversity says a half-million land species “have insufficient habitat for long-term survival” and will likely go extinct in a matter of decades until human activity radically changes. The report also says our actions are putting human survival in long-term jeopardy.
“It’s more of the current hysteria. Absolute rubbish. There’s not one bit of evidence to support anything they’re saying,” said Dr. Tim Ball, a former professor of climatology at the University of Winnipeg and author of “The Deliberate Corruption of Climate Science.”
George Mason University Professor Thomas Lovejoy told the Associated Press “the biological diversity of this planet has really been hammered, and this is really our last chance to address all that.” UC Santa Barbara ecologist Lee Hannah is quoted as saying we are “in the middle of the sixth great extinction crisis.”
Ball has a challenge for the experts.
“Get them to name the species that have gone extinct in the last ten years. Get them to give you some names. Don’t just say that there’s this number. Give me the actual names. You can’t find it,” said Ball.
According to Ball, most scientists believe only about 35 percent of the earth’s species are even identified and the concrete data we do have shows species numbers moving in the opposite direction.
“Every single week we’re finding far more species than they’re claiming are going extinct,” said Ball. “Just a few years ago they were saying there were something like 20,000 species. Now the estimates are 20 million.”
Ball says numbers like this are hard to rebut in detail because they’re not based on any detail.
“It’s purely a number that they’ve come up with that, because it’s put out by a scientist suddenly is treated like it’s an actual measurement. It isn’t” said Ball.
Listen to the full podcast as Dr. Ball explains the logic used by climate scientists to conclude that species are vanishing or endangered at an alarming rate and what the real goal of these sorts of reports is.
Confrontation in Camelot, Nadler’s Pathetic ‘Crisis,’ Mile High Mushrooms
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud three members of the Kennedy family for publicly rebuking Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and others for their roles in discouraging parents from vaccinating their kids. They also roll their eyes as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler leads a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress and declares the U.S. to be in a constitutional crisis. And they react to Denver voters narrowly approving a referendum protecting consumers of psychedelic mushrooms.
Why Comey Should Be Worried
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Former FBI Director James Comey is busy writing opinion columns and appearing on cable news town halls about the Mueller report, but a former top official at the bureau says Comey has three very good reasons to be worried as the Department of Justice examines how the Trump-Russia probe started in the first place.
Kevin Brock served 24 years in the FBI, including a stint as deputy director for intelligence. He was also principal deputy director at the National Counterterrorism Center. Brock is now head of NewStreet Global Solutions. He says Comey’s first problem is providing evidence that an investigation was warranted in the first place and Mueller’s report makes the case harder to make.
“If there no findings of any type of collusion as they say between the Russians and the Trump campaign, what was the FBI going on in the first place to initiate the case?” asked Brock.
During last week’s Senate testimony, Attorney General William Barr also wondered aloud why the FBI didn’t just contact the Trump campaign about any figures feared to be conspiring with Russia – or the suspicious campaign officials themselves.
Brock says launching a surveillance effort on American citizens without first going to them is highly unusual. According to Brock, under a preliminary investigation, the standard protocol is to warn Americans about who their foreign contacts really are and to encourage cooperation with the FBI.
And he says there are specific things you cannot do during a “PI.”
“You may not cast existing sources or start new sources and target that U.S. person. You may not appeal to the FISA court to get a warrant to intercept the communications of that person. You may not pull their financial records. It’s very limited in scope,” said Brock.
Brock says probing the the basis for a FISA warrant will also put the heat on Comey.
“Electronic surveillance of a U.S person is an incredibly invasive, investigative technique. I’ve referred to it as the nuclear option of intelligence collection. There is nothing that is more invasive of privacy than a FISA court-ordered warrant to monitor all of your communications,” said Brock.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe testified to Congress that the Steele dossier was a major component of the request for a FISA warrant. Brock says that premise was very flimsy.
“They relied heavily on this dossier that is clearly a political document. It should not have been the foundation of any warrant for intercepting an American citizen. That appears to be clear,” said Brock.
Listen to the full podcast as Brock also explains the evidence suggesting Comey knew full well he was part of a political operation rather than one focused on criminal justice and what he expects to learn in the forthcoming report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Public Rejects Felons Voting, Cohen & Falwell, Humanity & Insanity
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer new poll numbers showing Americans overwhelming reject the idea of felons voting from behind bars, an idea promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders. They also shudder at reports – apparently from Michael Cohen – that Cohen helped Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. squash the possible release of highly embarrassing photos, and that eventually triggered Falwell’s endorsement of Trump in early 2016. And Jim unleashes a terrific rant in response to the pro-choice CNN guest who says a pregnant woman does not have a human being inside of her.
Abortion Battles Intensify
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The abortion debate is intensifying on multiple fronts, as pro-life lawmakers make Georgia the latest state to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected and a Pennsylvania lawmaker comes under fire for harassing pro-life activists outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia.
On Tuesday, Georgia became the latest in a string of states to outlaw abortion once the baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Americans United for Life Chief Engagement Officer Tom Shakely says these debates highlight those who understand the science of pregnancy and those who don’t.
“This Georgia bill illustrates the divide that exists between folks who, on the one hand, increasingly want to deny scientific and medical reality and other folks who want to recognize it,” said Shakely.
Shakely admits that the state laws do not actually change anything in the U.S. – at least not yet. He says the federal abortion law framework established in Roe v. Wade still supersedes state laws, but he’s hopeful that they set a precedent that will be embraced by the courts.
In Pennsylvania, State Rep. Brian Sims is under fire from pro-life groups after livestreaming himself harassing a senior citizen and three teenage girls who were praying outside a Planned Parenthood facility. Sims berated the women for several minutes, told them they ought to be ashamed, and even offered his viewers $100 to identify the pro-life activists so he could lead protests at their homes.
“He didn’t engage any of these folks to understand why they were out there, where they were coming from, whether they may have had abortions themselves, which could have led them to that place of offering alternatives. It’s just an unfortunate case of egregious political ideology trumping a human concern for a neighbor,” said Shakely.
Listen to the full podcast as Shakely responds to Sims and explains why demonstrating outside of abortion clinics is laudable.
The Medicare for All Myth, Booker’s Bogus Gun Grab, Who’s the Hateful One?
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the USA Today editorial writers for pointing out Medicare for All would rip more than 100 million Americans away from coverage they like and run up a cost that even government economists can’t figure out. They also slam Cory Booker for demanding a ban on “assault weapons” and refusing to say whether he would jail gun owners who refuse to give up their weapons. And they unload on Pennsylvania Democratic State Rep. Brian Sims for filming himself harassing people peacefully praying outside a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood abortion clinic and even offering rewards for his followers to identify the people he’s intimidating.