theblaze--2020-02-28--Coronavirus insights irrational fears among beer consumers

On Friday 's episode of `` Pat Gray Unleashed , '' Pat discussed why some people are avoiding Corona Beer @ @ @ @ @ are struggling as a result of the Coronavirus scare .
Finally , China introduces legislation @ @ @ @ @ on the consumption of dogs .
Watch the video below for more .
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On Friday's episode of "Pat Gray Unleashed," Pat discussed why some people are avoiding Corona Beer. Then, Chinese restaurants are struggling as a result of the Coronavirus scare. Finally, China introduces legislation that would impose a ban on the consumption of dogs.
Watch the video below for more.
Use code Pat to save $10 off one year of BlazeTV.
Want more from Pat Gray?
To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Billy Joel dares intruders to hit his house again: 'I got dogs, lights, guns...'

Billy Joel dares intruders to hit his house again : ' I got dogs , lights , guns ... ' @ @ @ @ @ try it again '

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel told the audience at his Madison Square Garden show Thursday night that he is well prepared if intruders try to make a second run on his Long Island home after a break-in last month.
The singer even dared the perpetrators to hit his house again, saying, "I got dogs, lights, guns, everything at the house now."
What are the details?
Joel's home was broken into and vandalized in late January, while the performer was away at his last performance at Madison Square Garden. WABC-TV reported at the time that the intruder or intruders damaged a dozen of Joel's cherished motorcycles and a home office at the residence.
According to TMZ, the burglar or burglars broke in by shattering a glass door accessing the piano man's garage. Nothing was reported stolen, and no suspects have been apprehended in connection with the crime.
"Last time I was here they hit my house," Joel told the crowd Thursday, recalling the incident. "I guess everyone knows I'm not home. I got dogs, lights, guns, everything at the house now. I'm hoping they try it again. Come, come! Bring it on! Anyway, everyone is fine."
www.youtube.com
H/T: Rolling Stone


theblaze--2020-02-28--Mother outraged at school policy prohibiting kids from saying 'no' when asked to dance: 'Rape cultur

Mother outraged at school policy prohibiting kids from saying 'no' when asked to dance: 'Rape culture'

Mother outraged at school policy prohibiting kids from saying 'no ' when asked to dance : 'Rape culture '

A middle school policy that prohibits kids from saying "no" when someone asks them to dance during a school dance is being challenged by the mother of a sixth-grade girl who believes it perpetuates "rape culture," Today reports.
Alicia Hobson's daughter Azlyn attends Rich Middle School in Utah, and was excited about attending the Valentine's Day dance. But she had an uncomfortable experience when she declined to dance with a male student — only to have the principal intervene and send her out to the dance floor with the boy, anyway.
Alicia Hobson, who said she gets the spirit of the rule, was not pleased.
"I understand that the spirit of the rule is give the kids the confidence to ask other kids to dance without the risk of rejection, but guess what? In life, you get rejected all the time," Hobson wrote on Facebook. "They need to get used to it and learn how to cope with their frustration. Girls HAVE to learn that they have the right to say no and that those around them have to respect that. I'm not going to quietly stand by while my daughter and all of her classmates are being wrapped up in rape culture. No way. I've told her over and over, since her school started having dances that she has the right to say no, and if she gets in trouble for it, I'll fight like hell for her. Well, here we go."
Principal Kip Motta said the school stands by the policy regardless of the criticism, and parents or students who aren't comfortable with it can simply choose not to attend school dances, which occur during the school day.
"We do ask all students to dance. It is the nice thing to do and this will continue to be our policy," Motta wrote on Feb. 15, Today reported. "There have been similar situations in the past where some students have felt uncomfortable with others, and, as stated prior, the issues were discreetly handled. This allowed all students to feel welcome, comfortable, safe, and included."
Hobson said she intends to continue opposing the policy, even going to the state education board if necessary to get it changed.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Wisconsin appeals court strikes down an order to remove 209,000 voters from voter rolls before the 2

Wisconsin appeals court strikes down an order to remove 209,000 voters from voter rolls before the 2020 election Democrats want @ @ @ @ @ after the election

On Friday, a Wisconsin appeals court overturned a ruling that ordered state election commissioners to remove 209,000 individuals from voter rolls who are suspected as having moved out of the state.
A previous ruling on the matter last month found the commission — and specifically three of its Democratic members — in contempt of court for refusing to comply with the order, which instructed the commission to remove individuals flagged as having potentially moved and who subsequently failed to respond within 30 days to a deactivation notice.
Last fall, the deactivation notice was sent to roughly 234,000 residents, and by the end of the year, 209,000 voters had yet to respond requesting for their voter status be continued.
In the January ruling, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Malloy moved to fine the commission $50 a day and the three members $250 a day until the commission started the removal process. But no fines were ever paid because the Wisconsin court of appeals temporarily blocked the motion the following day.
"I can't be any clearer than this, they need to follow my order," Malloy said at the time.
But now with the new appeals court ruling, the contempt of court order has been vacated along with the order to immediately purge, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
The battle centers on the 2020 election
When the deactivation notice was sent out to flagged individuals late last year, the commission was planning to remove those who failed to respond in 2021.
But then three voters represented by a conservative group, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, sued, appealing to a state law that calls for the removal of voters from the rolls if they do not respond to a deactivation notice. They also argued that a delay in removal could compromise the 2020 election. Judge Malloy agreed and ordered the purge.
The appeals court, however, concluded that law applies only to local clerks and not to the state election commission.
Rick Esenberg, the president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, has vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court.
"Wisconsin deserves clean elections in 2020," he said in a statement, the Journal-Sentinel reported. "It is our intent to seek review in the Wisconsin Supreme Court to ensure that the Wisconsin Elections Commission complies with state law."
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul praised the ruling, saying, "I think that this decision is a win not only for the voters who were close to being purged, but also for democracy."
Every vote counts in Wisconsin, which is projected to be a key battleground state in the upcoming presidential election. In 2016, President Donald Trump narrowly won the state by just over 20,000 votes. Wisconsin holds its primaries in April.


theblaze--2020-02-28--National Education Association video: Second graders wave flags to celebrate books about 'nonbinary

National Education Association video: Second graders wave flags to celebrate books about 'nonbinary and transgender youth'

National Education Association video : Second graders wave flags to celebrate books about 'nonbinary and transgender youth' ' I am @ @ @ @ @ youth Jazz Jennings — was one of the books read at the event

A video posted to the National Education Association's YouTube page features second-grade students waving flags and celebrating books about "nonbinary and transgender youth" as part of the fifth annual Jazz & Friends National Day of School & Community Readings, which took place Thursday across the United States.
What are the details?
The clip starts off with Human Rights Campaign Press Secretary Elliott Kozuch — who identifies as "nonbinary" — telling the gathered children that "my pronouns are they and them" and that the event is taking place on ground once inhabited by Native Americans whose history has been "suppressed during the telling of story of America."
The HRC is the "largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization" sporting a "force of more than 3 million members and supporters." The HRC partnered with the NEA for the reading day.
Kozuch then told the children two people will be reading books to them — "Julián Is a Mermaid" and "I am Jazz." The latter is about famed transgender youth Jazz Jennings, who in 2018 proclaimed her excitement about being scheduled to get a sex-change operation: "Like penis to vagina. That's some serious s**t, y'all ... I can't believe it. I'm gonna have a vagina!"
At one point during the introductions, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García from the stage encouraged the second graders to "wave your flags if you're excited about Julián and Jazz!"
Kozuch added that there are more than 300 readings for more than 26,000 people "doing the same thing we're doing today, being in community to read books that support nonbinary and transgender youth."
Kozuch also asked the children, "Is your school a welcoming school?" A loud "yes!" followed.
Who read the books?
Garcia read "Julián Is a Mermaid" to the second graders while HRC President Alphonso David read "I am Jazz."
Prior to her reading, Garcia — the first Latina to lead the NEA and "one of the country's most influential Hispanic educators," Kozuch said — told the second graders that in the story, Julián is an "amazing mermaid" even though many people don't think boys should want to be mermaids.
According to his bio, David is a "nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights lawyer and advocate" and is the "first person of color to serve as president of HRC." He also was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve as counsel to the governor, which means he's been Cuomo's "principal legal adviser and managed all significant legal and policy deliberations affecting New York State ..."
Here's the clip:


theblaze--2020-02-28--Rep. Dan Crenshaw fires back after Pete Davidson admits his 'SNL' apology to veteran lawmaker was fo

Rep. Dan Crenshaw fires back after Pete Davidson admits his 'SNL' apology to veteran lawmaker was forced

Rep. Dan Crenshaw fires back after Pete Davidson admits his 'SNL ' apology to veteran lawmaker was forced ' I @ @ @ @ @ Pete Davidson 's head '

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Texas) hit out at "Saturday Night Live" comedian Pete Davidson's recent admission that his apology to the conservative lawmaker was forced.
Davidson issued an apology to Crenshaw after making fun of the veteran's eye patch during a 2018 segment on the long-running comedy sketch show, and the two later appeared on the show together in an apparent show of camaraderie.
The camaraderie was apparently false, though, on Davidson's behalf because he recently admitted that he only issued an apology to Crenshaw because his hand was forced.
What are the details?
"Listen," Crenshaw said during a Friday "Fox & Friends" appearance. "I can't get out of Pete Davidson's head. He's been — he's been thinking about me a lot for the past year as he builds this comedy routine apparently. I'm not so sure his jokes always land, but it is what it is."
He continued, "It's like our comedic careers are joined at the hip because he can't stop thinking about me. It's a little sad. We had a really good moment at that time in 2018. America liked it. The left and the right liked it. So, we don't really want to ruin that."
During Davidson's new stand-up special, "Alive from New York," Davidson revealed that he was forced to make the apology.
"So I made fun of this guy with an eyepatch and then, like, I kind of got forced to apologize," Davidson said. "My roommate thought I should apologize so that I didn't get shot in the face."
Davidson continued, "People were like, 'You hate America!' And I'm like, 'No, I just didn't want to be incorrect about how he lost his f***ing eye. Is that a crime?!'"
He later added, "The only thing I did do, which I am guilty of — and I apologize for — is I did make that guy famous and a household name for no reason, right? I did what, like, Ariana Grande did for me, right? I sucked his d**k at 'SNL.'"
You can read more on the background here.


theblaze--2020-02-28--House Democrats launch probe into suspected ‘political interference’ in DOJ’s handling of the Roger

House Democrats launch probe into suspected ‘political interference’ in DOJ’s handling of the Roger Stone case

House Democrats launch probe into suspected ‘ political interference ’ in DOJ ’ s handling of the Roger Stone case

The House Judiciary Committee is requesting answers from the Department of Justice about suspected political interference in the Roger Stone case and other criminal cases ahead of a congressional hearing with Attorney General William Barr at the end of March.
Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who has played a large role in House Democrats' previous investigative efforts against the president, sent Barr a letter Friday requesting that the DOJ give the committee information as well as interviews with current and former department officials.
"The Judiciary Committee needs to examine a range of recent actions that smack of political interference, including the Department's withdrawal of the Roger Stone sentencing recommendation; intervening in the handling of the Michael Flynn prosecution; overruling the decision to relocate Paul Manafort to Rikers Island; opening investigations into career officials involved in the Russia investigation; and a series of controversial interventions into sensitive antitrust matters," Chairman Nadler said in a statement about the request. "Our democracy is founded on the notion that no one is above the law, and strict adherence to the rule of law has separated us from all other nations."
Among the 15 current and former Department of Justice officials requested for interviews are the four career prosecutors who resigned from the Stone case during the sentencing controversy earlier this month. The letter also requested an interview with U.S. Attorney for the District Connecticut John Durham, who is leading the DOJ's probe into the origins of the Russia investigation.
In addition to the interviews, the letter also requested further "documents and communications between President Trump, White House officials or employees of the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Justice" related to Stone's cases as well as the several others listed in its four pages, and other related documents.
It also called on the department to provide a "description of each instance in the last 10 years when senior officials of the Department intervened to alter sentencing recommendations by a U.S. Attorney's office."
Stone was sentenced to over three years in federal prison last week. His sentencing became a point of controversy when all four line prosecutors handling the case resigned after the Department of Justice put out an amended sentencing memo saying that the initial recommendation of seven to nine years "could be considered excessive and unwarranted."
This was after President Donald Trump tweeted that the initial recommendation was a "miscarriage of justice," thereby drawing allegations of political interference in the case.
In the letter, Nadler cited the more than 2,000 former DOJ officials who have called for Barr to step down as well as Barr's recent comments about how President Trump's tweeting about DOJ cases makes his job difficult.
"These circumstances are deeply troubling," Nadler wrote. "Although you serve at the President's pleasure, you are also charged with the impartial administration of our laws. In tum, the House JudiciaryCommittee is charged with holding you to that responsibility."
However, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) — called Democrats' request "yet another attempt to distract from the job they've failed to do, which is reform FISA and finally address the abuse that has plagued our nation over the last three years."
In the interview where he discussed the president's tweets, Barr also said that President Trump had "never asked me to do anything in a criminal case."
A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment on the letter.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Joe Biden admits he lied about getting arrested in South Africa while trying to see Nelson Mandela

Joe Biden admits he lied about getting arrested in South Africa while trying to see Nelson Mandela He confessed after @ @ @

Former Vice President Joe Biden has been telling people recently about the time he got arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela. An interesting story, but also, as it turns out, a completely made-up one.
Here's what Biden claimed happened, from the New York Times:
""This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid," Mr. Biden said at a campaign event in South Carolina last week. "I had the great honor of meeting him. I had the great honor of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on Robbens Island."
Mr. Biden referred to his own arrest twice more in the next seven days, including at a campaign stop here on Tuesday where he spoke of getting arrested in South Africa between efforts to coax his wife to marry him. That proposal occurred in 1977, both Bidens have said.
Biden even said he later had the opportunity to meet Mandela in Washington, D.C., and that Mandela thanked him for his work on apartheid, partially due to his arrest.
Biden would have been a senator in Delaware at the time of this event, but journalists who researched the claim couldn't find any information to back it up. Andrew Young, who was the U.N. ambassador at the time of Biden's alleged arrest, said neither he nor Biden was arrested in South Africa.
"No, I was never arrested and I don't think he was, either," Young told the Times, "Now, people were being arrested in Washington. I don't think there was ever a situation where congressmen were arrested in South Africa."
Biden came clean Friday on CNN.
"I wasn't arrested, I was stopped," Biden said on "New Day." "When I said arrested, I was not able to — I was not able to move. Cops would not let me go with them [the Congressional Black Caucus]."
Now, the story goes, Biden was with a black delegation in South Africa when he was urged to go through a "whites only" door, and when he refused, he was allegedly held up by authorities.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Illegal immigrant who has been arrested 36 times was released three times under sanctuary polices. N

Illegal immigrant who has been arrested 36 times was released three times under sanctuary polices. Now he is accused of stabbing a judge.

Illegal immigrant who has been arrested 36 times was released three times under sanctuary polices .
Now he is accused @ @ @ @ @ The crime could have been prevented

An illegal immigrant from Mexico recently charged with stabbing a Denver-area judge was reportedly the subject of three deportation attempts that failed due to local sanctuary policies in the months leading up to the alleged crime.
According to a new investigative report from KUSA-TV, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement lodged three separate detainer requests for Jose Armenta-Vasquez, 39, last year — only to have Denver Sheriff's Department deputies ignore or deny them each time.
ICE submits detainer requests when someone suspected of being in the country illegally is arrested for a crime. The detainers are designed to inform local law enforcement so that they can hold the individual in question until federal immigration officers perform an investigation.
In this case, Denver law enforcement chose to release Armenta-Vasquez back into the public without giving ICE "adequate notification." Just one month after the third detainer request, police believe that Armenta-Vasquez repeatedly stabbed Adams County Magistrate David Blackett near his east Denver home. Blackett nearly died from his stab wounds, KCNC-TV reported.
Though the crime was committed last summer, the suspect was not arrested until Jan. 14.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported that Armenta-Vasquez has been arrested a whopping 36 times over the past two decades and has used two dozen aliases.
KUSA reported:
The detainer requests remain a sore subject in an ongoing feud between the city of Denver and ICE. Denver city officials have repeatedly said they cannot continue to hold anyone — no matter their immigration status — without a signed order from a judge.
ICE leadership, on the other hand, has repeatedly criticized the city of Denver for not being more cooperative with its detainer requests. ...
... When an inmate under a detainer request leaves the Denver jail — in lieu of bond, for example — Denver has elected only to give ICE what amounts to a short "heads up" via fax of the imminent release. Sometimes the fax comes a half-hour before release, and sometimes it comes a few hours before release, according to documents.
"They're not allowing us to assume custody in their jails," ICE Deputy Executive Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Henry Lucero said on Fox News last month with regard to Denver's practices.
Denver is not the only jurisdiction in the U.S. that has adopted sanctuary practices that ultimately put the public at risk.
A recent Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report found that sanctuary policies employed in jurisdictions around the country have amounted to more than 17,000 illegal aliens being at large as of last year.
(H/T: Town Hall)


theblaze--2020-02-28--38% of beer drinkers refuse to buy Corona 'under any circumstances' because of coronavirus, poll fin

38% of beer drinkers refuse to buy Corona 'under any circumstances' because of coronavirus, poll finds

38 % of beer drinkers refuse to buy Corona 'under any circumstances ' because of coronavirus , poll finds 'There @ @ @ @ @ beer is suffering because of coronavirus '

A new poll commissioned by 5W Public Relations found that the image of the popular Mexican beer brand Corona might be taking a hit as Americans could be confusing it with the similarly named coronavirus — or COVID-19 — disease.
According a news release shared by the large PR firm, 38% of beer-drinking Americans indicated they would not buy Corona beer "under any circumstances now."
However, among Americans who already drink Corona regularly, only 4% said they would stop consuming it, while 14% responded they would stop ordering it in public venues, such as bars and restaurants.
'There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of coronavirus'
Still, it appears as though negative news headlines related to the virus are affecting how Americans view the beer brand, despite the fact that there is no relationship between Corona beer and the coronavirus.
"There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus. Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying 'Hey, can I have a Corona?' or 'Pass me A Corona,'" 5W's founder and CEO Ronn Torossian said. "While the brand has claimed that consumers understand there's no linkage between the virus and the beer company, this is a disaster for the Corona brand. After all, what brand wants to be linked to a virus which is killing people worldwide?"
The survey, which was conducted by YouGov, also found that the Corona brand's "buzz score," which indicates whether U.S. adults have heard negative or positive views about the brand, dipped from a high score of 75% at the beginning of the year to 51% in late February 2020.


theblaze--2020-02-28--House Dem 'irritated' by fellow Democrat's grandstanding on coronavirus as official says US risk rem

House Dem 'irritated' by fellow Democrat's grandstanding on coronavirus as official says US risk remains 'low'

House Dem 'irritated ' by fellow Democrat 's grandstanding on coronavirus as official says US risk remains 'low' 'We just @ @ @ @ @ '

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) kicked off a private briefing with Trump administration health officials on Friday by ripping the president's handling of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, but her comments were not well-received. According to news reports, her harsh criticisms prompted several Republicans to walk out of the meeting and even turned off at least one of her Democratic colleagues.
Politico reported that former Health and Human Services Secretary and freshman Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) was "irritated" by DeLauro's remarks, which "missed the purpose of the meeting."
"No one wanted to hear that, either the Democrats or Republican. We just wanted to hear the substance," Shalala said.
Despite Democrats being annoyed with DeLauro's "grandstanding," Ben Shapiro noted that Politico omitted this from its headline of the story and focused instead on the reaction by Republicans.
DeLauro doesn't 'give a rat's ass' what her colleagues think
DeLauro, who leads health appropriations in the House, is said to have accused the Trump administration of lacking a sense of urgency and had failed to address key aspects of the government's readiness to respond to the virus.
As the House members transferred to a larger meeting room, DeLauro told reporters she did not "give a rat's ass" about the reactions from her colleagues.
"I feel that the issue on resources and current expenditures has been less than adequate and that these are some of the questions that we have to get answered," she said. "I quite frankly don't worry about people who may have a concern. I just know that the questions are right."
Risk to Americans 'remains low'
The briefing was led by CDC Director Robert Redfield and NIH infectious disease specialist Tony Fauci, which updated House members on the disease's rate of transferability.
Politico reported that Redfield emphasized "the risk to Americans remained low." However, Fauci is said to have bluntly told lawmakers that an increase in cases in the United States is inevitable.
Fauci also said the coronavirus is "unlikely to disappear" any time soon, according to a person familiar with his statements. However, he strongly denied reports that the White House was preventing him from speaking publicly about the virus.


theblaze--2020-02-28--House passes bill banning menthol cigarettes, flavored vape liquid — but some lawmakers worry about

House passes bill banning menthol cigarettes, flavored vape liquid — but some lawmakers worry about racial implications

House passes bill banning menthol cigarettes , flavored vape liquid — but some lawmakers worry about racial implications

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday to outlaw flavored vaping liquid as well as menthol cigarettes. But some lawmakers are concerned about how the bill's provisions might affect minority smokers.
The final vote was 213-195. Seventeen Democrats voted against it, while five Republicans voted in favor of the measure. The House's lone independent, Justin Amash (Mich.), also voted against the bill.
The bill, "Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019," is designed to reduce tobacco and nicotine use among young people. It would ban flavored tobacco products and flavored vaping liquids, ban online e-cigarette sales, and require graphic warnings showing the health consequences of smoking on cigarette packaging.
"For years now, our country's kids have been experiencing a dramatic rise in nicotine addiction due to tobacco companies marketing flavored vaping and e-cigarettes products to teenagers and young children," bill sponsor Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) said in a Friday press release. "By banning online sales, flavored tobacco products, and targeted advertising to young people, this bill will help improve the long-term health of the American public and reverse the youth tobacco epidemic."
However, the bill was also the subject of some Democratic opposition earlier in the week, the Hill reported Thursday. Some Democrats saw the provisions regarding menthol cigarettes as having a disproportionate effect on black communities.
According to the anti-tobacco group Truth Initiative, "nearly 90 percent of all African-American smokers use menthol cigarettes."
The government shouldn't "tell full-grown adults, those over 21, what they can and cannot do with a legal product," Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) told the Hill. "I'm not a smoker, so I would never smoke. But you know, for those who do, they ought to be able to smoke what they want to smoke."
McEachin is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who voted against passage of the bill on Friday. Other members of the caucus who voted against the measure were Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.).
In a statement issued after the bill's passage, Clarke said that while there are "clear health benefits" to the bill, "I have real concerns around this bill passing that would negatively impact the Black community and communities of color at a higher rate."
Her statement said it's "unjust" for the legislation to exempt flavored premium cigars, "which is the preferred flavor of elite white tobacco users — while banning the preferred 'flavor' of Black tobacco users, menthol."
Additionally, a letter from from advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union earlier this week also voiced concerns that the bill could lead to over-policing, Politico reported.
But regardless of what support such a measure might garner in the Senate, the White House vowed to veto it in a statement of administration policy on Thursday.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Drag queen performs suggestive dance for little girl — crawls up to her on hands and knees — while a

Drag queen performs suggestive dance for little girl — crawls up to her on hands and knees — while adults in room smile, clap, shimmy

Drag queen performs suggestive dance for little girl — crawls up to her on hands and knees — while adults @ @ @ @ @ , shimmy ' A truly grotesque illustration of our moral collapse '

A viral video depicts a drag queen performing a suggestive dance for a little girl — even crawling up to her on hands and knees — while adults in the room smile, clap, and shimmy.
TikTok user @ameliamarino89 posted the video with the accompanying caption “Drag Brunch realness." That account was taken down Friday afternoon.
In the clip, the drag queen is shown crawling up to the little girl and handing the child what appears to be a dollar bill, while a woman standing feet away from the child claps and dances:
Image source: TikTok video screenshot
Image source: TikTok video screenshot
Image source: TikTok video screenshot
The drag queen then gets up, dances away from the little girl, then dances suggestively back toward her before kneeling down next to her seat and embracing her:
Image source: TikTok video screenshot
Image source: TikTok video screenshot
While the TikTok video was taken down Friday afternoon, a number of copies are out there:
Who is the drag queen in the video?
Tynomi Banks of Toronto is the drag queen depicted in the video, the Daily Caller reported, citing Banks' publicist.
Banks' Facebook page under "gender" indicates "female."
"There's nothing wrong with kids watching drag so long as it's an appropriate show lmao," TikTok user sarakennn_ commented on the original clip, the Daily Caller said, adding that the user who posted the TikTok video replied, "Agreed."
The outlet also said the original poster of the TikTok video commented, “The friendship we didn't know we needed, but now can't live without."
But comments under the Twitter version of the video were far less charitable:
"I just don't believe it. I'm gay and eternally grateful for the change in society. But children should be allowed a childhood. These people not only do not speak for me, they p*ss me off intensely."
"This is an adult entertainer performing a sexual dance to a toddler. Every adult that is laughing and clapping is engaging in child abuse."
"This is a truly grotesque illustration of our moral collapse."
"They fought for this, we need to fight back! Our children are being brainwashed, at the most formative time in their lives."
"Dear God what have we done."
"Something's wrong w/ adults in this video standing by letting this happen w/ their clapping, smiles & keeping in tune with a drag queen with derriere hanging out of very short shorts dancing before an innocent little girl ... Products of lib brainwashing by the non-conforming left."
The Daily Caller said the TikTok video was posted Feb. 9. Banks' website indicates a Feb. 8 "Drag Brunch" at Dominion Pub and Kitchen in Toronto, and the restaurant lists the same event. A wall in the video is adorned with the word "LOVE" in large letters, which appears to match a wall at Dominion Pub and Eatery which can be seen in the "photo gallery" on the Fab Restaurants site.
Neither Dominion Pub and Kitchen nor Banks' booking agent on Friday immediately replied to TheBlaze's request for comment regarding the location depicted in the clip.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Polls show Elizabeth Warren on track to lose her own state on Super Tuesday

Polls show Elizabeth Warren on track to lose her own state on Super Tuesday Why is she staying in the @ @

Once considered the front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) is on track to lose her home state of Massachusetts in the March 3 Super Tuesday primary, according to a pair of polls released this week.
A YouGov/UMass poll released Thursday shows Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) edging out Warren in the Bay State, 25% to 23%, followed by Pete Buttigieg (14%), Joe Biden (12%), and Mike Bloomberg (9%). The study was conducted February 18-24.
Meanwhile, a study released Friday by MassINC Polling found the Vermont democratic socialist beating Warren in her own state by 8 percentage points, 25% to 17%. Similar to the YouGov poll, the two progressives are followed by Buttigieg (14%), Bloomberg (13%), and Biden (9%). The study was taken Feb. 23-26.
'I'm staying in the race'
Despite not having won a single primary contest thus far and polls showing her trailing in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and unlikely to carry any Super Tuesday state where 40% of the electorate is eligible to vote, Warren insists she will not be dropping out of the race before the DNC convention this summer.
According to USA Today, Warren indicated at a CNN town hall event that she would likely remain in the contest through July even if she does not have the most delegates among the candidates in the field.
"A lot of people made $5 contributions to my campaign to keep me in it," she said. "And as long as they want me to stay in this race, I'm staying in this race. That, and I've done a lot of pinkie promises out there, so I gotta stay in this. I've told little girls, 'We persist.'"
USA Today explained that pursuant to rules established by the Democratic National Committee, "a candidate must have the support of a majority of the 3,979 available pledged delegates to lock up the nomination on the first ballot."
However, if no candidate hits the 1,991 delegates votes needed, "the 'contested convention' moves to a second ballot, which would include 771 unpledged delegates — better known as 'superdelegates' — who are composed of elected officials and Democratic Party leaders."
Hoping that 'superdelegates' do not back Sanders
Warren seems to be hoping for the 771 "superdelegates" to see her as an alternative to Sanders that can unite the party's progressive and "moderate" coalitions.
As TheBlaze reported Thursday, the New York Times interviewed 93 of the 771 "superdelegates" and found that 84 of them were unwilling to support Sanders at the party's nominating convention in Milwaukee.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Restricting abortion infringes on 'religious freedom,' says Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Which religion is that , exactly ?

Pro-life bills to ensure care for babies who survive abortions and to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy failed in the Senate this week, and Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) said they represented an attack on religious freedom, according to LifeSite News.
Despite earning support from a majority of the Senate, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act failed to get the required 60 votes necessary to advance. Gillibrand, a former presidential candidate with a 100% approval rating from Planned Parenthood, celebrated the results.
"This is part of President Trump and Mitch McConnell's all-out assault on women," Gillibrand told MSNBC. "They're trying to harm women. They're trying to take away their civil rights, their human rights, their ability to make the most important, intimate decisions of their lives. They're taking away their religious freedom. They're taking away their moral freedom.
"These two measures that we're voting on literally changes the landscape of how we treat a baby who was born, who cannot survive outside the womb and how those parents want to be able to have those final moments with their child," Gillibrand continued. "It is a horrible, horrible choice by Mitch McConnell to force these votes, and we've voted on these measures before and they've lost. I think this is just a political ploy to satisfy those who are attending the CPAC conference."
The Born-Alive act simply requires that an infant born after failed abortion attempts be considered a "legal person" with the "same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn," and that health care practitioners "exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age."
The Pain-Capable act would ban most abortions after 20 weeks, the age at which it is believed the unborn child can feel pain. The bill contained exceptions for rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Jimmy Kimmel joins chorus of liberals mocking Mike Pence: ‘What is his plan to stop the [coronavirus

Jimmy Kimmel joins chorus of liberals mocking Mike Pence: ‘What is his plan to stop the [coronavirus], abstinence?’

Jimmy Kimmel joins chorus of liberals mocking Mike Pence : ‘ What is his plan to stop the [ coronavirus @ @ @ @ @

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday night after President Donald Trump announced that Pence would lead the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus outbreak.
"Why is Mike Pence in charge?" Kimmel asked. "What is his plan to stop the virus, abstinence?" Kimmel quipped in reference to Pence's adherence to moral values.
"I think Trump might be trying to kill him. I really do," Kimmel added.
The comedian also suggested that Pence is nothing but a flunky for President Trump.
"I hope the virus isn't spread by kissing ass, because if it is, they've got the wrong guy," he said mockingly.
Here's video of the comments provided by NewsBusters:
Kimmel is just the latest progressive in the public eye to pile on to the vice president after it was announced he would lead the effort to contain the virus in America.
In the day following the announcement fury ensued from Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning political pundits alike, who attacked Pence for being "anti-science."
In a tweet, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said bluntly: "Mike Pence literally does not believe in science."
"It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic. This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have," she added.
Also on Twitter, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said: "Mike Pence is not an upgrade. Putting a guy in charge of a deadly major pandemic who doesn't believe in science and thinks smoking doesn't cause cancer is...well...NOT A GREAT IDEA."
CNN ran an op-ed on the decision, titled, "Mike Pence is exactly the wrong guy for this job."
A report from the Independent went as far as to note that Pence "is also a longtime climate change sceptic, and has often expressed doubt about the theory of evolution."
As fear grows over the potential mass spread of the coronavirus in the U.S., critics have expressed concerns over the way Trump has initially responded, accusing him of downplaying the dangers. But the latest attacks on Pence may strike hearers as less about safety and more about disagreement with the vice president's belief system.
After all, this is not the first time Pence has come under fire from the left for his faith and moral standards.
in 2017, progressives panned Pence for his practice of not going out to dinner with another woman without his wife, Karen, being present. Last year, critics pounced on him once again after news broke that his wife would gain employment at a Christian school as an art teacher.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Democratic lawmaker says he would have a ‘serious altercation’ with Donald Trump Jr. over coronaviru

Democratic lawmaker says he would have a ‘serious altercation’ with Donald Trump Jr. over coronavirus remarks: 'Better not get any place close to me'

Democratic lawmaker says he would have a ‘ serious altercation ’ with Donald Trump Jr. over coronavirus remarks : 'Better @ @ @ @ @ to me' Is that really necessary ?

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) threatened Donald Trump Jr. with a "serious altercation" during a Friday interview on MSNBC.
In remarks, the president's son suggested that Democrats want the coronavirus to spread within the United States — a notion that apparently infuriated Garamendi.
Wait — what did Trump Jr. say, anyway?
During a Friday interview with Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Trump Jr. said, "For [Democrats] to try to take a pandemic, and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so they can end Donald Trump's streak of winning, is a new level of sickness."
"I don't know if this is coronavirus or Trump derangement syndrome," he added.
What are the details?
Garamendi discussed California's latest confirmed coronavirus patient with MSNBC's Hallie Jackson, as well as news of the HHS whistleblower, who revealed that the agency reportedly dropped the ball on safely handling Americans who were exposed to coronavirus.
During the exchange, Garamendi took aim at Trump Jr. over the "Fox & Friends" remarks.
"I think it's coming through the screen you're angry, you're obviously visibly emotional about [coronavirus]," Jackson began.
She later added, "When you look at the discussion around coronavirus ... the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. was on this morning and suggested, or said outright, that Democrats are taking the pandemic seemingly hoping it ... it comes here and it kills millions of people so it can end the president's streak of winning."
Garmendi responded, "[Trump Jr.] shouldn't be near me when he says that. There would be a serious altercation."
“That's just totally outrageous," he continued. "I can assure you that there's not a Democrat or Republican in Congress that wants anybody to be sick. What we are concerned about is the administration's response to this illness."
He concluded, "Don Jr. better not get any place close to me. It would not be a healthy situation."


theblaze--2020-02-28--'The bitter end': Bloomberg, Warren vow to keep campaigns up until the Dem convention, even if they’

'The bitter end': Bloomberg, Warren vow to keep campaigns up until the Dem convention, even if they’re still behind

'The bitter end ' : Bloomberg , Warren vow to keep campaigns up until the Dem convention , even if @ @ @ @ @ Will there be a convention fight ?

As contentious as the 2020 Democratic presidential primary has been so far, the contest could end up being fought all the way to the convention, according to statements made by two candidates: Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Massachusetts Sen.Elizabeth Warren.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Bloomberg said that he "absolutely" would stay in the primary race, even if behind in the delegate count, so long as he had a "chance of winning."
"Why would I spend all of this money, all of this time out of my life, and wear and tear, you know, which I love — incidentally, (it) reminds me of my three campaigns in New York for mayor, which I did like," Bloomberg told the network. "The difference here is I've got to fly from event to event where there I used to drive from event to event. But yeah sure, I love it, I am going to stay right to the bitter end, as long as I have a chance."
Similarly, at a Thursday CNN town hall, Warren made a similar pledge, saying that she planned to lobby superdelegates if there's no outright winner after the convention's first vote.
"To be clear, would you continue your fight for the Democratic nomination even if another candidate arrived at the convention ahead of you in the delegate count?," CNN's Don Lemon asked the Massachusetts Democrat during a portion of the town hall discussing the convention.
"Yes," she answered, according to the network.
When asked why, she said "Because a lot of people made $5 contributions to my campaign to keep me in it.
"As long as they want me to stay in this race, I'm staying in this race," she later told Lemon. "That, and I've done a lot of pinkie promises out there. So I've got to stay in this. I told little girls we persist."
After the bitter 2016 primary fight between Sanders and eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party officials changed the convention rules in 2018 to give "superdelegates" — who are free to support whichever candidate of they choose — less influence in the nomination process. Under the new rules, the superdelegates cannot vote on the first ballot at the convention. Which means, that a lot of the decision will shift to them if none of the candidates can garner a majority of pledged delegates before the convention, which could make things fairly chaotic.
If the superdelegates get to vote this time around, that could very bad news for Sanders' nomination prospects. A New York Times report published Thursday interviewed 93 superdelegates "and found overwhelming opposition to handing the Vermont senator the nomination if he arrived with the most delegates but fell short of a majority."
Of course, at this point, talk of an intra-party convention fight is all speculation. It's still early in the process and Sanders — the current front-runner — may very well end up getting a majority of delegates before the primaries are over, which would make Warren's and Bloomberg's pledges moot. Still, the prospect of a contentious convention showdown in Milwaukee could definitely make things far more interesting as time draws nearer to election day in November.


theblaze--2020-02-28--House Dems block resolution condemning Sanders' pro-Castro comments

Although some Democrats have tried distancing themselves from a series of recent comments by Sen. Bernie Sanders where he praised certain aspects of late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro 's authoritarian regime , including a `` massive literacy program , '' House Democrats voted unanimously to block a resolution condemning the presidential candidate 's remarks .
Introduced by Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart , who is Cuban American , the House resolution called out Sanders by name for `` disregarding the history of systemic human rights abuses , forced indoctrination , and authoritarian actions of the literacy and education policies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Condemned communism and torture of innocent men and women Diaz-Balart 's resolution also asked House members to affirm that `` the literacy and education policy of the tyrannical Castro dictatorship served to indoctrinate the Cuban people with Marxist-Communist ideology and anti-United States sentiment '' and repudiate Castro 's use of firing squads and imprisonment of political dissidents .
The House resolution also recognized that communism `` has claimed at least 100,000,000 victims , and has led to financial ruin and brutal oppression in Asia , Europe , and the Western Hemisphere .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ introduce the statement for a House vote , Diaz-Balart emphasized the Castro regime 's record of backing anti-American dictatorships throughout the world .
`` I remind the senator and the progressive movement that the Castro regime is a threat , not only by the way to the national security of the United States , but also to all of the democracies in this hemisphere .
This regime has been on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for many years for its support of other terrorist states and organized terrorist groups , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Wednesday when announcing the resolution .
`` That is , by the way , why I 'm filing , filed a resolution that condemns the blatantly false , irresponsible , ignorant , highly ignorant and hurtful comments of the democratic socialist candidate for president , Mr. Sanders , '' Diaz-Balart added , according to The Hill .
In a `` 60 Minutes '' interview aired on Sunday , Sanders praised the Cuban regime , noting that Castro `` formed a literacy brigade ... he went out and they helped people learn to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing . ''
The comments drew bipartisan criticism , even prompting a DNC spokeswoman to have to clarify that the Democratic Party opposes the island 's communist regime .
`` I will let Bernie Sanders speak for his comments , but we are very clear in the Democratic Party that we speak out against brutal dictatorships like those of Castro and we support the people of Cuba , fleeing Cuba under that dictatorship , '' However , when a vote was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be brought forth to the full House of Representatives for a vote , not a single Democratic House member supported it .
Two South Florida Democrats — Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala — were among 16 House members who did not vote on the matter .

Although some Democrats have tried distancing themselves from a series of recent comments by Sen. Bernie Sanders where he praised certain aspects of late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's authoritarian regime, including a "massive literacy program," House Democrats voted unanimously to block a resolution condemning the presidential candidate's remarks.
Introduced by Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who is Cuban American, the House resolution called out Sanders by name for "disregarding the history of systemic human rights abuses, forced indoctrination, and authoritarian actions of the literacy and education policies of the Communist Castro dictatorship in Cuba."
Condemned communism and torture of innocent men and women
Diaz-Balart's resolution also asked House members to affirm that "the literacy and education policy of the tyrannical Castro dictatorship served to indoctrinate the Cuban people with Marxist-Communist ideology and anti-United States sentiment" and repudiate Castro's use of firing squads and imprisonment of political dissidents.
The House resolution also recognized that communism "has claimed at least 100,000,000 victims, and has led to financial ruin and brutal oppression in Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere."
When he announced his plans to introduce the statement for a House vote, Diaz-Balart emphasized the Castro regime's record of backing anti-American dictatorships throughout the world.
"I remind the senator and the progressive movement that the Castro regime is a threat, not only by the way to the national security of the United States, but also to all of the democracies in this hemisphere. This regime has been on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for many years for its support of other terrorist states and organized terrorist groups," he told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday when announcing the resolution.
"That is, by the way, why I'm filing, filed a resolution that condemns the blatantly false, irresponsible, ignorant, highly ignorant and hurtful comments of the democratic socialist candidate for president, Mr. Sanders," Diaz-Balart added, according to The Hill.
Democrats unanimously block it
In a "60 Minutes" interview aired on Sunday, Sanders praised the Cuban regime, noting that Castro "formed a literacy brigade ... he went out and they helped people learn to read and write. You know what? I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing."
The comments drew bipartisan criticism, even prompting a DNC spokeswoman to have to clarify that the Democratic Party opposes the island's communist regime.
"I will let Bernie Sanders speak for his comments, but we are very clear in the Democratic Party that we speak out against brutal dictatorships like those of Castro and we support the people of Cuba, fleeing Cuba under that dictatorship,"
However, when a vote was taken Thursday on whether Diaz-Balart's resolution should be brought forth to the full House of Representatives for a vote, not a single Democratic House member supported it.
Two South Florida Democrats — Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala — were among 16 House members who did not vote on the matter.


theblaze--2020-02-28--AP decides not to declare a winner after latest Iowa fiasco recount, citing lingering accuracy conce

AP decides not to declare a winner after latest Iowa fiasco recount, citing lingering accuracy concerns

AP decides not to declare a winner after latest Iowa fiasco recount , citing lingering accuracy concerns Yet another embarrassment @ @ @

It's been over three weeks since the Iowa Democratic caucuses became a subject of national confusion, frustration, and confusion. Now, in the latest embarrassment, the Associated Place is refusing to declare a winner in the hotly debated electoral fiasco after a recent recount.
After the Iowa Democratic Party released a new set of caucus results late Thursday, the AP explained its reasoning in a story dated Friday morning:
In the new results, Buttigieg has 562.954 state delegate equivalents and Sanders has 562.021 state delegate equivalents out of 2,151 counted. That is a margin of 0.04 percentage points.
The Associated Press has reviewed the updated results and will not call a winner, given remaining concerns about whether the results as reported by the party are fully accurate. The Feb. 3 caucuses were beset by technical glitches that led to a delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner.
The party plans to certify the results on Saturday. At that point, the caucuses will formally end, and no further changes to the results will be made.
The latest recount was done at the request of the presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Buttigieg and focused on 23 precincts over the course of two days, according to a Thursday statement from the state party.
And while Buttigieg still holds the lead in state delegate equivalents after the recount, Sanders still has the lead in the popular vote in the contest.
Saturday's final certification of the results will likely bring an end to what has been a nearly monthlong disaster for the Iowa Democratic Party, but the AP's decision in this case forecasts that there will always be doubts about their accuracy.
Iowa Democrats' electoral embarrassment began on the evening of Feb. 3 after it became clear that problems in reporting results would mean no winner would be declared that night.
After days of chaos and confusion, final numbers came in on Feb. 6, but even those were plagued by accuracy concerns. At the time, the Associated Press said that it couldn't declare a winner in the contest, citing the "tight margin between Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders and irregularities in this year's caucus process."
Furthermore, the New York Times analysis also found that "more than 100 precincts reported results that were internally inconsistent, that were missing data or that were not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses."
The caucuses problem was later blamed on a malfunctioning reporting app, which inspired Democrats in Nevada to change their caucus reporting process ahead of time in order to avoid a similar debacle from the same technology.


theblaze--2020-02-28--CNN commentator says 'shame on you' to black voters who still support President Trump

CNN commentator says 'shame on you ' to black voters who still support President Trump

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has increased its efforts to attract black voters, but CNN commentator Angela Rye dismissed those efforts and chastised black people who still choose to support Trump, according to RealClearPolitics.
Rye said credit for the record-low black unemployment rate belongs to former President Barack Obama, and that the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform law passed under the Trump administration, isn't enough to compensate for Trump's past stances on the issue.
"Donald Trump does not have a tremendous record to stand on as it relates to criminal justice reform. He has one bill passed. And a strategy that has not served black and brown people for years from before his election, right?" Rye said Wednesday on CNN's "Tonight" with Don Lemon. "I think Donald Trump does not have a strong record to stand on as it relates to black unemployment. He has Barack Obama's record to stand on with that, and I think that at some point black folks have got to look themselves in the mirror and say, 'Hey, do I want to follow Mark Burns? Do I want to follow Katrina Pierson? Do I want to follow Diamond and Silk?' Who the hell are these people, right?
"Instead, you want to give Donald Trump kudos for throwing Cheez-It bits at you and then criticize the people who have spent their careers doing things for the betterment of black people and black society," Rye continued. "And I would just say at that point, if you still go over to Donald Trump after that, shame on you. Period."
Trump won the election with only 8% of the black vote in 2016, but he could have a chance to increase that support — particularly if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wins the Democratic nomination instead of former Vice President Joe Biden, who has consistently been more popular than Sanders with black voters.
There is a gender gap among black voters — black men are more likely to support President Trump than black women. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 24% of black men approve of Trump, compared to only 6% of black women. Trump's policies and outreach appear to have made some progress with black men, but black women in general may have become even less supportive of the president through his first term.


theblaze--2020-02-28--Twitter suspended UK rapper Zuby for misgendering. All he said was, ‘Ok dude.’

Twitter suspended UK rapper Zuby for misgendering .
All he said was , ‘ Ok dude .
’

Twitter allegedly suspended British rapper Zuby from the platform Wednesday after he commented "Ok dude" in response to another user who claimed to be "sleeping with more women" than he. That user turned out to be a trans activist who identifies as a female.
Zuby — who rose to fame last year after he jokingly posted videos of himself breaking the women's deadlift and bench press records while identifying as a woman — took to Twitter recently to share advice with women on "how to land a great guy."
That's when another user under the account name "Pronoun Enforcer" replied to the post, saying, "I'm like 95% sure i'm sleeping with more women than you and this is terrible advice."
Zuby then replied to that comment by simply saying, "Ok dude" — a remark that Twitter reportedly found to be "hateful" after further review.
"Pronoun Enforcer," or transgender left-wing activist Emily Gorcenski, had apparently reported Zuby to the Twitter authorities, complaining that his comment misgendered her. After a week of back-and-forth with Zuby, Twitter decided to suspend him and offer him two options: appeal the ruling or remove the content. If he removed the content, his account would be reinstated after 12 hours, but if he appealed, the incident would be reviewed again. He appealed, but on Wednesday, he found out that his appeal had been rejected and so he had to delete the tweet.
"There was no other option," he told the Washington Examiner.
Gorcenski posted on Twitter soon after the decision taking credit for the action taken against Zuby's account, celebrating by saying, "Lol misogynist down. Pronouns enforced."
Zuby confirmed the news that his Twitter account had been temporarily suspended on his Instagram despite his appeal.
"I've been temporarily locked out of Twitter for tweeting 'OK dude' in response to someome [sic]. Apparently that violates the 'hateful conduct' policy. Wow... I've appealed it," he said including a screenshot of the incident.
"It wasn't even a gendered statement, not that it should even matter," Zuby added in his conversation with the Examiner. "I used it as a synonym for like, 'Yeah, whatever.' I didn't go and research the person I was responding too. Perhaps I should have because they're an antifa activist who spends their time trying to doxx people and get people kicked off platforms that they don't like."
Several Twitter users have pointed to times when Gorcenski has used violent rhetoric on the platform, including one tweet, which allegedly read: "I now call all antifa groups to consider the TERF (Trans-exclusionary radical feminist) movement to be properly considered to be a white supremacist movement and treated like the Nazi platform that they are. No one gets left behind."
At the time of publication, Zuby's Twitter account appeared to be online, but he has yet to post since the incident.
Update: After Gorcenski's account was ranked in a people "who need their phone taken" away list by the Washington Examiner's Siraj Hashmi on Thursday, Gorcenski quote-tweeted the ranking with an ironic critique.
"Getting offended over free speech by advocating for the silencing of people with different viewpoints," Gorcenski said in regards to being placed on the list, apparently not recognizing the irony.
Image Source: Twitter screenshot
Editor's Note: This post was updated to include a tweet from the "Pronoun Enforcer" Twitter account about being placed on a list of people who should have their phone taken away.


theblaze--2020-02-28--AOC invokes her faith and Jesus Christ in screed saying religious freedom is used for 'discriminatio

AOC invokes her faith and Jesus Christ in screed saying religious freedom is used for 'discrimination' and 'bigotry' against LGBT people

AOC invokes her faith and Jesus Christ in screed saying religious freedom is used for 'discrimination ' and 'bigotry ' @ @ @ @ @ nothing holy about rejecting medical care of people '

Any religious person whose faith does not align with "progressive" orthodoxy on matters like human sexuality, marriage, or basic human biology has probably heard at some point or another that their beliefs are actually bigoted and that their faith is merely subterfuge for that kind of animus. Well, they would have heard something similar if they tuned into a House Oversight Hearing on religious freedom this week.
At the hearing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) invoked her personal faith, claiming that Jesus Christ would be maligned in Congress, and accused traditional believers of using religious freedom to defend "bigotry and discrimination."
The hearing, "The Administration's Religious Liberty Assault on LGBTQ Rights," was designed to "examine the Administration's actions to erode LGBTQ rights in multiple areas, including healthcare, employment, adoption, and foster care."
"I'm experiencing this hearing and I'm struggling whether I respond or launch into this question as a legislator or from the perspective of a woman of faith," Ocasio-Cortez began.
The far-left freshman even went as far as to compare religious freedom claims regarding sexual morality and human biology to scriptural arguments made in favor of slavery and white supremacy.
"I cannot, it's very difficult to sit here and listen to arguments in the long history in this country of using scripture and weaponizing and abusing scripture to justify bigotry," she said. "White supremacists have done it, those who justified slavery did it, those who fought against integration did it, and we're seeing it today."
The congresswoman then went on suggest that her colleagues would go as far as driving Jesus Christ out of Congress.
"Sometimes, especially this body, I feel as though if Christ himself walked through these doors and said what he said thousands of years ago, that we should love our neighbor and our enemy, that we should welcome the stranger, fight for the least of us ... he would be maligned as a radical and rejected from these doors."
One of the witnesses was Evan Minton — a biological female who identifies as male — who is suing a Catholic hospital in California for not performing a hysterectomy "because the surgery was related to my gender transition," according to the witnesses' prepared testimony. Minton also described how "the Trump Administration singled me out" by citing the case in a health care conscience-rights rule first proposed in 2018.
"There is nothing holy about rejecting medical care of people, no matter who they are on the grounds of what their identity is; There is nothing holy about turning someone away from a hospital," Ocasio-Cortez said during her remarks.
"My faith commands me to treat Mr. Minton as holy because he is sacred, because his life is sacred, because you are not to be denied anything that I am entitled to," the congresswoman later said. "That we are equal in the eyes of the law and we are equal — in my faith — in the eyes of the world."
While Ocasio-Cortez has previously claimed to be Catholic in the past when advocating for criminal justice reforms, despite her public positions on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender ideology, which don't quite align with where the church stands, to say the least.
Toward the end of her remarks, the now-visibly angry New York Democrat said that she was "tired of communities of faith being weaponized and being mischaracterized because the only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I'm tired of it,"
She later went on to accuse the Trump administration of advancing "the idea that religion and faith is about exclusion."
Of course, the congresswoman's arguments here stem from the common assumption that not condoning or participation a person's actions somehow implies hatred or bigotry toward that person or a group of people.
In reality, the argument that any serious conscience rights advocate will offer about these kinds of situations goes like this:
When a religious hospital says that they cannot conduct a transgender medical procedure that goes against the tenets of their belief, the resistance is to the procedure rather than an active prejudice toward the person asking for it. When a Christian baker or florist can't serve as a vendor for a same-sex wedding ceremony, the issue at hand for them is not being able to participate in an action they believe to be sinful, rather than a desire not to associate with a class of people they don't like. When a pro-life doctor or hospital won't perform an abortion, it's not because of some secret desire to control a woman's organs, but because their conscience won't allow them to facilitate the taking of unborn life.
But while those may be a critical distinctions to the people who sincerely hold those beliefs and expect the First Amendment protection to live them out, to others, it's all merely deception for the sake of "bigotry and discrimination."


theblaze--2020-02-28--Mural of civil rights leader vandalized with racist graffiti during Black History Month — and cops h

Mural of civil rights leader vandalized with racist graffiti during Black History Month — and cops have suspect on video @ @ @ @ @ up '

A mural depicting civil rights leader Cecil B. Moore was vandalized with racist graffiti in a north Philadelphia neighborhood earlier this month, and KYW-TV reported that it angered residents, particularly as the crime occurred in the middle of Black History Month.
Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot
What are the details?
The graffiti included the F-word and N-word, and the act was carried out early on Feb. 15, the station said.
"I don't know why they did that right there, what they did is crazy," neighbor Chris Jackson told KYW. "I'm baffled, I'm appalled."
Image source: KYW-TV video screenshot
Moore was the Philadelphia city council member, lawyer, and World War II veteran who led the fight to desegregate Girard College, the station said, adding that Moore raised his children in the neighborhood where the mural is displayed.
A statement from Mural Arts read in part, "We condemn defacing of public art, especially with racist slurs of one of Philadelphia's great leaders," KYW reported.
"The timing, it's Black History Month," Jackson added to the station. "It's a nice, black area. It's just not adding up."
Cops have a suspect on camera
Philadelphia police on Wednesday released images of the suspect wanted for spray-painting the racial slurs on mural, KYW-TV reported in a follow-up story.
Police said the suspect also was caught on camera spray-painting slurs at Brightside Academy and Habitat for Humanity, and that all of the incidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Feb. 15.
Cops said the suspect is a black male between 25 and 35 years old with a medium build who was wearing a black jacket, gray sweatshirt, blue jeans, brown shoes, and carrying a black duffel bag.
youtu.be
Anything else?
The day after President Donald Trump was elected, TheBlaze reported on vandalism in Philadelphia: In one incident, swastikas and the Nazi salute "Sieg Heil" were spray painted — and in a second incident, the phrases "Trump Rules" and "Black Bitch" were spray painted.
Police arrested William Tucker, 58, of Lawnside, New Jersey, in connection with the second vandalism incident.
William Tucker Image source: Philadelphia police
Turns out the woman, who owns the white 2015 Nissan Armada SUV that was spray painted with "Trump Rules" and "Black B***h," saw police surveillance video of the act and identified Tucker, saying he's an ex-boyfriend of eight years, Philly.com reported, citing court documents. Tucker and the victim are black, the Associated Press said.
More from Philly.com:
Tucker is also accused of spray painting "Trump Rules" on the driver's side of a white 2016 Infiniti QX60 SUV, and on the side of a house on the 900 block of South Sixth Street. Lastly, he is charged with spray painting the letter "T" on the front hood of a white 2013 Lincoln MKX SUV.
Tucker was charged with four counts of criminal mischief and was released on his own recognizance the day of his arrest, Philly.com said.


theblaze--2020-02-28--HHS whistleblower says American workers met Wuhan evacuees without taking proper precautions

A government whistleblower told the Washington Post that more than a dozen Health and Human Services employees evacuated Americans from Wuhan , China , without any proper protective gear to prevent the spread of coronavirus .
Wuhan , China , was the epicenter of the coronavirus — or COVID-19 — outbreak .
What are the details ?
The allegations only get worse : The whistleblower told the outlet that none of the HHS workers reportedly had proper training for infection control , either .
None of the employees showed symptoms of coronavirus , according to the whistleblower — but none @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The whistleblower — a senior HHS official based in Washington , D.C. , according to the outlet — is seeking federal protection .
The female employee says that she was unfairly reassigned after sounding the alarm on the alleged evacuation protocol .
The unnamed employee says that she was notified on Feb. 19 that she will be terminated if she does not accept the new assignment .
She filed a complaint against the department on Wednesday with the Office of the Special Counsel .
A spokesperson for the Office of the Special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , indeed , received the woman 's complaint and is reviewing the case .
Ari Wilkenfeld , a lawyer for the whistleblower , told CNN that his client will not be intimidated into silence .
`` We are hopeful that Congress and the OSC will investigate this case in a timely and comprehensive manner , '' Wilkenfeld said in a statement .
`` This matter concerns HHS 's response to the coronavirus , and its failure to protect its employees and potentially the public .
The retaliatory efforts to intimidate and silence our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news comes on the heels of the controversy surrounding Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Azar , who is accused of mishandling the response to the coronavirus epidemic .
The Centers for Disease Control warns that it 's only a matter of when , not if , the coronavirus spreads throughout the U.S. Azar , however , has continually insisted that the coronavirus is of low risk to Americans — directly contradicting advisories from the CDC .
The CDC reports that the `` potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 is high , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''

A government whistleblower told the Washington Post that more than a dozen Health and Human Services employees evacuated Americans from Wuhan, China, without any proper protective gear to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Wuhan, China, was the epicenter of the coronavirus — or COVID-19 — outbreak.
What are the details?
The allegations only get worse: The whistleblower told the outlet that none of the HHS workers reportedly had proper training for infection control, either.
None of the employees showed symptoms of coronavirus, according to the whistleblower — but none of the workers were tested, either.
The whistleblower — a senior HHS official based in Washington, D.C., according to the outlet — is seeking federal protection. The female employee says that she was unfairly reassigned after sounding the alarm on the alleged evacuation protocol. The unnamed employee says that she was notified on Feb. 19 that she will be terminated if she does not accept the new assignment.
She filed a complaint against the department on Wednesday with the Office of the Special Counsel.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Special Counsel told the outlet that it has, indeed, received the woman's complaint and is reviewing the case.
Ari Wilkenfeld, a lawyer for the whistleblower, told CNN that his client will not be intimidated into silence.
"We are hopeful that Congress and the OSC will investigate this case in a timely and comprehensive manner," Wilkenfeld said in a statement. "This matter concerns HHS's response to the coronavirus, and its failure to protect its employees and potentially the public. The retaliatory efforts to intimidate and silence our client must be opposed."
What else?
The news comes on the heels of the controversy surrounding Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Azar, who is accused of mishandling the response to the coronavirus epidemic.
The Centers for Disease Control warns that it's only a matter of when, not if, the coronavirus spreads throughout the U.S.
Azar, however, has continually insisted that the coronavirus is of low risk to Americans — directly contradicting advisories from the CDC. The CDC reports that the "potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 is high, both globally and to the United States."


theblaze--2020-02-28--Dozens of Turkish soldiers killed in Syrian airstrike; Turkey vows retaliation

Turkish officials are calling for 'concrete actions ' from NATO allies

Turkey said Thursday that dozens of its soldiers were killed in northwestern Syria in an airstrike carried out by the Syrian government, and a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised Turkey would "retaliate against the illegal regime."
What are the details?
The Associated Press reported that the governor of Turkey's Hatay province, Rahmi Dogan, said 29 Turkish troops were killed and another 30-plus wounded in an airstrike carried out in the Syrian province of Idlib.
President Erdogan called an emergency meeting with his top security officials after the attack, according to the Washington Post, which cited local media reports.
Turkish officials blamed the Russian-backed Syrian government ruled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the attack, and Erdogan spokesman Fahrettin Altun promised Turkey would "retaliate against the illegal regime, which pointed their guns at our soldiers."
The New York Times reported that the attack "could dramatically change the course of the Syrian war as fears grow of a direct conflict between Russia and Turkey, a NATO member." The outlet noted Turkish protesters rallied outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, chanting, "Murder Russia! Murder Putin!"
According to the Times, the spokesman for President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party told CNN Turk news channel, "The attack against Turkey is an attack against NATO. NATO should have been with Turkey, not starting today but from before these events. We are expecting concrete actions on the safe zone and no-fly zone."
Anything else?
Turkey also announced that it would not longer stop Syrian refugees from fleeing to Europe by land or sea, Reuters reported. A Turkish official told the outlet that Turkey's police, coast guard, and border security officials have all been told to stand down in anticipation of waves of more civilians fleeing Idlib.
Net tracking group NetBlocks.org reported on Twitter Thursday night after the attack that "social media have now been restricted in #Turkey for over two hours. Live network data show transfer of image/video content now also limited on WhatsApp following #Idlib incident."
The organization noted that Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have also been restricted in the country.


theblaze--2020-03-01--Major court ruling 'vindicated' Trump on impeachment, reveals 'abuse' of House Dems, expert says

Major court ruling 'vindicated ' Trump on impeachment , reveals 'abuse ' of House Dems , expert says 'It reaffirms @ @ @ @ @ House in rushing this impeachment '

President Donald Trump scored a major legal victory on Friday when a federal appeals court overturned a lower court's ruling that required former White House counsel Don McGahn answer congressional subpoenas.
According to constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley, the court's ruling has significant implications on the nature of Democrats' efforts to impeach Trump.
What did the court rule?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a split 2-1 decision that McGahn could defy subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee.
Essentially, the court ruled that it did not have the constitutional authority to resolve the stalemate between the White House and Congress, urging Congress seek other remedies outside of the judicial system.
"We cannot decide this case without declaring the actions of one [branch of government] or the other unconstitutional," Appellate Judge Thomas Griffith wrote.
"If federal courts were to swoop in to rescue Congress whenever its constitutional tools failed, it would not just supplement the political process; it would replace that process with one in which unelected judges become the perpetual "overseer[s]" of our elected officials. That is not the role of judges in our democracy, and that is why Article III compels us to dismiss this case," he explained.
McGahn was a key witness in Robert Mueller's investigation — in fact, his name was cited more than 150 times in Mueller's report — and House Democrats have been trying since last year to force McGahn to testify about his involvement in the investigation.
McGahn, however, has defied committee subpoenas.
What did Turley say?
The George Washington University Law School professor said the court ruling "vindicated" the White House with regard to the second article of impeachment, which claimed that Trump had obstructed Congress by having officials ignore congressional subpoenas.
"The White House is vindicated in showing that it had valid constitutional arguments to make -- arguments ridiculed at the Senate trial," Turley explained.
"I do not agree with the court's analysis but I felt that Trump had a right to seek judicial review. Now that judicial review has shown that the court agrees with his constitutional position. It reaffirms the historic blunder of the House in rushing this impeachment," he continued.
Turley went on to characterize the second article of impeachment, in light of the court's ruling, as "a case of prosecutorial excess, if not abuse."
Democrats have until March 9 to appeal the ruling, where they can request a new hearing before the same panel of judges or an en banc hearing before the entire 11-person D.C. Circuit Court.


theblaze--2020-03-01--'First Class Commie' Sanders boards wrong private jet and used 3 to travel to campaign event: TMZ

'First Class Commie ' Sanders boards wrong private jet and used 3 to travel to campaign event : TMZ

Sen. Bernie Sanders had a rough night.
After getting shellacked by former Vice President Joe Biden in the South Carolina primary, the democratic socialist presidential candidate is said to have boarded the wrong private jet during a campaign stop on Saturday.
According to TMZ, Sanders suffered "a momentary case of a campaign brain fart" as he accidentally boarded the wrong private jet during a campaign stop between South Carolina and Massachusetts. He is said to have been spotted making his way off of a Gulfstream jet before heading to the "Bay State" for a rally in the Boston Common. The Democratic frontrunner is campaigning in fellow rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren's home state ahead of Super Tuesday, which polls show he is well-positioned to win.
Not the first time
This would not be the first time that Sanders is mocked for flying private.
As ABC News reporter Adam Kelsey tweeted in early February, both Sanders and Warren — who spend a considerable amount of time railing against jet-set billionaires on the campaign trail — were spotted using private jets following the Iowa Caucus.
'Not 1, not 2, but 3 Gulfstream jets'
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a Twitter user claimed that Sanders and his campaign staff took not just one but three private jets to travel between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which is only a two-hour drive according to Google Maps.
"[Sanders] and his entourage flew from Charleston to Myrtle Beach in not 1, not 2, but 3 Gulfstream jets today. It took them 10 minutes to fly. Who is the elitist?? #BernieIsACommunist," twitter user "CarolinaGirl" wrote.
TheBlaze has been unable to independently verify the veracity of these claims.


theblaze--2020-03-01--VIDEO: SNL hilariously roasts Bernie Sanders over his penchant for communist dictators

VIDEO : SNL hilariously roasts Bernie Sanders over his penchant for communist dictators ' ... but you know who 's @ @ @ @ @ ? '

Sen. Bernie Sanders had a brutal week in the media last week after his countless statements praising communism and communists, such as Cuba's late dictator Fidel Castro, were unearthed.
Over the weekend, "Saturday Night Live" hit Sanders with a hard left-jab over his apparent penchantfor communist dictators.
During the end of show's cold open — the basis of which was to mock the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus as well as the 2020 Democratic candidates — actor Larry David, who spoofs Sanders, objected to using hand sanitizer as protection from the coronavirus.
"No Purell! I've got a bottle of that junk, and on the label, it says it kills 99.99% of germs. What happens to the top .01%?! Why are we protecting them?" David, as Sanders, said. "I say enough with the potions!"
"Just use good ole' fashioned bar soap and scalding hot water," he continued. "Now, I might get in trouble for saying this, but you know who's great at washing his hands? Joseph Stalin! Just sayin' just sayin'..."


theblaze--2020-03-01--Joe Biden projected to win South Carolina Dem primary, snapping Bernie's winning streak

The race was called as soon as polls closed

Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the South Carolina Democratic Primary.
With less than 10% of votes tallies, almost every major news network had projected Biden's victory. The Associated Press called the race in Biden's favor immediately when the poll's closed at 7 p.m. EST.
As of 8 p.m., Biden had won more than 50% of the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders was in second, billionaire Tom Steyer was third, and Pete Buttigieg was in a distant fourth place.
The victory is Biden's first of the 2020 Democratic primary. Biden's strong support among African American voters undoubtedly help cement the victory.
The Associated Press reported:
African American voters in South Carolina backed Biden over any other candidate by a significant margin, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. Close to half of black voters supported him, compared with 2 in 10 supporting Sanders and about the same for businessman Tom Steyer.
There was also evidence that Biden's status as former President Barack Obama's two-term vice president helped him win over African Americans.
Biden's win snaps winning streak. The socialist Vermont senator outright won the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucus and essentially tied with Buttigieg in Iowa.
Biden's campaign hopes Saturday's victory will provide a springboard for Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states will go to the polls to award one-third of all delegates available in the primary. If Biden has a strong showing on Tuesday, it will complicate Sanders' path to victory, which seemed certain after Nevada.
As far as delegates are concerned, Decision Desk HQ reported that Biden won at least 16 delegates in the Palmetto State, placing him in reach of Sanders.


theblaze--2020-02-29--Trump 'strongly' considering serious action at US-Mexico border to stop spread of coronavirus

Trump 'strongly ' considering serious action at US-Mexico border to stop spread of coronavirus 'We are looking also at southern @ @ @

President Donald Trump said Saturday that American officials are strongly considering shutting the U.S.-Mexico border amid concerns over the coronavirus.
When asked at a press conference if he was considering closing the border, Trump answered in the affirmative, Reuters reported.
"We are looking also at southern border," Trump said. "We have received a lot of power on the southern border over the last couple years from the courts, but we are looking at that very strongly."
Earlier on Saturday, Reuters reported, citing two Department of Homeland Security officials, that Trump was considering taking action at the border. However, despite seemingly confirming the reporting, Trump later downplayed his statement, saying that officials are "thinking about all borders."
Vice President Mike Pence also announced during the press conference that the U.S. would impose new travel restrictions against Iran, South Korea, and Italy.
Pence said the U.S. was "expanding existing travel restrictions to include any foreign national who has visited Iran within the last 14 days," while raising the travel advisory against the hardest hit areas of South Korea and Italy to a Level 4 "Do Not Travel."
Lawmakers have also expressed concerns about the U.S.-Mexico border after Mexico confirmed multiple coronavirus cases.
More from Reuters:
A group of 11 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives led by Chip Roy of Texas sent a letter on Friday to top Trump administration officials that pressed for details on the plan to contain the coronavirus at the border with Mexico.
"Given the porous nature of our border, and the continued lack of operational control due to the influence of dangerous cartels, it is foreseeable, indeed predictable, that any outbreak in Central America or Mexico could cause a rush to our border," the lawmakers said.
A group of three Republican senators led by Martha McSally, of Arizona, sent a similar letter on Friday to the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Meanwhile, health officials in Washington state confirmed Saturday that the first American had died from the coronavirus, while there was potentially an outbreak of the virus at a nursing home in Washington state.


theblaze--2020-02-29--VIDEO: 'Very dishonest' reporter is debunked after accusing Trump of 'muzzling' top health expert

VIDEO : 'Very dishonest ' reporter is debunked after accusing Trump of 'muzzling ' top health expert ' I have @ @ @ @

As the country's top health officials work to contain the spread of the coronavirus, some journalists and politicians have used the opportunity to politicize the outbreak, from falsely accusing President Donald Trump of describing the illness as "a hoax" to saying the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is ill-equipped to handle the epidemic due to funding cuts.
At a White House press conference this afternoon concerning the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, a reporter suggested that the Trump administration may be keeping renowned immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Health Institute from communicating with reporters.
'Very dishonest'
A video of the exchange shows a reporter asking President Trump whether the White House was attempting to silence health professionals:
I just want to ask you about this regarding the flow of information. From the very beginning you received a lot of criticism regarding that, in particular about Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is world-renowned in contagious diseases and there were reports out there that he was being muzzled. Can you tell us that this widely respected expert, Dr. Fauci, will have every opportunity to tell us the truth...
"That's a very dishonest question," Trump replied. "He has had that ability to virtually do whatever he has wanted to do..."
"So he was not being muzzled?" the journalist shot back.
"He was never muzzled," the president responded while turning to Dr. Fauci. "Anthony, why don't you speak to that?"
'I'm not being muzzled by this administration'
Fauci, who's a past Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, then stood behind the lectern and did not mince words in blasting the suggestion that his words are being controlled.
In fact, he explained the White House has approved all of his requests to speak to the media:
Let me clarify it. I have never been muzzled — never — and I've been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan. I'm not being muzzled by this administration. What happened, which was misinterpreted, is that we were set-up to go on some shows, and when the vice president took over we said "Let's regroup and figure out how we're going to be communicating." So I had to just stand down on a couple of shows and we submit for clearance, and when I re-submitted for clearance, I got cleared. So I have not been muzzled at all. That was a real misrepresentation of what happened.


theblaze--2020-02-29--VIDEO: Tom Steyer campaigns for black voters by dancing to Juvenile's 'Back Dat A** Up'

VIDEO : Tom Steyer campaigns for black voters by dancing to Juvenile 's 'Back Dat A** Up '

We wish we didn't have to share this with you, but it's news.
The pathway to the 2020 Democratic Party nomination for billionaire businessman and longshot presidential candidate Tom Steyer is through South Carolina where he has invested millions of dollars. However, most polls show him in a distant third place in the state, which means he will likely end his presidential campaign after Saturday's election in the Palmetto State.
As a last-ditch effort to appeal to the state's crucial African American voting bloc that makes up well over half of South Carolina's Democratic primary voters, Steyer appears to be resorting to pursuing celebrity endorsements. While music concerts are not uncommon for presidential candidates, at a campaign event on Friday night, Steyer took the stage with rapper Juvenile and danced to his 1998 hit, "Back Dat A** Up."
The DailyWire's Joseph Curl shared a video of the spectacle, which we have included below for your viewing pleasure.
From another angle:


theblaze--2020-02-29--Democrats are likely heading to the convention without a clear nominee, says analyst Nate Silver

Democrats are likely heading to the convention without a clear nominee , says analyst Nate Silver Will they let win @ @ @

Democrats who were hoping that their party would coalesce around a nominee to take on President Donald Trump in the November election may have to wait until the summer. According to a forecasting model by Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight, Democrats now face a 52% chance of heading into Milwaukee this July without an obvious opponent to Trump.
The prospect of the Democratic Party not having a clear general election candidate for several months is being made more likely by the possibility that former Vice President Joe Biden will easily win today's South Carolina primary. According to the final RealClearPolitics polling average, Biden is expected to defeat Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) by 15 points in the Palmetto State.
Silver's convention forecast indicates that Sanders has a 32% chance of securing the nomination prior to this summer's convention, twice as likely than Biden's 16% chance. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is said to have a less than 1 in 100 chance of being the party's nominee.
What are the DNC's rules
To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate must win 1,991 pledged delegates on the first ballot. If not, Democrats will move to what is called a brokered convention where the candidates will attempt to persuade Democratic "superdelegates," a group of 771 elite members of the party, to vote for them to be the party's nominee in a second round of voting.
"If the convention is contested and goes to a second ballot or more, automatic delegates will be able to vote and a candidate must receive majority support from all delegates—2,375.5 votes," according to Ballotpedia, which adds that approximately two-thirds of the delegates will have been allocated by the end of March.
Will Democrats allow it?
The challenge for Sanders is that in interviews with 93 of the 771 superdelegates, the New York Times found that the vast majority are unwilling to back his nomination.
As TheBlaze reported Thursday, after interviewing dozens of interviews with party leaders and 93 superdelegates, the Times said that a significant contingent of top Democrats are secretly planning to stop him at the Democratic National Convention this summer, even if it risks damaging Democrats' chances in November.
"This article is based on interviews with the 93 superdelegates, out of 771 total, as well as party strategists and aides to senior Democrats about the thinking of party leaders. A vast majority of those superdelegates — whose ranks include federal elected officials, former presidents and vice presidents and D.N.C. members — predicted that no candidate would clinch the nomination during the primaries, and that there would be a brokered convention fight in July to choose a nominee," the Times reported.